Aonang Phu Petra Resort, Krabi

... that they seem to see cats and dogs as pets rather than pests. They are so much better kept out here. In fact we have seen some of the fattest cats we have ever seen. Still, we are baffled by something, in all the Asian countries we have been to so far the cats all have their tales broken or cut off. The best explanation we can come up with is that it is a mark of ownership, but we really will have to ask someone and find out for sure. Other than that Kate and I bought a ...

... Have no idea what the significance was. I realised I had missed all the dogs as for some reason Morocco was more about cats.

Our hotel was great (though the pool was mostly packed with screaming kids, BLERG) and we really properly relaxed for the first time in ages. Though it was cloudy it worked in our favour as we found we got quite a bit of jetlag. Lots of sleep ins, eating curries and chilli noodles, and lots of fruit shakes and beers. Ah Asia.

... foreigners was the free bucket you got if you participated in a match. Some of the fights we got to see were brilliant, a range of Irish, American and Australian men trying to boost their egos by trying some Thai boxing moves and generally making fools of themselves. Excellent entertainment for us though, especially as it was free! After having watched all the films and knowing the news inside out, as well as spectating a lot of ...

... 18 bucks a night for an aircond room and private bathroom which is right on the beach so it is fabulous!! Oh, and more excitingly, we got all our laundry done for less than 5 bucks! It was so good to get clean clothes back, as both Mark and I were gadding about in some seriously stinky shirts.
So far, we are still doing okay budget-wise.

Signing off, and happy to be alive,

Mark and noma xxx

... trying to ignore both the smells of machine oil as well as the flashes coming out of Miss Receptionist I wonder why I always insist in staying at these dirt cheap dumps where the word dirt in dirt cheap has got an obviuous double meaning!!! I wanna experience the real Souteast Asia where people have not as yet been corrupted by Western greed, where the locals have not yet been poisoned by the power of money, where Farang logic ...

... it's funny to dress a child so young like a grown-up because, without any sophisticated outfits, the child would look perfectly lovely anyway. Photo Opportunities I did take a lot of portraits of the local people here. They have a very interesting feature, with a sincere smile that showed the contentment of their life. I feel so inspired whenever I look at them, whether it's the boy, an old woman, or a housewife. They live in the simplicity which is the ...

... a border town on the most southern tip of that impassable land. It was sad to leave Burma behind for the second time and still have no real idea about anything that goes on within its hostile borders. For the time being at least, Myanmar will remain a mystery, and The Hitch To Malaysia will always feel a little bit cheated of the 1000km stretch that was only hitch-able by air.

... the next few days for everything from coconut juice to fried chicken to a variety of different desserts... to make our eating opportunities even better, one of the locals told us about a food festival going on at the other end of town... so we hopped on our rented motorbike and went to a pretty good sized food festival.. the food selection was not only vast, but the flavors and sights were pretty amazing as well... we splurged a bit ...

... water colors brightened from deep blue to light green gradually. There was only 1 other boat there, and parked on the side, so it was a very peaceful entrance. There is almost no current in here, but it was weird because that usually means it's either dirty water, or full of jellyfish (as in Ha Long Bay), it was neither. Totally clear water ready for you to relax in. We did. We snorkelled all over the place, seeing big baracuda/swordfish looking ...

... br>
Coincidentally Kate had booked a spot on the same island with her travelling companion Claire. They headed off and I followed the next day. Unfortunately the places we booked were quite a ways apart, actually not unfortunate as driving to their Villa on a scooter that evening ended up being one of the most memorable moments (Bonus story 2) of the trip so far. So we were able to meet up and hang out a wee bit longer and enjoy more great ...