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Hello!!!
It's been ages since I last updated this blog, can't believe it is nearly the end of February already! Loads has happened and I probably won't remember most of it in the detail I would have liked but I will tell you the highlights :-)
January wasn't the best month I have had since I left home, lots of ups and downs but all is back on track again now so all is good. The saddest thing yet on my trip was when my gorgeous little kitten Sayang died last month...she had gone missing again and after a few days of not hearing anything I found her body 200m from our bungalow. We think a cobra bit her and killed her...there appears to be quite a few cobras in Koh Lanta which freaks me out a lot. Our Thai neighbours were amazingly good to us and were also as sad as me. They believe that when monks die they are reincarnated into the body of a cat - so they take great care over cats for this reason. Sayang dying was a big thing for them too :-(
We've decided not to get another kitten because we are leaving soon and as I learned I get WAY too attached. I have however semi-adopted another cat the other evening. I was walking home and it followed me home after I stopped to say hello...the neighbours were all excited and saying Sayang has come back again!! Anyway we have encouraged them to keep her, and I just steal her for cuddles each evening and return her after a while to the children. She is super cute and even though Gene ignores her as much as possible so he doesn't get attached she curls up on his shoulder and goes to sleep each evening, and comes racing out to see us when she hears the motorbike on the gravel!
What else.....I swam with another whaleshark - and it was even more amazing than the last time. I nearly had an asthma attack swimming full speed after it with my customers when I noticed the white spots in the blue off the reef....then just as we caught up with it, it turned around and swam right towards me while I was banging my tank to let the other divers nearby know about it. I was so busy pointing at it to make sure everyone saw it, that I didn't notice it was swimming right at me!! It came SO close to me that I had to pull my hand in so as not to touch it. Amazing.....best experience I have had while diving here.
I've also had loads more dives with the manta rays...the best one being last week when I jumped in with 2 customers who were awful on air so I figured we would get a 20 minute dive if we were lucky before they told me they had run out. Anyway we jumped in and within one minute a huge manta swam past us, we carried on and turned the corner of the reef and there it was again....eventually all the other divers arrived too and we all just hovered there watching this 5m widemanta show off for us and swim back and forth amongst us all and up and over our heads, it was so close we all had to move out of its way so we didn't get sent flying with its wing. Then as if that wasn't good enough my friend Mari (who was boatmaster and only allowed to snorkel) came freediving down 8m to tap me on the head and let me know there was a second manta and pointed to it. So the 2 swam with us for ages before a 3rd and 4th one came along too. It was seriously cool having that many mantas just showing off for us :-) After 54 mins with them my customers ran out of air (thank god we only had to go to 8m and not 20m like normal or I would have been gutted going out early) and we made our way back to the boat. I saw them get on the boat and the boat boy Tua shouted "Caroline...Manta...." and pointed right underneath me and I went straight back down for another 5 minutes underneath the boat just watching this 5m manta swimming past me!!! Wicked. Then 2 days ago I took more customers and we had the pleasure of a big manta arriving as soon as we descended again and playing with us for 20 minutes!! It felt even more special as none of the other divers on our boat apart from one group saw it :-) I really really hope I get to see them again before I leave Lanta....and with my camera ready this time too. Oh and another whaleshark would be awesome too :-)
SO we have decided that we are leaving Koh Lanta a little earlier than end of season as work is starting to slow down and we are starting to spend more money than we are making. We leave in 2 weeks to go to Cambodia for a week to see Siem Riep and Angkor Wat which I am really excited about. We are getting a night train with Gene's friend Amber from Trang to Bangkok, then staying in this funky little hotel in Bangkok which has each hotel room designed by a professional artist in a different way. Amber and I then abandon Gene for a good few hours to find heaven in the form of MBK shopping centre!!! I haven't been shopping in a shopping centre since I left London in August!!! Very cool. Then we head to Cambodia.
The twist comes here....everyone who read my previous entries will remember my saying I hated Semporna in Borneo?? Well guess where I am goign to live for the next few months!!! Yep that's right, Semporna...well hopefully only for March & April. We are going to go and work as divemasters at Scuba Junkies diving at Mabul and Sipadan which will be amazing for the diving. The shop is opening bungalows for staff in Mabul (a luxury island - Charlie I think will agree with me) soon so we hope to get there as soon as possible. In the mean time I will try and make the best of Semporna!! The diving will more than make up for it, with the exception that whalesharks and manta rays are not frequent visitors to these waters. But grey reef sharks and huge green turtles are, not to forget every other cool fish.
So I am enjoying my last few days in Lanta, it will be seriously sad saying goodbye to people. I have made some really good friends, have loved the diving and adore the chilled out beach bum lifestyle we have here...can't believe I am giving it up for the finger pointing men and boys of Semporna, but am certain that after my first dive at Sipadan or Mabul I will be very sure it is the right decision. We are having a leaving do on the 1st March so that will be fun. Also lots of our friends from Lanta are coming on holidays to visit us in April/May time which will be awesome to see everyone. If anyone from home fancies it then come over too :-)
Who knows after June, we've talked about Taiwan to teach english and make US $$$ but then also going to Western Australia also for a bit. We decided last night that Bali definitely features for a month at least somewhere this summer just not sure when. We both love it there and the diving when I was there in September was awesome. So no immediate plans to come home too soon......sorry mum & gavin :-( :-(
Better go as the battery is running low and I don't want to lose this entry like I did last week writing too much. Hope everyone is well, can't wait to hear from you all...keep in touch. I will let you know new mob number when I get one. Still on Thai one until early March though. Call me!!!!!!
Love you all, take care xxxxx
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