Below are links to our collections of photos from Vietnam, which will open in flickr.

These are a teaser for kick-starting the blog, which has been dormant for too long. Lots more words on the way in the coming weeks, as well as pics and stories from Thailand, Laos and China . . .

Reading media coverage of Bangkok’s Khaosan Road in the last few years, you’d imagine it’s gone from slum-level backpacker cred circa Leo’s ‘Beach’ in 2000 to seriously upscale today.

Okay, a week on the road and time to break radio silence.

The first seven days have been a fair mix of exhilarating and exhausting. The travel adrenalin delayed the effects of jet lag and acclimatising from 12C to 37C overnight, but after a couple of days both of us had a major crash. It wasn’t anything 13 hours of sleep couldn’t cure, though, and we’re both feeling fit and well again.

I often get asked “What’s the ideal travel camera?”

It’s pretty easy. It’s got a 12 megapixel sensor, a top-quality lens, a great exposure meter, instant start-up, no shutter-lag, excellent battery life and built-in image stabilisation, weighs under 500g and supports RAW files.

We’ve a month left. It seems like forever since we decided to stop putting off our “some day” trip and just go. I hated the waiting, but it’s meant we’ve been able to plan well and get stuff done.

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve managed to tick a good few things off the list.