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• Kuala Lumpur

• Phnom Penh

• National Museum & Khmer silk weaving

• Fried tarantulas & centuries-old temples

• Tonle Sap Lake, stilt houses, and a scam in Siem Reap

• Big Three of Angkor- Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm

• Male genitalia and land mines

• Chaotic border crossing

• Train ride to Bangkok

• At a resort recovering from the 2004 tsunami

• Early food reviews

• Relics of a tsunami

• Thai cooking class

• James Bond island

• A lazy last day at Khao Lak

• Nai Yang Beach & back to KL

• Staying in a kampung house

• Lunching @ Menara KL

• Last day

Wednesday, 13 May, Khao Lak

Lethargy. Lassitude. Laziness.  Whatever you call it,  it has totally taken me over.  So much so, the only thing scheduled today - a Thai cooking class - was almost too much trouble to get to.

But, we did bestir ourselves and it was worth it.  Even  Dave thought his Thai Prawn Salad, and Stir Fry Chicken with Basil was tasty. He did say that he thought it needed a glass of chardonnay to go with it. Whether or not he tries to replicate them at home is another matter.

Last night as part of our package deal here, we had a Spa session, which involved a massage with a fancy name.  A very different process from the massages on offer at the bamboo stalls on the beach next to the resort. At the resort's spa, it was all aromatherapy and perfumed oils - today, when I popped back next door, it was coconut oil.  I probably smelled like something that should be cooked in a stir fry by the time they'd  finished with me.

It was actually a bit surreal this afternoon... Lying there on a bamboo stretcher, with modesty protected only by thin pieces cotton while people walked around me on the other side of flimsy curtains, I was listening to the sound of the gentle waves of the Andaman Sea only metres away from me while being pummelled by a solid Thai matron.  On the other side of the curtain, an argument was developing between an Aussie tourist and a laundry operator, over whether or not she'd ordered an express service at twice the price (100baht per kilo as opposed to the demanded 200baht).  There was a difference I think which amounted to about $A10.  She lost. 

An early night is in store for us tonight - we have to be up and about by 6am tomorrow, to be picked up at 7.15 for an excursion to Phang Nga  Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Such an early start is going to be a shock to our systems, by now accustomed to 10am breakfasts.

Next: the James Bond island