Far-Eastenders

So how long has it even been now since my last entry? 6 weeks maybe? It feels a lot longer and feels like so much has happened in that time. 10 days ago was our last full working day at the LASSie animal shelter, 8 1/2 weeks after we first arrived here. It's been a blurry couple of months for sure. Working at the shelter is great. It's very rewarding seeing the difference you make to the cats and dogs daily lives when you are there for a prolonged period of time and it doesn't sound like hard work when you tell people that your spending your time walking dogs and playing with cats 8 hours a day but it takes it's toll after a while and there are lows as well as the highs. When you get in from work on a night having sweated in 30+ temperatures all day, covered in dust, hair and dog piss and you have also maybe held young tiny kittens still while they are getting put to sleep as they are ill and have no chance of survival. Or maybe it's been a day when you have had to carry a bag full of 9 dead puppies to their grave as they have been put down as nobody will adopt them on a predominantly Muslim island. It's been tough for sure. Also when you stay on site at the resort in your over heated greenhouse of a room as you don't want to go out and spend money it can get pretty boring. So we did what most other Northerners would do on a duty free island we drank....and drank.....and drank. We have drank far too much even by our usual standards. At a rough guess I would say we have gone through around 40 litres of spirits, dozens of bottles of wine and hundreds of beers in just 9 weeks. Horrible really when I think about it but it's certainly kept us sane.There have been some great times though. We managed to save two puppies and find them loving homes. The first we named as Smudge, a gorgeous little black pup that was so small Dani had to hand feed him milk with a syringe and he couldn't fully support himself on all 4 legs. After a few false hopes we finally found him a loving owner on the island. Fasier an English ex-pat who works at the resort saw him and fell in love straight away. A great result.

Only a few days later another very familiar looking female puppy was dropped at the shelter. This one looked so like Smudge that we had to do a double take. She was clearly Smudges sister from the same litter and despite having a broken front leg she was full of life and energy. So it was time again to try and find a permanent home. With time running out we were contacted by Marcus a guy living close by on the mainland. She was scheduled to be put to sleep but thankfully we got her a stay of execution until Marcus could make his way over and save her from her doom. A week before he arrived we met up with Fasier and Smudge to re-unite the two siblings briefly which was so nice. To see the two of them running and playing together was very touching.

We have also had some great times and some great laughs away from the shelter and met so many nice people that have shown us amazing hospitality and warmth this time. I can't thank Lisa and Dicky an English ex-pat couple living here enough for all the help and hospitality they have provided. Such nice down to Earth people who have shown us another side to Asian and island life that we haven't experienced before.....ex-pat life. All credit for the title of this entry goes to Lisa and at times it really does feel like being on the set of a bizarre island soap opera. I wont go in to too many details but once you really get under the skin of a place and among the ex-pat community there is a surprising amount of surprising things going on on a daily basis. The gossip and stories are unavoidable and they certainly open your eyes and give you a laugh.. I'm sure we will meet up with them both again at some point in the future.

Thinking about it now there are probably far too many people I need to mention and give credit to for making the past 10 weeks so memorable. Gabby, a Swiss lady living in Malaysia with her wheelchair bound flying machine of a dog Vito has been a great source of calm among the crazy antics of the shelter. She is still there with the dogs now soldiering on through it all and giving her heart and soul to providing the dogs with love and attention. Daniel another British ex-pat who has recently opened a new bar in Cenang has provided us with plenty of laughs as well as plenty of beers and drinks. If your ever here get along to Bam-Boo-Ba for a great atmosphere and some good old school house music. Frankie at Lepak is a great character to look up if your in town for a few beers at his great little hidden away bar.

I could keep going on really with the myriad of people who have gone out of their way to make our stay a comfortable and memorable one....but then I run the risk of missing folks out as well as boring my casual readers. If your reading this and I met you in Langkawi over the past 10 weeks then you know who you are the great times we have shared together. Thank you all very very much....I will see you all again at some point I'm sure.

So what next then? Well originally we were destined to head to the Philippines. But a dwindling budget won't allow that. So we are sat here in KL airport yet again. Headed to the land of volcanoes, jungles and wildlife....Sumatra. Another new place to check out let's see what the next few weeks bring.