Chinese Wedding Banquet

No coconuts, no chicken running around, no fireworks, we had a simple but wonderful seafood chinese wedding banquet. For us, it was rather like a photo taking session, most of the time we just stood there taking photos with everyone coming in; for the guests, it was a mahjong party. We had roasted pig with a pair of red lights sticking in its eyes for the starter, then delicious abalone, bird nest, shark fin, sea cucumber... (Sorry for the wildlife). Unlike other couples in their weddings, instead of playing games or playing powerpoint of their childhood memory, we only focused on our foods. It was simple but funny and joyful.

We Are Sailors

Have you ever seen pictures of a sailboat parked in a cove at a paradise location, mast down, hovering over clear blue waters, so clear that you can see its shadow laying on the ocean floor a few meters below? Those pictures have always been intriguing, so we decided to sign up for a class and last weekend became officially certified by the Hong Kong Sailing Federation. The first day was spent learning techniques and theories and we never even got to touch a boat before lunch. Finally we learned how to assemble the boat, all 57 steps (a little exaggerated but seemed to be that way). When we got on the boat it was rather confusing and didn't seem all it was cracked up to be. By the end of the second day however we got it down pretty well - the tracking, the gybing, the zig-zagging tracks upwind, taking it back to shore...it turned out to be pretty fun. So now we have our 1st level certificate but all we can do from here is move up to 2nd level, so we're planning on doing that soon and then we'll be qualified to rent our own boat and go on outings. Maybe we'll reach that cove one day after all.

The Honeymooners

Maldives. Both of us have always dreamed of visiting such a place -- a place where you sleep in bungalows atop clear blue waters; where in the morning you wake with the sun rising over an open undisturbed ocean; where breakfast is served on your own private deck and you enjoy the morning meal while watching the fish below hunt for their own; where you can walk off the deck into the water for some of the world's best snorkeling and scuba diving; where the nights are spent having five-course meals complete with fresh seafood and desserts from around the globe. It was heaven.


Some quick facts about Maldives:

- located in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka
- highest point is 2.3 meters (7 1/2 ft.)
- water level is expected to rise another 59 cm by 2100 so the countries leaders are looking to purchase land from surrounding countries so people can relocate
- predominantly muslim (only muslims can vote)
- locals can't serve alcohol b/c of religion so only foreigners (mainly sri lankans) can work as servers and bartenders


While diving and snorkeling we saw hundreds of different kinds of fish and coral plus squid, eel, sting ray, two separate kinds of reef sharks, and other things that we didn't know how to identify.


Enjoy the pictures...

Wedding Bells

Our big day: July 25, 2009