Vietnam - 23rd January 2008

Wikipedia links to an animated map of the Mongol empire. At the height of its influence the empire reached the Polish border - in 1279, the time of the Crusades. The whole route of my journey will take place within this medieval Mongol empire until I cross the border of Vietnam. I will need to wait for Hanoi, then, before I find the real Other, a non-neighbour of Europe.