A not so Christmassy post

It has come to our attention through various types of emails and messages from friends and family at home, that all is not quite ideal in Ireland at the minute.

Another budget was announced and happened to coincide with the arrival of the rain and snow. The dole queues are longer and now a bit frostier with the news that social welfare is being cut with more vigour than Brian Cowan's barber tackles his mane.

And to top it all off Aslan are still managing to secure dates at GAA clubs nationwide, is there no God?

As a result of such an environment developing at home, many people have let us know that they are tired of it all and would much rather be in our shoes (or flip flops). Some going as far as expressing outward jealousy and homicidal fantasies....thanks guys.

Well I am here today to assuage any notions that every day we are sipping cocktails on a beach while being hand fed luxurious, rich ice-cream and truffles. Clearly that's ridiculous...ice-cream would melt on a beach. No. no, it's not all smooth sailing while travelling.

So, to prove this point we have put together a little collection of some of the interesting creepy crawlies we have encountered so far on our trip. Paula, Ciaran is going to love this one!

Fruit bat wakes from his daylight slumber just as the sun sets, off to find some food

Monkeys are NOT cute and are NOT entertaining, they are horrible. That is all.

This one particularly so, as he was chained up outside a little store in Laos. He had clearly gone mad from the captivity and kept running up and down a table in a repetitive motion. Not nice to watch

A dragon fly, they can get pretty big here and when they fly they seem to have a mission to fly directly between your eyes. I dont understand why but they do.

Due to my blindness I unwittingly shared a shower with this snake for about 10 minutes one morning. Upon noticing it only inches from my feet I jumped out to call Richie to ask if it was a snake or a big worm...yes...Tammy has bad eyesight.

Deep fried cricket, given to us as a gift on our trek in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Kev was the only one who indulged, he had positive reviews, crunchy but with a rewarding burst...apparently

Crabs living in the floor of our bungalow, Jungle Beach. I guess they aren't that scary really but...they have CLAWS! Spiders don't have claws do they? No! But they are still scary right? Maybe we should raise the scariness profile of crabs. Poor harmless guys.

Speaking of spiders....

Apparently this is a rain spider, which decided to perch itself in one of the bathrooms for a couple of hours. It made things interesting when it started climbing over the walls and swapping from one bathroom to the other. Nowhere was safe that night!

Also the picture doesn't give a good idea of the size, but it had about a 6 inch diameter

A little dragon of some sort who kept us entertained for ages as he launched himself kamikaze style into the air in an effort to catch passing insects and landing with a thump on the dry foliage.

A silk moth laying eggs on some silk moth cocoons.

Crickets in a cricket farm.

In Vietnam they are very expensive as they are such a sought after snack.

A marabou stork, really ugly birds. I was walking through a group of trees looking at the birds on the ground, trying to get a good pic without realising there were more of them up in the trees above.

Now, some people say that it is a sign of good luck if a bird poohs on you, I however, do not agree. These birds are huge and I was not best pleased to feel a massive piece of luck landing on my shoulder

Mantis in the toilets in Koh Ru, Cambodia

A cicada sitting on a chess piece in a glass. The noise they make while perched on the side of a tree can be really amazingly loud.

A millipede having a nap on the forest floor

An African Bullfrog in the process of finishing his dinner, these frogs have tooth-like projections on the lower jaw to secure struggling prey and are known to eat just about anything from big bugs, guppies, mice, small birds and each other!

The rule of thumb is if it can fit in their mouth they will eat it.

What animal do you think that foot coming out of his mouth belongs to?

This is a giant snail eating a slug or a caterpillar which is also being eaten by a little cockroach.

This is a really gorgeous moth I spotted in a bathroom (I see a pattern emerging here with all these bug/bathroom pictures) I have no idea what it is called but if anyone out there in cyber world knows maybe they can shed some light?

Big horrible beetle chowing down on some fruit which had fallen from a tree, which was also covered in more big horrible beetles.

Toilets are generally an interesting experience in Asia. You approach your commode with a certain amount of trepidation. You ask yourself "will it be a squat toilet? Will there be toilet roll? Did I bring some toilet roll? Will there be bugs? Will the bum gun (bum gun info here) be working?" It must be said that this was one of the most horrific toilets that I have encountered, in The Napp House, Sihanoukville, Cambodia. You have been named and shamed guys, get a mop and bucket and get scrubbing.

I think we mentioned this in a previous post from Laos, but it is worth sticking in here. These are just some of the thousands of moths that descended on our dinner table every night as soon as the sun set. Not easy to enjoy a beer with moths in your nose...and your beer!

We all remember Jim don't we? I certainly do anyway.

A hermit crab makes his way across the beach on Bamboo Island at night.

Steelhead fish in a market in Siem Reap in Cambodia

Anyone for a deep fried tarantula? No? Ok

A skink chilling out in the sun. These guys are very flighty and tough to get a picture of, but this guy was a poser.

And now the Pièce de résistance....

*sigh* Ok...well...this is a banana leaf that contains sticky rice, coconut and mango. All held together by...*sigh*...calf pooh which is boiled up for 4 days with palm sugar until it forms a sticky molasses type texture. And yes, it is for eating. It is a very tasty and filling snack. If you can get passed where it comes from.

Now go on and have a super Crimbo dinner guys, safe in the knowledge that I will be having some good old rice and tofu for my Crimbo!

Merry Christmas!!