It had to end sometime...

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I am sat here in Semporna, finally facing up to the fact that I am leaving in a few days, its 4:30 am and its my last night, well early morning, I have Christmas songs playing on my mp3 player while I am sat in an air conditioned room with all some of this years worth of accumulated rubbish sat around me.

Looking round, I know that I am already going to have 2 bags to take back with me, it’s a far cry from the mere 15 kg I started with and the 12.5kg that I stripped that down to when I was truly backpacking around, settling down = the hoarder in me came out.

So I am sorting through everything working out what I keep, what I throw away before I catch my flight tomorrow (13th) to Bankok, its ok though, I have 3.5 hours before I have to be in the taxi… and to work out what I will palm off to others before I go, but regardless of that, there is still going to be a struggle to fit it all into the Rucksack and case that I have, unless my 2 bags are actually Tardis’s (for my none English friends, this comes from a kids TV programme where the inside of a thing was bigger than the outside..)

The junk surrounding me doesn’t even include all my dive gear, and I have the full kit, fins, mask, wetsuit, BCD and regulator to carry back with me, all I can say, is flying out via America means that I get a huge luggage allowance once I get to Bangkok - 2 bags of 32 kg each, however, I will be charged an arm and a leg to get it from Semporna to Bangkok!

But from all the possessions that surround me at the moment, it’s the leaving present that the guys here gave me that means the most, it’s a photo album of the people, the moments and  the things that I have seen, it’s going to be the first thing I pack, the rest of my bits can just fit around it

No matter how much I don’t want to leave here, I am really looking forward to seeing family and friends again, and of course becoming a traveller bore “well, when I was in….” except for me, they are going to be mainly about diving since I spent half my year of “travelling” by travelling underwater.

I have now spent over 300 hours under water and done approximately 350 dives, that’s over 13 whole days of my life being allowed to share and see some of the wonders of the under water world, and no matter how much I enjoy fun diving (diving for myself and not guests), there is nothing quite like taking out divers who are totally amazed at the sights they get to see, it’s a good reminder of the things I take for granted because I see it daily and it reminds me of how lucky I have been.

So to end my time here, I have made 2 movies that are hosted here and here, the first is just pictures of some of the things I have seen and islands I work at set to some background music, the other is a few small video’s that I have taken underwater, but of course, it’s a small digital camera so they are pretty basic videos which is a shame..

It's best to let them load totally before watching them, they are 5 and 4 minutes long respectively, so they don't take too long - just put it on pause and wait for the grey line to get to the end (well for the second one at least), the other one just about copes...

And there are pictures here of the guys (well some of them) that I have worked with, basically, those here at the end of my time, and apart from the wild hair of mine, I was having a really bad hair day, I can no longer deny that I am a blonde now!

But at least, posting the pics of me on the website, allow my family and friends to recognise me when I see them again…

I can’t believe that the time has come to leave here, the place I came to, to do 1 day‘s snorkelling and nothing else, and here I am leaving as a qualified Divemaster a life I never dreamed I would have, or even be good at, it’s made me look at myself in a whole new way.

Travelling has made me realise that in addition to a fantastic family, I am lucky to have a great group of friends.  New friends I have made on my journey, those I have grown closer to as I travelled and those who remain great friends from before so to Family and friends alike, I would like to say thanks for helping to make this year the great year it’s been for me.

And finally, to introduce you to some of the friends that I have made over this last few months here are the permanent members of  the dive shop crew…

Ric - He’s the Scottish part owner, full of big ideas and will conquer the world, well a small section of the diving world given time, he’s a great guy  just don’t call him English, and Ric, I still have that “written promise“ and I will be using it!

Tino - He’s the German part owner, and he’s Mr Fixit, when something breaks, he’s there with his spanner to sort it, he’s also the one that was responsible for teaching me to dive, and if you want to see strange small stuff, he‘s the man to show you it - underwater that is...

Both of these 2 work well together, they are an odd partnership but they compliment each others strengths and both are funny guys.

Mike - What can I say about him, he’s the instructor that took me for my rescue and Dive master course, he’s a great friend, but in addition he’s a fantastic diver, with a great sense of humour and a wonderful personality… he is a special guy and one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Jenny - Well, if Mike is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, then Jenny also fits into this category, she really cares about the people around her, and will remember a guests name after hearing it once (well it appears that way), she always has time for everyone .

Sarah - Sarah was a trainee with me and although there is a difference in ages (oh to be 21 again) we got on really well, for a long time we were room mates and Sarah, I’m going to miss those gossip sessions!  She’s a lively person, always full of energy and a great dive master.

Dave - Well he’s the newest instructor on the block, he was a Divemaster trainee when I started out as a trainee, he is Mr Filth, if there is a joke that is distasteful, then he is the one telling it, he really can’t get enough of either filth or drinks!

Che - One of the instructors on the team and someone who always has way too much energy and enthusiasm at night, especially at the prospect of a “snorkel test“, he is like the energizer bunny that just keeps on going and going.

Bjorn - He’s the newest Divemaster on the block, the blonde Swede or as he got called at the end Gila Putih, crazy blonde, again, very friendly and lovely guy, always there when I made a derogatory blonde comment, directed at myself but he managed to make it seem like I was talking about him.

There are others there still, Dan, Flemming, Kai, Julie and Sofia who are all doing their trainee Divemaster course there at the moment, all great guys, but sorry, there is only so much room on this blog entry and only a little time for me to complete writing it, and of course, do my packing.

So, for the last but one entry into this much neglected blog, this is me signing off and going back to sorting out how I will carry all my junk back to the UK, and then there is the shopping I can do in Bangkok……