Insert life changing experience here.

How do you start to describe an encounter that changed your life? I suppose it would help if you had one to talk about.

The reason that my life hasn't been changed yet is because I am only 5 weeks into a 6 month journey around South East Asia; my first big venture outside of Australia. Instead I can talk about moments that have taken my breath away, made me tilt my head to the side and say "but why?" and have forced me to abandon some very long held beliefs. When I say beliefs I am not talking about anything religious or spiritual, I am talking about something as mundane as basic food hygiene or what I have been taught to consider as hygiene. Sitting down at a street food stall and ordering a baguette filled with meat that has been sitting out for an unspecified amount of time and filled with salad that may have been washed with water not from a bottle can make you squirm while you wait for it to be prepared. Then you take a bite and your world is changed. No longer does a baguette filled with meat, cheese, mayonnaise and salad have to cost around $7, it can cost you around 50 cents. Heaven.

I have been blown away by the kindness and sheer generosity of Vietnamese people both in the cities and in the country; specifically in the lush, coconut laden land of the Mekong Delta. Children and their families would come running from their shops or fields to shout "hello!" at you as your drive past; a kind of friendliness that I have never experienced.

I have seen Saigon from 23 levels above the ground and the image of the sun setting over one of the most chaotic, colourful and intimidating cities I have ever been to is something that I will never forget. I remember sitting there and thinking how lucky I was. So lucky that I have this opportunity, the ability to see worlds other than my own when a mother and her child don't have anywhere to sleep; a sight I sadly saw that same night.

So no, my life hasn't been changed yet but I still have over 26 weeks to go.