Annoyed

I was so hoping to post a long and boring story of my recent trip with PICTURES. On returning from the airport and checking my bags I discovered my digital camera and my mobile phone had been stolen. So I've lost all my pictures from Malaysia, Borneo and Indonesia. Returning to Vietnam and especially Saigon was very exciting. To come home to somewhere so foriegn and yet so familiar is a thrill. Everybody in my locale was wondering where I'd gone, from the women in the laundry shop, the old dears in the store, my nearest noodle soup stand......funny. All of a sudden I seem to know a huge amount of people as well.....all the guys down at the yoga club, all the lads from football and now we have 6 new teachers starting at my school as well as the 5 already working there - it's going to be a very interesting year, and I am building myself up to some very big news as well.

Anyway time away was fantastic. I had reverse culture shock for a while. Having not left Vietnam for a whole year, the clean, orderly and civilized nature of Singapore was a breath of fresh air. The wonderful effeciency of the MRT (underground) with every station spotlessly clean. The public toilets! One thing that sticks in my mind is wondering around in the evening, and the streets are deserted and peaceful....'where is everybody!' I was screaming at Chi. The people are incredibly polite to a point that I don't think you could find a comparable country. Maybe the best thing of all is floating around without being gawped at like a zoo exhibit, an event sufferable in most Asian countries. Below is the Merlion, Singapore's national symbol.

This is a picture of Chinatown in Singapore, the eve of Chinese New Year.

Going to Phuket in Thailand was a mistake. It was high season. The beach is one of the best, but I remember it as being deserted the whole day, the previous two visits I had there. Not high season. High season = row upon row of sun lounger. Each lounger occupied by fat european grilling him/herself in the sun. I also couldn't believe the extent to which people are tattoing themselves these days....its rarer to see someone without one now.

So we took off to Koh Phi Phi. Although more crowded than I would have liked, its still paradise on earth...

We did the usual when in this situation. Swimming, snorkelling, lazing around on the beach, afternoon naps and eating fine food all the day long. Here is our breakfast spot......

And our afternoon spot......

And here's one more just for luck.....

EVERYONE single person in Thailand mistook Chi as being Thai......"Sawat dii kap!".....and the they start rambling in Thai to her. Considering it was her first trip abroad she was always a bit stunned and would just look at me incredulously, to which I had to shrug my shoulders. She ended up shouting 'Speak English!' and "I'm not Thai!' a LOT, to which the reply was always "Oh, sorry! You same same Thai people!". Still winding her up with this.

I am too gutted to talk about the rest of the trip since I lost the pictures. Time will heal me.