Update

Instead of posting about the rest of my trip I'll just write a quick update in light of recent events. On the day that we first heard about the earth quake, we couldn't believe that it had happened. It either failed to set in or we just didn't want to believe that our dream holiday would be over.

It's now a few days later and the death toll from the Tsunami and quake has risen to 22,000. CNN reports of the loss and devastation and shows graphic pictures of bodies floating in the water yet to be collected. The Chinese newspapers are just as graphic posting faces of the dead.

We are very grateful that we weren't in Phuket when it happened but can't help feeling disappointed. We are planning to cancel the rest of the trip to Bangkok, Malaysia and Phuket but will need to confirm that our travel insurance will cover all the costs. The staff at STA travel have been absolute dickheads – basically telling us it's not their problem when we went to try change our flights. For each enquiry we wanted them to make on our behalf would cost us $100.00 AUD and take 4 days.

It's not the best time for us right now, but our relatives are keeping our spirits up.