I decided to take Jess on a proper holiday while she was here, so Monday morning we got up bright and early to head to Tioman Island in Malaysia. we packed Sunday night, filled out immigration papers, and were all ready to go, or so we thought. Me, being cheap, decided that if we were at the bus stop at 5:45 we could catch a bus and make it there by 6:30 and save $10, so that's what we did...or at least tried to do. We were out the door in time, but when we got to the bus stop, I realized that even though the bus going the other direction came to the stop right across the street, the bus we needed didn't come to the stop we were at. No problem, I had a plan B. We walked to a different bus stop to catch a different bus. This wouldn't be a direct bus, but would require transferring a couple of times...which would cost us time, but I reasoned that at least if we had to end up taking a taxi, we would be closer. We caught the first bus, but by the time we where we needed to transfer, I could see that it was taking way too much time, so we got off the bus, and walked a few blocks to where we hoped we could catch a taxi. It took longer than I liked to catch a taxi, but eventually we got one and were headed to our bus. on the way, I was running through the checklist of needed items with Jess one last time, even though we'd already gone through it a hundred times. However, this time I realized I'd failed to ask her about her departure card. Not thinking this was a big deal (why wouldn't her departure card still be in her passport?) I very calmly asked, "And the card they gave you to put in your passport." "In your room" was not the reply I was hoping for, but it was the reply I got. by this time we were way too late to turn around and go get it, but I had no idea what would happen when we got to the border without a departure card. I just started praying that we would be shown grace at the border, not something you normally expect at immigration. When the bus finally got to immigration I told Jess to go first. She did, and of course the lady asked where the card was. Jess explained to her that she had put it up for safe keeping, and it was back at the house. the lady kept saying, "you need that card." Finally she told Jess she would have to go to the office. I came through next and explained that I was with her, and asked if I could go to the office with her as well. The lady was nice enough to give me permission, so I followed Jess through the maze of glass doors to the immigration office. When we got there, they told us to sit down, and took our passports. We sat for awhile, all the while wondering if we were going to miss our tour bus on the other side. They finally handed our passports back, and then walked us back through the maze of glass doors and told us to have a nice day! God is very good! :) The rest of the day was much less eventful, other than getting carsick on the bus and seasick on the ferry. We made it to Tioman was was a beautiful island. the first night we swam at the beach and turned in early. The second day we booked a snorkeling trip to five different locations. We took a speed boat from place to place where we were able to see up close and personal some of God's amazing underwater creation. When we got to the first stop, Jess looked at the water and said "I hate fish, I hate fish!" She eventually got over her fear of touching the little fish, and ended up enjoying the adventure. However, when we went to a new location with big fish, she was not as thrilled. by the fifth stop, most people in our group were getting tired, so we didn't stay as long, even though it was my favorite! I even saw a shark swimming near the rocks. (I must admit, I was a little scared and decided to look at other things instead!) On the way home we made friends with a lady and her son who were travelling back on the same boat/bus. We ended up having supper together and sharing a cab home. Overall, it was a great trip, but I must admit I'm glad to be back and ready to get back to work.