Initially I thought I had left it at the hotel. Checked there and they had not found anything left in my room except for two cans of beer (which the cleaning lady drank my health with). We assumed it had then been stolen from the office and that I must have left it on my desk.

So, I got back to my apartment tonight, Thursday,12 May 2005. Walked over to where I usually put my keys and noticed that two big books were missing along with a stack of DVDs that I had purchased in Bangkok on the way up to Mongolia. Further examination showed that 5 books had been stolen (and four of these are military history type books), 15 DVDs, 50 blank CDs and all my Frequent Flyer Cards (idiot thief left an unsigned American Express card though).

To top it all off, the bastard also ate my M&Ms from the kitchen cupboard.

I called Baggy, my long suffering translator and the Agent for the apartment. The agent called the owner and Baggy called the police. A statement was taken (which I duly signed - no idea what it really said). The owner admitted to having lost a key the day I moved in - maybe one of the contractors working here with her that day took it - who knows. I just know that I have lost about US $500 or $600 worth of stuff this week and have been burgled twice in seven days.

The owner changed the lock tonight and has given me all six keys. Do I feel safe in my current home? Nope. Am I pissed? Yep! One of those books I have had for nearly 20 years and it is a seminal work on World War I fighting ships.