Our 30 days were up, so it was time for a visa run. Probably good timing as I’d already caught two of the three house diseases and I’m sure the third wasn’t far away. With this in mind and because of all our hard work recently, Ash and I decided it was time for a treat in Kuala Lumpur.

We went for a mystery hotel deal and ended up scoring Le Meridien at a cut price. And it was sweet! Indoor and outdoor jacuzzis, pool with a view of the KL skyline, gym, sauna, bath etc etc etc. On arrival I took a hot bath, slipped on the slippers and robe, then nailed an all day breakfast! Incredible, one of the best I’ve ever had. In fact the only breakfast to top it is the inclusive buffet breakfast we enjoyed on a morning. The oatmeal souffles were to die for!

Other than eating and pampering ourselves, KL afforded us the time and internet connection do get some work done, buy some knock-off gear in China Town, one of the best markets I’ve been to for that sort of thing, and we bought a couple of things for other volunteers back at base.

The most interesting event however, was our casting call. An Asian woman stopped me in a shopping mall and asked if I wanted to be on TV, obviously I did. I would like to say she spotted some talent, but I was probably the only westerner under 30 in the mall, and I was wearing a backpack. They were looking for a young western backpacker.

The next day Ash and I went to the casting studio and had some profile shots taken. We then took turns to act out a scene where we asked a monk how to avoid body stress before thanking him for educating us about NesTea. Very surreal, but it would have been sweet to star in the ad.

As things stand I don’t think I’ve got the role. My performance was well below par. We did both get offered another job though, and could have been in a property advert the coming Sunday. We turned it down though to return to the volunteer house, slightly influenced by the fact that Departures were coming to film at the HODR house. That didn’t happen either.

So we haven’t made our TV debuts yet, but we are healthy, full, and relaxed.