My Co-Pilot and I

Just when we thought the surprises and wedding glitz was over, the best was indeed saved till last when we had the opportunity to sit in the pilot and co-pilot's seats of our return aircraft :)

After landing at the KLIA LCC Terminal, we were one of the last few to leave the plane. And as we were about to step out on to the adjoining stairway to take us to the tarmac, we heard our names being called by none other than the pilot himself who also happened to be Jo's RBS buddy.

It was a nice touch to our honeymoon by having it end with the privilege of snapping a shot in the cockpit and having Jo's friend fly us safely back from Chiang Mai.

Entertainment, Outdoors and Culture

Of course, our trip to Chiang Mai would have been incomplete without a dose of local entertainment, outdoor adventure and Thai culture.

Entertainment wise, we didn't have much trouble scouting for eateries - there were heaps of food choices, and you'd be surprised to know that Chiang Mai is a melting pot of German, Italian, American and Thai cuisine all rolled into one. And since we were surrounded by such a varied fare, food was one of our main highlights! Good thing we were only there for a few days, or we would have stuffed ourselves silly with the cheap and good food available :)

Chicken sandwich with green tea butter and homemade chicken pie in the back garden of a quaint tea house

Hungarian goulash and pork knuckle at a German restaurant in the heart of the night baazar

Our Thai feast of mushroom glass noodle salad, prawn tom yum soup, spicy crab, sizling duck and green curry chicken

To justify our 'feasts', we resorted to thronging the night baazar on all three nights we were there. Walking is always a good way to work off some excess kilos! By day, Changklan Road is just like any ordinary road with rows of shops flanking both sides. Come evening however, the same street would turn into a sea of colour dotted by vendors peddling their goods in brightly lit stalls. Naturally, we did our Christmas shopping there and succesfully found something for everyone we were supposed to get presents for.

Part of the stalls making up the night baazar

One of our days was spent visiting an elephant camp, the local hilltribes and stopping at a waterfall along the way. Trust Anderson to throw in some 'hiking' during our honeymoon! We learnt that elephants are rather big eaters and greedy too, for they just wouldn't budge when we ran out of food to feed them! Not only that, we were snorted at with elephant goo, which we found quite gross and disgusting :(

Atop the elephant and trying to feed it

Left: A Hmong tribeswoman busy making traditional costumes for the new year; Right: A Karen lady weaving brightly coloured scarves

Thank goodness we had bamboo rafting on our itinerary, as that was one fun activity and a sure way to make sure we were cleansed of snot from earlier in the day! We were drenched alright, thanks to how the raft was constructed and our playful guide who went all out to make sure there wasn't a dry spot on us. Even he wasn't spared when he lost his balance and fell into the river ;)

On board the bamboo raft (notice we were still dry in this picture!)

With those bases covered, we spent our final day exploring the ancient city which still had certain parts of its original walls erect and a moat encircling it. Being the ambitious person that he is, Anderson had wanted to visit all five gates that surrounded the city, but we only managed two, as it was quite unwise to roam around in the midday sun. Jo was already complaining of the heat mid way through and wondered why we had to tire ourselves out during our honeymoon.

Tha Phae Gate

Temples we saw along the way ... doesn't the picture on the bottom right look like enlarged dim sum baskets? ;)

Chiang Mai Gate

And so we called it a day and settled for cup noodles, Swensen's ice cream and potato chips in the comfort of our air-conditioned hotel room while watching Independence Day!

Well deserved after a day in the sun! :)

Our First Trip as Mr & Mrs

We woke up at dawn after a few hours of sleep to catch our early morning flight to Chiang Mai. Good thing Jo checked her phone as we received an SMS informing us of a one hour delay. So much for hitching a free ride with Donny to the airport.

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that our flight was re-timed as we were still busy packing that morning itself. Since our ride had gone ahead without us, we eventually found our way to LCCT by Skybus.

We learnt at the departure hall that our flight would be further delayed by another half hour as it was late making its way to KL from Kedah. We found things to occupy ourselves with while waiting - Anderson was happily engrossed in his Top Gear magazine while Jo logged on to facebook on her mobile ;)

Us grabbing a small bite at Coffee Bean LCCT as we were saving our tummies for the infamous Air Asia nasi lemak which is supposedly the best in the skies! Anderson later discovered that 1901 hotdogs were also available on board :)

Anyway, our plane finally took off at ten something (we were supposed to leave at 8:50 originally!) and we were well on our way to get some rest and retreat from the hecticness and busyness of our wedding. It would have been an enjoyable flight if not for the screaming kid seated in front of us :(

Sights of Chiang Mai from the plane

On board the shuttle bus which took us to the airport terminal

We were extremely pleased with our choice of hotel as it was simply lovely! Tucked away down some lane off Tha Phae Road, Manathai Village is a resort-like place with a Balinese feel complete with water features, greenery and a sense of intimacy and privacy.

Our home away from home

Service at the hotel was superb, and we were even presented with a bouquet of roses upon arrival. All the staff seemed to know that we were honeymooners and were more than eager to wish us 'Happy Honeymooner' whenever they saw us!

Sawadee Kah/Kap

Greetings from Chiang Mai! We're into Day 3 of our honeymoon and have been spending the first half of the day going through our multiple facebook notifications and email updates, thanks to all who have diligently posted and commented on pictures of our wedding :)

Apart from eating, sleeping and shopping at the nearby night bazaar, we're still finding it hard to believe that we're married, save for the wedding bands that serve as a reminder of our newfound status!

Chiang Mai's a really beautiful place and the boutique hotel we've been staying at is even more gorgeous! Good food, great service and peaceful surroundings are the prefect blend for a restful and relaxing post-wedding getaway. The weather's been great too with cool mornings and evenings and none of the sticky humidity we get back home.

We'll write more when we get back (yes, the rubber hits the road tomorrow when we're placed back in the 'real' world!) and definitely post pictures for your viewing pleasure!

We're Married!

Two years of planning, many sleepless nights, several hiccups and countless swipes of our credit cards finally paid off when we were pronounced husband and wife :) The 15th of December 2007 dawned upon us and it was a magnificently splendid day that will be remembered for life.

We had the honour of being the first couple to be wed in our new church hall, a 10-member orchestra who played exceptionally well despite only practising for the first time together a few days before the wedding and a spiffy BMW Z3 to whisk Jo to church and us to the hotel for the dinner later that evening.

Concerns over the length of our programme were quelled as we finished in good time despite Jo arriving later than planned. With the help of our efficient co-ordinators and quick-thinking helpers, we pulled through the day in one piece whilst managing to enjoy the fruits of our labour!

And although dark clouds loomed overhead as we made our way to Marriott Putrajaya, He was extremely gracious in holding back the rain and providing us with weather that was neither too hot nor gloomy so that it was conducive for our outdoor photo session at the hotel.

50 tables were filled, just as we had guaranteed, and there was more than enough to cover the cost of dinner, thanks to the generosity of our guests. Surely, we couldn't have asked for more and we are thankful for His providence and unfailing faithfulness. To Him be all glory and praise!

The 11th Hour

It is always the case that things will go wrong when you hope they will not and during the most crucial times too. The eve of our wedding was no different as we still had not confirmed our wedding car and our flowers had mistakenly been delivered to the wrong place.

Hopes of using the new Mini Cooper as our wedding car slowly faded when the person in charge did a no show after dad's friend waited for an entire day. It was a blessing that we managed to secure a convertible BMW Z3 at the very last minute and by divine intervention, managed to match the flowers that had already been pre-ordered and prepared.

As if one drama wasn't enough to keep us on our toes, we later discovered that the ribbon colour for the bridal party's bouquets and corsages were off the mark, and had no choice but to the change them as they simply did not match the outfits they were to wear. Thanks to Jo's resourceful OCF buddies, the issue was quickly resolved but it wasn't until midnight when we realised that we were missing one bestman's corsage.

After frantically trying to trace the whereabouts of the stray corsage, we were later reassured that it had been safely delivered to church ... by a dear friend who had stayed back to wait for it, long after the clean up crew had done their part and called in for the night.

Princess

It's nice to be pampered and waited on hand and foot once in awhile! And Jo got a taste of that today when she redeemed her birthday present at the spa and made time for a manicure and pedicure session with her girlfriends.

She had many times thought long and hard about going to the spa as that would mean 'wasting' a few hours not doing anything productive for the wedding. But thanks to Anderson's insisting, she made her way to Chakras and spent a good three hours having a body scrub, aloe wrap, milk bath and massage which ironically left her aching all over after that!

Jo was then whisked off by her personal chauffeur for the day to her manicure and pedicure appointment where she finally had the time to sit down and catch up with her good buddies who had come all the way for her wedding. And though she had a hundred and one things going through her mind, she was thankful for the little break and for the company of beloved friends who will always be dear to her.

Unforgettable

If there was one word to describe Jo's hen's night, it would simply be UNFORGETTABLE. Donned with a Hawaiian-like bikini top, she was bedecked with an oh-so-itchy purple feather garland and a fluffy white and silver tiara that screamed 'look at me!'.

Her girlfriends had the cheek to make her wear the outfit to the happening eatery strip at The Curve while sending her on a wild goose chase of things she needed to check of the list as a rite of passage before marriage. Good thing it was a weekday night as the crowd was slowly thinning by the time they made their way over.

It was a fun-filled and memorable night nevertheless, and it was all the more meaningful for Jo who got to spend it with friends she had made from the different phases of her life thus far. Even more touching was the fact that she meant enough for a handful of them to hop on to a plane/bus and travel all the way to make in time for her wedding festivities :)

Left: Announcing to the world of Jo's upcoming wedding; Right: Beautifully strung up lights provided the right atmosphere

The girls hard at work preparing Jo's specially designed outfit and the bride-to-be in her buddies' outrageous creation!

Digging in to mouth watering curry laksa, home-made popiah, fried chicken and superly sinful sweets!

Each of the girls brought an item for 'show and tell' as they wished Jo well in her new life ahead

All of us :)

The Street at The Curve

Jo performing her various tasks - getting a peck on her hand and a massage, among others ;)