The colds are still there for Emily and Sarah, so we're still spending our 'rainy day' money. On the
Internet we managed to book a room on the Pan Pacific Executive Floor for £40 a night. Including breakfast, free cocktails and snacks in the exclusive Executive lounge from 5-8pm, and all the cups of tea we can drink all day. Now I really don't feel like a backpacker. No, I'll take that back - when I walk in wearing my best trousers and shirt, I feel like a backpacker when the manager looks down at my feet and inspects my best 12-month-old hiking shoes, covered in the finest dirt of the world.
But who cares? We need some recuperation, and I'm not too proud to admit it. After the last six weeks, 5 countries, too many long bus/train journeys to count, and just having been given a suitcase of medicines by a Borneo doctor, Sarah (and the rest of us) deserve it. And surely sitting beside a blue pool in tropical heat is the best way to cure a cold and cough? Just a shame we can't afford to eat in the hotel, or get our laundry done. Maybe next time!