Sculpher.com

MOG (Man of God) / Freedom Life Church

2010-05-28T06:24:00.003+01:00

Christmas Runner

2008-12-11T18:23:00.003+00:00

Today we received a special Christmas Runner from Kelly's Mom - adding festiveness to our dining room. Here Buxton poses with it to show off it's beauty.

Buxton

2008-07-28T21:23:00.000+01:00

Originally uploaded by Christian Sculpher Photography.

I'd like to introduce to you our new cat, Buxton (or Sir Buxton). We went to a local no-kill shelter and picked him out (or rather - he picked us out!) and returned on Monday after he'd had all his checks done and a few little things taken care of. He's currently Lord of the Master Bathroom - and is a loving and inquisitive fellow.

All systems go!

2008-03-28T14:21:00.004+00:00

Time: 7:15am Central

As you can see - Kelly's positioned outside the test center with Olaf, her lucky Viking. Sadly he's not allowed in - as he has already passed his Series 7 and knows all the answers.

Everybody - keep praying!!!!

Update: She passed!

Exam Day

2008-03-28T02:44:00.001+00:00

Three alarms were set to ensure we woke up at 6am sharp. It was the first time since we gave up working at Bloomberg that we had to wake up whilst it was still dark outside. We dressed and were out of the house by 7am, to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the testing center in Dallas. Rush hour wasn't as bad as we had anticipated, so we showed up at Prometric at 7:32 (still fairly dark outside). We entered the exam center and I signed in with Gloria at the front desk, who was lovely and inviting. Just what I needed as my heart was beating so hard I thought it would vacate my chest.
I was allowed to bring nothing into the actual exam room but my drivers license, so my pocket book, bottle of water, and Olaf went straight into a locker close to the front desk.
Christian sat with me for a few minutes, but around 7:40 Gloria advised me I could go in early if I so desired, rather than wait till 8am. I felt it was better to get the whole sordid affair over with, so I sent Christian away, with the agreement that he would meet me back there at 10:30 for my mandatory half hour break in 3 hours.
To go into the exam room, they checked my ID and made me sign in with the exact time. Behind the sign in desk I saw each desk individually on the monitor, in color. They watch you closely there. The penalty for cheating on the Series 7 is severe; you are permanently blocked from ever working in securities and get the privilege of paying a meagre $250,000.
There were about 15 stations in the testing room, and I was the first one in. Gloria led me to my station, where I was freshly armed with 2 pencils, some pink scrap paper, and a calculator; standard issue.
I went through the online tutorial then proceeded onto the exam. I went through each question as best I could, with a few others filing in and taking their respective tests (nursing, citizenship, etc) around me. I finished part one and collected my things to sign out for my mandatory break. What was supposed to take 3 hours took me less than two. I called Christian who was still at home, as he wasn't supposed to leave for another hour yet, and told him to just come back and get me around 11. I was back inside taking my exam at 9:50, and part two was by far harder. I started to panic around question 80, just wanting it to be over. When I finally clicked FINISHED it took a good 20 seconds to collate the answers and return a score. The word PASS was the first I saw and I relaxed my shoulders for the first time in 2 months, in a tremendous moment of relief. I've kept my job!
I signed out and Christian was waiting in the car for me outside. It was 11:50. The exam is supposed to be finished by 3pm.
Now we had the whole day. We went straight to Lewisville Furniture in Addison because we had a coupon, and I called everyone I could think of along the way. We bought a cute side table for the media room, then headed back home. It was cold and dreary out, so our plans to go to the arboritum to celebrate were put on hold.
I spent most of the afternoon speaking to family about the exam, then we got dressed and Christian took me out for my surprise meal. I had no idea where we were going. We drove to a REALLY posh area of Dallas to a restaurant called Celebrations (he covered my eyes but I sneaked a peak).

We entered the restaurant and I immediately heard Alex. I turned to Christian and said "My family is here?". We turned a corner and there at an enormous table was the entire family! Aunt Bell, Uncle Ed, Barbara Jones, the Jones Family and the Settles. Sue showed up right after us. We all had dinner together and it was wonderful.

When we returned home we went straight to Jay and Devalekha's house. Marlene and Chris and Charles and Christina, our other neighbors, all came over to give their Congratulations. We all sat together laughing and drinking Devalekha's amazing Sanghria that I love so much. We all then watched a video of Charles as James Brown on his cruise video, then we watched our wedding video.
I was so blessed to be surrounded by such supportive people throughout the entire ordeal.

Springtime

2008-03-26T23:37:00.000+00:00

It looks like springtime is here. The picture says it all. This was taken at 9:22pm today

Finally finished!

2008-03-07T22:22:00.009+00:00

It's been a long time coming - but the study is finally finished. Terry Bussing, carpenter extraordinaire just left after putting the finishing touches to the stained edging and it's finished.

It went from this....

...to this!

The Snows of Texas...

2008-03-05T11:55:00.003+00:00

Surprisingly for Texas - we've experienced a 20 degree drop in temperature over the past few hours - the winds are really starting to blow and this is the view outside our bedroom window... (it may look like daytime - but this is around 11:45pm)

*update*

So - it's several days later (Thursday mid-morning) and the snow is REALLY coming down - I'll just quickly run outside to snap a piccy of the snow...

And here it is - snowy Texas. We're holed up in the study (recently finished) Kelly studying for her exams and Christian job searching.

For contrast - here is a picture of our street taken just 2 days before...

Arrival in Texas

2007-11-15T14:41:00.001+00:00

Having grown up in the north, I always knew that birds flew south for the winter. We learned about it in school and each autumn in my youth I would watch the ‘V’ shaped patterns of the birds as they flew to warmer climes. Perhaps once or twice I wondered where they went, but never for long, imagining sparrows on a bough overlooking a carribean beach, or bluejays frolicking around the Amazon River. However, now I need ponder no more, because I know where birds fly for the winter. They come to Dallas, more specifically the corner of East Hebron Parkway and North Josey Lane.

We arrived in Carrollton on Saturday, November 10, driving straight to our new home. It was locked for the weekend, but we were amazed at how different it looked from when we had last seen it in April. There were more trees; the big Grand Homes sign had been removed, as had the flagpoles, but the grass had not yet been laid. We peered in, seeing our shiny new floors devoid of furniture. The house would remain locked for the entire weekend.

We arrived at cousin Sue’s house immediately after, and we all went to lunch at Sonic together. Our presence was still unknown to anyone else, as we decided to surprise everyone. Sue had been invited to dinner at Aunt Bell and Uncle Ed’s before the show tonight, but had declined. Driven by the thoughts of Aunt Bells cooking, we encouraged Sue to call and advise she had changed her mind. Dinner was to be steak and, yes, mashed potatoes (Kelly’s favorite). We showed up at the house within a few hours only to see that the table was set for us as well. “How did you know?” we inquired. Aunt Bell admitted it was when Sue had asked about the mashed potatoes. We were caught!

We all drove to the theatre at 7 for the show, seeing in the lobby the Kathy and Evan, Mark and Mrs. Jones. The show was The Miracle Worker, which Lindsay was starring in as Viney, and she was amazing, as she is at everything she tries.

The next few days we found ourselves caught in a web of governmental red tape, as we endeavored to get all the paperwork done for our move. We had to register the car, pay the taxes, get our licenses, plus supervise the progress of our new home. As of now, Christian has his provisional license; he pretty much sailed through the written and driving tests. Kelly still awaits hers, as the car was in her name (which oddly complicates things) and she has misplaced her social security card in the move. Who on earth knows where their card is? We went to the Social Security office yesterday and after waiting an hour learned that she cannot easily change her name as it’s been over two years since the wedding. I mean, my gosh! Monday night was a joy though. All the family went to Aunt Bells for a ziti dinner; even Nathan who has been suffering from pneumonia recently. They literally showered us with gifts. We received an enormous basket filled with Texas necessities; chilli sauce, corn chips, tour book; several gorgeous cookies we cannot wait to try, two Dallas Cowboy t-shirts and a calendar, much to everyone elses dismay, since the Settles didn’t beat them to it with Eagles paraphernalia. Aunt Bell also gave us a bag filled with toilet paper, paper towels, tin foil, and everything else one needs in a new home. The icing on the cake was the flowers she gave us. Lovely flowers from her garden in a vase that is a little cowboy boot. Unbelievably apt and adorable.

So today is the day; November 15 is when the builders finally vacate our home and we can take it over. So tonight we should be sleeping in our own home, on an air mattress Aunt Bell and Uncle Ed graciously lent us. We are so excited!

On the Road to Nowhere - Texas Trip Day 1

2007-11-09T02:33:00.000+00:00

This morning at 10am we departed from Kelly's mothers house on a one way trip down to our new home in Texas. We stopped in East Hanover briefly to visit Lori & Madison, then set off down route 287. We travelled today through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia, and about 100 miles north of Roanoke we pressed the little blue button on our OnStar unit to get signed up. We spoke to Stacy, who took all of our information and registered us for our one free year that came with the Buick. We were signed up for a free service that emails us monthly diagnostics on our car, which is amazing. In addition, she advised us that we could extend our handsfree phone service by 100 minutes for only $14.99. That sounded absolutely wonderful, so we signed up. Due to a clerical error, she gave us 130 minutes instead, which was just fine by us. She also booked us a hotel in Salem, giving us a price of $89.99, which included breakfast. She downloaded the route straight to our car and we decided OnStar was just about the best thing since peanut butter.
We made it to Salem in about an hour, about 8:30pm, and the car lead us directly to the Days Inn that Stacy had booked for us. Prior to going in, we ran across the street to grab some dinner to eat in our room. Christian got Subway and Kelly, of course, grabbed sushi next door. When we entered the hotel lobby, dazed and exhausted, Front Desk Tim advised us there was no reservation for us. We were bitterly dismayed, but he made it much better by booking us one of the last rooms for $71.00 (noticibly less than the $89.99 OnStar had advised). Because of the mixup, OnStar also agreed to extend our annual subscription till February 2009, so a further 3 months. We were very happy about that too.
We actually love the hotel, where we get a full breakfast and everything, not to mention the free WiFi which I am utilizing right now to post this entry. And on top of ALL of this, Law & Order was just starting.
Productive Day.

New Car!

2007-10-31T15:20:00.001+00:00

For those of you who can't see our FLICKR page - here's some photos of our new car!

D-Day

2007-09-06T13:32:00.000+01:00

Today was a culmination of months of planning and emotional turmoil. The movers have been and gone, and on this day we had to finally leave our jobs; losing the financial security we have had for 9 years (Kelly) and 11 years (Christian). To complicate things Christian has not yet even received his Visa confirmation yet, so we are relying a great deal on faith alone, although we have been doing just that for some months.
Our plans have been kept strictly confidential all summer for fear of losing our jobs prematurely, but now we can tell what happened from the very beginning.
In April 2007 we went to Texas to visit Kelly's family, and whilst there fell absolutely in love with our dream home. We had spoken a million times about moving back to the US, but until then it had only been talk. Christian immediately saw the benefits of taking this leap, although Kelly as always was sceptical and paralysed by fear. However, every fear we had was addressed in turn, making us think Someone had plans for us, and we found ourselves writing out a check for the deposit.
In the ensuing months we proceeded to put our home in Biggin Hill on the market, at a time when the UK housing market was slowing for the first time in 4 years. Luck was still with us however, as the 20% deposit we required since we were from overseas was sent over the day the pound hit the $2.00 mark in over 17 years.
Otherwise, it was a great deal of waiting, as we continued with our lives, going to work, going home, seeing friends and family. It started to come to a head in August when our buyers disappeared without exchanging contracts. In England, the buyer is in no way obligated to buy the home till that day, when they leave a 10% deposit. So as they were missing we feared we might have lost them and even relisted our house for a few days. Luckily, they reappeared and finally exchanged in the afternoon on Tuesday 4 September.
Then on Thursday we could delay the inevitable no longer. We went into work around noon, as we had an appointment in the morning, and resigned. Although I had known it was to happen it was still one of the hardest things I had ever done, especially because we didn't have the absolute assurance of future employment anytime in the very near future. Christian was out in minutes although for Kelly it took longer. At 4pm the HR rep walked Kelly down the escalator, she badged out at security, handed her badge over, and walked out the door for the last time.
We had not eaten a thing all day and immediately went to a McDonald's, as it was the only thing by the station. We ate a little as we waited for the train, both with massive headaches from the strain. Then hand in hand we got on the train and said goodbye to our daily commute from London.

Christian's Birthday Weekend Day 2 - Airbourne

2007-08-18T13:08:00.000+01:00

Up early, we were in the lovely dining room by 8am. Wendy, in the kitchen preparing breakfast, greeted us with a warm smile, bringing out tea for me and decaf coffee for the Birthday Boy.
We started off with fresh berries and yoghurt, followed by a large Full English much to Christian's delight. As usual, I had a more vegetarian option of toast, an egg and tomato. All the bread and the large selection of jams are homemade, and it was lovely. We were just finishing up when the other two couples arrived; a group of friends also visiting Eastbourne for the airshow. We spent the remainder of the meal chatting till we realized at 9:30 it was time to start our day.
We finished getting ready in the room, leaving ourselves plenty of time to walk the mile+ to the seaside, considering Christian's back. David, our host, would have none of it and insisted on driving us the distance instead. What a lovely, lovely thing to do! Christian, and his back, are eternally grateful.
When we arrived at the sea, vendors were still setting up, including the Officer's Club on the bandstand where we were to spend our day.
They allowed us to leave our enormous umbrella with them, and we wandered amongst the street vendors for an hour. They actually allowed us into the Officer's Club early, and Isabel showed us to our table. The Club is an incredibly exclusive manner of watching the show. It is positioned on the large balcony behind the bandstand, so having a direct view of the entire English Channel and truly the very best vantage point in all of Eastbourne. It consisted of three small marquees; each of the two having four couples and the centre marquee holding 25 mayors from all over the southeast. A quick word with Peter, one of the council organizers, and were having a lovely chat with Mary Pooley, the mayor of Eastbourne; standing there in all her Mayorial bling and still so warm and inviting; holding my hand and telling us about how Eastbourne is growing.
Our marquee had two tables, each one with four place settings. Christian and I were by far the youngest people there, probably due to the cost, but everyone in our tent was wonderful. The waiting staff served us champagne, tea and pastries, and we could elect to sit either in our tent or just outside on the balcony. It was overcast but luckily not raining, nor did it rain for the entire show. The first attraction on the agenda was the Red Arrows at 11:30. Even before they came out we questioned why they would go first. The Red Arrows are arguably the greatest air acrobatics team in the world, and we queried the fairness of making everyone else go AFTER them. Their show was stupendous, as expected, although the ending was a bit of a wash, and they flew off. We expected more of a bang, but oh well.
During the day the lot of us were able to enjoy the air show in the comfort of our tents; a welcome feature as it was so very windy all day. The programme included the Blades, the Guinot wing-walkers, the Hurricane, Spitfires, and the Sea King, to name a few. Also included were American aircraft the Blue Eagles, Kitty Hawk and the P-51 Mustang. Only once did I have to leave the comfort of the oasis we had paid dearly for; when Christian's hat was taken by the wind to the beach below. Otherwise, we never left the Club. We enjoyed an incredible meal, starting with a tomato and basil pastry followed by steak for Christian and a phenomenal stuffed pepper for me, all thanks to Alexander's the caterer.
Later on came Christian's surprise. We were joined on the balcony by several of the pilots and trainers. They were delightful young men who just chatted with us and were happy to have photos taken. They even gave us goody bags! Including a gorgeous baseball cap each with "Royal Air Force" written on it. You can't even buy these! It was so cute to see Mayor Pooley gleefully wearing her hat. She came over to us to ensure we were having a good time. We assured her we were having the BEST time!
Christian elected not to wear his hat due to fear of losing it to the wind. To my delight, Tom, one of the lovely gentleman we shared our tent with, showed me a roll of toilet paper he stole for me from the private lavatory. He had been standing with Christian when I bought over a sheet saying I wanted this high quality paper decorated with the posh fleur de lis for the house, so he liberated me a roll, that dear man.
The show ended just before 5pm with the RAF Falcons. We said goodbye to our new friends and walked back the mile to our B&B. To our delight, several people pointed out our hats, wondering aloud where we got them. Wendy and David were in one of the living areas and we told them all about our terrific day. It was cold by then, so we were happy to retire to the room for the night. Wendy came up a few minutes later to tell us that Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves was on; notable because the scene we turned to was when he and Azeem land on British soil, which was filmed at Pevensey Bay, very near where we are. We watched the movie, shared some champagne we had with us, and snuggled in for the night.

Christian's Birthday Weekend Day 1

2007-08-17T12:27:00.000+01:00

Christian stayed home today with a bad back. My boss let me go an hour early, so Christian picked me up at Petts Wood station a little after 5pm. After that, we let the GPS lead the way to Eastbourne, where we are to celebrate Christian's 39th birthday. It took about two hours, due to massive traffic at Tonbridge Wells. We arrived at Ocklynge Manor at 7pm exactly. Our hostess Wendy Dugdill opened the door and greeted us with a smile. She helped us unload our luggage from the car and showed us around. The house, a large, adorable structure painted pink outside, is actually built on the site of a Commandery of the knights of St. John. Interestingly, the resident monks would have seen the Norman Invasion of 1066 from these very walls. The property changed hands several times, including amongst its residents the Governor of the Falkland Islands and Mabel Lucie Attwell, known for her illustrations of the early Peter Pan books. Wendy explained that they have resided here for 20 years and decided to open as a bed and breakfast once the children had left home. Considering the incredible charm and calmness of this house, with all its nooks and crannies, it would have been a crime not to share it with the world.
She took us to our cute little room, showing us the amenities and how to use the plumbing, which is different in older houses like this, and recommended a few places nearby for dinner. Not wanting to get back in the car, we elected to try The Lamb, a pub within about 10 minutes walk.
We strolled along the streets, passing one adorable cottage after another, and up through a green towards the Lamb Inn on the high street, which is positioned beside the Ancient Parish Church of St . Mary's, both buildings date to the mid 12th century. Looking at the menu, plus hearing the amount of children inside, (and noting a queue) we decided to walk up the road a bit more. We are so glad we did. Whilst passing the church we smelled a most wondrous smell, and happened upon the Spice Garden, an Indian restaurant. We had no reservations, but they found us a table anyway. We spent the entire time there enthusing about everything. We could not fault one thing about the place. Our papadoms and sauces came out like clockwork, followed shortly after by our dual chicken tikka barianis and na'an bread. Everything was absolutely outstanding and we couldn't have had a better meal. Mental note, if we come back to Eastbourne, we're eating there. Incredible.
Very satisfied and very very full, we strolled back to our room to prepare for the big day tomorrow.

Le Touquet, France

2007-08-04T16:06:00.000+01:00

So going to France was a bit of a last minute idea. Mum mentioned she was going with her friend Pamela Stanton-Smith and we decided to gate crash. The four of us joined the other revelers at Green Street Green in Orpington for our 6am departure. We were sat in the front of the coach, and headed out east towards Dover.
It isn't hard to tell when you are in Dover, as its famous white cliffs dominate the coast. There was no customs declaration or checks, instead the bus headed straight onto the ferry, Deck 3, and we simply alighted from the bus and headed upstairs for our ride, which departed the docks at 7:55am. We made ourselves comfortable on the red, leather seats and enjoyed the 1 1/2 hour ride to the French coast.
We landed in Calais, but never stepped foot there, as we entered the coach whilst still on the water and simply drove off, leaving us wondering why we needed to have brought our passports at all. Speaking of which, I regretted not being able to obtain yet another stamp; although it's probably for the best as I am very short on space. We still had a bit of a drive, going past what is apparently the largest shopping mall in Europe, and through the emerald green fields of the French countryside. We hadn't been driving long when we realized that we were not the only ones enroute to the seaside resort of Le Touquet that morning, as we smacked into unforgiving traffic for the next hour.
We slowly passed by Le Touquet airport, a small airport that caters to the wealthy elite of the area, and is frequented by, of all things, pilots from Biggin Hill. I hit the window. We have been traveling nearly 5 hours and all we had needed to do was walk up to Biggin Hill airport and we could have flown here in 25 minutes? For the small sum of a few thousand pounds? Oh fiddlesticks!
We were finally dropped off just along the beach of the resort. Le Touquet is historically a posh playground for the rich, not unlike Eastbourne in England and sort of like the Jersey Shore, in ways. We were advised we were to be back to the coach by 4:30 London time, so, being noon, we had a little over 4 hours to ourselves.
The four of us walked along the boardwalk and turned left onto the high street. It was cute and narrow, filled with tons of Nifty Gifty shops and best of all, restaurants. The driver had recommended a particular seafood eatery and we made a beeline for it. It looked amazing; with a fish market right outside. They sat us in the back outside dining area, under an enormous parasol, while we pondered the astonishing menu. It was incredibly seafood-centric, but there was hope for Christian yet, for at the bottom there was a very detailed description of the non-seafood option: "Piece of Meat". At least it was in English. After asking, we discovered that meant steak.
Mum, Pam and I all ordered the same; it was a platter of four langastine, 1/2 crab, prawns, shrimp, oysters and "sea snail winkle". We didn't even ask what that was, instead opting to get extras of everything else and drop the oysters and winkle.
They came out with Christian's steak and an enormous platter for the remaining three of us. We dove right in, with bottom-feeder flying everywhere, till we just couldn't eat any more. The meal came out to EU126.00, including water and tip. You cannot dine on fresh fish like this in London for anything under a fortune.
After lunch, we really needed to take a walk to burn off some of the sheer magnitude of it. We left mum and Pam to spend some quality girl time together and wandered off by ourselves, heading first to the beach. It was hot and sunny, but with a sea breeze that made it absolutely delightful.
They were having an Egyptian sand sculpture exhibition on the beach, and we went to check it out before we realized they were charging entry fees. Funny that, since we could see absolutely everything from the higher level of the board walk, and for free, so hooray for us.
To get out of the sun we wandered back up the high street, getting to the very opposite end where the posh, historic Westminster Hotel is located. As regulars to our blog can attest to, in order to avoid having to pay 30 euro cents for the use of a facility, one must find a hotel where one can do such for free, and as such, why not find the fanciest, nicest hotel there is? I mean, really.
Charmingly set out in a 40's style, with a magnificent antique lift dominating the front hall, we quickly made use of the facilities, decided against tea, and left. We headed back down the
Avenue du Verger with the intention of getting an ice cream, but upon seeing a grocery store we had a much better idea. Yet again, blog regulars will remember that Christian and I have a habit of getting coffee flavoured yoghurt when in Europe. It's a "thing" we do, because it's so available and so enjoyable. So nixing the ice cream idea, we instead grabbed a few coffee and crème brulee flavoured yoghurt's, an apple/pear juice, and headed back to the park across the street from the Westminster. We found a great spot up a hill overlooking the woods, and had a romantic semi-picnic. It was a beautiful day, and the trees shaded us from much of the sun, so we were in our element. Initially we congratulated ourselves for saving so much money by getting our dessert from the grocery store, till it hit us that we could easily of had a similar picnic at a park back home for free, without having paid £31 each for the privilege.

After leaving there, we bought a postcard for our niece Chalice, as we send her one from every country we visit, even if for only a day. By then the time was nearly up and we met everyone else at the coach. We jumped on the coach and headed back on the long, long ride home at 4:30pm. We soon discovered that getting into England is far more difficult than leaving it; as we were stopped in Calais and had to leave the coach to personally go through customs. For the first time since going to Britain, I was actually given the third degree. The customs official queried the validity of my workers visa stamp. One can hardly blame her; when I entered the UK 4 years ago the official messed up my visa stamp, accidently writing 2006 first, so he changed the "6" to an "8". I had made him initial the error but apparently that wasn't enough. She closely inspected the stamp with an ultraviolet magnified glass; presumably to see if the error was corrected using the same stamp. By the time Christian and I got out, the entire bus was ready and waiting for us patiently in the carpark, and we headed to the ferry. By the time we got home, it was just after 10pm, and we realized that although France is technically just 22 miles from our shores, it takes a devil of a long time to get there.

The Woman In Black

2007-07-26T11:59:00.000+01:00

After a long day both of us were very much looking forward to our Date. Note the capital "D", because it consisted of dinner and a show. We hitched a ride on a double decker bus to the West End, where we walked along Oxford Street towards our ultimate goal. Enroute, we decided to check in a few camera stores, as our insurance company is demanding estimates for repair of my new mini-camera, rather than just replacing the thing which would be so much easier for everyone involved. Our foray through several shops served as a reminder that good customer service and pride in ones job do not come naturally to most young people. I question why I still get frustrated with shop attendents, as I should be used to this by now.
Leaving there, we had a brief stop in Chinatown to pick up some pot noodle for work, as you do, then headed over to the theatre which was just past Jubilee Market on Russel Street in Covent Garden. We were actually running out of time, hence why we didn't stop to eat in Chinatown but instead opted to eat at one of the overpriced restaurants in the Theatre District. We did however find a lovely Italian looking place called San Francesco, where we had a meal that ticked all our boxes: Romantic, Reasonable, and quick. For £10.95 each we had more than enough to fill us up. Christian started off with a divine fried camembert followed by a chicken dish; whilst I opted for the mozzeralla salad and veggie pasta. We were perfectly sated when we exited the restaurant and headed past the Lord of the Rings to the Fortune Theatre to see the riveting "Woman in Black". We had obtained a 2 for 1 voucher last week and since we both love thrillers, decided to make some use of the London Theatre that we tend to take for granted.
The theatre was very small and traditional in design; slightly smaller in fact than Ford's Theatre in Washington DC that we visited in 2003. We had exceptional seats; 3rd row aisle.

The play began at 8pm. It is a ghost story about a lawyer who tries to uncover the truth behind the home of a deceased client. Absolutely gripping, I accidently cried out during one of the more engagine scenes, much to the ongoing amusement of my husband. The play was done in the minimalist style now popular in plays; it consisted only of two actors, two chairs, and a large basket. They attempted to reawaken the imagination in us that our I-pods, TV's and the internet are slowly trying to kill off. They were successful in their task, using lighting and sound to intensify the experience.
After we left, we walked to Charing Cross Station and made our way back home by midnight.

KL, Malaysia Day 17

2007-07-07T13:33:00.000+01:00

The doorbell to our room rang promptly at 7:30, ripping us violently from our slumber. Christian, dazed and disoriented, staggers to the door. "What is it?" he queries. "Housekeeping, Laundry?" What? Not again! I yanked the phone to me and promptly dialed 0, "Manager Now!" I seethed. Jania answers. "A person stays in a hotel mainly for one reason, to get a good nights sleep. This has been vehemently taken from me and I will never get that back!". After much heated discussion, I received free breakfast, plus free transfer to KL Sentral (sic) station at 10:30am for ourselves and the Wangs, staying in room 1517.
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on the 9th floor, overlooking the pool, then went back to finish packing. We met the Wangs in the lobby and, after checkout, we each got into our hotel sponsored taxis and were quickly taken to KL Sentral.
Christian immediately saw a guy that has a machine that wraps your luggage in cling film for 10 ringgit. Perfect as we would like to keep the new bag as pristine as possible. Ricardo and Christine showed up right behind us, having come direct from her brothers house, and we waited as they quickly rearranged some wedding gifts and other items for Christine to bring to her new home.
We arrived at the Cathay Pacific check-in counter, conveniently located at this rail station. The plan was to check in our bags so we don’t have to worry about them as our flight isn’t for some hours and we planned to go back into town to run some errands.
We arrived at the counter, with 16 bags all told, and were advised that check-in isn’t for another 2 hours. That set both Ricardo and Christine off, since they checked twice yesterday and today to ensure we could check in at 11am. The manager kept saying there was nothing they could do, but the newlyweds would not be dissuaded, and after calling the airline we were all checked in and our baggage taken away.
We had about four hours to kill, so we walked through the Station Market in the stifling heat to the tram, which took us back to the Saigei Wang mall where we all visited the sticker shop and had a delightful lunch at Hot Mama's, where we had eaten yesterday.
Much to my joy I had time for a much needed manicure as well.
We got so caught up in the mall and transport to the airport that we were going through security at final call. I immediately started to panic and we were perplexed when we seemed to have lost the family. I ran to an Info desk to ask them to hold the flight, and I got on the shuttle into the next terminal with only 6 minutes till the gate closed. Christian had me go on ahead so he could find the family, and I rode, panic stricken, on my own. It must have been pretty obvious, since the Saudi Arabian man beside me with his two wives told me to relax, life is too short to worry.
I made it to the gate and needn't have worried, since they were still boarding the stragglers, then Christian and Ric arrived just behind me. Apparently Christine's parents had driven up from Muar to see her off at the airport as a surprise, but since she didn’t know we didn’t alot any time for that.
Luckily, we made it and arrived in Hong Kong after 9pm. Enroute Christian had seen orange explosions on the ground, even photographed some of them. However, it turned out they were most likely fireworks set off to celebrate 10 years since the handover from British rule to China. Nothing can really prepare someone for the magnificence of Hong Kong at night. I have flown over many world cities and few can rival the superb beauty and elegance of this city, with the billions of lights all shining like jewels on the Hong Kong Harbour. We both adore this city.
Ric's auntie, who met us there, arranged a cab for Christian and I, and came with us to ensure we made it to our hotel ok. She also gave us her daughters mobile so that we would be in constant communication with the rest of the family, who would stay in the Northern Territories. It was HK$200 for the cab ride, and we drove up to the hotel that Henry had arranged for us. Slight nervousness when the white-gloved doorman welcomed us in; tiny bit of fear when we walked upon the marble floors and beheld the magnificent chandeliers up above. Full blown panic when we were advised at the reception desk that we are actually Club class members and need to check in in the special first class Club check in on the 36th floor. One of the smiling, smartly dressed staff escorted us up there. Our panic stemmed from the fact that the hotel had not been picked by us, but it will definitely be paid for by us, and it was super elegant and posh, with magnificent views, free internet, free access to the fully stocked food lounge at any time. We sat at the check-in desk and were advised we had been upgraded to a deluxe suite due to lack of rooms. Being Handover this week meant that the city was full of tourists and people returning home for the festivities, and we were lucky to get any hotel room at all. Our suite was unbelievable. It opened to a full kitchen and living room with enormous flat screen television; another in the bedroom, with a large, beautiful bathroom. The tub had a glass panel beside it adjacent to the bedroom, so with the shades up, we could watch the television from the bath. There were enormous floor to ceiling windows with little leather window seats. We decided it was far too late to go outside, so we checked our email, grabbed some drinks and cookies from the lounge, and cuddled up in the plush hotel robes.

KL, Malaysia Day 16

2007-07-06T13:32:00.000+01:00

Free Day. So happy! Christian and I went down to the Megamall to do some last minute. He couldn’t find a phone charger to buy, but he found a phone store that was kind enough to charge his phone for free, so we left it with them for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, we walked around looking at electronics and luggage. One of the electronics stores seemed to have my Canon Ixus75 for a good price, till they let us check it out on Amazon and we saw it wasn’t much less than buying it in England. We haven’t been able to speak to the credit card company since it happened, so I don’t want to buy another just to find out when I get back that they will not compensate for it.
After picking up our phone, we visited Land of Leather luggage store and Christian saw the bag of his dreams. Its a shiny white ABS hardback case with black lining and little geometric grooves in it. He suddenly had to have the cute Stormtrooper bag, more than anything. He was giddy. My 4 year old green case from Target had pretty much fallen apart the day before, so the timing was perfect. And the price; RM520, or less than 80GBP was pretty ideal as well for a case of that quality. It is 4 wheel drive so you can push it in any direction. Christian happily pushed it, with one finger only because he could, back to the hotel room.
We dropped it off and measured two of the grooves, as we thought it would be cool to have personalized stickers made up at that friend of Rics we visited in our first days, at the Saigei Wang mall in KL. We went down to concierge and caught a taxi into town for RM8.
The mall is enormous, but more for locals and so supposedly cheaper. We visited the sticker guys and Christian advised them precisely of what he wanted.

KL, Malaysia Day 15

2007-07-05T13:32:00.000+01:00

Again Christian awoke for a sunrise that didn’t happen, due to the cloud cover that my tormented skin gratefully welcomed. We went to breakfast with the family at the buffet, and this time ate very little. It was our last meal at Leguna Redang.
We went back to the room to pack our two large suitcases, then visited the pristine beach one last time for some necessary photos together, since we have actually very few from this trip. I frolicked in the water up to my knees, but some of the waves broke a little high and the bottom of my dress was soaked. Check-out was at 11 for some reason, so we sat with the Wangs in the lobby whilst waiting for Ric and Christine to come down. It was hot and we had no idea what to do for the two hours until the boat departed for the mainland. We ended up remaining in the lobby catching up on the blog and enjoying some freshly squeezed juice, while Christine and Ric visited the internet room.
At 12:30 we boarded the little wooden transport vehicle to the boat, which took off for the mainland promptly at 1pm.
For some strange reason they played rap music, of all things, in the cabin, although it was far better than the cheesy western lounge music they played going out. The ride was a fairly turbulous 50 minutes, and once we disembarked we jumped onto the bus to the airport. Unfortunately, Christian stepped on my tortured, just healing toe. Because it is bandaged, I had no idea what condition it was in. The bus guide, Alan Won, advised us that they would first take us for lunch before getting us to the airport for 4:30pm.
The bus traveled along the road passing many cows and goats, casually grazing exposed on the roadside. We saw coconuts as numerous as the flowers strewn along the ground. Some homes were in fair condition, but many were little better than shacks built with tin and old wood, many on stilts, presumably to protect them come monsoon season later in the year.
We stopped at a roadside "restaurant" called Mat's Keropok Losong, and disembarked the bus enmasse to overtake the establishment. Christian was feeling tummy achy, so he only had a lime ice cream while we had more substantial fair. I settled on nati goreng (fried rice) and an iced coffee. The sight of the muslim waitresses with their headscarves assured me that pork wasn’t on the menu here. For some reason, a gaggle of Indonesian women started hoarding boxes of peanuts, buying some legitamately and pocketing the packets left out for diners on the tables. We paid for the lunch, which amounted to RM21 (£3.05) for 6 people, all of which had a proper meal except for my delicate husband. When lunch was over, Christian and Ricardo decided to get some icecream for the road. Christian took one look at the Hello Kitty Wonder Cup with free toy and couldn’t resist. He thoroughly enjoyed the fluffy chocolate ice cream inside and started to play with the little Hello Kitty figure on a train that nestled at the bottom.
We reached the little, dinky airport at 4, forced to wait in the stifling heat till 4:30 check-in. A single, unsubstancial fan only served to move the heat about the room. A passenger had left their bag unattended and Richard reported it to two bored, disinterested security guards, who handled the situation by walking away and nesting under a fan. Meanwhile, I asked the service desk if I could borrow a pair of scissors so I could re-bandage my toe. She handed me a large razor blade and was happy for me to walk off with it. Instead, I used it within view and promptly returned it.
We were the first to go through security which was blissfully air conditioned, and proceeded to wait almost two hours for our 6:30pm departure. Today we did a lot of waiting and traveling.
I sat complaining about the sheer level of ennui felt while sitting in the utterly uninteresting departures area, and Christian replied 'You can’t even earwig on other peoples conversations because its all in clatterbang.' which tickled me.
My boredom was complete and only relieved somewhat when Ricardo started playing some of Apacalypto on his laptop. The moment we saw the plane land everyone stood up and waited at the gate doors. We were some of the first out, so all got to sit near each other in the front. It was a brief flight back to KL, and Christian amused himself by reading the McDonald's Times, which he found in the seat pocket in front of him. It was one big ad, but with pictures which kept him occupied.
Once the plane landed in KL we disembarked via the stairs and reclaimed our baggage at arrivals. We had decided to get a bus to KL Sentral Station for 9 ringgit, rather then hire a private car which was far more expensive. We had to wait a bit, but finally boarded the bus and headed about an hour to the rail station near Little India. We jumped off the bus, and got into three cars; Christine went off to her flat, Ricardo and his parents, and finally Christian and I.
Because of the many hours of travel, we only arrived at the hotel for 10pm. That left us precious little time to get dinner. The first room they gave us was not acceptable, as it smelled smokey, so they moved us to another, 2118. We raced down to the Midvalley Megamall, and since everything was closing went to the Jusco grocery store on the Lower ground floor, which was just closing up. We grabbed some ice cream, some 100 Plus, and teriyaki chicken, rice, and fried chicken for Christian. Whilst we were checking out at the till, the power in all registers went out. Bugger. We waited so long that I grabbed the nice British store manager and he personally reheated all necessary items for us. Funnily enough, he was from a town about 10 miles from us.
We finished the day picnicking in our room.

Radang, Malaysia Day 14: Yes - We Have No Bananas

2007-07-04T13:31:00.000+01:00

Christian arose before the sun to hit the beach, MegaCam in hand, and capture the sunrise. I stayed in bed. We met the family and had a leisurely breakfast in the buffet area upstairs, then visited the recreation centre to plan the activities of the day. They had many; archary, jungle walk, massage, scuba diving. We all decided to do the fishing trip at 6 in the evening. Christian and I were concerned about my toe, so we visited the resort doctor, who advised us that there was no way I could possibly come to the beach and not get my toe wet, so he suggested I enjoy myself in the knowledge that it will probably be fine. For some reason, the nail appeared to be re-fusing to my toe. Hence, we jumped straight into the aquamarine water of the South China Sea, which was incredibly warm and relaxing, for a half hour frolic. That was all our skin could take, and we returned to the room, where I was struck with a mega headache. It was so bad that we stayed in the room, curtains closed, till lunch, where we met Ricardo's parents and enjoyed posh lunch in the ala carte restaurant. I had an enormous sea bass that was literally just plucked from the sea. It was one of the most expensive things on the menu, but it was still only 5 pounds. Incredible. Richard ordered a banana split, which Christian had never tried before, so he got really excited about trying it as well. Then the waiter came out and said "there is no more banana sundaes". What? We vehemently gesticulated to Richards lovely concoction before him. "No more bananas" the waiter added. No more bananas? We are on a tropical island and they’ve run out of bananas, of all things. How, did the ever present monkees that we have yet to see liberate them? No problem, we asked for a banana split, sans bananas.
After lunch, we grabbed some drinks from the More More Tea Inn beverage center (named after the Inn in the Hong Kong movie Summer Holiday, which was filmed here and thus played 24 hours a day on channel 7).
We then returned to the room. My headache was so severe we missed our 2:30 snorkeling appointment. I was incredibly disappointed but we consoled ourselves with the fact that we were to have an incredible fishing trip that evening. Until at 5:30 then we received a call from the Recreation Centre saying our trip was cancelled due to "Inclement weather". We advised Ric, who addressed it with management in such a way that we received a limitless dinner in the ala carte restaurant and free drinks at the bar.
But first, we decided to go back in the water, even though the red flag was flying, since there was only a meagre gale, hardly a zephor. Only Christian, me, Ricardo and Christine went in, and we had a blast dodging the breaking waves. We were standing very near a gaggle of Malaysian muslim women, wearing long sleeved shirts and trousers, and one of them, charmingly in gloves as well.
All 6 of us met for dinner and feasted from the sumptuous menu, enjoying drinks and cuisine we wouldn’t ordinarily pay for. In fact, Ric ordered 4 main courses alone. And everyone had a banana split, this time, with the previously absent bananas. We eventually left the table when we were fully sated. Our feet were under constant attack by a barrage of mosquitoes, and no number of citronella candles placed under the table seemed to have any effect. And as pleasant as each meal is, one must keep constant attention or else any one of the many flies wandering about will land on your food.
Afterwords, we went to our reserved table on the beach bar, where we enjoyed interesting and expensive cocktails, courtesy of the management. Mine was in a hollowed out papaya. There was a group of girls onstage singing a variety of popular western hits, all well known, romantic, and incredibly boring. That is why when I submitted my request, Money Money Money by ABBA, they ignored all the previous requests and went straight to that right away, although they did a whole ABBA Compilation. That was their last song before break, so everyone else who had made a request can go suck an egg.
By this time it was quite late. We borrowed a pc in the headoffice so that we could book the next two nights at the Boulevard, and returned to our room to spend our final night in paradise.

Radang, Malaysia Day 13 - Trouble in paradise...

2007-07-03T13:30:00.000+01:00

The incessant beeping of Christians alarm clock could mean only one thing - 4am and the start of a long day travelling. As we'd (Christian this time) packed the previous night all we needed to do was shower, gather the bags together and head down to reception for checkout. Our laundry that we'd been promised for 10pm the night before was still a no-show - so that was the first order of the day. By the time we'd got that done (apparently still lost in the cavernous bowels of this hotels ovbiously Rama-esque laundry) Ric and family showed up and checked out - and we were out in the (relatively) chill night air and on our way to the airport (after the driver decided the SUV he'd chosen would not fit all our bags and reverted to Mini-bus style kung-fu). Most of us slept in the bus for the 50 minute drive to the airport - which - given the speed and enthusiasm of his driving - was a good thing. Soon we were checking in and it seemed like an ideal opportunity to take a photograph with Kelly's new camera... It's first. - the picture was taken. the camera went tumbling to the floor - after one picture! A big crack on the screen - but the thing still works. Ah well - that's what credit card insurance is for. More drama as we were at the gate - as we were a big group the gate staff asked us to stay behind and board last. Thus we did - and of course boarded a full plane with only a few pairs of seats scattered about. Our protestations were met with the now customary non-comprehension and total lack of sympathy. A smooth 50 minute flight later - we were sweeping in low just 30 feet above a beach to land at Terengannu airport. After claiming our bags in the odd smelling baggage 'hall' (small room) we fought our way through hordes of chattering, pushy, middle-aged Japanese women all clad in identical blingy name brand handbags, sunglassees and horribly tacky gold jewelery (who, surprisingly enough, all have tattoos and are the rudest people on earth), and we were on the bus for the ride to the boat. Sadly we were not allowed on deck throughout the 50 minute voyage (the same duration as our earlier flight), but it was heavily air-conditioned and we all got some well earned shut-eye. Soon the endless South China Sea made way for some very Lost-esque coastline and then we were at the island resort jetty. It was suprisingly cooler here, but not by much. We entered the Welcome Room where we were briefed on the necessary info on our stay by the resort PR representative. We were then all bussed to the main building through sand covered track; it reminded me a lot of summer camp, with the various wooden buildings all around. We joined the hoard of new arrivals in the open air lobby, where we received our complimentary drink and registered. We had to wait another half hour for lunch, which was a buffet spread upstairs overlooking the beach, but thankfully, consisted of a roof so we were sheltered somewhat from the oppressive sun.
We took our time with lunch since check-in wasn’t till 1pm. We seperated then and all retired to our rooms, where I am sorry to say we all fell promptly asleep, not awakening till dinner. We had elected to get the super supreme room, with an enormous balcony which was meant to overlook the sea, but our view was somewhat hindered by about a dozen palm trees. There was an arrow on the ceiling, which we surmised was to indicate the direction of Mecca for the Muslim guests. It pointed towards the entrance of our room, which was also the direction of sunset, reminding us that in this part of the world, Muslims face west.
During dinner, Ric found a wire in his food, and after some heated words with management, we received vouchers for the remainder of our stay in the ala carte restaurant, where you are served, rather then self serve, and you can have better quality food that is freshly prepared, rather than heated for hours.
After dinner, we enjoyed some freshly squeezed watermelon juice, courtesy of the hotel, on the veranda, then I talked Christian into returning the camera to the hotel room so we can enjoy a romantic beach stroll without that distraction. We walked, just the two of us, hand in hand in the darkness as the water lapped at our feet (although I was careful to keep my right foot dry) , as the resorts along the sea had various parties going on, some with strobe lighting and disco music. This detracted somewhat from the romance of the moment, which was worsened when the moon came out; low in the sky, enormous and bright red, so magnificent I actually regretted, for an instant, having Christian leave the camera behind. But sometimes, you need to enjoy a moment when it happens, and not later on film, and we slowly walked back to our room.

KL, Malaysia Day 12

2007-07-02T13:30:00.000+01:00

Today Kim spoiled us rotten. Last night she was kind enough to offer to take us out for the day. She picked us up at 10 in her SUV and took us to a cute outdoor café, very rundown and traditional, in town. It was brutal hot and she, like us, prefers air conditioning, but admitted its hard to come by during the breakfast hour. She ordered various noodle dishes for us that were excellent, and we filled up very quickly. She also stopped in a shop and ordered us some dried turkey, both teriyaki and pepper flavored, for us to have as a snack the following day should we need it.
She took us straight to her family doctor, Doctor Tan (no relation to her or Agnes) and he was somewhat keen to remove the toenail to ensure it didn’t get infected. I advised him that to do that, he would either have to knock me out or get me very very very drunk, so he bandaged it and prescribed an antibiotic for it. Much to my chagrin, he advised I keep it dry. "But I’m going to the beach tomorrow! Oh the humanity"
We then returned the rubbish Nikon S50 camera I had bought a few days before. It just didn’t do what I needed it to do, and bought a Canon Ixis75. Christian fell in love with the thing. She took us around to various malls in the area, where we shopped for luggage and sunglasses, then she treated us, yet again, to lunch at a beautiful chinese restaurant in SuperPoshExpensiveMall.
We then left KL, headed to Midvalley where I returned a shirt I had bought that kept having wardrobe malfunctions (the plastic clasp in the strap kept breaking and stabbing me in the shoulderblade). So I saved 89.90 ringgit for that. I bought a magnificent pair of leather pumps at my new favorite store, Bonia, which masters in Italian style shoes and handbags. I then decided I would go for it and buy a pair of Gucci sunglasses I had had my eye on. They were incredibly expensive, even in Malaysia they were about £124. They took them out for me, cleaned them, then took out the case.
What the devil is that supposed to be?
The case was a huge leather monster, incredibly bulky and awkward to open. They said it was necessary to protect the glasses, but I know me. There is no way I can carry such a bohemoth in my typical handbag. As such, I bailed on the glasses, much to the stunned amazement of the staff.
Christian talked Kim into taking us to Chinatown, where he proceeded to buy another 3 watches. She then wanted to take us for dinner, bless her, but we were still so full from lunch. So was she, but she was so worried that we would starve in our room. She was so incredibly accomodating and welcoming, we had the best time with her, and assured her we could easily survive for months on the fatty deposits we have built up in the last week.
She dropped us off at the hotel, with a gift of a large cannister of tea and some pineapple cakes from China.

KL, Malaysia Day 11

2007-07-01T13:25:00.000+01:00

Super Big Reception Day
We awoke at 7am, and were ready for our checkout at 8:40. Much to my dismay the internet wasn’t working on the two terminals in the lobby, which I was kinda hoping for. We met everyone down on the ground floor for 9, but didn’t actually get going till after 10, since there were so many people to organize and everything is done by committee.
Christine's parents met us all there and we went in 4 cars to Restoran Bao Gong, where we dined on dim sum at 4 separate tables. The waitress was kind enough to point out the pork dishes, so I knew exactly what I could eat. It was not air conditioned, but instead it was cooled by fan only. Interestingly, Christian saw a girl go to the bathroom, Chinese style. The toilet was behind our table,and she must have not noticed that the curtain was too short, leaving a 3 foot gap to the floor. I of course missed the whole thing, but Christian had a new appreciation of my experiences with Asian toilets. We all jumped in our cars, a good 20 something of us, and rode in a 5 car convoy back to KL. Christian drove one of the vans. We stopped at a rest stop part way and all hung out in a little shelter off the parking lot. The adults brought durian fruit and that tortoise jello for snacks. We however had a Nescafe, since we had tried them before and didn’t feel the need to relive that experience.
We arrived in KL at around 2:30, and parked up in the carpark under our hotel, the Pacific Regency, which is adjacent to the KL Tower, where we will go tonight. Whilst we were all waiting for the lifts to the lobby, I rather stupidly pulled the suitcase too quickly over my foot; scantily clad in my toe-exposing Teva's, it ripped the toenail off my right big toe almost completely, totally starting to bleed. I wasn’t in any way worried about the pain, I could deal with that. It was the incredible fear of infection, since my feet were dirty. Visions of losing my foot to some Asian flesh-eating bacteria filled my head. Not to mention that in 4 hours we have the big wedding reception and I only have open toed shoes to wear. Luckily, there was a paramedic and a police officer in our party from Hong Kong, and they used the hotel medical kit to wrap it up all snug. I kept asking them if they were going to smother it in alcohol, but the consensus was that a simple wrap was best.
We checked in and I limped up to our room 2411. This is a 5-star hotel and it's easy to see why. The room was immaculate, with a stunning view of KL below us, and a full kitchenette. Although I had been sitting in the car all day and was desperate for a polish change, Christian made me lie down with my foot up whilst watching Backdraft.
Then Ric called and told us we had to be in the lobby for the wedding by 6:30. Oh my gosh, that’s fewer than 2 hours! We ran downstairs and took a cab to KLCC, the mall at the base of the twin towers. It cost a mere RM2.80. First stop was the pharmacy, where we had the pharmacist rewrap my toe, this time using antiseptic. Then up to the 4th floor, where I had my makeup done and hair blow dried for RM150 (£21.80)
Its now 5:50, we race downstairs to Ikesan, a posh department store, for a shirt, trousers, and tie for Christian. It took about 15 minutes since he needed the pants hemmed. Altogether, we paid through the nose since we didn’t have time to shop around.
We had 20 minutes to take a cab back, get dressed, and meet some of the family in the lobby. Although KL Tower is very close, it’s not really advisable to walk to it, especially in heels and me with a booboo toe.
I took a cab with several family members, and Christian was meant to follow after due to lack of space. It was only when we were approaching the tower that I realized I had all the money! Christian ended up running the whole way, passing several monkeys playing in the trees.
The reception was on one of the upper decks of the KL Tower, aptly named Mega View Banquet Deck (they’re really into “Mega” here). We entered an amazing room with a stage, 14 tables of 10 laid out beautifully, and photos of the bride and groom displaying on several projectors on the walls. There was a large ice sculpture of two swans with their names on it, and an enormous, pink multi level cake on display. The curtains were drawn, which was peculiar, so we sneaked into the adjacent room, currently used only by staff, to look out over the entirety of the city of Kuala Lumpur.
Our assigned table was lucky number 13, so we were not sat with Henry, Lucia or Raymond, who were all at 14. We were initially bummed, till we were joined by two lovely, fun girls, Wendy and Cherie, then Agnes Tan, who we both knew slightly through our company, as she used to work in the Singapore office before leaving. Then, oh my gosh! It’s Kim!!! Kim Tan (no relation to Agnes) came in with a friend of hers. Kim is a very good friend of ours who used to work in our London office till she left about two months ago. She is currently taking time off visiting her family in Malaysia. We hugged and tried so hard to catch up on everything. Kim, Agnes and I couldn’t help but discuss the latest goings on at the company.
Our table ended up being the funnest, and we had the most wonderful time. Around 8pm they opened the curtains so we could see the beauty and the vastness of the city below us. Then, goodness gracious, there was the bride and groom waving at their guests. Something had possessed Ricardo and Christine to load themselves into a large window cleaning crane, and it slowly passed by all of us, outside. They both had safety suspenders on, and Christine was wearing a blue gown. However, with his white shirt, the suspenders looked more like lederhosen on Ric.
After they passed by, we didn’t see them again till they entered at 9pm. It turns out that due to a fault they each had to leap from the crane, as it got stuck in one place and couldn’t be moved. Ric was still recovering from the fright of that hours later.
The first course was introduced in a fabulously cultural way. A group of men in gold vests and shiny balloon pants marched in carrying a large, stone clamshell, with woman in ornate dresses following along carrying the initial dish. They placed the clamshell down before the bridal table, where a tiny girl emerged and presented them with the first course. She then got back into the clam and was taken away.
The food was very typical of a Chinese wedding, and very similar to what we had the previous night in Muar, only slightly fancier. The menu, which I liberated from the event, was as follows:

Deluxe Hot & Cold Combination
Braised Shark Fin Soup with Shredded Scallop & Seafood
Thai Style Crispy Chicken
Steamed Hong Kong Style Promfret
Two Combinations Prawn
Braised Vegetable with Dried Scallop & Mushroom
Hong Kong Style Fried Rice in Lotus Leaf
Rich Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake by Chef Jerome

The whole time, the MC spoke constantly, only this time mainly in Cantonese, so we couldn’t understand anything again. Agnes did however and translated everything for us. There was the expected Kareoke, then more speaking from the MC, interviewing the couple and other guests so it was very much like a gameshow. The bride and groom, along with the fathers, came over to our table first for our yum sing moment. The other guests at the table didn’t know what was coming, till Christian and I leapt up and, drinks raised, joined the party..."YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM SING!"
The rich chocolate cake was present thanks to Ric, who hates the typical Asian dessert with its bright colors. We were loathe to leave, but Kim and her friend were kind enough to take us back to the hotel. It was time, since my toe was throbbing in my high heels and started bleeding again. It was one of the greatest weddings we ever attended.

Muar, Malaysia 10

2007-06-30T11:59:00.000+01:00

Wedding Day
Up at 6am, we all met on the ground floor of the hotel at 7:30. There were 3 cars worth of us. We drove directly to the rented bungalow, which is ostensibly the grooms house, since his family isn’t from this region. We were only there long enough to photograph the bridal car, a brand new black Toyota Camry covered in pink ribbons.
At this point, the groom & his attendants were to go to the brides house alone, but at the last minute a few of us women jumped in the car with Richard, Ric's dad, so that we could experience it as well.
We arrived at the bride's parents house, where we dined yesterday, and saw the bridesmaids & family waiting at the front door. At this point, the groom and his men are meant to convince the girls to let him in to claim his bride, currently hiding out of sight in the house.
The groom is meant to perform any tasks asked of him. He had to wear a belt of string & dangling bananas and oranges around his neck. He was obliged to sign a contract written exactly as below (spelling errors included)
Memorandum of Love
L. Ricardo Wang. Passport No.
Would like all of you to witness my Memorandum of Love to my precious women Christian Chua,
1, All my love are devoted to her, and only her
2, I shall respect ALL her advises, and ALL her decisions
3, I shall be more creative to spice her up everyday
4, I shall give her all my money
5, I shall have a lot of babies with her
6, I shall change diapers and milk all of our babies in the middle of the night
7, I shall listen to her when she said “NO”8, I shall always remember: Christine will never be wrongThis memorandum valid till 9999/12/31

He finally made his way amongst the gaggle of sentry girls to her bedroom door, where he was forced to pay an entry fee to get in. But it was all worth it when the door was opened and the group beheld the radiant beauty of ... The brides brother...in bed...naked. It was the wrong room.
As such, the men set their sights on the opposite door . As the groom was reaching deeper into his pocket to find more money to get that door open, he had the horrific realization that he had forgotten the ring. Henry raced out of the house and quickly drove to get it, however Christine, absolutely stunning with a strapless white wedding gown & veil and pearl tiara, came out anyway.
I was outside with the other girls
from the grooms side who technically had no business being there. We had watched the spectical through the windows & front door. I sat with the grooms male relatives & cousins outside and ate tofu soup while the photographs continued indoors. Christian than called me into the house. The groom had to perform one more feat before they were married. The girls demanded he get his leg waxed. He wasn’t about to do that, so Christian, as one of his men, was able to take his place. He sat down and lifted his pantleg. He never flinched.
After the newly married couple visited the Respect Receptical, the grooms people all piled back in the car, with bride, and headed over to the grooms house once more. We all got there before the bride and groom, and a large string of fireworks was setup by the front door. When the bride and groom arrived, Christian barely had enough time to say "You will not believe how loud this is going to be" before they were set off and I was literally floored by the din. They are meant to frighten evil spirits away and I cannot comprehend how they could ever fail.
There, we witnessed the tea ceremony, where the bride and groom served cups of tea to the honored members of the family in exchange for red envelopes containing money. After we took tons of photos, the couple went into one of the bedrooms. Now, tradition states that at this point the couple undress and then spend 3 days in the grooms house. As we had only that day, Ric symbolically just removed Christine's veil, she his jacket, then we all got back into the cars. Back to the brides house again, where we ate Pancake with a peanut buttery texture, heated soy milk, cake with pink & white frosting, and white dumplings with fried mushrooms, oranges. This trip was to signify the third day, when the bride returns to her parents home to advise them that she is happy in her marriage. Then back once again to the grooms house,where we were finally taken back to the hotel at midday. We had done a lot of back and forthing due to the fact that we had to fit 3 days worth of festivities in about 3 hours, and the heat was crippling.
We were given 15 minutes to change then all drove about 1000 feet to an open air eatery down the street. The meal consisted of a bowl of rice and various kinds of pork dishes, including two separate kinds of pig intestine. As such, Kelly ate her rice very very slowly so it wasn’t too obvious that she wouldn’t touch anything else. It was enough. That much pork rendered me with little appetite.
Afterwards the family wanted to go shopping. Christian, Raymond and I preferred to go back to the hotel to have some respite from the heat, so we elected to walk back. We actually fell asleep for hours till we were to prepare for tonights dinner.
Not knowing quite how to dress, I wore a blue dress I had bought in London the day we departed, and Christian wore a shirt and proper trousers. We arrived at the reception hall and were led upstairs to an enormous banquet hall with more than 200 people. We sat amongst the family from Hong Kong at a table nearest the front. The evening was surreal. The dishes came out one after another. A seafood platter, followed by sharks fin soup. Raymond had warned us it was coming, and we ate it even though we felt so strongly about what it was. It was pleasant, but Tom yum soup would have been just as nice and no sharks had to be harmed.
Much to our amusement, someone wandered around selling newspapers and another guy was selling scratch cards. We were later advised that it is very important to show oneself at social functions, but they like to read to help pass the time.
The MC spoke only in Mandarin, which was incredibly amusing since our table was full of Cantonese speakers, so they were as lost as we were. After the MC sang his bit, there was a professional singer who did a few songs until the karaoke started. The whole evening was filled with middle aged accountants getting up on the stage and surprising us with pretty good renditions of their favorite songs; none of which we ever heard of.
The evening was magical; with each dish that was served we chatted with the family members at our table, who often explained what several dishes were for us.
When Christine and Ric finally came out, the bride was wearing the white wedding dress we had seen her in earlier. During the course of the night, she would disappear for a short while for several dress changes. The second was a spectacular pink ball gown with matching pink bling in her hair; the last a stunningly beautiful aqua blue evening gown, again with matching bling. I nearly hit myself for not thinking about doing the same thing at my wedding.
When the evening was over, it was over in a flash. We were chatting and generally having a wonderful time, when all of a sudden the florescent lights came on overhead. We turned around, and realized the majority of the guests had left, and they were sweeping the floors and putting chairs up on the tables. We remained long enough to take family photos of ALL the family, both sides, then headed back to our hotel.

Muar, Malaysia Day 9

2007-06-29T09:57:00.000+01:00

Up at 8:30, we packed our stuff up whilst watching the Discovery Channel and set off for breakfast at the Arab 24 hour place across the street. It was absolutely packed with people, but we decided today to sit in the separate area, which was air conditioned. We were the only diners in there. We later found out why. I ate a rice bundle that they had set out at all tables, then my apple juice came out. I ordered a roti telur planta, thinking it was the roti with fried banana (there were no translations on the non-western options, and thinking planta was similar to "plantain", which is a type of banana, one can see what we were thinking). It turned out telur planta is egg, so it was roti with egg. The waiter, of course, coughed directly on the meal as he delivered it. I ate it anyway, since you get used to that sort of thing here. Considering the food preparation areas are hardly sterile, and lord knows what the health and safety standards are here. I ate as slowly as possible, but was still finished before Christian got his chicken burger and fries, since they apparently kept forgetting. He finished that and his cappuccino frozen drink, and the waiter delivered the bill. It came out to RM18 (£2.61), and we noticed the food was all slightly more expensive. We thought it was tax, but the gentleman at the register helpfully explained it was a surcharge for sitting in the air conditioning. That makes sense. That privilidge added £0.14 ($0.30) to our bill.
We crossed the street and entered the Megamall. Failing a sync up at Starbucks, we exchanged GBP100 for RM680, and used 2 RM5 Jusco vouchers I had for 4 large bottles of 100 Plus. It is a water drink filled with electrolytes, incredibly refreshing and what everyone drinks here; somewhat like gatorade but without those vile colorings.
At 11 we still hadn’t heard from anyone, so we went down to check out and met Ric's parents in the lobby, Henry & Lucia soon arrived as well. We went in 3 cars straight to KL International airport, where we met Raymond, who had just flown in from London, & several relatives of Ric's from Hong Kong. Once they picked up their rental car, we all left in a 4 car convoy on a 3 hour journey to Muar, Christine's home town. We were in the rental truck with Henry & Lucia, and it didn’t seem very long till we left the highway and saw a part of Malaysia that tourists rarely see.
Locals in wooden lean-to's heaped with durian fruit sold their wares on the roadside. One kilo for 3 ringgit was prominently displayed several times. Durian is a tree fruit with a sharp, spiney outershell which is often banned from hotels due to the strong aroma it emits. Houses ranged from little wooden shacks to cute, dainty bungalows vibrantly painted in pastels. Many had a large red and gold box outside the front door that we briefly mistook for a mailbox, till we figured out it is a type of alter box used to pay hommage to the spirit that watches over the home.
We crossed the bridge over the Muar River and drove through the small town to our hotel. It is a new build and the tallest building in the town.
All of us staying there checked in and met back in the lobby on the 6th floor to set out for our new destination. It was 4:30 when we drove about 10 minutes away to a cute 3 bedroom rental bungalow, set as part of a quad of bungalows. Christine had picked up bags of take-out rice & noodles and we chowed down as she left for her parents house to plan the evening festivities. There were about 15 people in the holiday home, all of us basically the grooms side.
We hung out for awhile till we were beckoned to the brides parents house by phone. We all jumped into the various cars and headed over there, about a 10 minute drive. It ended up being a massive house party. Her one story home is on a cul-de-sac, and apparently most of the people living there are family. They had huge canopies set up over the front garden and road, decorated with yards of pink material. About a dozen tables were set out with people already enjoying their dinner. We walked in and were immediately greeted by the brides charming and handsome father, Mr. Chua. He owns a farm that consists of over 350,000 chickens, and he provides all chickens to KFC for the Asian region. He welcomed us to their home with open arms and sat us down at two tables in the front. There was a huge buffet table spread by the front door covered with dishes brimming with rice, noodles, various curried chickens and fish. For dessert, there was jellied mango, oranges, watermelon, and some multicolored gelatinous cakes. The food was absolutely wonderful. We later went into the house, which was quite spacious. We added our shoes to the growing mound at the front door, and entered a large living room. The master bedroom was off of there. Through the next doorway, there is a large kitchen, dining area to the left, and three other bedrooms to our right. There was also a long room addition at the back of the house, consisting of a little pond with fish and the cutest little turtle.
We went inside, and Ric gave Christian a type of black jello. He explained that it is made from the shells of tortoises, and it is best eaten smothered in honey. He advised it served as a very refreshing snack in the oppressive heat. Personally, I thought a 100 Plus worked just as efficiently and no tortoises needed to be harmed, but Christian dutifully tried it, as did I. Honestly, we have no idea what it tastes like, since the honey flavor pretty much overpowered it.
Next the durian fruit came. Known as "the king of fruit" it is a large round fruit with a very prickly outerskin, known for its very pungent aroma. In fact, most hotels ban the stuff. Ric's uncle broke a few open and the smell is quite unmistakable. Inside is a yellow, fleshy type of substance. Mr. Chua handed me a piece and I took a bite into it. I suppose the look on my face was very amusing, since the Chinese people around me started to laugh, as it is very much an acquired taste. It really has no similarity to any fruit I know of. The flavor is almost savory, with a meaty texture. In fact, it is usually around a large pit that is more like bone. After trying it, I gave some to Christian, so now we've tried it. I don’t want to try it again.