And so another journey comes to an end, and almost immediately another begins. On returning from Europe I have one day back home (or a mere thirty-two hours) back on English soil before my feet once again leave the ground for the Orient. At twenty past five I am on a plane not only saying goodbye to England, but to Europe, to the Western World and all that I have ever known - not to return for another six months. Just to completely immerse myself before even entering Asia, I am flying for ten hours with AirChina, virtually all the on-board entertainment is in Mandarin (Chinese films, Chinese music) and my neighbour is a friendly, chatty Korean girl. This is going to be a long journey.