I think that Easton & I would both agree that these two islands on the North East Coast of Malaysia have been the most idyllic place we have ever visited. The sand is pure white, the sea a beautiful shade of turquoise, with the whole island covered with lush jungle. There is little to do here except top up your tan, scuba dive/snorkel around the many coral reefs or eat seafood BBQ's on the beach at night - it's a wonderful relaxing holiday destination, one I'd defiantly recommend to any couple wanting a paradise getaway. We stayed on Perhentian Kecil, the smaller of the two islands, which is more targeted towards backpackers with lots of budget bungalows right off the beach, cheap tasty restaurants & a couple of bars. Kecil has two main areas; Long Beach & Coral Bay, both just as beautiful as one another. The only difference being that Long Beach has a, err longer beach with more waves whilst Coral Bay has amazingly calm waters, perfect for snorkelling around the coral reefs. As we were here for 7nights we decided that we'd spend time on both sides.

When we arrived at 9.00am the sun was already burning brightly in the sky, & although we were both shattered from yet another crappy overnight bus journey we knew we couldn't miss the opportunity to work on our tans, especially after rain for the last 2weeks. After checking into Matahari Bungalows, we found our spot on the beach to sunbath & didn't move for a good few hours - there's nothing better than the feel of the sun on your skin (SPF 20 of course)! Later we checked out all the dive schools & were surprised by how cheap fun dives & courses were, so we booked a dive for the following morning.

Up early & on the boat to the Pinnacles dive site in search of Tripod - the 3 legged hawksbill turtle! And we found him, he was so tame & we got right up close & personal. We had a fantastic dive & with the prices being so cheap in comparison to most other places in the world I decided to complete my Advance Scuba course & Easton to do his Wreck Dive as an elective towards his Advance. So after a beautiful dinner on the beach we were back to the bungalow early doing our homework for the following mornings dive.

Sugar Wreck was brilliant - a cargo ship carrying sugar that sank during a storm over a decade ago. It was a little eerie at first because of the poor visibility inside the ship, but once we went back outside the sea was a lot clearer. There was a small air pocket in the hull & it was weird being 15mts underwater but being able to talk to each other. However on the descent back out East got his tank caught & knocked one off those horrible spiky black sea urchins off the roof which pierced his leg - nothing a bit of urine couldn't sort out. Back topping up the tan in the afternoon, which is all we did when we wasn't diving - bliss! We felt like we're on a proper holiday. Most evenings were really chilled, a beautiful dinner on the beach & then if not doing the knowledge reviews towards my course, just relaxing & reading with East playing on Football Manager - sometimes it so nice to relax in peace & quiet & not have to do anything. This was our week of detox; very little alcohol, exercising by swimming in the sea & dive & eat plenty of fresh seafood & salad.

The day I completed the last two dives for my advanced scuba course, was the day we had planned to move from Long Beach across the island to Coral Bay & it was also the same day Easton proposed!! As he had some time to himself he organised everything as a surprise... and for once I was lost for words… everything was PERFECT. It was his job to find our accommodation, so he booked our normal budget bungalow & moved our backpacks across so I could have a shower & get ready for dinner. This only made the proposal more unexpected. I had planned to Skype mum & dad & Easton insisted that we went to the islands only 5* resort to use their free wi-fi, although I really wanted to go to the bar & the other side of the beach. After moaning about it he managed to persuade me to following him, however he kept walking through reception out the back towards their luxury suites. He opened the door of one of the most beautiful bungalows with a huge balcony overlooking the sea, with the sun setting on the horizon. There was a delicious 3 course seafood meal, wine & candles already set up on the balcony. He got down on one knee & read me a poem (both of us getting very emotional) & asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes. He had even sneaked my PJ's & toothbrush with him in his bag to the new apartment so we wouldn't have to grab our backpacks until the morning.

The bungalow was beautiful & it was fantastic that we had 3 nights there in total. So after we had Skyped & emailed everyone with our news, we had 3 days of total relaxation - watching loads of movies, sunbathing on the balcony & only leaving to get food! Oh and to play with our new friend Bobo the monkey! He was gorgeous, check out the video's on the blog. All in all I would have to say this has been the best week of my trip, made all the more special with the proposal & the effort my baby went to make it perfect…love you xx