First Half Damage Report

Seven months around the world takes its toll on mind, body and personal property. Here, a listing of injuries, losses and other trivial disasters from the first three months of travel:

• One “spare” Lumix camera battery, Emily’s to be precise, lost through the substandard lining of a pocket in my shorts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
• One iPhone 3G, Black, taken from Emily’s pocket by an iniquitous tea-leaf while watching a “lucky” turtle in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• One iPhone 3GS, Black, sent to an early, watery grave after it reacted violently to my taking it swimming in the Dead Sea, Jordan.
• Four separate counts of durchfall between us, each mercifully short-lived and not present at times of travel, in Luang Prabang, Laos; Hoi An, Vietnam; Luxor, Egypt and Somewhere Else, My Memory Fails Me.
• Two pairs of jeans, Men’s, size 34, both of which developed unseemly tears at the seams, requiring deliberate and careful hand and leg positioning during photos from inopportune angles.
• One pair of flip-flops, thongs in the Australian vernacular, size 9, Black, Haviana brand, misappropriated by a careless wastrel in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
• Two colourful and creative bracelets, Leather (ish), bought and lost on the same day in Hoi An, Vietnam.
• One $10 Amazon Gift Card mistakenly redeemed while half asleep on a different account to that which my Kindle is registered.