Wedding Updates

It's another 3 months to the wedding and many people have ask me how is the preparation. There are plenty of things to do and plenty of things to buy and yet I have not done much preparation in the last few months. I have yet to shoot for the pre wedding photos, have not file for the ROM (now not even sure whether the date we wanted is available), have not chosen my gown yet, have not gotten our wedding band which I am almost certainly sure I will end up with a stainless steel ring for the rest of my life with DeGem or Love & Co only in my dreams :(, have not buy my wedding shoes and I am not even in the mood to hunt for one right now, have not gotten our bed and mattress, have not gotten the curtains because I don't know which colour to coordinate and match the room, have not gone for food tasting, have not printed or even finalise the wedding cards design, so many have nots till I lost count!

Sigh, just thinking of all these things already made me stress, depress and sad. Stress because I have to handle many things on my own. Depress because I could have gotten a better quality on some of these things if the budget for reno does not burst until it can not burst anymore. Sad because I can't even change my handphone although it almost certainly hanged each time someone calls me and because if I do change, I can't afford to buy him a ring. Even super sad because I won't have the luxury of having a shoe cabinet for my shoes.

LDR

It's Friday night and while everyone, or at least couples are out dating, here I am at home watching TV and typing this entry. Don't know why I feel so emotional the last few days but the past 1 year in a long distance relationship is not that easy. It takes a lot of courage to start one and even more courage and effort to maintain one. There were times when I wanted a cuddle or a hug, he is not there.  There were times, I wanted to call him just to hear his voice but it's already midnight over there. There were times when I need him the most and he was not around, just like the past 1 month where I had a major breakdown.  Sometimes, I just wish I have a normal relationship where I can just pick up the phone and call him or going out for movie and dinner dates anytime or celebrating our anniversaries, birthdays and valentines day together. I really envy those who can see their other half frequently as even with today's technology, skyping with him everyday is impossible due to timing difference. Even when he's back for holidays, the number of dates that we went out together and not 'sharing' with others are not even more than 10 times. Call me selfish or what, but I am just like every other girl out there who just want to spend as much time as possible with him without 'sharing' him with others.
Is it too much to ask?

Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu

Pashupatinath temple is located at the Bagmati river banks where the dead will be cremated and the ashes will be thrown into the river. Coincidentally, there were a few cremation ceremony going on when we were there in the evening. I didn't take any of the cremation ceremony photos out of the respect for the dead but we walked along the temple river banks for photos from afar.

Pashupatinath temple

People watching the cremation

See the smoke, it's the burning of the corpse

Top of South East Asia - Mount Kinabalu

I am back from my climb to mount Kinabalu just over the weekend and the trip is definitely awesome.

The 8 of us managed to climb all the way to the peak and the weather was on our side as we made our way up to the peak 2.30 in the morning holding our dear lives on the rope.

What I did not expect was that the descend down from Laban Rata to Kinabalu Park is worst than the ascend up to the peak. I can't even bend my knees now and am walking like a penguin.

Anyway, it's a once in a lifetime experience that everyone should try once and it's more like mentally challenging than physical challenging I would say.

Some advice though,

• Wear Adidas Kampung to ascend to the peak. It's ok to wear normal sports shoes for the hike up to Laban Rata but the Adidas Kampung does make a huge difference from Laban Rata to the peak and back down. Many people actually slip and fall during the descend from the peak to Laban Rata. 
• Hire a porter. Do not save on the money. Afterall it's only RM8 per kilo for both ways.
• Pack lots and lots of high calories chocolate bars. I brought 9 bars of Sneakers chocolate bars up. 
• Bring headlights and spare batteries.
• Remember to cut your toe nails and I mean super short!
• Rent a walking stick from the office. It's RM10 and it helps a lot during the descend.
• Descend early from Laban Rata as I took longer time going down than going up.
• Bring lots of wet tissues as there's no hot shower in Laban Rata and you might not want to shower in icy cold water.
• Stay in Laban Rata even if it's more expensive and not some hut which you need to hike a few more metres. Check out from the guesthouse if you think you can't make it back to check out by 10.30am as they charge extra RM100 for each 1 hour late checkout. I barely make it back by 9.40am. 
• Wear extra clothing, especially those with fleece. And not forgetting raincoat. 
• Drink lots of water. 
• And most important, take one step at a time. You will be able to reach the top. Up there, it's all about mental strength.