I will endeavour to get a picture to illustrate this little declaration of love - it shouldn't be too hard, because my guesthouse is dominated by tiny kids wearing squeaky shoes - but in the meantime, my words will have to suffice.

I have no idea why, but Asian countries are overrun by small children wearing shoes that squeak.

The kids are tiny - just little toddlers who totter about unsteadily, but they ALL seem to wear shoes that emit a loud squeak! squeak! squeak! every time the child's foot hits the floor.

The squeaking is in the same family as the noise made by a rubber toy for a puppy. Why this is a necessary feature on a shoe, I don't know.

Sometimes, you encounter a particularly fancy model, which means that the squeaking is accompanied by red flashing lights that light up the heel of the kid's shoe.

This whole phenomenon is mysterious to me - is the sound pleasing to the ears of the doting parent? Is it more like a tracking device, so you know where the kid is at all times? or is it just 'cute'??

Needless to say, if you find yourself too close to a squeaky-shod tot, and in the wrong frame of mind, the experience is grating and awful!

But right now, I have to admit that the shoes rock and the kids are cute.