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We had our last night as a group at Rasa Ria resort which was a nice way to wind down together. We had a gorgeous dinner on the beach before saying our goodbyes. It was very soreal saying goodbye having spent the last 2 months with everyone but I was excited for the beginning of my travelling experience.

I didnt get much sleep as I had to get up at 4am to catch my flight to Semporna. Semporna is a fishing town and is pretty grim. There isnt a whole lot here apart from the jettys to the islands, a KFC and 2 tourist bars - however it was more than I have been used to in the jungle. I had booked to do a PADI course on the islands surrounding Semporna for a week. One of the islands Sipadan is renowned for seeing sharks and turtles so I was very excited. I got a couple of days into my padi but had a problem equalising so couldnt continue, nonetheless I still managed to start some dives and do a lot of snorkelling. I saw plenty of turtles, sharks, schools of jacks, barracudas, unicorn fish, angel fish and lots more. I also had an underwater camera and have some great shots - these are on facebook if you wanna check them out. It is monsoon season here so the weather has been temperamental at times but didnt put a damper on it.

The evenings have been great fun here too - regardless of Semporna town, I have met some really great people. I actually have met quite a few people who were at Sepilok when I worked there so they saw me on the tourist platform - I even spoke to them at Sepilok, some I remembered and some I didn't. I had some really interesting dive masters too, Awan and John, as well as my instructor Helen from the UK. I went out quite a bit with them in the evenings, had a few lates ones and even missed a day on the islands due to a bad hangover but the KFC cleared that right up. Awan was really sweet and bought us mangos from his tree at home for eating inbetween dives - they were the sweetest mangos I have ever had and absolutely delicious. It was Awan who also lent me his underwater camera. It was awesome getting to know some of the locals and they all seemed so intrigued about my work at Sepilok - they thought I should be a Borneo guide, I seemed to know so much about the island. One day at Sipadan, Awan took me to the turtle hatcheries on the island (much like those I saw at Turtle Island), he also introduced me to his military friends who are the only ones allowed to live on the island. It was a muslim festival this day and they were celebrating with a big meal on the beach so they invited us along - the food was being swarmed by flys and I was slightly anxious to eat it but couldnt be rude so I did. It turned out to be gorgeous food and thankfully I wasn't ill. One of the military guys used to work at Sepilok on orangutan conservation so it was interesting to talk to him. I have had a great week diving and snorkelling and have met some really great people. I leave tomorrow and go to Kuala Lumpur for 3 days. This will be my first city since spending 2 months in the jungle so I am very excited. I then head off to Hong Kong on Thursday to spend some time with my friend Scott from university who lives there. Following this I am meeting mum and dad in Beijing for a week before heading over to OZ. I am really excited for the adventures to come. Will keep you updated.

Alexa and Me'Julie (my trusty backpack)