Honey, I shrunk the moon.

Hello World!

ok.. now.. for the much delayed entry..

I started this entry in Abu Dhabi while on flight.. didn't get it completed coz my laptop konked out on me.. so here goes..

Marriage life is seriously fantastic.

If I would have known it, I would have gotten married 10 years ago.

But that puts my wife in Pri 2.. so I guess I really have no choice but to wait.. and we met when the conditions were perfect..

So now.. she's turning 18, and a perfect wife..

And as I had promised her..

I promised her a proper engagement..

and a proper engagement period that lasted 12 months and 2 weeks.

a proper dowry..

a proper wedding..

and a proper marriage..

And here's the details of our proper honeymoon..

its really gonna be detailed coz itz my journal for the honeymoon.. and not so much being a blog entry.. so itz chronological, dry and long.. but at least, 20 yrz from now, my children can read abt their parents' honeymoon..

but anyway, me being me, I'm always long winded..

We left for our honeymoon a month after our wedding, on 9th Feb, a day after I returned from Ahmedabad.

And this is what happened after I came back from Ahmedabad.

8th Feb 2008

I received a call from my mom, saying that my eldest brother, Zainuddin, was in the hospital, in a coma. Apparently, the night before, he started throwing up, and refused to see the doctor. His wife was with him, and she saw blood stains in the toilet after he left.

He threw up again the next morning, and his wife said that he threw up a pail full of blood. He slipped into a coma and she called the ambulance.

He never regained consciousness.

At 2am on 9th Feb, my eldest brother passed away in Changi General Hospital.

9th Feb 2008

Departing for Vancouver

At 7am, I had to be at the airport to leave for Vancouver. The timing this time wasn't good coz of the fact that I had just lost my brother a few hours before.. but the trip had been confirmed and paid for and my leave had started and therefore there's no way we could push the trip even a day further..

My parents, Mother-in-law and Sis-In-Law Sayida sent us to the airport. And so, it started my wife's first trip out of Singapore on an international flight.

We all had breakfast together at Ya Kun at T3.. Sayida blanja us all except for my wife who looked too nervous abt the flight to care for breakfast. At 8am, we made our way to the gate at A21, right at the end of the terminal.

Took a flight from Singapore to transit in Incheon Airport, Seoul. The first leg of the flight was uneventful.. except for the take-off, in which my wife managed to get over her fear of flying within minutes.. There was a Canadian fella seated next to us on that sector. And 6 hrs after, my wife set foot on Korean soil..

We had a short transit, where we had some drinks to finish up whatever Korean Won that I had with me from my previous Seoul flight. The flight from Seoul to Vancouver was pretty light, so we got a change of seats while we were on transit to get the seats right at the back of the aircraft.

It was so light that my wife managed to get a 3-seat to lie down and sleep thru the flight. Anyway, itz always good when u have friends working and somehow I had friends working on all 3 sectors of our honeymoon..

Arriving into Canada



On 9th Feb, at 11am, my bride set foot on the Northern American continent, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was nice and bright, with a slight drizzle at abt 8 degrees.

We went to the pre-booked car rental at Thrifty at the Vancouver Airport, and she got her first taste of Canadian hospitality thru the first interactions with the Thrifty Car Rental staff by the name of Brian.. Brian gave us directions to the city where we were heading to, to go to the hotel.. and to the shopping mall, which was the second largest in Canada, Metropolis at Metrotown, for us to buy a pair of boots for her.

The mall was abt 45 minutes away from the airport, a lil bit to the east towards the direction to the city.. so we decided that we should go buy the boots before going into the city itself..


Spotted some Canadian Idol hopefuls abt to audition at the mall..

So, after more than an hour of scouting, we found a nice pair of white boots.. which looks perfect for the snowy weather ahead..

And of all ppl that we met in that big mall, which was 45 mins drive away in the big city of Vancouver in the big state of British Columbia in the big country of Canada.. we saw the same guy that was seated next to us in the plane from Singapore to Seoul, in the same shop that we were in, buying a pair of shoes.

now.. THATS creepy for the three of us..

Anyway, we bought food supplies for our upcoming week stay in Canada in a Chinese supermarket called T & T, and drove to the city to check-in into the Sutton Place hotel.

I had stayed in that hotel several times before.. and the service in that hotel had never fallen below fantastic. We had a night stay there as the motel that we were supposed to stay in Whistler's were booked for that day and will only be available on the next day.

Spent the rest of the day, which wasn't much to be left with, in the city.. we went for a walk along the city street and had dinner at a Thai restaurant along Robson Street.. itz at about 5 degrees and as usual, it was raining in Vancouver..

So I used my supertraveller power as a Cabin Crew to show my wife around the city streets.. including, and especially the almost-famous Starbucks cafes located diagonally across each other along Robson St and Thurlow St..

It was raining, wet and dark.. and therefore, not much of a sight left of the fantastic city..

We shared chocolate crepes and walked ard a lil bit more and bought some nice bubble bath soap before retiring for the first night of our honeymoon..

10th Feb 2008

Woke up early the next day coz we had to check-out of the hotel to make our way to Whistler's.. we stopped over at the IGA Marketplace along Burrard St, just next to the hotel.. to get more foodstuffs for our trip..

And itz damn hard to get a full cream milk in Vancouver. almost everyone that we see are 1 to 3% fat.. and i'ld drink water rather than that.

Soon after, we made our way to Whistler's Mountain.. where the trip actually begins..


Rain.. as we were driving over the Lion's Gate Bridge..

It rains all the time anyway, so it was pretty heavy by the time we made our way out of the city..

It took us abt 3 hrs to drive up to Whistler's.. and this time, I didn't lose my way like the previous trips I had to Whistler's.. and even when I did the previous times.. it wasn't really that bad.. it was more like some missed turns and lost junctions.. nothing major.. but everything went fine on this trip..

We had our lunch in a McDonald's restaurant along the way.. and somehow, the really short time we spent there was really beautiful.. perfect cold weather.. perfect day.. perfect girl.



The perfect girl..

We made our way after McDonald's and a little candy-shopping spree at the 7-11 next door for the remaining part of the drive..

We drove pass beautiful landscapes and sceneries and a really huge rainbow that really ended next to where we were driving.. but therez no leprechauns or pots of gold.. coz I think most of them had gone back to Ireland to prepare for St Patricks day..

As I had highlighted to my wife.. the part where it tells u that u are close to Whistler is when.. the rain stops, and the snow begins..

And not too long after the McDonald's stop, the snow really began..

After 3 hrs, and a little wrong turn, we arrived at the hotel we booked.. Whistler Resort and Club.. located abt 5 mins walk away from the Creekside.. and abt 5 mins drive to the Whistler's Village..

We checked in into the hotel.. a small and modest one.. but with an extremely nice and friendly group of staff.. and went out to walk to the Creekside, to get to Village..


Her first snow..

Well.. that was what we planned anyway.. not knowing that the Creekside was not really a walking distance to the Village..

We walked around a lil bit at the Creekside, which was already closed coz it had gotten dark.. and soon after, went back to the hotel to get the car to drive to the Upper Village of Whistler's..



At the Creekside..


At the Village..

We walked for abt 1 1/2 hrz at the Village.. to enjoy the cold and the night scenery and to do the booking for the skiing lesson, and went back to our room soon after to have dinner and sleep..


At the window of our room..

Due to the tight bookings that they had in the hotel, we were not able to secure a room with a kitchen area, fireplace and fridge.. and so, thru my wife's suggestion, we actually chilled our milk and ice cream thru the days right outside our window.. by throwing it into the huge pile of snow..


Just like that..

I actually had to use a cookpot to cook dinner.. my limited-ingredient Nasi Lemak with a bottled Sambal Iikan Bilis we got from the supermarket at Metropolis, and sardines the next day, with some chilli flakes..

We actually had more food than we can consume..

11th Feb 2008

The next day, we rose up early to go up the mountain to ski..

The whole process of registration and getting the equipments took abt half an hour.. and we joined the group that was already waiting for us.. made up of mainly an Indian family from England.. and so there we were, an Indian couple from Singapore.. adding to the total number of Indians up the mountain..


On the way up the mountain.. on the gondola that brings us up to the ski area..

It was a whole day affair, from 8.45am till 3pm, with a lunch break in between.. in which I really cant tahan so I took off my ski boots coz I could almost hear my feet scream in pain.. and not long after I did, at the cafeteria.. a woman with ski boots on stepped on my bare feet.. taking off some skin from my little toe on my left feet.

GAWDDAMMIT.

tell u.. the pain was worse than circumcision multiplied by a thousand.

ok.. nemind.. I tried to ignore the pain thru the entire day and went back skiing..


My little Winter Olympian..


Us.. on top of a mountain..

And my wife.. who turned out to be a pretty talented first time skier (I was too.. minus the pretty and the talented.. just being a first time skier) didn't even fall while skiing thru the entire long lesson..

But she fell twice on the lift.. sort of like a travellator.. coz rather than standing still and watching where it was heading.. she was always bz doing everything else and talking to me who would normally be behind her..


That's the lift.. and that's her, looking back, and not forward..

I think she's the only one who have the tendency to fall on the lift..

After the lesson, we stayed on a little bit till they closed the mountain, went back down and walked and shopped a little bit at the village.. and booked a snowmobile tour for the next day..

And after the tiring day.. we headed back to the hotel and rested..

12th Feb 2008

The next morning.. we headed back to the Village for the snowmobile tour.. we set off quite early and were in the same group with several other ppl, including a lone Japanese girl who walks around with socks and crocs and an American couple from Washington State, who had been married for abt 2 centuries..

ok.. I think they had been married for abt 40 or 50 years.. I cant remember.. but itz really THAT long..

And we went on the snowmobile trip up and down the mountain for really breathtaking sights..


REALLY BEAUTIFUL..

The good thing abt Whistler's is that, itz a tourist place.. almost run by tourists..

A huge number of the ppl who works there are tourists.. I guess the kind that came and don't wanna leave.. and everyone here is really just too nice..

The place is full of friendliness and warmth despite the cold.. and thats the reason why I chose this place for my honeymoon.. and I knew that when I changed my honeymoon plans from Switzerland to Canada, my wife was disappointed.. but she saw the reason behind that as soon as she arrived there..

She didn't wanna leave..

Itz just too perfect.. and this is the only place in the world that I had been to.. and I had really been to a LOT of places.. but the only one that I felt like I wanted to quit my job immediately and move there..

So for those of you who have not planned for ur honeymoon yet.. go to beautiful Canada..

After the tour.. we walked around a little bit more and shopped a little bit more and had a romantic dessert at a nice little restaurant..


And again, after a tiring day, we went back and retired for the nite..

13th Feb 2008

We checked out the next day, to head back to Vancouver Airport.. which was kinda sad coz we had a wonderful time at Whistler's.. and all good trips have to come to an end else u are migrating there..



Our rental car.. a red Yaris.. nice and economical, but not a good choice if u have a lot of luggages..

We had a 3 hrz drive back, stopping over for a burger lunch again at the same McDonald's we stopped by on the way up..

This time, halfway thru the meal, we managed to sit right in front of the fireplace in the McDonald's, to make up of the lack of fireplace in our accommodation in Whistler.. beautiful sight, beautiful girl.

All nice meals have to end too.. so we made our way back to the city, to head back to the airport..

But then again.. before we got to the airport.. we stopped for a while to take some pics through the journey..



At Alice Lake.. but nothing much to be seen now coz the place is just full of snow..




A beautiful stopover at the highway..

We decided to stop over in the city to top up the gas for the car so we don't need to pay the excess to the car rental company.. and therefore, ended up at a gas station near Marina Drive.. and therez an extremely tourist-unfriendly law in British Columbia that states that from 1st Feb 2008, all fuel must be pre-paid 24 hrs in advanced.

That means that if you want to get some gas for the car today, you must have paid for it yesterday.

If u didn't.. too bad.

Before my frustration sets in, the cashier decided to give some leverage to me and allowed me to top up the gas.. for reasons I shall withhold..

We drove back to the airport and returned back the car to Thrifty.. and checked in for an Air Canada flight to cross the country for a 4 1/2 hrz flight across to the east coast.. to the city of Toronto, Ontario.


She just can't resist to take a pic of this guy..

Arriving into Toronto

We arrived in Toronto at abt 1am, after being delayed for almost an hour out of Vancouver..

Well.. itz Air Canada and not the world's #1 airline from Singapore anyway.. and got out to be greeted by my aunt and uncle who lives there..

They migrated to Toronto close to 40 years ago.. my aunt was a former Malaysian who lived in Singapore and met my uncle who was from Guyana, and travelled to Singapore with the British Army for the Indonesian Confrontation..

Anyway, we got a newfound addiction in Toronto..

Tim Horton's..

Itz not just the bagels with poppy seeds and sesame and cream cheese, and the hot chocolate and French Vanilla Latte.. itz the place itself.. the ambiance, color, lights.. so, for the entire duration of the trip.. we were hooked to Timmy's..

14th Feb 2008

We spent the day at home, and the later part of it just around the city of Brampton, where my aunt stays.. at the mall nearby called Bramelea City Centre and had our dinner there at Popeye's.. and to Walmart, where my wife had one of her dreams fulfilled.. to shop in Walmart..



ok.. it might not mean so much to u American fellas.. but we don't have Walmart here.. just Mustafa Centre..

Which is better than Walmart, btw..

Didn't do much else on that day though...

15th Feb 2008

We went off to visit my uncle at his workplace, which is an Islamic Cultural Centre in Toronto, called Noor Centre.. which was founded by the Lakhani family.. we did our Friday prayers there and spent the rest of the evening and money shopping in Yorkdale mall..

Where she got to go to this place..


And this..


And this.. not just La Senza..


Had our dinner at the foodcourt there and went back home..

We had our Bourne trilogy marathon in Toronto, with the first two installments on the first two nights..

16th Feb 2008

Started our day quite early to drive from Brampton to Niagara to view the natural wonder of the world.. Niagara Falls..

I had seen pictures of it since I was a kid thru the pictures that my mom showed me when she went there for 3 months in 1981.. and Toronto had ever since been my dream destination.. so it was a dream come true for me to get to go to Toronto, finally.. and with my beautiful bride during my honeymoon.. it just cant get any better..

I had seen clips of Niagara Falls from the movie Superman II since I was a kid too..

And viewing it in real life is totally different from what I had always envisioned..



Coz it was all frozen..

it was freezing cold in Niagara.. and it was reflected in the glaciers that we saw..



Imagine MASSIVE volume of water from the top, crashing down to the river.. and being frozen almost immediately as they reached the bottom..


The American falls looked so small and cute compared to the Canadian Niagara.. and it was really a breathtaking sight..

And it was freezing cold where we were too so we had to cut short the view and leave.. to head down to my cousin's place at Kitchener..

My cousin, Kamal, lives with his wife and two beautiful babies, Malek and Nala.. Malek being the intuitive one with good memory and DAMN GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF CARS at abt 5 yrz old.. and 3 yr old Nala, who is the epitome of feminineness.. and have a passion for ballet..


Nala and Malek.


Us.. with the kids..

We stayed over for the night in their beautiful home.. and not only that.. the couple gave up their bedroom for us..

Thatz so touchingly unbelievable coz we never expected that from them and didn't ask for it. We would have been comfortable in the basement, and they insisted that we take their bed and they sleep in the basement..

It was a beautiful basement though.. with a big kickass HDTV, in which we stayed up for several hours watching the last of the Bourne trilogy..


Clockwise from top left.. Me, Kamal, Tracy, Nala, My Aunt Asmah, Malek, and my beautiful bride..

17th Feb 2008

Went out with my cousin to the St Jacob's village, to go to a marketplace where the Mennonites trade..

Mennonites are like the Amish.. they don't use electricity or phones, and no cars either.. so they are still with horses and carriages..

Unfortunately, maybe due to the cold weather or the fact that it was a Sunday so they might be in church, we didn't get to see any of them.. so we ended up at St Jacob's factory outlet mall.. and got quite a number of good stuffs..

like Levi's jeans for 21 bucks?

And 3-piece Samsonite bags for $200? which normally would be selling at abt $400 to $500?

After that short shopping trip, we got back to Kamal's place and soon enough, went back to my aunt's place in Brampton.. with a short dinner stopover at Bramelea..


A novelty hair salon for kids called MelonHead..

That night, we all had some rough work to do..


My uncle had to remove the ice from the windscreen for the trip the next day..


I had to clear some choke in the toilet..


And my wife was just about to shovel the snow for the entire neighbourhood.. but the snow just had to fall again..

Well.. anyway.. we spent a lil time outside at the driveway shovelling snow, and my wife collected some snow to pack it back home..

Before we left Vancouver, she actually had wondered whether were there any snow in Toronto..

18th Feb 2008

The next day.. we took at subway train out to the city.. hitched a ride from my aunt to Bramelea, and took a bus to Yorkdale.. had some bagels at Tim Horton's and then we switched to the subway to the city..

In the subway..

We spent a lil bit of the day walking around the city of Toronto.. going a lil bit here and there at Eaton Centre, the Old and New City Halls and viewing the CN Tower from the street..



Actually.. this pic was taken 2 days before that when we drove pass the tower..


Old City Hall.. and this pic too.. taken a few days before..

Nothing much that we could do there coz the place is closed due to a public holiday called Family Day.. the first of such a holiday in Canada which coincide with the American President's day..


Some kids ice skating in the city..

And a squirrel posing for a pic..

We left soon after to go back to my aunt's place coz we were invited for dinner at Aunt Venrah's place.. who is a friend of my aunt who came over and stayed at my place for a couple of weeks in December for her holiday.. she didn't get to attend our wedding, so I brought my bride there for Aunt Venrah to meet her for the first time as my wife instead of my fiancee..

After dinner, we went back to my aunt's place and packed for our flight the next day..

19th Feb 2008

We started very early in the morning to head down to Buffalo.. which is across the border in United States coz the flight tickets from Buffalo to JFK Airport was like $200 cheaper per person, compared to Toronto's Pearson Airport.. so my aunt and uncle had to drive us down to the States.. which they were definitely not excited abt coz, as my uncle put it.. u get anything u want in Canada.. so there's no reason to go to there..

Which is true anyway.. except for Disneyland.. u don't get Disneyland in Canada.. and I think thatz it..


Hanging Traffic Lights out of Toronto to Buffalo..

So we said goodbye to Canada.. after a week long stay in the beautiful country, with the beautiful ppl, my beautiful family on the second half of the week, beautiful bagels in beautiful Timmy's.. to head down to the place which is of the exact opposite.. New York City..

Arriving in New York City


The hour-long flight from Buffalo to John F Kennedy Airport in New York City on JetBlue was quite uneventful.. except that they serve naturally blue colored potato chips..

weird..

We had to take the AirTrain to Jamaica station to get to the city.. and initially, we got on the wrong side of the track and ended up elsewhere, moved back to the terminal, and finally, after asking the reception and an hour pushing and pulling the bags, we got to the NYC subway station..

Took the subway to head down to our hotel at Park Central, and almost crashed as soon as we arrived..

After checking in, we walked around a lil bit, and my wife, who had gotten used to the extreme Canadian weather by then, underestimated the cold in NYC.. with the draft blowing in between the buildings, it can get really dreadfully chilly..

Brought my wife to Abercrombie & Fitch's flagship store at 5th Ave, and she saw the Trump Tower nearby.. and walked around the street where she saw the rest of the places.. Broadway, Rockefeller Center, Times Square and the New York Public Library where Peter Parker's uncle got shot..

Rockefeller Center..



Well.. we didn't plan to park here anyway..

A mounted policeman..


And there's more where that came from..

And for those who didn't get to mount horses..


Times Square..


We walked down the street till we get to 34th Street @ Broadway.. and for her to shop at Victoria's Secrets store itself..


Too bad that on this trip, we didn't get to watch any plays at Broadway.. not that I had ever watched any plays at all anyway..

20th Feb 2008

Woke up slightly late coz of the exhaustion, and went over to 49th street's Teriyaki Boy for lunch.. which is basically a cheap Japanese restaurant.. took the train to Battery Park and a ferry ride to Liberty Island..


The Brooklyn Bridge.. from the ferry on the way to Liberty Island..



Ellis Island..

And presenting..


The Lady Liberty herself

We walked around a lil bit at Liberty Island, before heading back to Manhattan..

And to take a tour of the Financial Centre of the world..


The Charging Bull near Wall Street..

Right is for work.. left is for play..

A stretched limo..

And soon after.. we headed down to the other Wonder in NYC.. Century 21.. which is the place that no one should miss if u are ever going to NYC.. and had always been one of my favourite places.. where u can really get real branded stuffs really cheap..

No need to bargain one.. and real some more.. not bedek ones..

After several hours of shopping, we left and walked around WTC Ground Zero, which is nothing spectacular now.. no tourist attractions, memorials.. just a construction area..


Ground Zero..

Soon after that, we went off to Times Square and got halal pizza and brought it back to the room and didn't really get to eat it coz we were too exhausted.


The Pizza Man..

And the little girl eating the huge pizza..

21st Feb 2008

Another day of shopping.. brought my wife for a bus trip to New Jersey.. to an outlet mall called Jersey Gardens.. another place with REALLY GOOD CHEAP STUFFS.. though I cant write here what we bought.. just that we did buy a number of nice things..

After that lil shopping spree, we head back to NYC, stopping over at Times Square..





REAL NYPD..

And we took a lil bit of time to visit some of our friends..


Like Samuel Jackson..


Some notty communist friend of ours..


Some patriotic ones..


Sorry Hill.. as much as we like Bill.. and we like you too... but we Singaporean Democrats are rooting for Obama..

And let me present you.. someone.. who is..

Sexier than Tina Turner..


And prettier than Michael Jackson..


Formerly from Spice Girls..


And the only girl in N'Sync..



As critical as Simon..

once again..

Let me present you..


the American Idol!

Nur Zahirah!

ok.. while she was busy entertaining the crowd.. I had my fair share too..



I met up with Gandhi..


Sang with Bob..

Counted Mick Jagger's bunny teeth..


Chill out with the Osbornes..

And sang with James Brown..

That was a tiring night..

but that was the last nite of our honeymoon..

We spent the rest of the night walking around a lil bit, looking around and bringing my wife to the Grand Central Station and a view of Madison Square Garden from the outside, and to look for food and ended up at Sbarro Pizza between 44th and 45th street..


On the streets of Manhattan, with Chrysler Building in the background..

And soon after, retired back in our room and started packing..

We started with a single luggage, a laptop bag and a cabin bag..

We ended with 2 luggage cargo bags, 2 cabin bags and 2 laptop bags..

And lots and lots of shopping..

22nd Feb 2008

Since our flight back was on a subload ticket, which means, we could only get seats if there were any left.. we had to get to the airport early.. we checked out at 12 noon, and placed our luggages at the concierge..

Went for another lunch at Teriyaki Boy and walked around a lil to look for some typical NYC souvenirs..

There was a snowstorm that morning, and even till noon the snowfall was still very heavy, and the airports had been closed..

Newark Airport, where we were to take our flight back from had been closed for 6 hrs..


The snowstorm..


The aftermath..

So we got our bags, took a private taxi and left for the airport at 4pm.. and our flight was supposed to be at 11pm that night.. but we just couldn't take any chances of getting stuck on the road without being abt to get to the airport at all.. so we became a lil bit kanchong spider to go there early and just sat there for a drink and sandwiches..

We got there at 4.30pm..

But it was ok anyway.. lots of time means that we are safe.. and the counter was open at 7pm.. we got our tickets, and waited for the flight.. and bought coffee and hot chocolate from a rude woman from a makeshift cafe within the gate area..

Damn.. we miss Tim Horton's..

Whistler's was romantic.. Toronto was sweet and family oriented.. New York was exhausting..

And we miss it.. more than Tim Horton's..

The flight back was quite light too.. a direct flight from Newark to Singapore, for 18 hours.. and we had wonderful crew on board again.. but then again.. what else can u expect from Singapore Airlines rite.. itz always wonderful.. and if I ever quit and be a paying pax, I'ld fly with Singapore Airlines too..

My wife, who had a fear of flying.. or rather.. fear for the fast speed that the aircraft takes off with, had 5 flights within 2 weeks, on 3 airlines.. and she got out of that fear within minutes of our first flight out from Singapore to Seoul..

And managed to compare the airlines.. Singapore Airlines, Air Canada and JetBlue.

And the verdict was really no brainer..

heh.. no wonder we are #1..

And so.. on 24th Feb 2008, we arrived in Singapore.. at the end of our honeymoon..

and the outcome of it all?


Our very own 1cm Pakistani fella, with a heartbeat of 149bpm..

That's a LOT of work for a lil kid..