Our 7th wedding anniversary

It has been 7 years since I married Fidelia in Kuching. We now have 2 children, a stable business, and a happy marriage!

The cake is coming later today and we are going to enjoy our stay at Swiss Garden Resort & Spa shortly.

I'm glad the A-Z challenge is complete and I can get back to posting more stuff about Kuantan. Expect lots of great landscape and portrait photos of the girls in the upcoming weeks. These photos have been stacking up and waiting for May :)

My Journey to Kuantan - Part 4 - Love at First Sight

This week I am sharing a series of blog posts explaining how I ended up where I am today - in Kuantan. If you have missed any previous posts, you can get yourself acquainted with them here:

PART 1 - RAISED IN ENGLAND (1982-2002)


PART 2 - SERVING AS A VOLUNTEER (2002-2004)


PART 3 - MISSING MALAYSIA (2004-2005)

I came back to Malaysia for my second holiday in a year in May 2005. This time I went alone and for a period of 3 months. I had planned all the places I was going to visit and the people I wanted to see, including Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Kuching and Singapore.

However, just a few days into my holiday, on the island of Borneo, a girl called Fidelia threw my plans upside-down in a matter of seconds!

Meeting Fidelia one night in Kuching was completely unplanned. I didn't even know she was around. It was her younger sister Florina, who made the call and engineered our meeting.

It was after 10pm and Fidelia was coming back home from work. She walked through the door of a friend's house and it was love at first sight!

I don't know how it happened but I just thought silently in my mind, "this is the girl I'm going to marry!"

This was a picture we took on that first night we met each other. We look good together already!

Just a month later we were engaged. Can you believe it? Neither can I!

Here's where I proposed to Fidelia with a poem I wrote. Can you tell she said "yes"?!

We held a very simple engagement party at Fidelia's home. Didn't cost much but it was a nice evening spent with family and friends

Can you spot the mystery hovering paper plate?!

I briefly went to Ipoh but didn't last long there as I missed Fidelia too much! I swiftly returned to Kuching! The rest of my holiday was spent with Fidelia in Kuching and then in Kuala Lumpur.

At church in Kuching

We came in 2nd place and won RM100 in a blowpipe competition in Kuching! (How good does Fidelia look?!)

At Mid-valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur

Our favourite picture together at KL Tower

We had a great day out at Sunway Lagoon water park. Later we spent some time on a children's train, and chocolate tasting at Sunway Pyramid, Subang Jaya, West Malaysia

Here's where my holiday came to an end. I was shortly heading back to England. Fidelia was returning to her studies at university near Kuantan.

I racked up a hefty RM12,000 phone bill during the period of August 2005 - April 2006. Gave my mum a cheque each month to cover it. At times it was worth it, but at times we drove each other crazy by calling at all sorts of hours (because of the time difference) and worrying about things that didn't really need to be worried about! These months were torture!

 We decided to get married in May 2006 and we would find a place in nearby Kuantan as Fidelia's university was 30 minutes drive from there.

Here are the home-made wedding invitation cards I designed. Didn't pay a penny for them!

On 2nd May, 2006 we registered our marriage at the Kuching register office, and came back to sign the papers on 4th May

To celebrate our marriage we simply booked a nearby restaurant for a small sum of money. A good-sized group of family and friends attended and it was a very nice evening. There was no huge cake, no lavish setting, no photographers, no expensive clothing code, just us and close family and friends. That's all we spent and it was worth it because we needed the money for the start of our married life, paying rent and bills etc...

We took some great photos at a studio in Kuching for a good price, and here are a few of them:

In traditional Iban attire

The second part of our marriage took place in England. There we were married inside a LDS temple, which event is kind of like going to Mecca and circling the Kaaba for a Muslim. To find out more about Mormon temples, you can follow this link:

What happens inside a LDS temple?

Have a look inside a LDS temple

Browse LDS temples all around the world

Here we are at the London England temple grounds

On the steps of the London England temple

We had a small gathering at my home in Leicester for family and friends and that was it.

My journey to Kuantan is almost complete!

Don't miss the final installment tomorrow!

Top Posts of 2011 - Part 2

Today we are having a walk down memory lane from May - August 2011, looking over some of my favourite blog posts of the year.

1. In May 2011 Fidelia and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary, and on my blog I posted some of our pictures from our marriage in 2006.

2. Also in May, I had a fascinating delve into abstract photography which yielded some really intriguing results, like this picture below:

I indulged myself in a second round of abstractism with images such as this:

3. On 15th June, 2011, our second daughter, Leah, was born. Here is the blog post containing some of the very first pictures of Leah 

4. In July 2011, I had a great time photographing Kuantan old town and sharing the pictures here on my blog. These historical buildings are still standing and are in business today. It was great to see the sights and sounds and smells there.

5. In August 2011 I made a short trip to the splendid Singapore. It is guaranteed that I'll always return with a treasure trove of photos from this fabulous city-island. Four blog posts about Singapore were barely enough to do my trip justice!

Raffles Place

The Fullerton Hotel

Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay at night

The final part tomorrow will include January - April 2011.

Top Posts of 2011

I accomplished many things in 2011 which I'm delighted with and will continue through 2012.

I don't usually group things according to year, including new year's resolutions, which I strongly believe don't work. (If you're going to start something, do it NOW, don't wait for the new year!)

Anyway, seeing as blogging and posting are done according to calendar dates, I'm going to share with you some of my favourite posts of the year, as I look back on many good times we've had. Today's first part covers September - December 2011.

1. We were greatly looking forward to visiting KL in November of 2011, and I wasn't disappointed by the majesty of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers which I photographed from a number of angles, in the sun, rain, and at night. It has to be said that they look marvellous in every circumstance!

2. I loved sharing the wonderful pictures of a gecko we eventually captured in our kitchen in A Gecko Encounter. The "smiling gecko" has become one of my most favourite photos of all time!

3. In October 2011 we travelled to Kuching with our children to be present at my sister-in-law's wedding reception. We had a great time visiting Kuching for the first time since 2006 when Fidelia and I registered our own marriage. 

4. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall is a brilliant attraction in Kuantan. I happened to be there on the most splendid day, bathed in hot sunshine, making it perfect conditions for some beautiful photos. This buddha became a favourite image of a number of my readers:

5. We had a great time staying in the large, spacious rooms of M. S. Garden Hotel in September 2011.

6. We also enjoyed our stay at Vistana Hotel and becoming good friends with Wayne, the HM. Their suite is beautiful and we were given every generous courtesy during our stay there.

7. Meeting Blog Followers was a great post because it was so good to meet those people who read my blog online, in reality!

Tomorrow I'll be featuring posts from May - August 2011 . . .

Fidelia's Friday - Great trip

We finally went back to Kuching on 12th October 2011. We stayed there for 7 days. It went by very fast for us.

Kuching City, looking down from the plane...

When we reached home, my three sisters, Felicia, Florianna and Florina were there to greet us. My grandma (my dad's mum) finally was able to meet her English/Iban great grandchildren. She wasn't aware of our second daughter, Leah. Nobody told her that I gave birth to the second one. So, she was like "Whose baby is this then?" Oh, bless her!

Our grandma with her granddaughters and great granddaughters...

The first day was just a rest day for us. My dad cooked us lovely dinner! He is a very talented cook. He has been cooking for us since we were born even until now.

Home sweet home...

The second day was a busy one. We had to do all the preparation needed for the reception. After our dinner at home, my dad took us to Kuching Riverfront. 

Kuching Waterfront

The third day was a Friday. My dad took a day off work so he could take us to Damai Beach Resort. Before we headed to the beach, we went to Sarawak Museum. At night, we double checked the list for the reception and packed our stuff for a one night stay at Penview Hotel.

Damai Beach

The fourth day was THE BIG DAY for my sister, Felicia and for all of us. We enjoyed ourselves. We sang along with our dad when he sang "Only You". I had to go up to the room early because it was too noisy for Lauren. Leah was being such a good baby! She didn't cry even when people were passing her around like "pass the parcel" game.

Singing with our dad

The fifth day was not a good day for us. When we were about to check out we discovered that Felicia's jewellery box which she borrowed from the bridal shop was stolen from our room. It was there before we all went down for breakfast. It must have been stolen while we were not in the room. The hotel staff didn't seem to care and told us we must have misplaced it and insisted it wasn't the hotel or the housekeepers' fault. My sister had to pay RM500 for it! We were not satisfied with the hotel at all.

Penview Hotel, Kuching

Anyway, let us move on to our sixth day. My sister, Florianna flew back to Johor in the morning. We went to MJC, a place not far from my house to get some lunch. Of course we ordered Kolo Mee. My favourite noodle of all time. We also went to Sunny Hill to buy the best home-made ice-cream in Kuching.

This is where we bought our Kolo Mee...

Kuching Kolo Mee... yummy!

Sunny Hill Ice-cream...

On our last day in Kuching we went to Wisma Saberkas to meet a couple of my university friends. We went to my all time favourite restaurant called ALL JOY! They have the best ginger chicken ever. Our flight was at night and before we boarded the plane, we met my ex-classmate to give her DSLR camera back and she bought some chocolate for Lauren. 

ALL JOY Restaurant...

We really had a good trip! We are now looking forward to the next trip back to my home. 

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME!! FOR LAUREN, HER HOME IS KUANTAN AND SHE IS HAPPY TO BE HOME!!!

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Felicia and Tuah's wedding reception, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

My sister-in-law, Felicia, and her husband Tuah, enjoyed a lively wedding reception at Penview Hotel in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Here are some of the photos from that night:

The ballroom

My sis-in-law, Florina Urai ensured guests signed the guestbook prior to entering the ballroom

She likes the camera too, as you'll see in a number of pictures!

My father-in-law waits to greet guests as they arrive

My mother-in-law, left, with her two sisters, Dorothy and Evelyn

Lauren waits for things to get started, with her pre-ordered KFC mashed potato. She's rather picky when it comes to food!

At the start of the event, Lauren acted as 'flowergirl', leading the bride and groom, parents and bridesmaids by gently throwing petals on the floor. She did a great job. Unfortunately the room was pitch black so the photos didn't turn out very well :(

The father of the bride gives his opening speech

The only one of my sisters-in-law who wasn't here in person was attending via Skype! Felicity Anai is currently studying in Australia, but through the miracle of the internet via ipod, she watched on as things unfolded live!

Leah was passed around amongst family relatives throughout the night. She handled it all very well! Here Urai, right, and her best friend Janice, left, pose with Leah.

Felicia and Tuah

My mother-in-law with a friend

Father-in-law with a friend

Fidelia's grandmother, Lauren and Leah's cute great-grandma! She doesn't speak English, but I really enjoyed her company as Fidelia translated her words.

The happy couple

My gorgeous wife and Leah

Soon the karaoke started with Urai and Janice:

Following them was my sis-in-law Florianna. 

She has the most amazing voice full of tone and power which filled the entire ballroom. She sang Celine Dion's "The Power of Love" and this was not karaoke. No sir. This was pure talent. I never realised she was THIS good. No words to express how good it was. It was a shame I couldn't video it, but even then, I doubt a video recording on a camera would have done her justice!

On the left is our cousin Jenny...

I managed to get in one picture during the night, which is one more than most other photographers can manage! Here I am with my picture-perfect sis-in-law, Urai:

The family began dancing

My mother-in-law's turn at karaoke

Tuah and Felicia cut the cake

Tuah attempts to pop the cork...                   

And the cork flies! Look how excited Felicia is!

Felicia and Feona Albert, two of Leah's many cousins, give Leah a big kiss

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