Merry Christmas

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Well folks, this is our home for Christmas. We've certainly been in some more interesting places during the past 5 months, but this is a good place to chill out and stuff our festive faces at the end of our stint in Asia.

It does seem like the end of a chapter for the trip as we head on to Australia and New Zealand from here for the next chunk of the journey.

The island is something of a transition between Eastern and Western cultures, packed as it is with bars, restaurants and 7-Elevens catering to the countless foreign divers that invade it's shores. You can even buy cornflakes, digestives and Guinness!

So once you've completed your Scuba course, what's left to do? Well, there's lying on the beach, reading, lying on the beach, eating, lying on the beach, drinking, lying on the beach, getting a massage. Oh, and lying on the beach. It's also been a good venue to meet up with some friends, old and new.

The diving has been great, when we've been able to get out. Slightly unfortunately the monsoon season seems to have lost its diary this year. The winds have arrived a month later than normal and ruined the visibility levels in the sea.

Thankfully we both managed to finish our dive courses while the weather was good. So now David is spending rather a lot of time figuring out exactly where else on the loosely planned route we can dive. Carolyn is making sure that sea sickness tablets are available in all the locations David discovers.

Idyllic as a beach barbeque for Christmas dinner is, we hope you'll be thinking of us as you tuck into your turkey and stuffing. And parsnips. And chipolatas. And roast potatoes.

We'd both like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Hopefully you'll all be as relaxed as we are.

Carolyn + David
xxx

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Photos

Christmas message
A happy festive period to one and all

Christmas on Turtle Island
It's a hard life...

White Christmas?
White sand, maybe

Inflate your BCD
He's Dutch. Isn't that veird?

Listen up
Mark and Jenny listen hard before their first (short) dive

Last supper
Bye bye to Brendan and Mark

Room with a view
Ok, we can't see the beach, but this isn't bad

Meet the neighbours
His name's Gordon, like all Geckos

Comments

[Shawzy]

Christmas Eve Festivities
Yes, yes. All those sunny beaches look nice, but wouldn't Dave rather be spending his Christmas Eve searching for a ball that Grant has blasted out of the court on a freezing Chistmas Eve at Glasgow Green? Search your feelings. Happy Christmas and all that.

[Bruv]

And Merry Christmas to yous too
Nice gecko! Enjoy your beach barbie and spare a thought for the poor misguided fools who are working...

[the Macleods]

Merry Christmas
The beach looks fab - Kirsten especially liked David's Santa hat. Enjoy your different Christmas dinner at least it will be one to remember. We'll toast your health with a few drinks here - just to be sociable of course. Love to you both. Kim, Sinclair, Calum and Kirsten xxxx

[Rodrigo (arg)]

mmm. lying on the beaches!!
mmm, i can see that you 2 are getting stressed with so much things to worry about!!! Let me know when you are arriving south america!! (ill be returning to scotland in mid febrary) Hope you are having a great trip and Merry christmas!!

[Carol Fraser]

2007
I hope you enjoyed your New Year celebrations. May I wish you both a happy and exciting 2007. Best wishes from Carol.

[anne marie murray at daily record copy desk]

merry xmas and happy new year to you both
I HAVE REALLY ENJOYED YOUR STORIES AND BEAUTIFUL PICTURES I TOLD YOUR DAD DAVID THAT YOU SHOULD MAKE A BOOK UP WITH ALL THE PICTURES YOU HAVE TAKEN ON YOUR TRAVELS THEY WERE FANTASTIC GOOD LUCK TO YOU BOTH AND SAFE TRAVELS A HEAD ANNE MARIE MURRAY