I know I’ve been a little slack with the blogging lately, but there’s been so much going on (i.e. our ENGAGEMENT! Which I still can’t quite believe!)

We’ve also been out of internet contact for the last 2 weeks or so… So to catch you up on everything I’m going to give a quick run-down with links to our Best Moments from all over so you can see what we’ve been up to:
Two weeks or so ago, we headed to the island of Lombok, below Bali, for a couple of heavenly days by the black sand beach (crazy – black volcanic sand!)

Then we went to the Gili Islands for three days of decadent beachside lazing about… And diving. Incredible diving! Extraordinary coral and marine life, really like diving in a gigantic aquarium. And I saw my first giant turtle! Wow.

From Gili Air we headed to Amed, where we spent Christmas (and got engaged! Did I mention that? Is it getting annoying yet?)

Amed is a charming little fishing village, very un-touristy, where we spent five nights and had a whole heap of lovely experiences – We went diving around a shipwreck (wow! unbelievable) and I did my first drift dives (very exciting, past the most amazing coral pyramids and over a coral wall into vast blue nothingness);
We swam with a turtle on Christmas Day (it was my Christmas wish – giant turtles are simply amazing in real life and when we went out to snorkel I told Mark all I wanted for Christmas was to swim with a turtle. And we did! He found one and we swam wit it for twenty miraculous minutes);
We indulged in a Balinese feast, with all kinds of traditional dishes and bamboo wreaths that signify ‘forever love’ (a mere two days before our engagement – it obviously worked);
We hired a motorbike for a day and drove past some incredible views and vistas – the real Bali as far as I’m concerned;
We visited the Royal Water Palace and swam in cold spring water baths built for the king (cold water! A rare thing in these parts);
And then….

We flew to Jakarta (yesterday afternoon) and decided to splurge on a nice hotel to properly celebrate our engagement and ring in the New Year in style. And what style it was! A gala dinner with TURKEY (heaven heaven heaven! We didn’t get any for Christmas and I was so sad) and piles of delicious food with… An Indonesian Beatles cover band! They were amazing. Check them out. Seriously cool.

If you’re looking for some more in-depth footage of all we’ve seen (rice paddies, beaches, islands, me in a wetsuit and some incredible views) as well as how the last two weeks have been for both of us, check out our latest video diary, live on YouTube here.

And now it’s 2010! And we’re flying out of Indonesia tonight (at midnight) and heading home for 3 days to refuel on fresh insulin (which I desperately need – my night-time insulin hasn’t worked properly the last two nights) and then we’re off to South America! So when next we speak I’ll be saying ‘Hola!’

Till then – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!