Wedding Preparation; The Do's And the Don'ts

Bismillah...

Wedding preparation in years to come, that is. Well, I got involved in lots of weddings before and currently am busied with the preparation of my cousin's wedding. So, finally I found some time to write down the DO's and DON'Ts that I've collected for years lol. I write it down here for the purpose of easy retrieval. Who reads my rambling in this blog anyway tchhhh


1. COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR FAMILY!

There might be things that we deemed as unnecessary in a wedding but is considered a must by our folks. From my observation, defying those things behind their backs will only give rise to new problems and often it will be mentioned over and over again (as a bad example) even after the wedding. So I think, communicating is the best solution and my bff told me "be prepared to lose, make sacrifices and let it be"


2. PREPARE THE FORMS EARLIER ON!

The  Jab. Agama put it that the forms can be submitted within 3 months to 2 weeks before the date of the nikah. However, all the documents can actually be prepared earlier on. I've seen the huge difference between those who prepared earlier on and those who just started preparing within the period given. Those who prepared earlier didn't have to hassle on incomplete applications or if there are kinks, they still had enough time to settle them. Whereas those who decided to do it at the last minute had to struggle to ensure things are done on time.

3. FOOD IS IMPORTANT!

Actually this is my personal POV. I think food is the most important one because it's usually the thing that I remembered most when I attend a wedding. Like SJ's roasted lamb on her side and ikan keli on her husband's side, HH's ikan patin, the delicious nasi briyani during my friend Azie's wedding and how my cousin Mahani creatively served her desserts are among the things I remember. I will also remember the weddings at which I had to go to a restaurant right after because the food was not enough. I don't usually complain because there is no perfect wedding after all. I just have a good memory of them, that's all. Putting most of the budget on food is worth it!


4. DON'T WASTE MONEY ON THINGS THAT YOU CAN SAVE AT!

The things you don't necessarily have to splurge on to me are...

- Barang hantaran
Perfume, al quran, cosmetics, kasut etc are the things that I already have! Lain la kalo mo bagi kereta ka, kunci rumah ka :p

- Photograph and video
Although these are in my 'must have'  list, but I think cheap packages still produce good works.

- Make up
It surprises me how people can splurge on something that you will wipe off after a few hours. Same with photograph and videos, there are still many skillful MUAs with reasonable price out there.

- Baju kahwin
I think this is only necessary when one is a non-standard size type. Or like a relative of mine who is good in designing clothes; her wedding dress is simple and elegant yet the type that can be worn in other occasion as well. The bridals often come with packages that includes pelamin and baju pengantin. If you can find good offers, they will even include cakes and dessert booth too!

-Door gift
I have a stack of unread yassin in my room and my Umie's book shelf have one petition that's dedicated for placing unused souvenirs from weddings. When my time comes, the door gift will either something different from these or something consumable like food.


5. ASK FOR OPINIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

I think this really helps to organize things, save budget and to avoid from things that you paid for turning out to be different from what you expected. Things can look great in pictures yet the real thing might not be as satisfactory.


6. IT'S YOUR PARENTS' DAY AS WELL

There are a lot of posts on fb that read something like 'masih ada perempuan yang minta duit hantaran murah di luar sana' or 'Ku pinang dia dengan RM 500'. I don't really get it what's the fuss about that since there might be difference in culture between me and these people. But to us, the high dowry is not like the guy is 'buying' the daughter. It's to show that the guy is being respectful to the girl's parents by partially financially supporting the wedding on their side. And all the monetary gifts received during the wedding will be fully given to the married couple to start their life.

And what I meant by saying it's your parents' day as well is I've seen just how happy parents were while hosting their children's wedding even though it's exhausting. I think it's worth it to consider how they want it to be as long as you can afford it.

7. LOAN; YAY OR NAY??

I can't say much about this since most of my friends had to make loans to afford their weddings. But I still have time to try to avoid this. I have always have a separate saving just for my wedding; which means it's aside from my other savings. Truth be told, my savings are divided into; saving for the future, emergency, travel aaannnddd wedding LOL I've started it ever since I started working thinking that it will be one of my biggest investment hahaha Tapi sebab aku NDA AKAN KAHWIN TAHUN 2017, I'm going to use the money for my coming big trips!

I purposely capitalize the "NDA AKAN KAHWIN TAHUN 2017" because whenever I said this, people will go like

"Selalu kalau cakap begini, tekahwin ni.."

I've said this sooooo many times years before and I'm still a carefree single and it will still be the same for the year 2017! \(^^)/

I'm soooooo looking forward to my next trip!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Just some of those things I did...

Bismillah...

Recently, I went to try two hiking trails in Tambunan. I've never been to Tambunan all my life so I was really looking forward to the first trail we did in Mount Wakid.

I didn't took the pictures of the trail but to me it was easy enough for a beginner. It was about 7 km hike from the starting point to the peak and back. At the first part we were walking through a village and then passed some paddy fields and vegetation. The trail to me is a slow incline but was very steep towards the peak; I say it was close to 90 degrees that we were almost like rock climbing there. It was a bit muddy due to rainy season so we have to grab the stems and roots for support as we climb. If you're not comfortable with getting dirty, it's best to have a pair of gloves ready. And what I didn't expect was the number of river crossing. It was only around ankle to knee-high deep but some rocks were loose and I did trip and dipped my legs into the river.

You can see there, it's just 1372 meters so since it was only a month away from my hiking in Markha Valley, I found it was quite okay that I didn't have to struggle to bring air into my lungs. We paid RM 80 for the trip which included guides and late lunch which was served when we completed the trail. 

It was actually a well-organized trip. The guides were professional since they were officially from Taman-taman Sabah. There were enough rest for all but a bit too much rest for me because I can be easily tired if I have to slow down my pace. 

The next trip was Minduk Sirung which I'd underestimated and decided to not wear my knee guard for the climb! What on earth was I thinking!!!!!!????

I did take a look at the trail and the elevation given in the group, the trail was a long stretch with slow inclination but I didn't notice that the descend was tough and long; which is actually a known disadvantage to me. The total distance is 12 km and we completed it in 8 hours.

The footpath was not in its best condition because there was a trail run the week before and it was raining for the past few days before we arrived. So can you imagine how muddy and uneven the trail was with hundreds of people using it the week before.

My left knee was in severe pain when I reached the peak. I took Hakim's muscle spray and literally finished it by the time I completed the trail. Although the spray was for muscle pain, it did work for my aching joint. When the pain was no longer bearable, I'd to spray it to go on. It rained when I reached 2/3 of the trail and it was already getting dark when I reached the Mahua Waterfall. 

The trail actually reminded me of Mount Irau's. The climate was cool since the very beginning and the tree barks are mostly covered with moss. If I ever to do this again, I'll make sure I wear my knee guards and from now onward I will never ever leave them behind even if the trail is easy. Promise!

And last year I got to go to UMS Bon Odori. Luckily we were already back from Jakarta. And my proudest moment is that I donned this Yukata on my own!!!!! \(^^)/

To be honest, I practiced for 2 days! A full day on the day of the event; my Yukata was the first thing I reach the moment I woke up that morning. I was afraid if the Obi (the ribbon) is not tight enough that it loosen as I walk around. I was planning, if that was to happen, I better prepare myself some safety pins. Alhamdulillah it didn't! 

The event was great. There were Japanese involved too. There were martial arts performance, a tea ceremony demonstration and the Bon Odori dance.

Can't wait for my Japan trip!! I'm so looking forward to go to the places that I didn't get to go last time.. The Samurai museum, the sumo tournament, the zen gardens, the war memorials... #Japaneseatheart

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Leh, India; August 2016

Bismillah...

Whenever one of my travel mates mentioned about going to India, I will quickly displayed my reluctance. I was very influenced by the 'Slumdog Millionaire' movie. I don't think I can stand what filth shown in the movie; especially that earlier part where there was a guy wading inside a river full of garbage. And whenever we meet another traveler, they never come up with a convincing story that attract me to India. It was always about severe diarrhea (like they almost die there) or overcrowded attractions and scams. I'm the scam-magnet in our pact so it's logical for me to feel intimidated and scared.

I had a change of heart when a friend of mine who is also an outdoor enthusiast showed me a picture of Ladakh; a picture of a huge electric blue lake surrounded by brownish mountains and there were two horses grazing nearby. It was a rare sight to me; you don't always get to see dry barren mountains as beautiful as what I saw. And I told my friends; if we are going to India it's going to be Ladakh.

That was somewhere in 2013 or 2014. At that time I did some research of how to get there. I remember it was not yet readily accessible to tourists and I've put the idea off because of that. It was at the end of 2015 that the idea of going there popped out again. I was triggered by a documentary that I was watching during one of my insomniac night. It was about a lady journalist who spent weeks moving about the Changtang plateau with the nomads. I was mesmerized by the change of landscape as they shift from one grazing site to another. It was surreal and from experience I then knew, that it would be better be seen by the naked eyes rather than just on TV.


I'm the kind who needs this kind of trigger to have this unwavering determination to get the tickets. So, after that I start monitoring cheap tickets to India and I got RM 399 for KL-Delhi. From Delhi, you can actually choose to go by land or by air to Ladakh. There are two routes by land which will equally take at least 3 days and the cost are more or less the same. But your journey can be further delayed due to road condition such as land slide or due to safety because you will have to go through some parts of Kashmir that are occasionally in tension. We were lucky to have opted to by air because there was an insurgence in Kashmir at that time. We met another group of girls who were in Kashmir before they got to Ladakh and they have to sneak out of Kashmir in the middle of the night to avoid the clash.

The ticket is quite pricey for a domestic flight. And mind you, we picked the high season which is during summer because Ladakh's weather can be unpleasant during winter. From what I saw, it ranges from RM 900-RM 2000 for GoAir, Air India and Jet Airways. I didn't get the cheapest price because there were only two seats left in that flight whereas I needed four. I got RM 1300 return ticket and MR who bought the tickets two weeks before the trip got RM 2000 plus return ticket.


We spent a night in Delhi and took the first flight to Leh the next morning. To my surprise when I arrive in Delhi, the immigration officer insisted to speak Urdu to me. He only stopped after I told him "Sorry, I don't speak Urdu. I'm Malaysian." And then a few days later I learned that there are people in parts of India that has Sabahan features and one of them is Ladakh.


I studied a bit about the Indian side of Himalaya and was impressed with the different sight offered by it from air. The Nepali side of Himalaya is filled with lush greenery, but there from above, they look like sand dunes with patches of snow in some peaks. "Beautiful ey" said the man who sat by the window in our row. He was a Canadian who is going for a hike in another trail. The flight was smooth until we were about to land. As the aircraft descend, it started to vibrate due to the swift moving wind in between the mountains. The Canadian joked, "I hope there is somewhere flat for this thing to land". That something flat was nowhere to be seen. Then the aircraft made a left turn around a huge mountain, the nose continue tilting down and it was slightly shaking. Despite all that, the captain made a smooth landing on the runway. I turned to RA and said, "Patutlah ticket mahal.. Pilot terer ni!"

I was immediately spell bound by what surrounded me. We went to many mountain range in the world but what Ladakh has is of its own. We never seen anything like it! They were so close and colossal, covered with sand and rocks and has delicate ridges whose features change during different sun-phase throughout the day.

The airport was very basic yet efficient. Foreigners were given a special form to fill and to my surprise again it was not handed to me upon arrival. I had to go the immigration desk to ask for it. The lady there spoke something in Ladakhi to me and without understanding what she said I just responded, "I'm Malaysian". It was a relief to find a toilet spray in the toilet. On my way back from the toilet I saw the huge signboard about how to avoid acute mountain sickness (AMS) and only then I realized that the repeated announcement that I wasn't paying attention to was actually about AMS.

Yangphel Guesthouse; we paid INR 6800 for 2 rooms for 2 nights. I gave a good review for this place and highly recommend it. You can ask the staffs  to cook breakfast and dinner and the price is quite reasonable. Trust me, when you have AMS, no matter how close the town is from this guesthouse, you will be too disoriented to walk there.

We went straight to our guesthouse. To my dismay, although they have wifi there, there was a power cut that afternoon. It was hard to stay awake when you are suppose to rest while you have nothing to distract you from falling asleep. Since I've felt AMS when we were in Nepal, I took some Dexamethasone as prophylaxis. I've expected it would be worst there in Leh, because we flew from sea level to about 3500m above sea level. I prepared my water and just lay down on the bed. RA was busy cleaning her bag because something spilled. Later that evening she had a very bad AMS and turned pale that we had to cancel our plan to go around Leh town. As we waited for dinner, MR actually fell asleep in her room and later had a severe headache during dinner. I've never seen her in so much pain. She was literally rolling on the sofa and keep saying she feels like knocking her head on the wall. Although I think she wasn't going to do it, I was scared anyway.

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