The Ceremony - Bali

I always enjoy writing about friend's weddings. The highlights are always different and the ceremonies all unique. Each incomparable and each special in their own way. The redeeming factor of the wedding was the Groom's inability to understand the thick Balinese accent of the celebrant, mispronunciations and pardons ensued but after much faltering they finally got to the most important part "I now declare you husband and wife".

They say a picture speaks a thousand words - here's a couple thousand for you.

The Stag Party - Macao

You can always count on engagement announcements to tug the proverbial heart strings. For friends and family of the couple, it usually comes as no surprise with news of romantic proposals nothing but a formality. Once the wedding date has been cemented the last thing to be decided upon is the Stag, Bachelor, Buck Party. I often wonder who conceived the idea of the Stag. Was it the single man clinging on to his last moments of freedom or the friends standing at the departure hall of single life. It's been over 5 years since I had the pleasure of partaking in my first Stag party, and I can honestly say, that they only get bolder and more reckless as we get older. The entertainment become more outrageous, the costumes more demeaning. and the duration longer. However, this all correlates to more fun and more memories.

This trip would be no exception - the playground would be Macao, the theme would be Australian 80's sport stars and the highlight, the groom leaping off the world's tallest bungee. 5000 HKD would finance accommodation, travel, jacuzzi boozing, dinner, table at Cubic and group headbands. The ferry on the way home was not kind, provoking my already brittle stomach. Thank goodness for the "sea sickness" bag.

"Chan! Chan! Chan!" - Stag Party

(The Thriller,) In Manila

In response to the global economic downturn, organisations were forced to streamline operations and go through the unfortunate process of culling the labour force. Financial institutions went through countless job-cutting exercises, with wave after wave of announced redundancies; it would seem nobody was safe. It was seen as an exercise to 'cut the fat' and remove those positions that were no longer profitable/beneficial to the business. The East was not sheltered from the massacre, businesses needed to justify costs and the same people who previously approved headcount were soon having to draw the bottom line. As a result, the famous Lewis and Albert household came to an end in 2012 Q4. This is the house where many new chapters have started, where guests would visit routinely and where nights were immortalised. It was also the same place where I started my Hong Kong adventure.

Albert would later move in with an American-Born Filipino who kindly offered to give us a weekend tour of his local hometown, Manila. I was quietly excited as this was my first time to the Philippines and had heard good things. Our Friday afternoon flight had been rehearsed on many occasions, pack an overnight bag, leave work straight for the Airport express and get to the gate 30 minutes before departure. This, for the most part was routine. 

The problems started when our flight was delayed, passengers eventually boarded and we were soon in the air, I slept most of the trip. That was until I was abruptly awoke by the crackling of the PA system. The captain revealed that "unexpected delays in Manlia" had forced us into a holding zone . He also mentioned that planes were being diverted to the nearest airport and that our aircraft, CX913 had approximately 30 minutes left of fuel before we too would be forced to make the diversion. Fortunately for us, we managed to land (we later found out that the President was flying in that evening, hence the unexpected delays"). We landed almost an hour after the scheduled arrival time. At least we had made it!

We checked into the hotel where our friend's driver was waiting for us, he informed us that we would be going to the Skybar to hook in with the others who had arrived on an earlier flight. To say that the weather in Manila was torrential might have been an understatement. The rooftop bar with it's tarpaulin canopies were collecting water and periodically bucketing them onto those below. We quickly retreated to the comforts of a drier, more indoor location. The evenings were atypical, the days were spent lounging about pool side at the hotel or at the country club. It was a taste of Filipino High Society with the customary Jeepney ride. One of the highlights of the trip was the 5:30 am continental breakfast, suffice to say we never slept hungry.

(Crunchy Peanut butter at breakfast buffet = Loving life)

E-Reading

For the longest time I resisted the electronic reader fad. Either the romantic, or the psychopath in me that believes a bond is built during the process of a book. Looking back at the last few reads, some books are more weathered than others, some with dog-eared pages, some with notes scribbled, some with water marks, food  crumbs and even hair. Ok, those last few points potentially reinforce why you probably don't want to keep books around. I was recently given "The 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear". Now this is a big book, there are times where you could be excused for thinking that this is a phone book on first sight. The sheer logistics of carrying this book around forces you save it for at 'home' reading.

So I decided to go for the impersonal Kindle, a device so sleek and incognito that it shrouds the user in an air of mystery, is it 50 Shades of Gray or The Iliad? Neither actually, currently reading 'A Confederacy of Dunces' both via hard and electronic mediums. In any case, I feel the person loses the tag of being well-read and immediately assumes the "gadget lover" moniker.

Update: Loving the back-lit e-paper, not loving the fact that I can't read during take off and landing aboard airlines.