Back in the UK

Our whole group very much enjoyed our last night in luxury at our 5 star hotel. It really was an impressive effort on the kids behalf to save that much money from the budget. Another group we spoke to ran out of money right near the end & didn't have any for food on their last day! A couple of other world challenge groups had heard on the grapevine that we were staying in the Meridian & were VERY jealous! My last day in Kota Kinabalu was spent wandering the markets picking up a few odds & ends to take home, & lounging by the hotel pool, over-looking the South China sea.

We weren't flying until 7pm on Friday, & had arranged a late check-out from the hotel. This meant another few hours swimming & lounging, & enjoying the sunshine for one last time. The kids had organised taxis to pick us up at 4:30pm, & we got to the airport without any hassle.

Our flights home went without a hitch. We flew into KL first of all where I picked up some dirt cheap Bacardi & Bombay Sapphire gin, less than half the price of what it costs in the UK. We only had an hour or so in transit before the long flight home... I didn't manage much sleep, but managed to pass the time watching some movies & chilling out. We flew Malaysian Airlines, & the service was impeccable.

Our flight touched down nearly an hour early, & due to it being 5am in the morning, we got our baggage & cleared customs quickly. Some of the parents hadn't checked that the flight was early, so Ric & I had to wait around for a bit until all the kids had been collected. The parents were very appreciative of Ric & I giving up 4 weeks of our summer holidays to make the trip happen, & they had had a collection amongst themselves & given us a generous cash gift each.

Ric & I got the Railair bus to Reading, & Will picked us up from the station. It was lovely to see him after 4 weeks away! Saturday was bit of a write-off as I was pretty shattered. Will cooked a nice dinner of steak, & fresh beans & courgettes from the garden, which has grown like mad since I've been away!

Today has also been very quiet, & I'm nearly over my jet-lag & feeling relatively normal... I'm looking forward to the next 3 weeks before I head back to school.

By the way, I have now gone through all my Borneo posts & added photos if you wish to check them out...