Bestman and Bridesman at a Castle Wedding

We had a very majestic wedding experience this year. Was honoured to be invited to be the bestman and bridesmaid in our friends, YY & Fish's wedding at Leeds Castle in Kent. Our first task of the day -  the very important task of bringing the bride safely to the wedding venue, which we did. When we arrived, we were shown the bridal room...which was HUGE...its bathroom (which has a dressing table right in the middle) was bigger than my bedroom at home!

The groom's sister then proceed to do an amazing job with the bride's (and my) hair and makeup. Kudos to the lovely young lady with so much talent....Getting ready in the majestic big room is a lot of fun. ;)

 When its time to marry the bride off....the ceremony was held in a lovely room, with very nice décor....just right next to the library where champagne and nibbles were served.

Dining room was set up very elegantly, with candlesticks and tons of tons of flowers. It was a 3 course meal that filled me up so much...I didn't have any room for the wedding cake! The bride had 3 different dresses that night....which was lovely.

After dinner, we were moved to the 'music room' which was turned into a disco floor for dancing....it was here that the groom was 'stripped' by his friends....I am very tempted to upload the 'stripping photo' too....but lets keep this blog a space that is suitable for children browsing. ;) Being the sporting guy that Mr YY is....he just spent the rest of the night without pants, dancing, chatting etc.(Could you spot him without pants in the photo?)

Next to the music room, is a living room with fireplace, where guests can have coffee, tea and the wedding cup cakes. How awesome is this! I have lost count of the number of used that have been used to accommodate the grand wedding.

After a long night and ensuring all the guest have gone....its time to turn into bed. The wedding couple has kindly blessed us with a room for the night. My first ever experience of staying in a castle. Check out the view from our room.

The next morning, we went down for breakfast - late, as we thought its a free and easy breakfast, only to find all the other guests that have stayed over (the wedding couple's parents, and relatives) seated and eating on a posh long table..2 empty seats on the table, waiting for us. Ouch, our late entry was very noticeable...but  WOW....that's probably the most posh setting and room for breakfast that we ever had in any of our travels.

Then, I took a walk with the bride around the castle....to breathe in the fresh air and lush fields, just taking in the external beauty of it all. What a nice ending to the wonderful wedding weekend.

Pulpit Rock Climb, Norway (One of the world's most stunning view? )

On the August Bank Holiday weekend, we made a trip to Norway to climb the Pulpit Rock. (our first Europe holiday in a long while).

We took a ferry from the little town of Stavenger, to the side where the rock is. Having decided to stay near the rock so that we can spent more time there, ....we booked a hotel called Base Camp. But let me tell you...the 'Base Camp' is a 20 minute bus ride to where we can start to climb.  (Jibbed by false advertising). Look at the bright side, it's a cozy little hotel.

Just right after we started the climb....how it poured!! it was just raining cat and dogs and we were barely 20% of our climb up. It's going to be a challenging climb as now the path up has turned into a river and the only way up for is to climb on the rocks, which will now be slippery rocks. Nonetheless, we decided to put on our garbage bag rain coats,  push on and continue our journey.

 Along the way, I was shocked by what I see. Parents with young kids (in the rain), parents with babies in their back pack, old tourist grannies in their 70s....guided along by their young grandsons. (They are probably cursing and whining at the smart decision of the younger generation to bring them on an 'adventurous' tour).

Halfway up, we witness a rescue helicopter landing on the top of the Pulpit Rock. A woman who had injured herself was air-lifted off the rock as she couldn't make the climb down.

 After 2 hours in the rain, drenching wet and a very painful pain in the butt (I slipped, and landed straight on my right buttocks when trying to step onto a big rocks) we finally made it to the top....and WOW what can I say.... The view is definitely worth the pain.

So here we are, at the top of the rock!!! Check out the view.....

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The colours of my life

This summer, something magical happened.
 I decided to venture into the unknown, to stretch my boundaries, and to give gardening a try.

The decision is driven largely by the fact that this is the first time I live in a  no place with both
    a) a garden;
          AND
    b) no risk of me stumbling upon any 'cicak'






I emerge from the experience discovering a passion and talent I didn't know I had. Many, many flowers bloomed under my care. Its was so much fun seeing a bud form, a baby plant grow tall....a seed turn into plant,  There's been a few times I stumbled upon and sometimes even touching the creepy crawlies slugs and snails.....but no loud shrieks and crash from me when that happens. I guess nothing scares me as much as the four-legged friendly monsters.


Today, I am proud to say that our garden is an envy with the neighbours.

Autumn is approaching and the plants may go to sleep soon....but for the summer of 2014, watching the flowers bloom brighten up my life with colours. I had spent hours...HOURS just staring at the flowers.

Yes, I have come a long way from the 'girl who had a cactus died on her'. It seems I might even be turning into a crazy plant lady :):)