Honeymoon Episode 2 - Ho Chi Minh City

To Hubby: In case you read this, I finally got to post this entry!

Okay, this idea of having a series of honeymoons came from my husband actually. He loves to travel. Not that I don't like to, but the idea has never really crossed my mind (since I'm mostly travelling on work assignments, so I am quite appreciative of my time in KL..) Believe it or not, we actually have another destination coming.. but I guess we will have to miss it (or go with my sister instead). Husband's not around, and I will just get to see him in 2.5 months' time.

And so, we went to Ho Chi Minh City last month. My husband was here on work matters before we were married, and he told me before that he would love to come back again as a destination for honeymoon, and SHOP! He managed to get us a good deal on the flight ticket price, and also a strategic hotel location in District 1, HCMC.

So here's a lil bit of the story.. enjoy!

About to touch down in HCMC. I was really excited. And I didn't have the slightest idea that HCMC would look like this from above.

Hm, quite a modern airport. I like!

We checked in, and took a stroll after that around the city. It was a busy city. Full of motorists, even at night!

Sweep panoramic version of an area nearby this monumental building. It was a splendid view I must say.

One side of HCMC from our hotel rooftop. Very few tall buildings. Definitely not like KL.

We went out to begin our shopping the next day. Along the road, we saw many stalls selling flowers. Pretty! Flowers of many sorts were being sold here, from morning till evening.

 My husband began the shopping agenda, haha. I must say he is an awesome bargainer. I reserved my shopping for next day :)

*Siapa suka kain cotton sure pengsan tengok banyak sangat kain cotton cantik kat sini :)

We had an early dinner that night at Four Seasons Restaurant, because we didn't have a proper lunch (sibuk sangat tengok kain!) We found out about this restaurant from a website that lists halal food outlet. Try googling Zabihah Halal Food. They will give a complete set of information, from the name of the restaurant, the address, phone number and visitors' rating! Somehow the 'Four Seasons' name reminded me of South Korea. Dunno why. But the food here were great. And most importantly, they were affordable.

 Inside view of the restaurant

Upon breakfast the next day, we stuffed ourselves so that we would not really need to go for lunch. Then we went shopping again. Finding things for ourselves, and yerp, we got a good bargain (after a long arguing with these ladies, and walaupun setelah dibodek oleh mereka, haha! "Ala abang, spend a little more for your pretty wife lo.." that left me blushing, hihi) They were trying to sell the items at high prices, but hubby was uncheatable, haha. Sorry and thanks ladies!

Eksyen je bertudung tu.. bawah pakai seluar pendek, haha.

We dropped our things back at the hotel, had a little rest, and we hit the city again. To take a stroll and enjoy the scene, and to hunt for early dinner. Like the day before. HCMC definitely had a pretty view. Clean city.

The post office.The inside was brilliant

Hehe.. makan ice-cream jap, sebab dah start lapar :)

There was a beautifully-landscaped garden in front of this building. Just had to take a picture here.

We had our dinner at Alibaba Restaurant. It was a restaurant of north indian cuisine. I must say we had great dining here. The briyani and naan were superb! But it was quite expensive. About RM8 just for the dhal gravy. Tapi sedap, I could say it was worth every cent. Eh, Vietnamese Dong!

So after dinner, we walked again to explore the city. The streets were decorated with colorful lights. Youngsters were everywhere, either on foot or on motorcycles. We marched to the riverside and there was a park there, filled with young lovebirds and families who wanted a nice timeout with their little children. 1st time tengok orang dating tanpa perasaan. Kalau kat KL, mau nak lempang je, heheh.

And this was a so-called boat. It was actually a floating restaurant. We didn't dine here, not really a fan of seafood.

The final day, I still had time to finalize my shopping. Got myself 3 baju kurung for USD 60! Hehe.

Bidding farewell to HCMC, and to Ben Thanh especially, hehe.

About to check out from the hotel (sempat lagi tu..) and waiting for the hotel car to send us to the airport.

Farewell Ho Chi Minh City.. from Fairuz & Ira :)

Honeymoon Episode 1 - Bali

Bali was our 1st destination for honeymoon. We secured the honeymoon package way back in August 2009 during Matta Fair at PWTC. It wasn't our 1st choice of destination, but since we couldn't get a honeymoon package for the place that we wanna go ("Adik, tunggu next Matta Fair lah.. this Matta Fair is just for travels until early March") plus that particular Matta Fair was held in the month of Ramadhan (penat + agak malas nak go through every booth), we quickly secured the package to Bali for a fair price. After finding out the real price, we managed to save about RM600++ from the actual accommodation cost. Worth it eh..?

So we left for Bali two days after the reception by Husband's family. A quite tight schedule, it was for us. But everything went as planned, and that we wanted to utilize the marriage leave to the most optimum capacity as possible. A few colleagues who went there for their honeymoon gave their best tips, and their guide was all that we have.

Upon arriving at Ngurah Rai Airport, we could already feel the strong Hinduism influence in Balinese culture. The carvings of Hindu deities were everywhere, but they were not the same like the carvings we have on Hindu temples in Malaysia. They were more to the epic stuff (I guess!) like Ramayana and Rhavan (even Goddess Guanyin was among the deities featured, it got me confused!) For us, yep, definitely a new kind of experience!

A view of the Balinese carving @ Ngurai Rai Airport.

 Though I was not really sure if this was of which epic (Ramayana ada scene naik kuda eh?) but I must say it was a really magnificent statue.

The journey to Jay's Villa took like almost an hour (Bali traffic condition is almost alike to Jakarta. Macet!) The villa was located in a paddy plantation area in Kerobokan. Most of the exclusive villas were located there. As we arrived, we were served with welcoming drink, and then being led to our villa :) Enough reason to make us not go out at all! A few friends have also asked us where this place is. Haha!

 

Us, in front of Jay's Villa

 

 The bedroom, as cozy as it could get

We had our private swimming pool!

The lovely decorated bathtub. Sayangnya nak mandi..

The spacious + airy bathroom

The TV lounge beside the pool

We had our lunch first before..

.. going for shopping~~!! Weee.. @ Legian. Many handbags and surfwear shops to choose from, and of course, souvenirs and local crafts were sold here too. If you're a nightclub or bar goer, Legian is a great place to hang out with friends. They have bands playing at night too. Mat saleh ramai la kat area ni.

After the tiring walk and shopping, it's time to get a few minutes of rest. This was Husband's idea - me going for manicure (it hurt like ouch!)

And dear Husband needed foot massage very badly.. hehe.

After the hand and foot therapy, we went back to the villa to get some rest. Along the way back, we feasted our eyes with scenic view of paddy fields. Their harvesting way were more traditional, cuz it is mainly for household consumption. And as we reached the villa...

.. we discovered the pool was decorated with rose petals when we got back! How romantic..

Well, we were more tempted to have our dinner and not disturb the pool, haha. Nyum2!

We went to Ubud the next morning after breakfast. On the way to Ubud, we encountered many shops that sell silverwares and paintings, not to mention stone carvings as well. We stopped by this outlet, being informed by Pak Supir that this place had the finest handmade silver ornaments. But it was too expensive here. An ordinary silver ring could cost up to RM150! Kat Malaysia RM60 pun dah boleh beli cincin silver Giordano.. duh. So no shopping done here.

Here we were, at Ubud! (after almost 50 minutes from Kerobokan) We got ourselves good bargain for t-shirts and pretty handicrafts. Sarongs here were quite expensive, depending on the type of material they use for the cloth. After shopping, we asked Pak Supir to drive us to a nearby halal food restaurant. He brought us to this restaurant, Natrabu. Tasteful dining. They also have an outlet in KL.

We had our dinner that night at Jimbaran Beach. There were lots of seafood restaurants for tourists to choose from. Wooden tables and chairs covered the long stretch of the beach. It was definitely a lovely scene and a great dinner too!

Our meal.. nyum2!

and while enjoying our dinner, these guys entertained us with "Can't Help Falling in Love".. ahh.. schweettt..

 

The following morning, again we went to Legian beach, to say farewell before we left that afternoon. I managed to get my hair done and Husband got his massage at the salon that morning, before we rushed back to the villa, pack our things, and headed straight for the airport.

To sum it all, 4 days 3 nights vacation to Bali wasn't enough to cover the whole island, cuz Bali is kind of a big island (or maybe because our pace was not that fast). Spa services are cheap here, so take the opportunity to pamper yourself while you are there. I personally did manicure, hair treatment and full body massage during the 4-day visit. But I guess the villa made it a honeymoon worth going. Perfect for newlyweds! :)

Ok, next stop!

Ohh encik Shahir..

Cair cair... haihhhh...

As expected.. Shahir menang!! Wooohoooo!!~~~

I voted. Hehe.


Apapun, I still heart Akim =D (eh.. apa kaitan??)

Hmmhh..

Idea, idea.. come to me.. I think I need to revamp my blog..

.. boring semenjak takde new hobby..

Blabs in May

• I am back with my long lost interest: Novel reading! Yay :) am reading Eclipse (okay, it's definitely NOT because of Edward Cullen, no no) It's actually because of Kristen Stewart I think. Her acting, I mean. Don't really fancy the way she did it in the previous two movies. But I definitely can't wait for Eclipse to appear in the theaters this June! Hopefully she would show more passion on her face for Edward (c'mon girl.. I need to see the LOVE on your face! If not, I can't trust your feelings towards Edward since Jacob pun you layan gak!). I will have to complete reading the book by then.

Hmm.. I guess I'm not really his fan because I dislike his role in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. Sorry Robert.

• Since I'm alternating between Sg Buloh and Kajang every week, it seems that most of my stuff are redundant right now. Face cream, deodorant, shoes, facial scrub..Since I usually missed them out in my list-to-bring, I have them all to be more than two. Really cluttering up my dressing cupboard. I guess what I really need in extra quantity is workblouse!

• Husband and I are going for a short vacation this weekend (aptly mentioned as 2nd honeymoon =D)  before he leaves for his overseas assignment for a few months. I am not really in the mood to pack things right now, thanks to the when-will-it-end cold.. It had me awake for a few nights already. Sigh..

Where will our next stop be?

• There is a huge possibility that I will be joining my husband for a couple of months during his overseas assignment period. That means I might be spending raya there. Well, the not-so-nice part is that I can no longer help my mom in the kitchen like I always do on every malam raya. The good part is, both of us will have to spend raya on our own! No squabbling over whose place that we will beraya at, yeahh! Fair and square (though in our implied understanding, it has been finalized whose place it is.. =\) Tapi for the coming years.. terpaksa la beralah bila perlu.

• Since I am mostly not at home (read: Sg Buloh) nowadays, I am trying hard to recall all the advice & nags I got from my mom and maktok. Yerp, they were absolutely true in most of the things they say (besides that I might marry an old man if I keep singing in the kitchen! I kept singing cuz I was so hopeful that it would be Norman KRU, haha) Hopefully I will be a great wife (read: great, not good ya. To be a good wife has a different meaning (doormat?)) and a great mom one day as well. Let's pray for little toddlers to come our way soon :)

 It's kinda cool to be like Marge.. minus being a housewife. But I prefer my kids to spend their time like Phineas and Ferb do!

• Hm, did I ever mention I rarely buy shoes and handbags? Well, that statement is currently not really applicable. I have two unused handbags, not knowing when and where I will use them. And oh, I have three unused, very pretty stilettos. One pair is wine red, one brown and the other pair is silver. Any upcoming wedding I could dress up for? Sometimes, I guess I just wanna own the shoes for the sake of having them in my possession, not really because I wanna wear them. Duhh. From whom did I learn to do this!

• The nikah video plus the official photos from my solemnization and wedding reception are not out yet (some of my aunties are already asking for the photos! Arrghh..) I guess if you guys have difficulty viewing the photos tagged from my uncle and aunty's FB albums, I suppose it's due to their privacy setting. Can't do much about it, so please wait for the pics as patient as I am :)

• Oh yes, can mineral water bottles be recycled? Do we in Malaysia have the facility to do so? If yes, where? I've checked KPKT's website and found not much of info on recycling. I have a pile of mineral water bottles that I keep here behind me at my cubicle. My friends have also been 'generous' enough to place their empty plastic bottles here. So much in helping me achieve this year's resolution - to GO GREEN!

• Ah, UTP Alumni AGM will be held on May 15th, Impiana Hotel. Our dear Rector will join us, so I've been told :)

I wanna immortalize this here!

I'm glad you loved it :) Happy birthday sayang~

A story of my marriage day

Alright, I did mention before that I wanted to post something about my wedding. For my friends (especially Zamila and Ziad!) whose weddings are gonna be around the corner, I hope you will enjoy reading this post :)

Now where do I start…? Oh yes. A few days before solemnization.

I had 2 days to complete the work for Bangkok project before I left the office on Wednesday to go on my annual leave (yes annual leave! Marriage leave was for honeymoon :)). It was a hectic 3-day leave, where I cramped everything that was not yet done:

• Having my bridal spa (I excluded manicure and pedicure. Didn’t want my henna to look faint) at Cendana Spa, Section 7, Shah Alam. I found out about this spa through a few bridezillas’ blogs :)
• Fetching the tailor-made scarf for my red kebaya jubah (this was supposed to be the attire for cake cutting, tapi last minute thinking, malas nak tukar baju during reception, hehe and the dress ended up to be the attire for outdoor photo shoot, which we have not done yet) 
• Completing my personalized VIP gift bags (I already completed 51, but when Mr. Fiance told me his group might be big, I decided to add another 19 paperbags) 
• Completing the hantaran for the groom. 4 were completed like 2 weeks before. The other 7 were done that Thursday night, just right after my photographer paid me a visit to discuss on the solemnization and reception arrangement. Thanks Mom and my sisters for the helping hand :) 
• Last-minute shopping for the wedding bedroom
• Decorating the room like I planned it to be

Thank God I didn’t have to make the bunga rampai on my own, thanks to Mom, Maktok, Auntie Rahmah and Auntie Lin. I definitely could not do it all by myself without their help.

Above anything, I wanted to meet Mr. Fiancé for the last time before becoming Mr. Husband. But there was too little time to spend, so we just had to forget the idea.

I couldn’t really sleep that Friday night. But I was indeed tired. The dais was not ready, the house was still in a mess and I thought of accompanying my Mom and Ain to stay up until everything was done. But then Mom asked me to go to bed, so I did.

Waking up on that 20^th felt weird. I don’t really know how to label that feeling. But it felt kinda uneasy. I called Ozal (who just arrived from Arau that morning) into my room and asked him to give me a hug. Unconsciously, I was sobbing quietly. He comforted me to calm down. I grabbed my towel and went to have my bath. When I got out, the makeup artiste has already arrived. She began her work as soon as I was ready. Chitchatting with her took away the nervousness I had. By the way, did I mention I loved what she did to my face? Yes I really do! I highly recommend her.

Later then, my videographer and photographers came. Not long after they start recording and snapping photos, my good friends came into the room. I was excited by their presence but kinda didn’t really know how to greet them in excitement. I guess the exact word to describe me was ‘slightly frozen’ (Afterall, Mom always reminded me to be a well-mannered bride. I guess I did well :))

From upstairs, I heard the marhaban group started reciting Yaasin. I couldn’t really predict what was happening downstairs. I told myself to shake it off and just relax. My room was being swarmed by increasing number of friends and families. It was nearing 11 am, and my Dad asked me to text Mr. Fiancé to proceed to my house from the nearby mosque.

So, it was time for me to go downstairs. Descending the stairs slowly allowed me to give a few gazes at the guests. After I got myself comfy on the dais, the groom’s side started to enter the house, placing the hantaran in front of the dais, just opposite my hantaran for the groom. My palpitation was softened when I saw my Dad and family members around. Mr. Fiancé entered the door and made himself comfy in front of Imam Yusof. And then, the ceremony began.

Auntie Rokiah Ramlan was the moderator of the solemnization. She did a really great job with her splendid speech containing the elements of adat Melayu like pantun and kiasan. My thanks to her for handling the ceremony just like how I wanted it to be.

Imam Yusof took the crowd’s attention with some words of wisdom. Mr. Fiancé then volunteered to read the marriage sermon written in Imam Yusof’s notebook when Imam Yusof said it was afdal for the groom to read it himself. I felt proud of Mr. Fiancé for being so confident :) Then the real trembling came, when it was the time for the solemnization. All I can think of was reciting selawat over and over again. Thanks to Farina who constantly reminded me what to do before the event started.

With one lafaz, I became the wife of my dear Mr. Husband. Alhamdulillah everything went smoothly. After Mr. Husband performed the prayer, he came to the dais and presented the dowry together with the ring and the bangle. We exchanged the gifts: 11 trays from me and 9 trays in return from him.

And so, the day was spent with greeting families from both sides, taking lots and lots of pictures (thanks to Ariff, Darshan and Uncle Shahrin of course!) and yup, who could forget nasi minyak as the menu of the day?

And of course, I wanna thank my friends who made the effort to come (Dib, Fatin, Shafaf, Aween and Yatt) and the awesome uncles, aunties and cousins who made the day so memorable. Special thanks to my sister Ain, for being a great coordinator for both the solemnization ceremony and the wedding itself. I’m forever indebted.

To my dear husband, welcome to our new life :) Have fun on your birthday tomorrow. I just want you to know that I love you :) very much! Can't wait for our 2nd honeymoon soon~

Last but not least, congratulations to Shafaf on her marriage last weekend!

A post-wedding note

Writing with a different status now. I'm a wife! 

Well, I don't really know what to say actually. Just that I wanna express my thanks to families and friends who came and celebrated the wedding together. Personally, I really enjoyed all the three events; Nikah, Reception and Bertandang; and I hope all guests who came had a great time as well, if not, great dining :)

If friends were to ask me which of the three I loved the most, I would say the solemnization day was the most memorable and hmm.. I don't know how to say, it's kinda hard to put into words, but it was an amazing day for me definitely.

So, here are some of my fave moments of the 3 days :) (Official photos are not out yet. More pics in FB of course. Credits to Auntie Ju & Uncle Shahrin)

Getting ready for solemnization. I was fixing my stockings :)

After solemnization ceremony. Mr. Husband fitted the ring to my finger :)

Mr. Husband pitied my sweaty face, he brought along some facial tissues in his hand!

 At the dais during the reception @ Seri Selangor Golf Club

Making entrance during reception @ Putrajaya

We already came back from our trip to Bali. It was a great vacation (and great dining too! I must have put on some weight I guess..) All pics are still in the camera and I haven't the time to upload them yet)

To my friends and family members whom I missed during the reception, I am utterly sorry for not being able to meet every one who came. But I am definitely happy that you guys were there :) thanks for coming.

C R E D I T S  T O:

Mak Abah

Ain, Aishah, Ozal

Maktok

Farina

Uncle Mansor, Auntie Lin & family

Auntie Rahmah

Auntie Rokiah Ramlan

Uncle Osman & Auntie Che Yah

Pakcik Hashim

Auntie Ju

Auntie Ain

Mona Shamili

Mak & Ayah

Along, Fiqah & Ain 

These last few days

The date is drawing near. I am feeling a lot of things.. well, am not too sure what they are actually. I guess the appropriate word is 'butterflies'. I am at the meeting junction of joy and sorrow.

A lot of things I went through these past few weeks. Emceeing with Mr. Fiance at a friend's wedding (letih!), two back-to-back overseas assignments, performance review, completing all my wedding to-do-list, dealing with wedding vendors who always miss the time, etc.. Nevertheless, I am glad that everything planned was properly done, and I definitely couldn't have done it without my parents, siblings and Mr. Fiance himself. Oh yes, many thanks to my wedding planner as well.

Shopping for the wedding happened everywhere I go. Seems like I couldn't stop from grabbing nice things. From KL to Miri to Jakarta and to Bangkok, I bought something back for the wedding. I am kinda excited, because a lot of personal touch is being given for this wedding. I'll tell about it after the wedding :)

In the end, all that matters is that we will be together, finally.

Dear friends, hope to see you guys at the wedding :)

To Mr. Fiance, many happy wishes for our big day :)