15 hours left on the countdown timer, 3 months since we became husband and wife. It's Christmas Eve Eve and we are getting ready for our last half day at work. I've been awake since 4.55am, I couldn't get back to sleep so I lay and pretended to read my book, Girl on the Train. I've already seen the film so I know what happens, I can easily convince myself that I've been reading for over an hour, I imagine myself swimming in warm sea surrounded by colourful fish, I'm looking out over the Petronas Towers from our hotel room. Megan is with her therapist, the one they think murdered her, they're drinking red wine out of dusty cups. That's all I can remember about what I read between 4.55am and 6.09am when I quickly shut off my phone a minute before Alex's alarm goes off. "Arghhhhh" I yawn and stretch pretending it's woken me up. I don't know why I pretend?

So 37 minutes until I need to get in the shower, 87 minutes until my train, 157 minutes until I start work....337 minutes until I finish. Then it's honeymoon time, one month of glorious travelling round Asia. Kuala Lumpur for Christmas, Sandakan in Borneo with two nights on Lankayan Island, back into the rainforest and the Danum Valley then its back to KL for New Year's Eve. An early flight to Phuket takes us to Khao Lak, our home for the night before we depart on our 'Wicked Liveaboard' (that's the company name, not my presumptuous description) scuba diving experience for 3 nights to Richelieu Rock, back to Khao Lak for 2 night then off to Koh Yao Noi for 4 luxurious nights on a tropical island. The 11th January takes us to Colombo in Sri Lanka where we will meet our driver and rest our weary heads by the sea in Negombo at a youth hostel, the next day we'll travel to Kandy catch the old steam train to Ella and then drive on to Yala National Park for a few days of safari's and sightseeing. We'll end our magical trip in Tangalle on the south coast in the magnificent Anantara Hotel....!

Trip of a lifetime, a month off work, avoiding depressing January. I cannot wait. See you on the sunny side :)

X