Why choose Indochina?

 

This old map has a lot to do with it. Torn and faded, stained and defaced, this 'New Map of Asia' was folded into one of my Grandad's old books. He traced the voyage of its protagonist with a red biro, to better illustrate the traveller's route through the subcontinent of India and the oceans of South East Asia. He'd glimpsed some of these sights himself when he'd served with the merchant navy in World War II, back when his eyes weren't so tired. He must have been a confident young man, stepping ashore to explore the markets of India alone, ignoring naval regulations for the sake of some blessed solitude. 'The only mate I ever needed with me was in here', he'd say, cheerfully patting his ankle, indicating a razor-sharp dagger that fitted neatly between his socks and his skin. A real East Ender.

The East. As a child it always conjured fearful and fascinating images straight out of late-nineteenth century literature. Wakefield's 'New Map of Asia', published in 1817, with its legends of Arabia, Persia, Tartaria, Hindoostan, Siam, Cochin China, and the Russian and Chinese Empires, still manages to do so. That suspiciously Orientalist fascination has stayed with me from childhood and now, at last, I'm travelling to South East Asia for the first time.