Our adventures

Its Great To Have Family! (And our trip to Toronto)

2008-07-11T15:35:00.001-07:00

I have always been big on family. It may be my Hainanese blood, or just the fact that I've been brought up that way cos both my parents are extremely big on family. And, this trip is a great reminder of why family is fantastic!

The Wife and I had planned the honeymoon such that we will hit both NYCand Toronto, as I have cousins living in both places. When we told people about it before the trip, some were wondering if wemade the right decision.

Oft I am asked, "are you sure you want to visitfamily during your honeymoon? Shouldn't a honeymoon just be for the two of you?".

I am glad to say that we made the right decision to visit cousin D in NYC and Cousin J and her hubby W in Toronto.

Both places wouldn't have been half as fun otherwise. More importantly, this trip gave us a chance to catch up with them upclose, and both the Wife and I had a ball of a time!

We got to re-acquaint with our loved ones, who took fantastic care of us.

Cousin D, for example, was actually working in Spain on a deal when we arrived in NYC. The deal was to be sealed on the Monday immediately following our arrival, and were in the final stages of negotiations(which Cousin D was leading).

Yet, just for us, he flew all the way back from Spain jus so that he could host us for 2 days over the weekend at his lovely country house, and after that, he flew all the way back to Spain to complete his deal. All that trouble, all the expense, and not to mention inconvenience, just so he could be with family.

Cousin J and Cousin-in-law W were just as fantastic!They pretty much took care of every detail for us when we were inToronto.

From the time we landed, they picked us up at the airport with their new and fantastically beautiful car 'Helga' (which, for the record, when I grow up, I want one just like it). And because we had so much luggage, Cousin-in-law W had to make two trips to and fro the airport and our hotel, which they had booked and arranged for us all in advance.

Over the next few days, Cousin J and Cousin-in-law W took us to the Mannonites’ Farmers’ Market… and while there we had fabulous tasting fried apples with ice cream and cherries.

[Toronto – Farmers’ Market]

[Toronto – Us at the Farmers’ Market]

[Toronto – Farmers’ Market – Fried Apples with Ice Cream]

[Toronto – Farmers’ Market – Cherries anyone???]

…then on to the Niagara Falls, to countless restaurants where we had great food at unbeatable low prices, and they even arranged for, and took us on, a night tour of Toronto City in 'Helga' on our last night because they wanted us to see the lovely city that they live in.

Mind you, that was a Monday night, and Cousin J had been working all day, and was obviously very tired, but still, she made sure that we had a lovely meal (crabs, crispy beef, dried scallops with veg, and friedchicken), before zipping us around downtown Toronto with Cousin-in-law W till past 11pm.

[Toronto – Lovely Dinner]

[Toronto – Crabs]

[Toronto – Crispy Orange Beef]

[Toronto – Veggie with Dried Scallops]

Did I also tell you that Cousin-in-law W is a great cook (and he can rival Cousin J, a great cook in her own right, anyday). We should know. He made us breakfast on our last day in town.

He barbecued the bacon till they were crispy and flavourful. Paired with some raisin bread, the bacon was simply out of this world. He also made us fingerling potatoes with butter and pepper that were to die for. Then there were sunny side up eggs, milk, coffee, and also a huge bowl of mixed fruit each (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and peaches)! All in all, a lovely healthy breakfast made with love!

[Toronto – Cousin in law W’s fabulous brekkie]

We enjoyed all the lovely sights, including the magnificent NiagaraFalls, our visit to the CN Tower where we had a good lunch, and we even went vineyard hopping and tasted many (and bottle several) great wines.

[Toronto – Niagara Falls]

[Toronto – Niagara Falls 2]

[Toronto – The Wife At Niagara Falls]

[Toronto – Ice Wine Anyone]

[Toronto - Me, Cousin J and Cousin in law W at Chateau Des Charmes]

[Toronto – The whole gang tasting wine at REIF]

[Toronto – Us lunching at CN Tower]

[Toronto - The fabulous sweet potato fries at CN Tower]

[Toronto – View at CN Tower]

But most of all, we loved spending time with Cousin J and Cousin-in-lawW.Thanks Cousin J and Cousin-in-law W (who was a laugh a minute with hisjokes). We loved our time in Toronto, and thanks for all your love andfor taking such great care of us.Its great to have family!

- WWCS

BOSTON!!!

2008-07-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

After the exhilarating visit to NYC, where we ate and ate and ate non-stop, we continued on our next leg of the honeymoon to Boston.

Strangely, the moment we arrived, both the Wife and I immediately got agood vibe from Boston, something that we both thought we would feel (butdid not) with NYC. It could be the area that we were in, Backbay Boston, which had a lovely ambience in the air, or perhaps its the brownstone houses around the neighbourhood of our hotel, which were so pretty. It could even be Lennnox hotel, where we stayed (which is beautiful, had a huge room, andexcellent service staff).

Whatever it was, we liked the place almost instantaneously. The only pity is that we only had a very short time in Boston. So, at a friend's suggestion, we did a whirlwind tour by taking the BostonDucktours.

Our guide is a funny guy, and he came dressed like a pirate captain to add to the mood of the trip. The tour was fun, albeit short, and I can't help but feel that there is so much more of Boston to see and find out, if only we had more time. Perhaps one day we will return to see and explore more of Boston.

But for now... I hope you enjoy the pix we took of our short but very enjoyable time in Boston.

[Us on the Duck!]

[Our Pirate Captain]

[Boston Common]

[Views of the Charles River on the Duck Tour]

- WWCS

Cosmopolitans, Cupcakes and Carrie’s Apartment Stoop (a.k.a. the SATC Tour)

2008-07-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

We are both fans of SATC and so one of the very first things we did when we decided on our dates for NYC was to sign up for the SATC Tour. It was a good thing we did as our tour was a complete sell-out as we found out when we gathered excitedly at the pick-up point which was the very classy Plaza Hotel (the setting for Mr Big’s and Natasha’s grand engagement party).

I had expected W to be one of very few (if any) guys to be on the tour. In fact, as we were waiting in line to board the tour bus, two women who were standing in front of us predicted that W would likely be the only guy on the tour and promptly christened him “Mr Big”. Imagine our surprise when we saw at least 5 other guys also on the same tour! W instantly lost his “Mr Big” status then but that was fine since we all know that the real stars of SATC are the 4 girls – Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha.

Our guide for the tour was Lou, a leggy blonde who is an aspiring singer and actress. She shared many interesting nuggets of information with us, like how there is a glaring inconsistency in the opening credits of SATC. Let us know if you think you know what the inconsistency is and we will let you know if you are correct. Also, how the role of “Aidan” was supposed to have gone to another actor whose real name was Aidan. But he turned it down and in the end John Corbett got the role. But apparently the producers of the show liked the name “Aidan” so much, they kept it for the character.

The format of the tour was a simple one. We essentially took a bus and walking tour around Manhattan with the guide pointing out the various locations where certain pivotal scenes were filmed (both in the movie and the series). To jolt our memories, she would also show us clips from the series that feature the same sights that she just pointed out.

Our first real stop on the tour came in the West Village. We were brought to “The Pleasure Chest”, where Charlotte first discovered the Rabbit. We were welcome to buy what we wanted in the shop but the catch was you had to show and tell the entire bus what you bought (I am only kidding).

Next stop was to Carrie’s apartment stoop. If anyone is interested, the apartment stoop featured in the show is on Perry Street in the West Village. If you are ever in NYC, you can check it out. You will not miss the exact apartment stoop since the current owner of the apartment has a chain-link fence across the stoop and there is a sign warning against loitering, trespassing etc.

Then we were each given a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery. This was the bakery where Carrie and Miranda each got a cupcake and Carrie first told Miranda that she had a crush on Aidan. The cupcakes attained cult status after they were featured on the show and there is a long queue at the bakery on most days. Apparently there is also a limit to the number of cupcakes that one can buy. My take on the cupcakes? Way too sweet for my liking. And the cupcakes are also rather dense. I much prefer the lighter version that was served as our wedding cake (then again I may be biased). Both of us did not finish our cupcakes and had to surreptitiously dispose of them since the rest of our tour members obviously loved them and ate every crumb.

The West Village is a lovely place and it has many cool shops too. W must have rued the moment he said “Hey there is a Lulu Guinness shop there- let’s check it out.” Check it out we did and we emerged 10 minutes later with a cute red handbag from the Couture line. It is small and feminine and I simply love the colour. It is going to be my dinner / functions bag from now on. Thanks dearie!

(With our Magnolia Bakery cupcakes)

Our last stop on the tour was O’Niels – the setting for “Scout”, the bar owned by Steve and Aidan. We had to have the requisite cosmos at the bar and they were pretty good actually. What struck me was how small the bar was when in the show, the bar looked fairly large.

(Cosmos at O'Niels)

We totally enjoyed ourselves on the tour and it’s a great tour to do with your girlfriends (although W was a real good sport on the tour too). I only wish we could have seen places like the apartment that was featured in the movie. But I guess those are movie sets and are inaccessible. What was really nice about the tour was that throughout the tour, I overheard people reminiscing about what they were doing when they first watched the series and how they became hooked. It was amazing that after all these years, people can still remember the exact moment they first watched the series.

Clearly SATC has left a deep impact on many people’s lives.

- M

News Bulletin - Toronto & Quebec

2008-07-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

Just to update everyone...

We have now swept through Toronto... and spent a great time with my Cousin J & her hubby, WO'N.

We have just landed in Quebec City.

WE WILL TRY TO CATCH UP ON THE BLOGGING...

Key word here is... TRY.

HAHA.

- WWCS

NYC in a nutshell (of photos)

2008-07-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Day 1

[NY – The Wife & Karl @ Vice Versa]

[NY – Time SQ]

[NY – Time SQ 2]

[NY – Us in Time SQ]

Day 2

[NY – W @ Foot of Empire State Bldg]

[NY – Us on Empire State Bldg]

[NY – View from the Top]

[NY – View from the Top II]

[NY – NYC Skyline from our ferry to Statue of Liberty]

[NY – Statue of Liberty]

[NY – The Wife & Statue of Liberty]

Day 3

We did the Sex And The City Tour – more on that by the Wife.

Watch This Space.

Day 4

The later part of Day 3 and most of Day 4 were spent at Cousin D’s country house.

You have already seen the magnificent pix of the house in our earlier posts.

We returned from the country house to NYC, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, and spent the rest of Day 4 in Brooklyn Heights.

[NY – Brooklyn Bridge]

[NY – The Wife’s Arty Shot of Brooklyn Bridge]

[NY – Night View from the Promenade]

[NY – The Wife and our friend CK @ the Promenade]

[NY – Jap Dinner at Brooklyn 1 & 2]

Day 5

Day 5 was spent hanging out with friends, Karl and CK.

We had a wonderful lunch at Per Se.

Oh, did we mention that Per Se is a 3-Star Michelin Restaurant?

[NY - Us at Per Se]

Grin.

The wife will post more about this… watch this space for the gorgeous food pix!!!

Day 6 & 7

We spent some time at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

Our favourite exhibit… the Egyptian Temple & Mummies : ).

[NY – The Met]

[NY – Us at the Temple of Dendur]

[NY – Mummies Anyone???]

To be really honest, a lot of our time in NYC was spent savouring good (and often great) food!!!

We went to the Plaza for afternoon tea after spending the early part of the day at the Met Museum.

[NY – Tea At the Plaza]

That same night, at Karl’s instigation (well… we need someone to blame, grin), we went for another giganormous meal with Karl and CK at Wolfgangs, a typical (and very good) American Steakhouse.

You can tell that Karl obviously enjoys a good steak…see…

[NY – Karl At Wolfgangs].

So… that, in a nutshell, was our NYC leg of the honeymoon:- good food, great friends, fantastic family, interesting sights… and a lovey dovey honeymooning couple from Singapore.

BLISS!

- WWCS

Boston!!!

2008-07-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

The Wife and I are again slightly behind on our blogging, and just to keep everyone updated, we have bade farewell to the Big Apple, and have arrived in Boston.

So far so good...

We really like the feel and ambience of the city (at least the area where we will be putting up for the next 3 days, Back Bay, Boston).

We promise to post more stuff soon...Till then... greetings from BOSTON!!!

- WWCS

When I Grow Up!

2008-07-03T15:12:00.001-07:00

When I grow up, I want a house just like my cousin D’s.

You wanna know why? Well, check out the pictures and the following commentary.

Here we go.

(1) Cousin D’s country house is located about 1.5 hours (by train) outside NYC, in a little village called Elizaville;

(2) It is one of several villages near a private Arts College, Bard College, and has a real nice American Country feel, and you literally feel the artsy fartsy ambience in the air, no thanks to the interesting buildings in the grounds of Bard College nearby. It even has a nice old colonial and stately looking house on its grounds, which is Cousin D’s dream house.

[Bard College]

[Cousin D’s Dream House]

(3) Not only is there a great ambience, the scenery and views are breathtaking, since it is in the valley that hugs the Hudson River, and there is a nicely manicured garden (upkept by volunteers) just a stone’s throw away.

[The Wife among the flowers in the garden]

[Us in the garden]

[Breathtaking view]

(4) The Country House itself is also to die for. It has a total of 4 bedrooms (all ensuite). The guest room that we slept in (which I shall shamelessly call OUR ROOM from now on) is HUGE, and comes with an equally huge bathroom (complete with bathtub and even a lounger).

[Our bedroom]

[Our ensuite bathroom]

(5) Next to our bedroom is what Cousin D calls “The Den”. It is a reading room, with a sofa bed, piano, and several racks of books.

[The Den]

(6) The master bedroom (which we did not take pictures of to protect Cousin D’s privacy), is of course HUMONGOUS, and comes complete with (a) a massage room, (b) a private steam room, and (c) a walk-in closet.

(7) There is a deck outside the Country House where you can lounge and read a book, enjoy the breathtaking view, soak in a Jacuzzi tub in, and even whip up some barbecue on a hot summer day’s night to enjoy with family and friends.

[The Deck & Jacuzzi]

[The Wife on the Deck]

[The Wife lounging on the Deck]

(8) The upstairs living room (yes yes… there is a downstairs living room too! – its called the Movies & TV room) is huge and comes complete with a fireplace where you can get toasty and comfy during winter. And of course, it is HUGE as well, because it is also connected to the open concept kitchen island where cousin D can (and I am sure, often do) whip up some magnificent dishes.

[The living room]

[The kitchen island]

(9) At the side of the upstairs living room, next to the kitchen island is the Dining Room, and the Casual Dining Room. (Yes yes… there are 2 dining rooms!). The view from the Casual Dining Room is magnificent! The Wife and I had breakfast there with Cousin D. Loved it.

[ The dining room]

[ The casual dining room]

[Us at breakfast]

[Me and Cousin D at breakfast]

(10) So… now that you have had a virtual tour of the upstairs, let me show you the downstairs of the Country House. Down a flight of staircase, and pass two other guest bedrooms later, you will come to the Movies & TV room, which is the downstairs living room. The best part of the Movies & TV room (and my personal favourite), is the 700 bottle private wine cellar (fully temperature controlled, and stocked with some amazingly good, and not to mention expensive, bottles of wine and bubbly).

[The movies and TV room]

[The wine cellar]

[View of the movies and TV Room & wine cellar from the yoga studio]

(11) For the health conscious freaks… the Country House also comes with your very own yoga studio, which opens out to the breathtaking view of the mountains. The yoga studio has a complete full-walled mirror on the other end of the room, which reflects the magnificent mountain view totally, so no matter which way you look, you will be yogaing to the lush greenery!

[The yoga studio]

[View of the mountains from the yoga studio]

(12) Of course, no country house will be complete without its own private garage, that’s fully equipped with a boat for weekend boating trips!!!

[front view of the house & garage]

[boating anyone?]

So you see that is why, when I grow up, I want a house just like Cousin D’s!!!

Thanks for having us Cousin D.

We LOVE your country house!!!

- WWCS

P/S: We spent two great days, and one great night at the Country House, and this was no doubt one of the highlights of our trip to NYC.

Random musings about NYC

2008-07-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

New York! New York! It’s a city that has featured in countless movies and has also been the backdrop of numerous novels. Home to Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha as well as the location for “Central Park” where our favourite Friends hung out, it was with great excitement that we arrived in NYC.

We fully thought we would love it. We wanted to love it. But it was not love at first sight for NYC and us.

The NYC in reality was messy, grubby and extremely fast-paced. Having just come from DC where the people are friendly and we have frequent random conversations with complete strangers, NYC seemed a tad bit intimidating and unfriendly.

On the afternoon that we got in, I left W in the hotel room (who was nursing a cold) to go explore the famed 5th Avenue (which was literally only at our door-step). Ok, I was NOT being a bad unsympathetic wife. I just thought it was easier for him to get some rest if I was not moving around our smallish hotel room and entertaining him with my constant chatter. And of course, I had already spied Sak’s Fifth Avenue on 49th street.

And so I found myself striding on Fifth Avenue that Wednesday afternoon. The sun was on my face and the wind was in my hair. And I was looking forward to shopping mecca. Then I realized that the New Yorkers I encountered were all rather similar – quick-footed, impassive expressions, usually glued to their cell phones or fixated on their blackberrys. No one made eye contact with anyone and no one held the door open for the next person.

I soon felt that I was walking too slowly and that I was silly to wait for the traffic lights to change. The people around me kept walking regardless of the traffic signals.

We met an old friend, Karl for dinner that night. He had moved to NYC some 4 months ago from the Bay area. He admitted that the pace of life in NYC was much faster than where he was previously and that for starters he walks much faster now than when he was in SF.

I realised that NYC was a city of great contrasts. New Yorkers are constantly rushing around. Yet, they wait uncomplainingly for more than an hour for dinner on a weekday evening. Homeless people can be found on many street corners, sometimes just barely a stone’s throw away from fancy stores like Tiffany’s.

But as the days went by, I began to discover certain things that I did like about NYC. I discovered the charms of the West Village. Wandering down blocks of brownstones in the Village and being distracted by cafes and little shops was pretty fun. I also enjoyed seeing the Manhattan skyline at night from the Brooklyn promenade by the waterfront. Interestingly, Brooklyn Heights was the only place in NY that I saw children playing unattended. And to think that before I visited, I thought Brooklyn was a totally rough neighbourhood! Apparently it has gotten “gentrified” in recent years.

I also began to appreciate the energy of NYC. The city never seems to sleep and judging by the New Yorkers whom I encountered living and working there, it’s a place where anything is possible for anyone. It’s a city of immigrants where you are twice as likely to bump into someone not American (born and bred) than otherwise. It seemed to me that NYC was a tough town but with a lot of grit and some luck, one could really go places here.

I suppose that is why America has often been described as the land of possibilities and NYC has stood as a beacon of hope for many people.

Myself? As I write this on the train that takes me away from NYC and towards Boston, I have decided that while I am still not in love with NYC, I now have a certain respect for the city. When I headed for brekkie this morning, I found myself crossing the street with a certain insouciance, without pausing for the lights to change. Perhaps a little of NYC has rubbed off on me after all.

- M

Desserts in DC – Cheescake Factory and Kramer’s books and afterwords café

2008-07-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

We are both big dessert fans and we made it a point to check out the recommended places for dessert in DC. And so we found ourselves at the Cheesecake Factory at Friendship Heights (a suburb outside the main City centre) on a weekday evening among a lively and hungry crowd.

We had stopped by the Cheesecake Factory for a “small” pre-dinner snack, solely to check out the cheesecakes. Imagine our pleasant surprise when we found that Cheesecake Factory also has a full menu and that they were in the midst of their “Happy Hour” when they offer tasting portions of their bar snacks. And so, we decided to order one slice of cheesecake and one portion of bar snacks to try.

Deciding on the bar snacks (chicken pot stickers) was easy enough. But when it came to picking the cheesecake, we were truly spoilt for choice. This was due to the sheer variety of cheesecake that was available. Two whole pages of the menu were devoted just to the selection of cheesecakes available.

(See pages of menu showing the cheesecakes available)

It was only after much deliberation that we settled on the chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake. It was described in the following terms: “chocolate cake, raspberry swirl cheesecake, chocolate marnier and chocolate ganache”.

The chicken pot stickers came first and we were surprised to find that they were actually the dumplings that we find back home (or guo tie / gyoza as we commonly refer to them). They were pretty good and reminded us of the food back home so they were even better on that count.

Then came the star – the cheesecake! It came with a HUGE dollop of whipped cream that I swore instantly not to touch but that resolution failed almost immediately when I discovered (courtesy of W) that the whipped cream went really really well with the bitter-sweetness of the cheesecake (due to the extremely high chocolate content). The cheesecake was quite frankly one of the best that I have had not least because the high chocolate content suited the chocoholic side of me perfectly.

The cheesecake was dense and yet crumbly enough that when you dig into it with a fork, delectable bits of the cheesecake will come apart. The sweetness of the raspberry swirled within the cheesecake contrasted nicely with the bitterness of the chocolate. The crust was good too, fragrant and buttery and it tasted like it was made of digestive biscuits mixed generously with butter.

In keeping with American food portions, the slice of cheesecake that we had was fairly large and we failed to finish it, despite it being as good as it was. But we agreed that it was certainly a worthy visit and it was a great way to spend a rainy evening in DC.

The next day, we headed to Kramer’s Books and Afterwords Café at Dupont Circle in search of more desserts. R, an old friend who lived in DC for a number of years had suggested that we check this place out for its “really good desserts”. Our hotel had also recommended the same and so we decided to head there from Georgetown.

We didn’t have the exact address for Kramer’s but after some asking around, we were pointed in the right direction and we found it without too much trouble. The café was located behind the bookstore, which we understood to be one of the better known independent book-sellers in DC. This was certainly not your typical Borders or Barnes and Noble.

We headed to the café which was at the rear end of the bookstore and quickly found seats since it was still early. The vibe of the café was a relaxed one and we could understand why it’s particularly popular with the college and young working adults crowd.

One of the first signs that Kramer’s didn’t take itself too seriously was when we saw that one of the signature cocktails Kramer’s offered was the “Billary” – As you can’t have one without the other.”

Jon, our server recommended the berry pie with vanilla bean ice-cream (as we didn’t feel like any more chocolate after the fix we got at Cheesecake Factory the day before). The pie came quickly and it was served piping hot which was great with the ice-cold vanilla bean ice-cream (according to one of our friends who is a pastry chef, if you can see tiny black specks in your vanilla ice-cream, they have used genuine vanilla beans in making the ice-cream. We are glad to say that the vanilla bean ice-cream served at Kramer’ was full of tiny black specks of vanilla beans).

What made out short sojourn to Kramer’s even more interesting was when we started talking to Jon (our server) and found out that he is also friends with R (the friend who directed us to Kramer’s in the first place). It’s amazing how small and inter-connected our world truly is.

Truth be told though that as much as we enjoyed Kramer’s, it was not as good as the Cheesecake Factory (in our opinion). If you have been to both or either, share with us your views as well?

- M

Days 1 & 2 In Washington DC

2008-06-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

Washington DC

*HEALTH WARNING*

*Looooooong series of consolidated posts (3 posts in total).*

*Do not read if you do not have 36 hours to spare, or are a law student/lawyer, who has already been sufficiently tortured by all the font 6 textbooks which run into thousands of pages, or the innumerable badly written convoluted judgments.*

*For the rest of you… enjoy!*

We spent a total of 4 nights in Washington DC, which was the 3rd part of our honeymoon. We thoroughly enjoyed Miami and the Caribbean Cruise (and its ports of call), so it was with a lot of excitement that we arrived in DC because we were expecting it to be just as great if not better.

I am glad to say that DC did not disappoint.

Day 1

We arrived in DC from Miami on 20 June 2008, and checked into Hotel Harrington.

Hotel Harrington is an old hotel, so it was pretty much no-frills, but yet clean and very affordable. The great thing about the hotel is that it is extremely conveniently located. It is a stone’s throw away from the subway, and many of the sights in DC.

We could (and did) walk from the hotel to all the museums at the Mall (more on that later), to the White House, and even to some of the monuments (although the monuments were slightly farther away).

[Day 1: Hotel Harrington]

After we checked in, the Wife and I went food hunting as it was approaching dinner time. As we were just several streets away from DC’s Chinatown, we decided to check the place out and assuage our Chinese food craving (we had, afterall, been away and deprived of Chinese food for almost 2 weeks by then).

Chinatown in DC is fairly small. It covers only a couple of streets, but is marked at its entrance by this huge Chinese Archway.

[Day 1: Chinatown]

There are numerous eateries along Chinatown, and I am glad to report that we had the good fortune of fortuitously picking an extremely good one, and that was our dinner place for 3 nights out of the 4 that we stayed in DC – Yes… we love and missed our Chinese food that much, and the food there was really THAT GOOD. : )

After dinner, we took a leisurely stroll back towards our hotel and that took us along Pennsylvania Avenue, where we took this nice shot of the US Capitol.

[Day 1: Night Shot along Penn Ave of US Capitol ]

Really could not have asked for more for our first day/night in DC. Hugely satisfying dinner, leisurely stroll, and a nice night view… we were in Heaven.

Day 2

I was responsible for planning the DC leg of the honeymoon, and in accordance with my character, decided to pack our days with numerous places of interest to visit (which the Wife found out to her horror meant loads and loads of walking on end from sight to sight and point to point - sorry darling, I will plan less walking in future… heh).

Our first stop was the National Museum of Natural History.

[Day 2: Museum of Natural History ]

[Day 2: Inside the Musuem Lobby]

The Museum is huge and has many different exhibition halls/rooms showing various different displays of natural history, including the dinosaurs, natural gemstones, mammals, African history & evolution etc.

We spent several hours at the Museum, caught an IMAX film on dinosaurs, and we loved the time we spent there.

The dinosaurs section was fun and exciting and obviously a crowd favourite. From the exhibits, I learnt that there are three broad eras in the evolution, namely the Paleozoic Era (570 to 230 million years ago); Mesozoic Era (230 to 65 million years ago); and Cenozoic (the past 65 million years up to now).

[Day 2: T-Rex Attack]

Also, did you know that apparently modern man assumed his distinctive form at least 35,000 years ago?

[Day 2: Shot of Skull of a Homosapien - 35,000 years old]

The gemstones section was interesting (they had on display the world’s largest blue diamond (which as the myth goes, is cursed – see, told you girls that diamonds are EVIL! : ); unfortunately, the Wife was not too convinced though, sigh).

[Day 2: World’s largest Blue Diamond – but its cursed ]

The African history one was highly educational (and I wished we had more time to linger on), but we had to rush off to catch a film at the National Museum of American Indians and didn’t have more time to spend there.

So, off we went to the National Museum of American Indians…

[Day 2: Wall Motif in the National Musuem of American Indians ]

[Day 2: Us with a sculpture in the Musuem of American Indians ]

The best part of the visit to the Indians’ Museum was the short film - “A Thousand Roads” that we caught. It’s a 40-minute film on the contemporary living of some Indian descendants in the modern world.

They featured 4 different individuals from different parts of the Americas and how they had such different lives, but yet were rooted in their origin and calling for their own people, their own land etc. They were, afterall, the native people living in the Americas before the immigrants/colonial conquerors/explorers found and settled in America.

It was inspiring and moving.

Both the Wife and I agreed that it was a fantastic film. Glad we caught it.

The rest of the exhibits were slightly depressing, as they showed how the Indians were being marginalized by the new settlers, and by the immigrants, and forced out of their lands and their natural and traditional way of living.

Many of the tribes were forced to resettle after losing the battle for their homeland and traditional way of living. Yet… they resolutely seek to hold on to their roots and some of their traditions, so that they and their children will always know from whence they came and who they truly are.

It’s a timely reminder for the Wife and I that we need to always remember our roots, culture, and tradition. No matter how progressive we have become, its important that we always remember from whence we came, who we truly are, and hold on to our roots.

Next stop – and still on day 2 (told you I packed our days… grin…) – was the Museum of Space and Air.

We rushed there to try to catch another IMAX show – “3D Sun”. It’s a documentary about how the astronomers, astrophysicists, and space people came up with a way to take shots of the Sun in 3D, and how it is important in developing a more sophisticated way of monitoring the sun and the space storms which are caused by the Sun, which have a significant impact on the Earth and all the planets around.

It was a highly technical film, and somewhat boring (albeit highly informative and educational). The Wife didn’t like it at all – science is not her thing, but I quite enjoyed the information that the film provided. It was not the best of the 3 films, but certainly no less informative than the rest nevertheless.

The coolest part of the visit to the Space Museum, however, was the shopping at the gift shop – grin.

We bought freezed-dried ice-cream that were designed for spacemen to eat in space. So Isabella, Charlotte, Rachel, Rebecca, Ryan, Regan & Rowena, look forward to some cool spacemen ice-cream. We got one for each of you!

We bought some glow-in-the-dark stars & planets for Rachel & Rebecca (cos we remembered Rachel & Rebecca wanted them a lot).

We bought glow-in-the-dark t-shirts for Ryan & Regan, and many other cool stuff : ).

[Day 2: Museum of Space & Air]

After we were done with the museums… we took a long long walk (and the Wife will gladly confirm that it was a LONG LONG LONG walk) back towards our hotel, with the objective of stopping by the White House enroute.

It was a nice walk for me… I love walking leisurely while on holiday, but it was a little too much for the Wife, who would have preferred a taxi ride any day, particularly since there were no shops and stuff along the way to distract her from the monotony and exertions. To be fair, it was several kilometers, it was midday in the middle of summer (so it was fairly warm), and not many Singaporeans will be accustomed to walking such distances to begin with. I therefore really appreciate the Wife for putting up with it and not complaining (well – not too much anyways) about walking all the way with me.

Love you darling, and thanks for being a sport!

Along the way, we walked past the US Treasury Department Building, and the Wife (after several kilometers of walking), had a stroke of inspiration. She whipped out a dollar note for a photo at the Treasury Building.

It’s a cute shot, no?

[Day 2: US Treasury Dept Building & The Wife with an American dollar bill]

After the photo, and a few more blocks later, we finally arrived at the White House.

I must say it actually looks really ordinary in real life.

Had it not been for the police patrol cars, innumerous photo-snapping tourists, and US flag, it could so easily have been passed off as some normal run-of-the-mill rich guy’s private residence.

In any case, we took a picture of the White House. I mean, after all, we are tourists, and we should be doing all the touristy things since we were there…don’t you agree? Heh heh.

[Day 2: The White House ]

And so… that capped the end of a packed itinerary of sightseeing for our 2nd day in DC.

- WWCS

Washington DC - Day 3

2008-06-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

We started our 3rd day in Washington with a visit to the Arlington Cemetry.

[Day 3: Arlington Cemetry ]

It was a lovely cemetery.

Sombre, and filled will lots of history.

After Day 2’s exertions, it was just not right to make the Wife walk through the cemetery in the heat. : ). So, we signed up for a mobile tour, which brought us through various of the famous sights in the cemetery.

We could hop on and off at 3 different locations:- JFK’s tomb, the tomb of the unnamed soldier, and Arlington House.

First stop, JFK’s grave.

[Day 3: Carving at JFK’s grave, a shot of the view from the tomb, and JFK & His Wife's headstone]

The next stop was the Amphitheatre at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where there is a change of guard ceremony every half-hour.

It was a nice ceremony.

Simple, but precise and filled with dignity, and honour. As a mark of respect, everyone watching the ceremony maintained absolutely silent.

[Day 3: Amphitheatre at the Tomb of unknown soldier where there is a change of guard every half-hour ]

And so… with the end of the change of guard ceremony came the end of our tour of Arlington.

Next up on the itinerary were the Library of Congress, US Supreme Court, the Capitol, and Union Station.

Enjoy the photos…

[Day 3: Pictures of the Library of Congress ]

[Day 3: US Supreme Court ]

[Day 3: Capitol Hill ]

[Day 3: Union Station ]

And yes… we visited them all by foot.

Some might argue that I was torturing the Wife by making her walk soooo much. I suspect I was even reported to Amnesty International for cruelty against a fellow human being… but hey… it was fun…Besides, most people in DC walk everywhere anyways!!!

Anyways… after all the exertions… we decided to reward ourselves, and check out the highly recommended Cheesecake Factory at Friendship Heights for some lovely and well-deserved desserts, and boy-oh-boy was the dessert fantabulous!

[Day 3: Friendship Heights – The Cheesecake Factory ]

The Wife will blog more about the food part of the trip, including of course our lovely raspberry and godiva chocolate cheesecake with whipped cream!

Finger-licking good!

- WWCS

Washington DC - Day 4

2008-06-29T20:24:00.001-07:00

Day 4 in Washington DC belonged to all the famous monuments in DC.

We had planned a visit to the Washington Memorial, the WWII Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.

But, before we even got to those, we chanced upon what I thought ought to be the MOST FAMOUS AND WELL REGARDED Memorial of them all…

THE WILSON MEMORIAL!!!

Heh. I always knew I was born to be rich, famous, revered, and will have a memorial named after me.

LOVE MY NAME!

[Day 4: Wilson Memorial enroute to Washington Memorial ]

Ok ok… I was being indulgent… the Wilson Memorial was to commemorate James Wilson, but hey… its close enough.

Do you even have a memorial which shares your name? No right… ha! See.

Wilson 1 and Blog Reader 0.

So… shortly after we did a must-have photo at the Wilson Memorial, we arrived at the Washington Memorial.

The only disappointment there was that we arrived too late to get our free tickets to go to the top of the obelisk, so we could only admire the view and the majesty of the monument from the foot.

It was nice and breezy, however, and a good photo opp. So no regrets going (for me anyways).

[ Day 4: Us at foot of Washington Memorial & Washington Memorial Shot]

Next up, and in the vicinity of the Washington Memorial was the WWII Memorial.

Did you know that if your relatives served in the US Armed Forces during the WWII and, ermm, died… you can check their names and particulars at the registry located right next to the WWII Memorial?

Quite cool right?

I mean, you can actually check if you are a descendant of a war hero.

[Day 4: WWII Memorial ]

Directly across the reflection pool (which is a sort of rectangular pond), directly opposite the WWII Memorial, is the Lincoln Monument, which was our next stop.

[Day 4: Lincoln Monument]

After the monument-memorial visit for touristy pictures, we took a subway train to spend the rest of our day in Georgetown.

Georgetown is a university suburb in DC.

It reminded us a lot of Holland Village in Singapore, except its bigger and has a more “atas” feel to it.

It has nice shopping along its main streets, although credit to the Wife for her self-restraint, we did not actually buy anything!!!

Well, we did not buy anything save for some fruits from Dean & Deluca, which we had been craving for the past few days.

Being away from home, and not having our lovely mums to cut up fresh fruits for us, we were having serious withdrawal symptoms from fruit shortage… (ok ok… I am exaggerating)… so when we chanced upon Dean & Deluca with its stacks and stacks of fresh fruits and delicious looking food, we gave in and bought a couple of bananas, 2 nectarines, and some chocolate croissant (for the next day’s brekkie).

I would have bought much much more – the scrumptious looking cookies, the chocolates, the chips, and other delicious looking food, had it not been for the Wife forbidding me to.

Apparently, we have both put on too much weight since the start of our honeymoon, and we have to exercise self-restraint, or actually exercise. The former was the easier option… so there… no cookies, no chips, no nice food… no taste of heaven although we walked right through the “Pearly Gates” (aka Dean & Deluca).

[Day 4: Georgetown & the fabulous Dean & Deluca]

We did indulge ourselves at the end of the day though, when we visited another highly recommended dessert café, Kramers.

The raspberry pie there was quite good, and it was such a joy to have.

With the raspberry pie warming our stomachs, we made our way back to the hotel… and had a taste of another sumptuous Chinese food dinner at Eat First, which brought an end to our lovely time in DC.

DC was a lovely city to visit.

Thanks for the monuments, the history, the museums, the sights, the fabulous Chinese food, the desserts (and well… for me… the walking!).

So… up and on… and NYC here we come!

- WWCS

A taste of home - Eat First in Chinatown, Washington DC

2008-06-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

(Check out the chilli sauce in the foreground)

As we get older, W and I often find ourselves missing chinese food when we are away from home for an extended period of time. Guess that is why we found ourselves heading straight for Chinatown after we checked into the Harrington Hotel in DC.

Chinatown in DC is pretty small. Just a couple of blocks but as with other Chinatowns that we have been to, the Chinatown in DC teems with people and activity. Every few steps we took, we were greeted by bold signs pronouncing that they served the most authentic chinese food ever. Then we look at the menu, see dishes such as "egg rolls" and "Singapore noodles" and are unimpressed.

So it was certainly a stroke of good fortune that brought us to "Eat First" (Shi Wei Xian - or "Food Comes First" which has somehow been translated to the doubtful "Eat First"). It was a nondescript Chinese restaurant, much like those that we passed earlier but W decided to try it anyway. Really really glad we did.

You can imagine how good the food was that we had 3 of our 4 dinners in DC at this restaurant.

Having tried Chinese food in various western countries, we had learnt not to expect too much. But the first sign that things were different at "Eat First" was that there were a good many Chinese guests dining at the restaurant.

More impressively, the restaurant actually had Chilli sauce. Not the Maggi variety but good old chilli sauce made from ground fresh chilli. Think the chilli that we have with our chicken rice back home and you get the picture. W was of course sold by then but I decided to reserve judgment until the food arrived.

The food was very good in itself and was exceptional when you consider that this is DC. We have learnt that most "authentic" chinese restaurants in the western countries adapted the flavours of their dishes to suit the western palate (but not so pleasing for the Asian palates, unfortunately). However, the dishes at "Eat First" retained their original flavours and the sweet and sour chicken that we had that first dinner was arguably the best that I have ever had.

W even remarked that if "Eat First" was a restaurant back home, he will not hesitate to journey there for a meal.

Over the next few days, we tried dishes such as claypot tofu, stir-fried prawns/beef/chicken and I am glad to say that not a single dish disappointed.

It was only later that we found out that this small chinese restaurant had not escaped the attention of the city's food critics and it had previously received awards from the Washingtonian. There was even a photograph of John Travolta dining at the restaurant, stuck on the wall.

So if you are ever in DC and if you are craving a taste of home (like we were), do check out "Eat First". It will not dissapoint.

Eat First Restaurant

609 H Street, N.W

Washington DC, 20001

- M

P.S: This is a series of food posts that I will putting up on DC as we had the good fortune of trying out some really good places in DC. W will be blogging about the sights that we saw in DC during our short stay.

Hello NYC, goodbye DC

2008-06-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

Have been a little behind in posting about our DC experiences.

Anyway, just to update everyone that we are now in NYC.

Had a lovely dinner and catch-up with two old friends, K and C. More on that later.

- M

Now, thats what we call SERVICE!

2008-06-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

As our cruise drew to a close, we are, needless to say, sad to be leaving behind some wonderful memories, times, and new found friends.

Yet, we are at the same time earnestly looking forward expectantly to a brand new experience on our honeymoon - spending 4 cool days touring Washington DC!

As we disembarked from the ship, one thing remained etched firmly in our minds as we recall how blessed we had been to have met the wonderful crew onboard the ship, who had pampered us with impeccable service over the last 8 days.

Our dining room waiters, Tetyana & Rex, were excellent. Not only did they carry out their tasks and duties with admirable precision and professionalism, they were warm, jovial, and most of all sincere. Often times, it was as if we were friends, and they were hosting us at their "home", taking pains to ensure we were comfortable, well-fed, happy... and the banter, numerous stories, and jokes shared will always remain one of our very prized memories.

(Rex from India & Tetyana from Ukraine)

Our chambermaid, Oscar (from Nicaragua), was also fantastic.

He made up our room at least twice everyday, once in the morning and once in the evening. On some occasions, he made up our room three to four times a day.

What is most amazing is the fact that he seemed to always have the knack of knowing exactly when we were out of our room, and when we were going to be back. Its as if he was "stalking" us, and the moment we stepped out of our cabin for meals or to take part in some of the ship's organised activities, he will spring into action. The next thing we know (when we next return to the room - sometimes a mere matter of tens of minutes later), the room will be impeccably made up, the towels changed, the used cups washed, the bins emptied, and the toiletries freshened.

In addition to all that, we were also pleasantly surprised each night when we returned to our cabin, as a little towel animal would be waiting expectantly to greet us and to bid us "Good Night"! Here are some of them...

(Towel Swans)

(Towel Elephant)

(Towel Puppy)

(Towel Monkey next to "The Blue Monkey" - aka the Wife! lol!)

And finally... ...

(Unidentified Towel Animal! Can anyone tell us what this animal is? : ) )

The towel animals we discovered each night never ceased to put a smile on our faces.

A wonderful way to end our day.

So, to all these fabulous people (friends), who have pampered us for the past 8 days.

A warm, sincere, and BIG "Thank You" from the bottom of our hearts.

- WWCS

Hola! - Cozumel, Mexico

2008-06-20T16:45:00.001-07:00

Cozumel, Mexico was our last port of call. For us, Cozumel was the highlight of the cruise as we would get to visit the Mayan ruins at Tulum, located approximately 90 minutes from the port of Cozumel at Mexico.

At the port, we boarded a ferry that would take us to the island of Playa Del Carmen (where the ruins of Tulum are located). When we got off the ferry, we were greeted at the pier by our guide, Sal (pronounced “Saul”) with a friendly “Hola!”. Sal speaks really fast with many grand hand gestures but he was also highly engaging so we had no problems following his speech.

These are some of what Sal shared with us about Mexico:-

a) Mexico is a federation of states, like the USA. Mexico City is the capital of Mexico.
b) Spanish is the official language in Mexico. However, some Mexican people still speak the Mayan language (or a variation of it) today.
c) There are some 34 different ethnic groups in Mexico and it is the 4th ranked country in the world today in terms of the number of different languages spoken.
d) Mexico only has 2 climates – “Hot” or “Very Hot”.
e) Playa is a major tourist attraction today, due to the Tulum ruins. During the peak tourist season, Playa sees up to 40 cruise ships a day. Yet, not too long ago there were only some 200 farmers in Playa.

Enroute to the ruins, Sal also shared with us some information about the Mayans:-

a) The Mayans were the first people who invented the binary system. This is the system which present-day computers are based on.
b) The Mayans were obsessed about time and they had a pretty sophisticated calendar made up of 216 days (or 38 weeks), which is the gestation period for a baby. Interestingly, the Mayan calendar ends on 21 December 2012, which is a mere 4 years later.
c) The Mayans had their own written language and archaeologists believe that the Mayans had some 30 books of knowledge. However, when the Spaniards finally conquered the Mayans, the Spaniards destroyed the books of knowledge save for 3 of them. Sadly, none of the 3 remaining Mayan books are in Mexico today. Spain, Dresden (Germany) and Paris (France) now house the 3 remaining books.
d) Mayan culture and civilizations inexplicably died out between the 12th and 15th centuries. Till today, scholars are unable to definitively determine why this happened, although many theories have been postulated.

When we got to Tulum, our second guide, Juan took over. Juan is somewhat of an authority on the Tulum ruins and it was his responsibility to lead us through the ruins and explain the significance of them.

According to Juan, Tulum means “walls” in the Mayan language. Indeed, the compound of Tulum is surrounded by stone walls. As such, Tulum is also known as the “walled city”. During the time of the Mayans, Tulum was an important religious and ceremonial centre for the Mayans. About 200 high-ranking citizens in the Mayan hierarchy (such as nobles, astronomers and priests) lived within the Tulum compound. Outside the walls of Tulum lived some 20,000 ordinary Mayans such as the farmers and the fishermen.

Due to the plundering Spaniards and other grave-robbers, much of the former glory of the temples and buildings in Tulum can no longer be seen today. However, the foundations of the buildings still remain and those are what we would see on our tour. This is in itself no small feet, given that the compound was built more than 1000 years ago.

When we finally entered the compound of Tulum (after going through an arched walkway – one of 5 in the entire compound), we were greeted with many stone structures that were once temples. Juan walked us through some of the most important buildings in the compound and explained the significance of various symbols and carvings that are still visible on the buildings today.
(entering Tulum)

(the temple)

Finally, we got to the highest point of Tulum, which was also where the most important temple in Tulum was located. The view from the temple was amazing. It overlooked a stretch of sandy-white beach and deep blue waters. Juan explained that the Mayans had clearly given much thought in locating their religious centre at Tulum. The beach provided a natural defense against invaders and the spring that runs under Tulum also provided a source of fresh water for the Mayans.

(the beach at Tulum)

Juan informed us that the Mayans were also very gifted at astronomy and at determining water movements and conditions. Scholars believe that it is no mere coincidence that Tulum overlooks the second-largest reef in the world (the largest is in Australia) and that at the highest point of the aforesaid temple, during the summer solstice (which falls in June annually), the sun’s rays pass through two specially carved windows in the temple and converge to form a single bright beam.

We were deeply impressed by the obvious intelligence of the Mayan people and were also deeply humbled to tread the same grounds as them. We are also now inspired to visit other places of ancient civilization (perhaps to see the Incas in Peru?) so do let us know if you have any suggestions.

The tour to Tulum was an all-day affair so we unfortunately did not have any time to explore Cozumel. However, Mexico radiated a really interesting and positive vibe so we will certainly try and visit again.

Tonight is our last night on the ship and it is amazing how after only a week, it already feels so familiar. We will certainly miss the comforts of cruising and the excitement of visiting a different port every day. We will be off to Washington DC after we disembark tomorrow and no doubt we will blog about that soon enough. Until then, hasta la vista amigos! (Spanish for “goodbye my friends”).

-M

Our First Disappointment

2008-06-20T05:08:00.001-07:00

Our 3rd port of call was George Town, Grand Cayman.

The Cayman Islands, unlike Labadee and MoBay is very developed. In no small measure, this is due to the large amounts of money flowing in from the “Super Rich” who have set up trust funds or brought in obscene amounts of monies due to the fact the Cayman Islands is a tax haven.

It is clear that people here are much more affluent than many of their other Caribbean neighbours, and that the standard of living is extremely high.

The shopping in Cayman Islands is good, particularly for jewelry. The Wife got herself a pair of nice pearl earrings from one of the duty-free shops. We also got quite a number of other gifts and presents here.

The Island is also very cosmopolitan. You will find people of many nationalities living there.

The store manager from the duty-free store who served the Wife is from England. The sales assistant from the same store who sold the pearl earrings to the Wife is from Equador. The souvenir shop owner from whom we bought matching t-shirts, a lovely CD, magnets, and some presents hails all the way from The Philippines. There was a Chinese working in the ice-cream parlour where we had a scoop of papaya ice-cream… and the list goes on.

So… our visit of the Cayman Islands was all very nice up to this point.

Then came the first disappointment of our trip – the land tour, an Atlantis Submarine ride.

We booked ourselves on that tour as we thought it would be cool to board a submarine, and as neither the Wife nor I are divers, we thought we would do the next best thing to check out the marine life, which is to see it through a glass window from the submarine. And after hearing all our diver friends rave about the beautiful marine life, the colourful schools of fishes and reefs of corals, it was inevitable that our expectations were sky-high, only to be sorely disappointed.

The submarine was fairly small and squeezy, which would have been fine had the sights been breath-taking. But then the underwater sights were even much more disappointing. Everything looked to be blue and grey. We did not see any explosion of colours, and the fishes that we saw were also nothing to scream about.

We found out later that the reason everything looked blue and grey is because there was an absence of white light underwater.

And so, the submarine tour trudged on for 45 mins, which almost bored us to tears.
The disappointing tour cost us an arm and a leg, and we did not even enjoy it, save for the fact that we can now say that we had been onboard a submarine.

Hopefully this will be the exception rather than the rule for the rest of our trip.

- WWCS

Our new found friends

2008-06-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about cruising is meeting people from all over the world. Take today for instance. We started the day at breakfast and befriended David and Eva from Florida. They are cruise veterans and this is their 19th cruise (and their 5th one on this very same route).

Then in Playa Del Carmen in Cozumel, Mexico (more on that later), we met a family from Maryland, DC who was traveling with almost the whole clan. Over lunch, we discussed politics with a couple from the Philippines and compared the contrasting fortunes of Philippines and Singapore.

We then shared dinner with Claudio and Mariena (our friends from Brazil). Muriel and Frank (from Canada) as well as Michelle and Michael (from Ireland) then joined our table for coffee and dessert. Just before we called it a night, Keith and Rose-mary from Malta came by to chat.

We have certainly been very fortunate to meet some very warm and truly lovely people on this cruise and on our other travels. That is the reason why we always try to return the gesture of friendship and to pay forward the warmth that we have received to other people in turn.

Now to share a little more about our new-found friends.

First up: Claudio and Mariena from Brazil. On the Liberty of the Seas, the guests are arranged into groups of between 4 to 10 persons for dinner. Interestingly, we were placed with two other honeymooning couples at our dinner table. Claudio and Mariena (who also got married on 7 June 2008) and an Italian couple who wanted to get married on 7 June 2008 but due to logistical issues, got married a day earlier on 6 June 2008 instead. It amazes me that 3 different couples from such different countries independently decided to get married on the same day (or almost the same day).

Then there is the Irish father-daughter duo, Michelle and Michael, who sent us a bottle of wine for dinner when they learnt that we were on our honeymoon.

Muriel and Frank, who have been married for 41 years and still going strong, shared with us that when they got married, they went on a 5 week tenting trip across Canada. Muriel shared that after the trip, she knew their marriage would make it no matter what since they already survived 5 weeks of tenting.

The cruise is fast drawing to an end. But we do hope to stay in touch with at least some of our new found friends. They have certainly made our time on board so much richer and more enjoyable.

- M

~Down the bay where the nights are gay~

2008-06-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

~ and the sun shines daily on the mountain top, I took a trip on a sailing ship, and when I reached JAMAICA I made a stop…~

So here we are at Montego Bay, Jamaica (commonly known as MoBay). Mobay is the 2nd largest city in Jamaica, after the capital, Kingston Town.

We booked ourselves on a 4x4 Safari Land Tour run by a company known as Chukka, and were quickly whisked away by our guide, Owen.

With us on the tour were 2 other lovely couples (one from Alberta, Canada – Muriel & Frank, and the other from Malta – Keith & Rosemary), and a father-daughter duo from Ireland – Michelle & Michael.

This is a lovely bunch. Warm, jovial, humourous, engaging, and very very open and friendly.

Frank & Muriel have been married for 41 years!

Michelle (who is going on 16) and Michael are a laugh a minute… its extremely amusing to see how the father-daughter duo interact with each other, and its so sweet the way they are so close. Michelle is always keeping a look-out to ensure that her dad is alright, and it is obvious that she is the pride and joy of Michael’s life.

Keith & Rosemary are a loving couple, and its damn cool when we found out that Keith is a crane driver back home in Malta – as in he transports/drives the cranes from one point to another, sets it up so that the operators can use it for construction, and when they are done, he drives it away to another location again. According to Rosemary, it’s a fairly dangerous job due to its nature.

(Front L to R: Keith & Rosemary, Michelle & Michael)

(Back L to R: Muriel, the Wife, WWCS, Frank)

And Owen. What can I say… he is a cool dude, and even though it may be difficult to catch what he is saying some of the times due to his accent, he is a very good guide. He Is constantly coming up with nuggets of information about Jamaica, interspersed with numerous corny (and on some rare occasions, painful) jokes to liven up the trip.

(Here’s one of the corny jokes he came up with as we spotted a huge termite nest:- “Why won’t you find a single termite in this termite nest” – well… because all the termites living in the nest are married”. Get it? : ) )

So, again… we have been blessed with the fortune of meeting lovely people, and the land tour was made all the more enjoyable in no small part because of them.

Now… about our 4x 4 land tour of Jamaica:-

(a) we made a total of 4 stops;

(b) the first stop was on a hill overlooking the harbour of MoBay. It’s a lovely sight, particularly when you can spot our ship in the background. We were told that this hill top vantage point is the highest point in MoBay. Along the way… we also drove past the brewing factory of Jamaica’s No. 1 beer – Red Stripe Beer. Ming and I shared one of those at the end of the trip, and it was really nice. We can see how it achieved/earned its No. 1 status;

(Us on the Hilltop with MoBay as the backdrop)

(c) our 2nd stop was to a former “Slave Hospital”, that had since been converted into a church. The church also housed a private primary school with lots of adorable Jamaican children.

Owen told us that slavery was eradicated from Jamaica in 1838. Before that, the slave masters and the estate owners brought a lot of slave labour over from Africa & India.

Needless to say, the slaves were treated extremely badly, and those that tried to run away were punished by being flocked and hung on trees, as an example and warning to the rest.

In 1832, the slaves finally staged an uprising, and they burned down all the buildings save for 2 – The Slave Hospital, and a Baptist Church (which is over 300 years old).

(Former Slave Hospital)

(The 300-year old Baptist Church)

(d) the 3rd stop was a small waterfall along the longest river in MoBay. We had to make a very short hike through some vegetation to get to the fall, but it was all quite worth it when we arrived.

Apparently, if you immerse yourself in the falls, and got wet from head to toe, you will become younger by 5 years.

The Wife and I did not immerse ourselves. We were quite happy to be 31 and 27 respectively. : ) - (but the Wife may want to come back in 10 years’ time).

More importantly, we did not want to continue with the rest of the tour in wet underwear, and soaking wet t-shirts… grin.

Another thing I liked about the visit to the falls was the short hike, which reminded me of the good old days when I was scouting and tearing across such landscapes on a regular basis (in Ubin).

Its been eons (15 years) since I last did such a trek over such landscapes just for fun, and it felt good to be doing it again.

(enroute to the falls)

(The first signs of the falls)

(e) Our final stop was at a rest stop/souvenir station.

There is nothing special there (scenery wise), but what was great about it was that they sold some authentic Jamaican food there called Chicken Jerky, and also the Red Stripe beer, both of which we tried.

The dish was not really “Jerky” (at least not the beef-jerky type of food one would usually associate the word to mean). In fact, the chicken was tender and flavourful. It tasted of spice, and was very nice (albeit it had already turned cold). I would imagine that it would have tasted fantastic if it was served piping hot.

Red Stripe was also flavourful but light. And to top it off, it was served ice-cold, which was great given that we were out in the sun for most of 3 hours by then.

And so… that last stop concluded our trip to MoBay.

Its obvious that Jamaica is fairly poor, and there are lots of touting etc.

But what is great about the place is how optimistic its people are. No matter where you go, you will hear the phrase “No Problem Mann”.

Yes… the reason for this optimism and High of the Jamaican people could be the weed (which is extremely common place and easy to purchase) that they are on, but I would like to believe that it is their innate spirit as a people and free nation that is the real underlying reason.

- WWCS

Labadee. Haiti: "very difficult to get there"

2008-06-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

Our first port of call was the beautiful island of Labadee, Haiti.

We practically had the entire island to ourselves as it appeared to be an exclusive port of call for the Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Stretches of sandy beaches coupled with clear blue waters combine to form an almost postcard perfect picture of Labadee.

We had signed up for a historic walking tour and when we disembarked on the island, we were greeted by our guide, Roberto, a young man born and bred in Labadee Village. He was very enthusiastic and animated during the tour and it was apparent that he feels passionately for Labadee.

(with our guide Roberto)

We were told that Haiti used to be a single peninsular with the present-day Dominican Republic. Together, they were known as “Espanyola” (or Little Spain) as it was the richest colony at that time for Spain. Subsequently, war broke out between the Spanish and the French for “Espanyola” and eventually, the Spanish took over the Dominican Republic half of “Espanyola” while the French took over “Haiti”. That is the reason why today in Haiti, French remains one of the working languages along with Creole.

Our guide told us that “Haiti” stands for “mountains and coasts”, a fitting description for Haiti which is made up of precisely that. As a result of its location, Haiti is sheltered from hurricanes and floods. One would have thought that this meant Haiti is well-placed to take advantage of its location and to prosper as a result. Unfortunately, due to the political situation, Haiti is one of the poorest nations of the world. A real pity as it has pristine beaches and sublime waters and could very well be the next beach paradise.

One of the things that Roberto touched on during our tour was voodoo. The mention of voodoo conjures up images of voodoo dolls and people dying painful deaths, a la what we see in Hollywood films. Roberto explained that a small percentage of the Haitian people still practice voodoo today (his own grandmother was a voodoo queen although he is a catholic). Apparently, voodoo has its roots from Africa culture and there are two sides to voodoo. It can be utilized to carry out good or to bring about pain and suffering. However, the practice of voodoo is not prevalent in Haiti today as some 60% of the population today is catholic.

Labadee, which was where we were for the day, was once a trading post for the English during the days when Haiti was occupied by the English. The remains of the English trading post can still be seen today.

Roberto explained that to the Haitians, “Labadee” means “difficult to get there”. This was because of the coastal location of Labadee. In the old days, due to the wind direction and water movements, one would have had to go against the water / the wind to get to Labadee. This was highly taxing and hence the name “Labadee” – “difficult to get there”.

(Labadee village)

Labadee village only has about 5000 people. Roberto explained that he has started a computer school in the village in order to educate the youngsters of the village on how computers work. He believes that it is only through education that the lives of the people of Labadee people can improve. While he only has 5 computers in the school now, he hopes to bring in more computers in the future so more children can benefit. It was inspiring to hear the passion and hope that Roberto has in his cause and I cannot help but feel chastised that we take for granted so many of the conveniences and advantages that we enjoy. For instance, the people of Labadee village will only get internet access in 2 weeks’ time. Imagine that!

The port of Labadee was our introduction to the Caribbean and we really looked forward to our next port of call – Montego Bay in Jamaica.

- M

Onboard the Liberty of the Seas

2008-06-16T04:07:00.000-07:00

As W has posted, there is a tonne of activities available on the ship. This is a sampling of the activities available just for the hour of 9.30 to 10.30 a.m. for our second day onboard the ship:-

9.30 a.m.: Scrapbook workshop
9.30 to 10.45 a.m.: Advanced ice-skating workshop (yes there is an ice-skating rink onboard)
9.45 to 12.45 p.m.: Sign up for Learn to Skate program
10a.m..: Simple and Easy Step (Ship Fitness Centre)
10 a.m: Seminar - Revamp my hair (Liberty Day Spa)
10 a.m.: Basketball tournament
10 a.m.: Cinema showing
10 a.m.: Port and shopping show
10.30 a.m.: Slot tournament (Casino Royale)

And the list goes on and on.

Being the obsessive compulsive people that we are, W and I made grand plans to fill our days with activities including gaming at the arcade, playing a round of mini golf, taking part in the bingo tournament and catching the ice skating show that has specially been choreographed for this cruise before we attend the Captain’s Formal Welcome Aboard Dinner tonight.

And so after a leisurely breakfast on the balcony of our cabin (or “stateroom” as the ship grandly terms it), we were off on our activities (which no doubt included too much eating.)

(W having brekkie on our balcony)

So there we were, at the appointed time, in the ship’s ice-skating rink to catch “Encore!” an ice skating show that has been put together just for the ship.

It was an hour-long show and right from the start of the show when the cast skated to a montage of broadway hits (from “Phantom of the Opera”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “Cats” etc) we knew we were in for a treat.

My personal favourite was the Spanish sequence from “Carmen”. The skaters were decked out in fiery red costumes and the choreography was quick and passionate. An outstanding sequence.

The cast was simply fantastic, making good use of the limited space afforded by the ice-skating rink, squeezing in as many turns, twists and jumps as they possibly can. And the audience simply loved it. At the end of the hour long spectacular, the audience rewarded the cast with a standing ovation. We were quite frankly impressed with the high standard of the show that was presented. Unfortunately we are unable to post any pictures of the show as flash photography was not allowed during the show.

We also got to befriend some of the capable staff on the ship who take such good care of us. One of them is a Ukrainian, Tatyana, who has been working for Royal Caribbean for some 4 years now. She is based at the Windjammer - an all day buffet restaurant (see above pic). It's not an easy life for the staff onboard. They work 10/11 hour days everyday and when the ship docks, they continue working. Things go on like this for 6 months before they are allowed home leave of 2 months. There are some 1400 staff onboard taking care of all of us and they have been wonderful so far.

Thanks to the crew and staff of the Liberty of the Seas for making our stay such a pleasant one!

-M

My Heart Will Go On

2008-06-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Being on board the Liberty of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) reminds me a lot of the movie Titanic.

Not that I am afraid that the ship will hit an ice berg and sink, or anything ominous like that, nor is there anything that suggests that the present capable crew of Liberty will make the same silly mistakes (fingers crossed and – just in case… I’ve just touched some wood).

The reason Liberty evoked memories of the movie is its décor. Its as if the décor in Liberty is a scene right out of the movie… and I swear you can almost hear the Celine Dion ballad playing in the background wherever you go. :)

The dining room that we had dinner in was a spitting image of the dining room in the movie (or at least, how I remembered it to be).

All 3 storeys in the Liberty dining room are decked out with lavish tables set immaculately with sparkling and shining cutlery, and gleaming bone china plates… even with a 4-piece ensemble to boot.

Don’t believe me… well… see it for yourself. :)

The manificent looking stairways are the other part of Liberty that constantly reminds me of Jack and Rose.

I recall the shots in the movie that focused so much on the ornate and somewhat opulent stairways… and the staircases in Liberty… is exactly like that.

All these kinda made my sailing, so far, kinda surreal. Its as if I am in a movie set, and actually living out the lives of the rich and famous (sans their actual cash and wealth) aboard the titanic (as depicted in the movie).

The surreal feeling of actually being onboard aside, the cruise so far has been fantastic.

There is never a shortage of food, and there are so many places to choose from to eat at.

There are always things happening around the ship. This activity, that activity, this show, that show.

The state of the art gym, which is good enough to rival the SG gyms like California Fitness, Fitness First, and/or True Yoga.

I am proud to say, that of the 2 days we have been onboard, the Wife and I have gone to the gym twice… and I think we will likely make it 7 out of 7.

Then there are the upcoming ports of calls and land tours that you can sign up for (what the Liberty’s staff and tour agents claim to be a “nominal”) fee.

Well… trust you me, the fee is ANYTHING but NOMINAL. :)

But, hey, we are on our honeymoon, and besides… we figured that since we have already come so far… it makes no sense not to go on them.

So…we have booked ourselves on a historic walking tour in Labadee, Haiti, a 4x4 safari adventure ride for Montego Bay, Jamaica, a 45-minute glass-bottom submarine ride in George Town, Cayman Islands, and the HIGHLIGHT, which is a Mayan Ruins Tour in Cozumel Mexico.

We may be slightly poorer for the money… but we hope to be so much richer for the experience… will update you guys once we have gone on the tours. The first one starts tomorrow. Can’t wait!

There is also an onboard casino that took away a little chunk of whatever little assets I have left (and guess what… they always let you win at the start, only to take back your winnings and more in due course). I guess the saying “the House always wins” holds more truth than any hopeful gamer of chance would care to believe.

Anyways… its been a restful two days.

We slept a lot, ate even more and worked out at the gym a little.

The rest of the time, we just chilled. Read some trashy magazines and some novels, and indulged in day-dreaming.

Boy… I could get used to this. :)

I need that elusive S$10m Ang Pow Toto Draw win MORE THAN EVER now.

WWCS

Inspirational Dedication

2008-06-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Ming and I have been blessed and extremely lucky to meet many lovely and sweet people whenever we travel.

This trip to Miami was no exception.

At our best meal so far, at Joe's Stone Crabs, we met another lovely person, who is as inspirational for his dedication to his work as he was attentive and sweet.

Yes, I am talking about Nat, the waiter who served us at Joe's.

Of the 20 - 30 waitering staff on duty that night, Nat was assigned to serve our table.

If anyone doesn't believe in God by now... BELIEVE NOW... for only through divine intervention could this have happened... the odds for sheer coincidence way too low.

Anyways... i digress.

As I was saying right at the start, Nat is an inspiration.

42 years working at Joe's and counting... and loving every minute of it. He told us that he aims (and hopes, health permitting, he can continue) to work there till he is 70 years of age. That will make it a grand 50 years with the restaurant.

Just think... he started when he was a young man... and the year was 1966 ( I was not even born! ).

And through the years... he has grown with the restaurant, witnessed its growth, gone through all the challenges... and till this day... is still going strong.

It could not always have been easy/smooth-sailing.

But through all the stormy waters, the challenges, the temptations to move on, he remained steadfast.

Such loyalty. Such love. Such dedication.

Immediately, it dawned on me... that to be working 42 years in the same restaurant is an amazing feat.

The equivalent of 42 years for me would mean that I have to be lawyering at Drew till I am 67 years old. WOW!!!

Just the thought of it is OVERWHELMING. Afterall, I have been there for only slightly over 6 years now (so a mere 15% of what Nat has done)... and 42 is just so so so far away.

Somehow... it appears that/feels like Nat is no longer just an employee. Joe's has become more than just a job to Nat. To him... Joe's is probably more like family... and I am sure, everyone at Joe's feels that way towards Nat too.

Such dedication to one's job, one's work, and dare I say it - one's "adopted family".

Nat... you are truly inspirational.

And how blessed are we to have had the good fortune of sitting at a table served by the LONGEST SERVING & MOST DEDICATED of employees at Joe's Stone Crab.

WWCS

Joe's Stone Crab

2008-06-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

Went to Joe's Stone Crab for dinner. It's a Miami institution, having been in business for 95 years now. The restaurant takes no reservations so it's first come first serve only. Hence, W and I decided to make our way to the restaurant at 6 p.m. so that we will not miss out on dining there.

The restaurant is located in its own compound and the place looks and feels quaint. There is a courtyard outside the main restaurant where diners can have their dinner. But we were keen to see the interior of the restaurant and opted to be seated indoors. We were quickly ushered through 3 fron-of-house managers and were eventually seated in the internal dining room.

The decor in the dining room is not fancy but has an old-world charm to it. Reminds us of the traditional steak houses like Morton's.

Our waiter for the night was Nat. Charming service and as we found out later, the longest-serving waiter at Joe's. Nat joined the restaurant in 1966 and has been there since. He is clearly going strong and doesn't seem likely to retire anytime soon.

The menu is not large although adequate. The star dish is of course the stone crabs. We were eager to find out for ourselves what the hype was about and so we ordered the "Florida's Finest". This was a combo dish that consisted of a whole Floridian Lobster Tail (which we opted to be grilled) as well as 3 large crab claws. They do not serve the entire crab at Joe's due to concerns about sustainability of the crab population. We were informed that the crabs are declawed (1 claw only) and released for regeneration. After more than 12 months, the claw grows back to full size. Interesting concept we thought.

We also ordered a side of sauteed mushrooms and appetiser of Joe's coleslaw.

The bread basket arrived first. There was a selection of warm crumbly muffins, savoury breads and biscuits. It was really good and we had to remind ourselves to make room for our main dishes.

The coleslaw came next. It was the most sour coleslaw I have ever tasted and I could not quite bring myself to finish everything. It was certainly refreshing though and whetted my appetite further. W liked the coleslaw however and finished his portion.

And then came "Florida's Finest". We stared admiringly at the platter for a while before tucking in. The grilled lobster tail was simply grilled and served on top of grilled pineapple and some lemons. The lobster was so so good. The grilled lobster was burned in some parts but that only added to the aroma of the grilled lobster flesh. The flesh was firm and sweet, definitely very fresh.

And the crabs - the crab claws were pretty large and you will feel satisfied with just one. The crab claws were served cold, you squeeze some lemon juice on top and you are all set to tuck in. The crab claws were pretty meaty and there was a great deal of roe in the claw itself.

Both of us felt over-stuffed but we could not and would not leave without first having dessert. Dessert was a no-brainer - we ordered the Key Lime Pie to share (a.k.a Florida's official State Pie according to Joe's).

The pie came with a huge dollop of whipped cream. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. We took a mouthful of the pie each and were instantly in love with the flavours. The pie had a certain tartness to it (due to the lime) which was nicely balanced by the whipped cream. The pie crust was also exceptional. It was not a thick crust, but it was sufficiently buttery and fragrant. Reminded me of a crust made of digestive biscuits and pure butter (and it probably was). The pie melts in your mouth and the flavours linger for a long time. If we weren't so stuffed, I would have been tempted to order seconds.

Definitely a memorable meal and we can completely understand why Joe's has become a Miami institution.

Sun, Sand, Sea & Party

2008-06-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Miami would simply not be complete if we did not take some pix of the 3 "Sses" and 1 "P" that Miami offers in abundance.

After all... we are staying in SOUTH BEACH... :).

So... here we go... pix of the Wife and I when we were taking a leisurely walk along the beach in the early afternoon, followed by pix of one of the very happening pubs/bars along the South Beach Deco Art area, Mango's Mambo Bar.

P/S: the music they play there... FANTASTIC... and the waitresses/dancers/bartenders... will easily put any SG Hooters girl to shame.

Btw... did I mention that these pix of the Mango's Mambo Pub were taken at 2.15pm in the afternoon?

HAPPENING, no?!

Anyways... we are going back to Mango's tonight to party... YEEHA!

WWCS

Of Breakfast & Rain

2008-06-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

For many of us in SG, breakfast is a rushed affair and rain is an unwelcomed inconvenience (especially when you do not have an umbrella, and you need to rush off somewhere or have some errands to run).

This kind of made the start of our 2nd day in Miami special!

We had an extremely leisurely breakfast at a burger joint by the beach. (think Billy bombers). And what a spread it was.

The Wife had french toasts with maple syrup with sausages on the side together with a healthy dose of orange juice. I ordered a huge American Breakfast - scrambled eggs, burger patty, toasts, sausages, fried potatoes. I topped it off with my must-have dose of coffee. The Wife and I even shared an extremely sinful glass of strawberry milk-shake.

HEAVEN!

What was more heavenly was the fact that we had all the time in the world to savour the food, watch people pass by, read the papers, and enjoy (YES... ENJOY) the drizzle that was slowly but surely developing into a mid-morning shower.

We sat back... and enjoyed the morning. I, in particular, enjoyed the drizzle. It has been so long since I had the time to gaze at the rain outside, while enjoying a hot mug of coffee indoors. Till that moment, I hardly noticed that I had forgotten what it felt like to enjoy a healthy light shower and the cool refreshing breeze it usually brings.

After breakfast...and as the light refreshing showers finally died down, we took a cab down to Lincoln Street Mall. The Wife wanted to check out the shopping area in South Beach, Miami.

Unfortunately for the Wife, we were, surprisingly, too early.

Mind you, this was already 10.30am in the morning in Miami, and almost all the shops were still closed. One of the shop assistants that was in one of the few shops that had its lights turned on gestured that they only open at 11am.

We were half an hour too early.

Right at that moment, it started to pour again.

This time, it was no longer a light shower. It really rained.

Since none of the shops were open, the Wife and I had to take shelter in an alleyway in front of a shop that was still closed.

That was when it hit me.

If I was back in SG. If this was a typical workday, I would have been extremely miserable. Trapped by the rain with nowhere to go. None of the shops that lined the long stretch of Lincoln St was opened (and we had wanted so much to check out the shopping that it offered).

Yet, at this moment, I was at peace with the weather.

In fact, in the 15 minutes or so that we were stranded in front of an unopened shop front, I was actually thankful for the rain. It gave me a chance to do nothing and simply watch the pitter patter of the rain drops.

I love the rain. Always have.

But in the past few years, I have actually forgotten how much I enjoyed it when it rained.

Suddenly, I thought of the song... "Listen To The Rhythm Of The Falling Rain".

So... here in South Beach, Miami, on the 2nd day of our honeymoon escapade, for that 15 minutes or so, I enjoyed the rain. I stood underneath the canopy shelter, and soaked in the moist air and listened to the rhythm of the pitter patter.

For those of you who, like me, love the rain... here are a couple of pictures of the rain.

WWCS

Miami - Day 1

2008-06-13T00:57:00.000-07:00

We are booked into the Park Central Hotel in South Beach - one of the historic hotels of America that has been done up in the art deco style (which usually means that the property is pretty small but eclectic).

Some pictures above of the Park Central. The first and fourth pictures are of the main lobby of the hotel. The second picture is of the main entrance of the hotel at night.

The hotel's inhouse restaurant / bar is called "Casablanca". Did not see any romantic figures though while we were there for a late lunch. (See third picture for the view from Casablanca's terrace).

We also discovered that the hotel's main restaurant "Quinns" has a really good musician who plays during dinner. He is seriously good, playing cuban music. Quite something to sit on the terrace of the restaurant, hav dessert and listen to the great music he plays.

Our hotel is located in the middle of South Beach (or "SOBE"), what is supposed to be the most happening part of Miami. The look and feel of the place reminds us of other beach-front locale such as Surfers' Paradise and even Bali. Some great-looking restaurants all serving grilled seafood and some mediterranean dishes. Will explore more of SOBE tomorrow.

Finally arrived!

2008-06-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

After more than 26 hours on the road, we finally got to Miami.

Will post some pictures later. Now just trying very hard not to fall asleep so I can get over the jet lag quicker.

- M

One Of My SILLIEST Mistakes

2008-06-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

So... we were all excited... got to the airport... and promptly went to the check-in counters.

It could have been the exhilaration from knowing that our honeymoon is about to start, or just the simple lack of coffee (otherwise known as cold turkey).

Check-in should have been a simple uneventful affair... hand over your passports... show your air tickets... and request for the type of seats you wish to have... and hand the crew your check-in luggages... and voila... end of the process... time to proceed to the gate... and be whisked off to the start of a 5-week long adventure of a life-time.

But NOOOOO... STUPID ME... with my smart alecky big mouth... had to ask the ground crew how much baggage allowance THE WIFE and I have for our trips.

*tapperty tapperty tap* (and 5 seconds later)...

Ground Crew: " Mr Wong, you and your wife are allowed 2 check-in baggages EACH... and the weight allowance is 64 kgs per person"

"Your current baggage weighs only 38 plus kgs. Basically, you have another 3/4 to go for your return leg."

(ALL THESE WITHIN THE EARSHOT OF THE WIFE!!!)

Sigh...

Next thing I know... THE WIFE's face lit up... (*Evil Grin and all followed*)

WIFE TO ME: "WOW... think of the amount of shopping... a whole 90 kgs worth of it... and we can each buy another luggage to carry it all back!!!"

DOUBLE SIGH...

(NOTE TO SELF - NEVER BE A BIG MOUTH AND ASK.... "so, how much baggage allowance do we get" - at least... not at the part when you are only juz checking in to GO ON THE TRIP... ALWAYS ASK ONLY AT THE POINT WHEN YOU ARE RETURNING!")

4 BAGS... for 5 weeks... its gonna be a work-out carrying the bags...

(STUPID BIG MOUTH.... :) )

And so... the HONEYMOON STARTS!!!

WWCS

P.S: As the picture above shows, we travelled with only 3 bags (2 if you discount the small cabin carry-on which is really tiny anyway). Unlikely that W will have too much of a workout from carrying the bags.

First stop - Miami

2008-06-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Miami is the very first stop on our honeymoon (not counting the 4 hour stopover in Heathrow of course).

We are booked into one of the art deco hotels in Miami's South Beach (or "SOBE" for short) -The Park Central Miami. Hopefully the hotel will not disappoint.

The next chapter

2008-06-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

As many of you will already know, we got married on 7 June 2008 and will set off for our honeymoon on 11 June 2008. We decided to come up with this blog to keep an account of the places we visit, the people we meet and everything in between as we embark on the next chapter of our lives together.

Do stay tuned as we share our adventures with you.

Cheers,
Ming and Wilson