Today got off to a slow start, three people needing to shower and get dressed takes a long time with only one shower. My dad also started to learn that I'm not the friendliest most functioning person before I have coffee. I think he should have learned this years ago, but better late than never.
Finally got out of the apartment and went in search of coffee. Found a neat little bakery places, that had amazing coffee. Maybe I was just craving it desperately, but no I'm pretty sure it was just amazing coffee. Hopped on subway and headed on in to Brooklyn.
Off the subway headed straight for lunch at Babouche, per Zee's recommendation. It is such a beautiful restaurant. I thought I was hearing things when my dad wanted to order some wine, but no he did. We got a bottle of this Moroccan wine, called Les Trois Dolmaides. It was a delicious white wine. Next up was a dish of mussels, tossed in a sauce with tomatoes, garlic and oil. YUM!!!! I opted for chicken skewers with cucumber yogurt sauce. That was fantastic too. I'm such a food nerd. Stayed there for quite a bit.
Post lunch had to go find a scarf for dad, so went in search of that. I was able to speak to the darling Zee on the phone :-D Didn't get to see her though :-( Not much time spent in Brooklyn, because we wanted to go see another show.
Got back to Times Square, and I wanted to pop into Toys R Us in hope of riding the Ferris Wheel. I am still 6 years old. It happens. :-p The tickets were out for the time we were there, so maybe another time. Headed on over to ticket places, and of course the line was super long. Should have gone earlier in the day, but oh well. Picked out our top three choices, and then of course couldn't get any of them. Next to Normal sold out while we were in line. Then God of Carnage and South Pacific neither one had three seats together. I suggested Mamma Mia in the end, but didn't think they wanted to go see it. However they said sure, so Mamma Mia it was.
Popped in for a lite snack and some dessert at Ellen's Stardust Diner. I love that place. It's just fun. Plus they have this really delicious milkshake, called the Corvette. Coffee ice cream, chocolate milk and malt. God I love dessert. Had time to kill after that so just hung around the M&M store for a bit. Last time my m&&m color, was green. This time: Mega Mix. Here's what it told me: "You never do anything halfway. Why start now?"---what does my dad pick up on... "Why start now?" :-p
Mamma Mia was fantastic as well. I had seen it before in a touring production, and it was such a blast. This time around was no different. It's just a fun feel good show. It didn't top Hair of course, but nothing ever will. Bought a Rock Chick Supremo t-shirt from the show, and 20% of proceeds go to Breast Cancer research.
After the show it was dinner time. We tried to go to Puccini's (the restaurant from my story) only to find it was closed and now an Indian restaurant. :-( We did find a good Italian place called Ralph's however. I chowed down like a pig on eggplant Parmesan. It was bigger than my head and so delicious. They had more wine, and I had switched to rum and cokes. 3/4 rum and mmm was that nice. Drank for a bit and then called it a night.
Not sure what's up for today. Maybe Jersey Boys...who knows!!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
New York Day 1
Well we left Charlottesville at 6:10, on a flight full of really attractive young business boys :-) Had a pretty smooth flight on this little prop plane, which surprised me. I was anticipating a really bumpy uncomfortable ride. Watched the sunrise and it was gorgeous.
Landed at LaGuardia around 7:30, and got a cab immediately. Got to the apartment we are staying at around a little after 8. It's a different one than last time, so I was a bit caught off guard. Last time the apartment was around the corner from the Ed Sullivan Theater in Times Square. This one is further down at W 55th and 9th. It is also a lot smaller, which means I'm sleeping on a couch. Oh well. I'll survive.
First things first: breakfast! We walked up to this AppleJack Diner, where we actually ate breakfast last year. It's good. Coffee is to die for, and we all know how much I require my cofffee. After breakfast we walked the 10+ blocks to the theater where Hair is playing. Box office wasn't open yet, so we just stood around in the cold, and I took pictures with the Gavin Creel poster. Can't help it, he's so cute.
We opted to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the day. So I had my first trip on the NY Subway system. It was no different than the one in DC if you ask me. Got to the art museum and headed straight for the Egyptain stuff. I love love love Ancient Egyptian things. All the mummy's and carvings and statues. It fascinates me so much. Spent a good deal of time in there, and then grabbed lunch at the museum cafe. It was good. After lunch we went to the Arms and Armor section, which was amazing. I never knew a suit of armor could be so cool! I had a lot of fun walking around in there. Especially when we found the guy with the huge codpiece, which made his penis look like it folded updwards.. and not in a comfortable looking way. I also enjoyed the gun collection we found. Lots of old Smith and Wessons, and Colt's. Found a beautiful statue in the American sculpture area, that made me feel a lot better about my body. I took a picture of it. American art wing was closed, which was sad. I would have enjoyed some of the American paintings. I made them go through the Modern Art wing with me, because I enjoy that stuff. I was very happy because they had three Edward Hopper paintings. Saw some really cool pieces in there. MoMa still wins for me though, because they have my favorite Edward Hopper painting. :-)
After the museum it was time to find some coffee and a place to sit for a while. Sadly just ended up at Starbucks, but it was still good. Then back to the apartment to get dressed and changed.
Not quickly enough did time to go to see Hair roll around. I was bouncing like a six year old hopped up on sugar on Christmas. I was soooo excited. We got there and of course, with my luck, Gavin Creel wasn't in it that night. I was a bit sad, but it quickly passed. His understudy was amazing! Everyone was amazing! The entire show was just beyond stellar. It was truly the best musical I have seen live. We had aisle seats, and I of course sat right on the aisle. The guy that played Hud, gave me flowers to pass down the row. He stroked my cheek and kissed my hair. I damn near freaked out! :-) We had great seats, and they were up and down our aisle and beside us a lot. I immensly enjoyed myself. After the show we went up on the stage to dance with everyone and it was just a blast.
To my ladies that are NY-ing in April, if we can find discount ticktets I highly suggest we go back!! I am ready to see it again.
After the show it was dinner time. Found this stellar Cajun restaurant called the Delta Grill. There was a live band and it was such a fun atmosphere. I kept looking around for Lafayette to show up :-p I had a killer shrimp po boy. The cornbread was to die for.
Post dinner it was back to the apartment to pass the crap out.
Today is off to Brooklyn. I will update you all later!
Love,
Rachel
Landed at LaGuardia around 7:30, and got a cab immediately. Got to the apartment we are staying at around a little after 8. It's a different one than last time, so I was a bit caught off guard. Last time the apartment was around the corner from the Ed Sullivan Theater in Times Square. This one is further down at W 55th and 9th. It is also a lot smaller, which means I'm sleeping on a couch. Oh well. I'll survive.
First things first: breakfast! We walked up to this AppleJack Diner, where we actually ate breakfast last year. It's good. Coffee is to die for, and we all know how much I require my cofffee. After breakfast we walked the 10+ blocks to the theater where Hair is playing. Box office wasn't open yet, so we just stood around in the cold, and I took pictures with the Gavin Creel poster. Can't help it, he's so cute.
We opted to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the day. So I had my first trip on the NY Subway system. It was no different than the one in DC if you ask me. Got to the art museum and headed straight for the Egyptain stuff. I love love love Ancient Egyptian things. All the mummy's and carvings and statues. It fascinates me so much. Spent a good deal of time in there, and then grabbed lunch at the museum cafe. It was good. After lunch we went to the Arms and Armor section, which was amazing. I never knew a suit of armor could be so cool! I had a lot of fun walking around in there. Especially when we found the guy with the huge codpiece, which made his penis look like it folded updwards.. and not in a comfortable looking way. I also enjoyed the gun collection we found. Lots of old Smith and Wessons, and Colt's. Found a beautiful statue in the American sculpture area, that made me feel a lot better about my body. I took a picture of it. American art wing was closed, which was sad. I would have enjoyed some of the American paintings. I made them go through the Modern Art wing with me, because I enjoy that stuff. I was very happy because they had three Edward Hopper paintings. Saw some really cool pieces in there. MoMa still wins for me though, because they have my favorite Edward Hopper painting. :-)
After the museum it was time to find some coffee and a place to sit for a while. Sadly just ended up at Starbucks, but it was still good. Then back to the apartment to get dressed and changed.
Not quickly enough did time to go to see Hair roll around. I was bouncing like a six year old hopped up on sugar on Christmas. I was soooo excited. We got there and of course, with my luck, Gavin Creel wasn't in it that night. I was a bit sad, but it quickly passed. His understudy was amazing! Everyone was amazing! The entire show was just beyond stellar. It was truly the best musical I have seen live. We had aisle seats, and I of course sat right on the aisle. The guy that played Hud, gave me flowers to pass down the row. He stroked my cheek and kissed my hair. I damn near freaked out! :-) We had great seats, and they were up and down our aisle and beside us a lot. I immensly enjoyed myself. After the show we went up on the stage to dance with everyone and it was just a blast.
To my ladies that are NY-ing in April, if we can find discount ticktets I highly suggest we go back!! I am ready to see it again.
After the show it was dinner time. Found this stellar Cajun restaurant called the Delta Grill. There was a live band and it was such a fun atmosphere. I kept looking around for Lafayette to show up :-p I had a killer shrimp po boy. The cornbread was to die for.
Post dinner it was back to the apartment to pass the crap out.
Today is off to Brooklyn. I will update you all later!
Love,
Rachel
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Beginning of the End
Monday: Up at like 4:30 to say goodbye to my dad and Nisa, as they were leaving for the honeymoon. Back to sleep. Slept in for the first time in a quite some time, which was absolutely wonderful. We got up and there really wasn't much here for breakfast, so Tie and I decided to walk over to Mines to get something to eat and look around. About 2 minutes out of the door and it starts pouring down rain. Of course. We had umbrellas but it really didn't do much good. After almost losing my flip flop to the mud, we made it there. Completely drenched and coming in to air conditioning is not a pleasant feeling. We went over to Old Town White Coffee and I had some delicious french toast. It was stuffed with Peanut Butter :-) Love me some peanut butter. We sat and talked for about an hour or so, which was wonderful. I don't get to see her as often as I would like so it was good to just chat. We walked around and did some shopping, took care of getting some souvenirs and found some pants to wear so that we could ditch the nasty wet jeans. I bought my bag of Milo to take home! yummy!!! Walked back to the house, and thankfully it wasn't raining this time. We hung around the house for a while. After dinner Nisha, Tie, Siti, Rabitha and I piled in the car and headed over to this place called Jusco to look around maybe do some more shopping. Their mom and Aunt Sal and Duan and Nana met us there and we all walked around for a bit. Eventually Nisha, her mom, Rabitha, Sal and I went and got traditional Thai foot massages. OH MY GOODNESS soooo relaxing. I am still shocked that I didn't fall asleep in the chair. The rinse your feet over these stones, and then lead you to the massage chairs. They then wrap your feet in towels and bring you this lovely tea to drink. It was a roughly 25 minutes on each foot/leg and then 10 minutes on the shoulder/neck/scalp area. I wish I could have someone do that for me every day. Once we left there it was back to the house where Tie and I had a date to watch the Amazing Race. All in all a fantastic day!
Tuesday was really low key... went over to Sal's for lunch and then lounging around watching TV. It was rainy and kind of dreary. After that we went to Aunt Ina's house to say goodbye to Ayin :-( It was her last night in Malaysia before heading back to school in Australia! I already miss that girl so much!!! I unfortunately had a splitting headache so fell asleep in car on way back, and then straight to bed.
Wednesday was another active and amazing day! Nisha, Tie, Rabitha, Siti and I headed out for adventures around KL. Our first stop was the Kings Palace. You can't go inside the gates, but you can look through them and we took pictures with the mounted guards outside. After there it was off to the Muzium Negara (National History Museum) of Malaysia. It was a really interesting place to visit. Outside they have three different trains from Malaysia's history. In the main museum there are four separate halls: Gallery A: Early History, Gallery B: the Malay Kingdoms, Gallery C: the Colonial Era, and Gallery D: Malaysia Today. I learned a lot of things about the country and its history. Next stop was this open air aviary, but we only had lunch. We ate at the Hornbill restaurant ! It was sooo good. I had mushroom soup with bread, and chicken satay with peanut sauce. We ate out on the balcony and birds would fly right up and sit on the railing beside you. Such beautiful birds. After that we visited the KL war memorial. It was a very nice war memorial, with purple water and fountains and a statue honoring fallen soldiers. On the way back to the car we stopped at a chocolate shop, so I was in heaven. During the evening we went to Petaling street, which is a small line of "shops" near Chinatown to buy cheap souvenirs and knock off purses and watches and that kind of thing. Almost like a flea market. It was a bit too confined and hot for me. Next up was a fruit stand on the side of the road so that they could get Durian. That fruit tastes good, but oh the smell is atrocious. I tried this fruit called mangosteen and it is amazing. Sadly I don't think I can find it at home in the US. It looks like a plum with leaves on it, but the bottom has a flower design and depending on the number of petals it tells you how many pieces are inside. If you don't crack it right I learned it turns your fingers purple. I don't care, it was so good. Since eating never stops we went to another side of the road/hole in the wall food place and met Sal, uncle Raus, Duan and Nana and had some food. I had roti canai with condensed milk. MMMM! Another great but exhausting day.
Today (thursday) We went out to finish up some shopping and took their mom with us. We went to Central Market first which is a small indoor shopping center. I got almost all of the rest of my souvenirs there, plus a purse for myself. My new grandma (their mom) bought me this beautiful ring with an amethyst type stone in it. It is so lovely. Ate lunch again at Old Town White Coffee (another franchise that need to be stateside), where Ina met us. Next stop was India Town again to get the rest of the items I was looking for for people. Grandma bought me a nice blue top and Ina bought me a gorgeous turquoise scarf. I just about finished up all my shopping for people. Came back and did a bit of packing/re-organizing of items.
Just sitting around watching TV right now and getting a bit sad that the trip is almost over. Tomorrow brings last minute shopping, packing and getting Dad and Nisa from airport. Having a big dinner with all the family and then flight 9:40 Saturday morning. :-( I will try to update before I get home, but doubtful. I will likely have a trip wrap up within a day or two of getting home.
I LOVE KL!!!!
Tuesday was really low key... went over to Sal's for lunch and then lounging around watching TV. It was rainy and kind of dreary. After that we went to Aunt Ina's house to say goodbye to Ayin :-( It was her last night in Malaysia before heading back to school in Australia! I already miss that girl so much!!! I unfortunately had a splitting headache so fell asleep in car on way back, and then straight to bed.
Wednesday was another active and amazing day! Nisha, Tie, Rabitha, Siti and I headed out for adventures around KL. Our first stop was the Kings Palace. You can't go inside the gates, but you can look through them and we took pictures with the mounted guards outside. After there it was off to the Muzium Negara (National History Museum) of Malaysia. It was a really interesting place to visit. Outside they have three different trains from Malaysia's history. In the main museum there are four separate halls: Gallery A: Early History, Gallery B: the Malay Kingdoms, Gallery C: the Colonial Era, and Gallery D: Malaysia Today. I learned a lot of things about the country and its history. Next stop was this open air aviary, but we only had lunch. We ate at the Hornbill restaurant ! It was sooo good. I had mushroom soup with bread, and chicken satay with peanut sauce. We ate out on the balcony and birds would fly right up and sit on the railing beside you. Such beautiful birds. After that we visited the KL war memorial. It was a very nice war memorial, with purple water and fountains and a statue honoring fallen soldiers. On the way back to the car we stopped at a chocolate shop, so I was in heaven. During the evening we went to Petaling street, which is a small line of "shops" near Chinatown to buy cheap souvenirs and knock off purses and watches and that kind of thing. Almost like a flea market. It was a bit too confined and hot for me. Next up was a fruit stand on the side of the road so that they could get Durian. That fruit tastes good, but oh the smell is atrocious. I tried this fruit called mangosteen and it is amazing. Sadly I don't think I can find it at home in the US. It looks like a plum with leaves on it, but the bottom has a flower design and depending on the number of petals it tells you how many pieces are inside. If you don't crack it right I learned it turns your fingers purple. I don't care, it was so good. Since eating never stops we went to another side of the road/hole in the wall food place and met Sal, uncle Raus, Duan and Nana and had some food. I had roti canai with condensed milk. MMMM! Another great but exhausting day.
Today (thursday) We went out to finish up some shopping and took their mom with us. We went to Central Market first which is a small indoor shopping center. I got almost all of the rest of my souvenirs there, plus a purse for myself. My new grandma (their mom) bought me this beautiful ring with an amethyst type stone in it. It is so lovely. Ate lunch again at Old Town White Coffee (another franchise that need to be stateside), where Ina met us. Next stop was India Town again to get the rest of the items I was looking for for people. Grandma bought me a nice blue top and Ina bought me a gorgeous turquoise scarf. I just about finished up all my shopping for people. Came back and did a bit of packing/re-organizing of items.
Just sitting around watching TV right now and getting a bit sad that the trip is almost over. Tomorrow brings last minute shopping, packing and getting Dad and Nisa from airport. Having a big dinner with all the family and then flight 9:40 Saturday morning. :-( I will try to update before I get home, but doubtful. I will likely have a trip wrap up within a day or two of getting home.
I LOVE KL!!!!
the Reception
This was the day I was kind of dreading. It was going to be outdoors and hot and lots of people and that's all I knew going in. Thankfully it was really amazing and not terrifying at all. My dad and Nisa had traditional Malay wedding attire they wore, and both of them looked wonderful. I was in another Baju and Tie fixed my hair in a bun type up-do. My dad had to leave to go to Aunt Sal's to await the start of the reception. When he came back, we escorted Nisa down. He was waiting with his procession of guys and we had to walk her over to meet him. Then they were to walk over to greet people together. An amazing drum troop had been hired to play as they walked in. I want them at my wedding! :-) They sat down on these chairs in the middle of the parking lot area where the reception took place and a traditional wedding martial arts performance was done. It was really neat to watch. After that they greeted the elders and then off to the head table to eat. I actually got to sit at the head table as I was my dad's closest relative there. The food was absolutely amazing, especially the roast chicken. I even tried some fish. Of course the photographers were taking pictures the whole time and filming video. They did capture the impromptu singalong to "Stand By Me"! The song came on while a bunch of us were up there taking pictures and we all started singing! It was just a classic moment. The reception was mostly eating, greeting people and taking picture after picture. Eventually they went upstairs to change into different outfits to come down and cut the cake. OH MY the cake!! So yummy!! It was a bit different than the cake cutting at an American ceremony. Here the bride and groom feed each other and that is it. In this one they feed a lot of people and those people feed them. I didn't care so long as I got cake! hahaha!!
It was a blast, but it was sooooo hot. Thankfully people kind of came and went and it was never an overwhelming amount. That wrapped up around 6 and we all got to go change and kind of relax. Ate some more food of course. Later that evening when all had calmed down a bunch of us went outside with little cherry bomb type fireworks and sparklers and played with those on the playground. Played on the playground too! It was a blast!! (pun intended) I was exhausted that night and while we intended to just nap, Tie and I both passed out.
Sunday was just kind of a more relaxed day. We got KFC for lunch, and it was yummy!! A bit different than the KFC in the states, but not much. We also had these donut type things that you dipped in this mango sauce. Delicious! It was mostly family in and out saying goodbye and things. In the evening, Tie, Atin, Nana,Ayin Dyana, Ikah,and myself went to MINES and went bowling! I wanted to steal the purple shoes, but alas I didn't. Bowling is also different here. If you are playing teams on two separate lanes and one lane gets ahead, it stops them and sends the other teams bowlers to that lane to catch up. Often times you would be bowling on one lane and then switching over to another. It was quite odd. We ate corn in a cup (something I am determined to franchise in the US) and the waffles filled with chocolate! MMMM!
The rest of the evening consisted of my dad and Nisa packing for Phi Phi Island and just relaxing with leftover family. It was a really nice day.
I will update this weeks festivities later!
It was a blast, but it was sooooo hot. Thankfully people kind of came and went and it was never an overwhelming amount. That wrapped up around 6 and we all got to go change and kind of relax. Ate some more food of course. Later that evening when all had calmed down a bunch of us went outside with little cherry bomb type fireworks and sparklers and played with those on the playground. Played on the playground too! It was a blast!! (pun intended) I was exhausted that night and while we intended to just nap, Tie and I both passed out.
Sunday was just kind of a more relaxed day. We got KFC for lunch, and it was yummy!! A bit different than the KFC in the states, but not much. We also had these donut type things that you dipped in this mango sauce. Delicious! It was mostly family in and out saying goodbye and things. In the evening, Tie, Atin, Nana,Ayin Dyana, Ikah,and myself went to MINES and went bowling! I wanted to steal the purple shoes, but alas I didn't. Bowling is also different here. If you are playing teams on two separate lanes and one lane gets ahead, it stops them and sends the other teams bowlers to that lane to catch up. Often times you would be bowling on one lane and then switching over to another. It was quite odd. We ate corn in a cup (something I am determined to franchise in the US) and the waffles filled with chocolate! MMMM!
The rest of the evening consisted of my dad and Nisa packing for Phi Phi Island and just relaxing with leftover family. It was a really nice day.
I will update this weeks festivities later!
Let the Frenzy Begin
So things had been semi-stressful most of the week with wedding stuff. Most nights there were so many people here, I couldn't think straight, but I started to learn how to adapt to it. We had a lady come over to do henna for Nisa and my dad for the wedding, but she also did, Nisha, Tie, myself and a few of the other girls. I loved my henna hand! :-) We also went and got our eyebrows threaded.. which was interesting. Not as painful as tweezing or waxing ladies!
We did have a bachelorette party type evening for Nisa. A large group of us, Nisa, my dad, Tie, Nisha, Boy, Bad, me, Zaileen,her sisters, Ayin, and Nalin all went to this restaurant called the Sky Bar , and let me tell you it was wonderful! Amazing view of downtown KL and stunning pool in the middle of the place. Food was yummy. I had 2 French Martini's, so good! Strange being the only one drinking though. After dinner we split up. The boys took my dad out and us girls took Nisa out. We went to this club called the Loft. It was odd though, because of the H1N1 outbreak we had to have our temperatures taken before we could enter the club. Got a nifty fever free sticker though. This place was more like a R&B dance club. We had a great time just dancing and enjoying the night life. "Single Ladies" came on and we all just went all out, and of course poked fun at Nisa's last days of being single. Afterwards we went to this side of the road soup place, and it was delicious. I actually ate a lambs intestine...
Thursday was really just a day for last minute running around and getting wedding stuff taken care of.
Friday was D-Day so to speak... wedding day. The religious ceremony wasn't until 6 at night, which meant up early and lots of waiting around. If there is one thing my dad and I have in common it is a deep hatred of sitting around waiting for something like that. Thank god for Nisha, because she took me out to run last minute errands which got me out of the house, which was full of people. The men all went to Friday prayers around 1, so that helped calm things down for a bit. Around 3 we all started getting ready, which meant putting on our Baju's. Plus since we were going to the mosque I had to keep my head covered. The scarf we initially got didn't seem to want to stay on at all. So after a little switching around we found a good one for me, but it made me look like Little Red Riding Hood. We got to the mosque around 4, and it was so beautiful. Went inside and the women and men were separated into rooms to wait. Eventually we were called down into this little hall where the ceremony was being held. It was a nice, short service, but we sat on the floor so my leg kept falling asleep. The way it worked was my dad, and Boy and her dad all sat on the stage with two of the elders of the family and the man that presided over the ceremony. Nisa sat on a pillow on the floor with her closest female family around her. Her dad and my dad both had to recite some things, and Boy read this long list of things. Upon offering a gift of 80 RM, it was official. They exchanged rings
and he kissed her forhead and they were married! :-D Afterwards there was a lot of picture taking up on the stage. Then back to the house for another giant feast and lots of people.
I am so lucky to have Nisa as my step-mom! I love her so much and I welcome her to the family with open arms. I also have wonderful Step-Aunts in Tie and Nisha and great step-uncles in Boy and Bad(even if he is younger than me). My new grandmother is an absolute sweetie and I have an abundance of new cousins to love!
We did have a bachelorette party type evening for Nisa. A large group of us, Nisa, my dad, Tie, Nisha, Boy, Bad, me, Zaileen,her sisters, Ayin, and Nalin all went to this restaurant called the Sky Bar , and let me tell you it was wonderful! Amazing view of downtown KL and stunning pool in the middle of the place. Food was yummy. I had 2 French Martini's, so good! Strange being the only one drinking though. After dinner we split up. The boys took my dad out and us girls took Nisa out. We went to this club called the Loft. It was odd though, because of the H1N1 outbreak we had to have our temperatures taken before we could enter the club. Got a nifty fever free sticker though. This place was more like a R&B dance club. We had a great time just dancing and enjoying the night life. "Single Ladies" came on and we all just went all out, and of course poked fun at Nisa's last days of being single. Afterwards we went to this side of the road soup place, and it was delicious. I actually ate a lambs intestine...
Thursday was really just a day for last minute running around and getting wedding stuff taken care of.
Friday was D-Day so to speak... wedding day. The religious ceremony wasn't until 6 at night, which meant up early and lots of waiting around. If there is one thing my dad and I have in common it is a deep hatred of sitting around waiting for something like that. Thank god for Nisha, because she took me out to run last minute errands which got me out of the house, which was full of people. The men all went to Friday prayers around 1, so that helped calm things down for a bit. Around 3 we all started getting ready, which meant putting on our Baju's. Plus since we were going to the mosque I had to keep my head covered. The scarf we initially got didn't seem to want to stay on at all. So after a little switching around we found a good one for me, but it made me look like Little Red Riding Hood. We got to the mosque around 4, and it was so beautiful. Went inside and the women and men were separated into rooms to wait. Eventually we were called down into this little hall where the ceremony was being held. It was a nice, short service, but we sat on the floor so my leg kept falling asleep. The way it worked was my dad, and Boy and her dad all sat on the stage with two of the elders of the family and the man that presided over the ceremony. Nisa sat on a pillow on the floor with her closest female family around her. Her dad and my dad both had to recite some things, and Boy read this long list of things. Upon offering a gift of 80 RM, it was official. They exchanged rings
and he kissed her forhead and they were married! :-D Afterwards there was a lot of picture taking up on the stage. Then back to the house for another giant feast and lots of people.
I am so lucky to have Nisa as my step-mom! I love her so much and I welcome her to the family with open arms. I also have wonderful Step-Aunts in Tie and Nisha and great step-uncles in Boy and Bad(even if he is younger than me). My new grandmother is an absolute sweetie and I have an abundance of new cousins to love!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Getting Acquainted
I have failed to mention that I have a boyfriend/bodygaurd. He's 12. I'm kidding about the boyfriend part of course, though I seem to be quite popular with the boys under the age of 17. Dawan is 12 and he is a trip and a half. That boy is going to be a handful when he hits puberty. He and his sister Nana( who is 15) are two really great kids. Neither of them speak English extremely well, but they are working on it. He wanted me to come sit in the bedroom while he went to take a shower, but it came out as him asking me to accompany him to the shower, so that was good for a laugh. I was mocked for quite a bit. :-/ I am going to severely miss both of them though, because they are quite wonderful. I am actually going to miss a lot of the younger kids. One kid, Adam (ad-ahm) is 5 and just cute as can be. I finally figured out a way to bond with him, and that is to play soccer with him. He has three older brothers and two of them Alif and Arif are just wonderful. They are 16 and 15 respectively. Both are incredibly smart and have great futures ahead of them I think.
Last Monday we went to the KL Tower. It is a huge building in downtown KL. It is one of the tallest in the world. We went up to the top and you can see for miles and miles all around the city. It was such an amazing view. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was from up there. After the tower trip we stopped at this seafood restaurant, which was quite delicious. I had this fantastic apple juice drink and shrimp fried rice. It was just a nice relaxing evening out and I was grateful to just sit back and enjoy being with all of the family.
The day after Tie, Bad, Nisa, my dad and I tried to go over to the Patronus Towers, but they were closed for Raya. We rode on the KTLR which is the metro transport here in Kuala Lumpur. Got to take in more of the scenic views while riding. Since the Towers were closed we decided to go over to KLCC which is a shopping center. It is about 5 or 6 stories tall. We walked around and did some looking around for things for the wedding, then headed off to get some lunch. Now let me tell you, the food court was huge, so many options. I think I settled on a sesame chicken and rice dish. Then Tie and I got this amazing waffle with ice cream. I was jonesing for some American food, and that hit the spot. We got chocolate ice cream and my new favorite, YAM ice cream! So delicious! Oh and later we had New Zealand ice cream.. I had a scoop of toffee and a scoop of honey with butterscotch pieces!
After looking around some more, we went down to the Aquarium there. Aquaria KLCC. Oh it was so amazing! We walked around and looked at all of the little exhibits with all the different fish and sea creatures. The crowning glory is the tunnel you walk through with all of the fish and animals swimming all around you. I made friends with a Ray that kept swimming over my head and behind my back. There were sharks and rays and catfish the size of a small car. All kinds of amazing creatures swimming around to look at and snap plenty of pictures of. We managed to catch divers coming down with food and we watched the guy tease one of the giant rays with some fish to get it to swim around and do "tricks". We also happened to be in the right place at the right time to watch a live feeding. Let me tell you, watching thousands of fish fight for food is both awe inducing and frightening. I can't even imagine what the piranha feeding looks like.
After we left KLCC we went to India Town. It is exactly what it sounds like, the Indian portion of town. A lot of the shops were closed for Raya, which was a recurring theme. We did a lot of looking around for particular pieces of clothing needed for the wedding. Unfortunately we didn't have much luck. Lucky for me however, we were there during Raya because it was pretty void of people, when it is usually packed to the brim and hard to move around. We then hopped over to Old Town White Coffee. I don't know what the difference between regular and white coffee is, but my god it was good. I had an iced white coffee and mmmmmmmmm! After that back on the KTLR and home for a bit. Later on we went to this shopping center Mines, and I got 2 new pairs of glasses! Hooray! I am loving how cheap things are here compared to the states. We got 3 pairs of glasses and a set of contact lenses for cheaper than what one pair of glasses would cost at home.
I am going to pass out on the keyboard, so more updates soon!
Last Monday we went to the KL Tower. It is a huge building in downtown KL. It is one of the tallest in the world. We went up to the top and you can see for miles and miles all around the city. It was such an amazing view. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was from up there. After the tower trip we stopped at this seafood restaurant, which was quite delicious. I had this fantastic apple juice drink and shrimp fried rice. It was just a nice relaxing evening out and I was grateful to just sit back and enjoy being with all of the family.
The day after Tie, Bad, Nisa, my dad and I tried to go over to the Patronus Towers, but they were closed for Raya. We rode on the KTLR which is the metro transport here in Kuala Lumpur. Got to take in more of the scenic views while riding. Since the Towers were closed we decided to go over to KLCC which is a shopping center. It is about 5 or 6 stories tall. We walked around and did some looking around for things for the wedding, then headed off to get some lunch. Now let me tell you, the food court was huge, so many options. I think I settled on a sesame chicken and rice dish. Then Tie and I got this amazing waffle with ice cream. I was jonesing for some American food, and that hit the spot. We got chocolate ice cream and my new favorite, YAM ice cream! So delicious! Oh and later we had New Zealand ice cream.. I had a scoop of toffee and a scoop of honey with butterscotch pieces!
After looking around some more, we went down to the Aquarium there. Aquaria KLCC. Oh it was so amazing! We walked around and looked at all of the little exhibits with all the different fish and sea creatures. The crowning glory is the tunnel you walk through with all of the fish and animals swimming all around you. I made friends with a Ray that kept swimming over my head and behind my back. There were sharks and rays and catfish the size of a small car. All kinds of amazing creatures swimming around to look at and snap plenty of pictures of. We managed to catch divers coming down with food and we watched the guy tease one of the giant rays with some fish to get it to swim around and do "tricks". We also happened to be in the right place at the right time to watch a live feeding. Let me tell you, watching thousands of fish fight for food is both awe inducing and frightening. I can't even imagine what the piranha feeding looks like.
After we left KLCC we went to India Town. It is exactly what it sounds like, the Indian portion of town. A lot of the shops were closed for Raya, which was a recurring theme. We did a lot of looking around for particular pieces of clothing needed for the wedding. Unfortunately we didn't have much luck. Lucky for me however, we were there during Raya because it was pretty void of people, when it is usually packed to the brim and hard to move around. We then hopped over to Old Town White Coffee. I don't know what the difference between regular and white coffee is, but my god it was good. I had an iced white coffee and mmmmmmmmm! After that back on the KTLR and home for a bit. Later on we went to this shopping center Mines, and I got 2 new pairs of glasses! Hooray! I am loving how cheap things are here compared to the states. We got 3 pairs of glasses and a set of contact lenses for cheaper than what one pair of glasses would cost at home.
I am going to pass out on the keyboard, so more updates soon!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Say Hey Malay
Upon leaving the airport we headed to Nisa's family home where everyone was waiting for us. I was just mesmerized looking out the window. Everything was so lush and green and so unlike the states. The also drive on the left side of the road, which took a minute to get used to. Motorbikes are very popular and the drivers of them do not obey traffic laws at all. I would be terrified to drive one of those around the city.
We got to the house, which is actually a nice apartment about 30 minutes from the airport. Nisa, her mom and her 2 brothers were there waiting for us. Her mom was so excited to see us, which was just a wonderful feeling. They were incredibly welcoming and made me feel right at home. Her brothers are very friendly too. I had spoken to one of them on skype briefly before, but never really talked to them. Her brother Boy (Uncle Boy as I like to tease him with) is absolutely hilarious, he is so outgoing and funny. Her brother Bad(pronounced Bahd) is more reserved, but he has warmed up more and we joke around and talk now. I was pretty exhausted so Tie and I took naps to cope with jetlag. That evening we just hung around their house and ate lots of good food. The food, oh my god the food!!! J Crashed out on the couch fairly early, but so did all her siblings too. We all slept in the living room together. Lots of goofy pictures taken too. I have noticed that taking pictures is a huge deal over here. Everyone wants pictures of everything.
Unfortunately Saturday was the last day of fasting for Ramadan, so everyone woke up at 5:00 to stuff their faces, so all the noise woke me up. Not a great way to start the day when you are super jetlagged. During the day we went out a bit. We went to her Aunt Sal’s house and I got to meet this kid I’d been hearing about, Dawan. He is my bodyguard/12 year old boyfriend! :-p He is too funny, and I fear what happens when he hits puberty. His sister Nana, is very quiet, but I love her to death. She is just super sweet and we hit it off well. She doesn’t speak a lot of English, but we are working around that. I am going to miss them. After we left there it was off to the last garment fitting for the wedding clothes. That was interesting.
Later that day was pretty chill, just hanging around the house. A ton of people (all family) came over and had a giant feast to celebrate Raya, which is the end of fasting. So we ate and ate and ate and then hung around watching tv. I passed out on the couch so they sent me to bed.
Up again fairly early the next day, but not terribly early. The men all had to go out for prayers and other activities so all of them women came over. It was actually really nice. They fixed my hair and we all wore traditional dress and hung around and just chatted. I really enjoyed that.
Then the day after that we had what I like to refer to as the Food Crawl. Now when in Ireland you do a pub crawl, in Malaysia it’s the food crawl. We went to several different houses to meet with people and eat. I have tried so many new and delicious foods, I may have to dedicate an entire post to food alone. It was really wonderful going to these different homes, because depending on what part of town you visit, the houses are all so vastly different. New styles and different layouts. It was great.
I know, not very exciting so far, but I will update more of the stuff later.
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