10 Reasons Why I Married This Man

I was TAGGED by Blossom. Actually, I read about it days before. Told myself to pen down 101 reasons, and later on choose the best 10. Told myself to grab a pen and scribble it somewhere in my notebook before sleeping. It never happened. Nevertheless, the thoughts were always there. So, here are the 10 Reasons WHY I Married This Man... UNPLUGGED.

#1 Destiny. Jodoh.

#2 Attraction to his following characters: shy, soft-spoken, down-to-earth, respectful towards others, honest, caring, easy-going, loving... :) NOT a show-off, loud, flirtatious, yaya-papaya nor empty barrel.

#3 Performs his religious obligations eg: If there is a need for us to meet, and it is time to pray, there's no issue of going to the mosque(s) and perform solat on time; bulan puasa tak jumpa pun tak apa, "terawih more important". I am very sure he was sincere about it, because, post-marriage, still consistent on religious obligations.

#4 His goals in life then, were the same as mine eg: strived for higher education; be married to someone who has the basic-intermediate knowledge about Islam and most importantly, practising it.

#5 We were put through the TEST. The endurance and patience test between 1998-2004. He endured and was patient throughout. He didn't give up. I did. Many times. (Im a woman, mah~~)

#6 Attracted to his physical traits: Tall, dark, sweet smile, medium-built, clean/neat look, to sum it up- Handsome. (Handsome konon).

#7 His cues and hints that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me eg: shared about his parents expectations; devastated at the thought of 'breaking-up'.

#8 The day he came to my place alone and talked to my parents, like a MAN. Very the GUTSY. My tears were flowing freely. Plus, my dad, he was like, the BEST DAD in the universe. Very UNDERSTANDING.

#9 Got the GREEN light from our parents.

#10 Allah is The Most Loving and Merciful. He created the LOVE. I felt it even before we met. I felt the LOVE impact/chemistry between us when we were corresponding on mIRC, ICQ and then later on, over the phone.

There you are, 10 reasons why I married my husband- UNPLUGGED. There's more to it lah.

Dear, I know you will be reading this post.... I want the world to know I love you. I LOVE YOU.

Eh? Are you blushing? Shy eh?

Thank you for the wonderful years together. More to come, baby!

To Blossom, thank you very much for this TAG opportunity. I'm lucky to get your husband's brother. And you are lucky too, to get my husband's brother. Hahahhaha...

Sawadeekaaaap @ Phuket, Thailand

Sawadeekaaaaap!

[Better late than never. Oh geez, what else is new. Procrastinate.]

So this is it- cerita kita cuti-cuti Thailand.

The very first important fact- we travelled by car, not plane. Yes, car, ALL the way to Phuket. The second key fact here- our little Rushda, 2.3 years old, survived the journey. The third essential fact- her little sister/brother, 16weeks in-womb, survived too. Alhamdulillah. Highly recommended for adventurous family.

Departure- April 6, 2007. (1.30am) After the emotional goodbyes with the neneks and toks, we moved off via Tuas Link. Around 5.30am, we were at Rawang R&R for Subuh and short break. It was a smooth drive. Obviously, I was asleep all the way. It was Dear driving solo. 3pm- Reach Langkawi Yes. We stopover for 2 nights in Langkawi. Mutiara Burau Bay was our choice. A dissapointing discovery to the room at first. However, we got used to the chalet. Hmm, pictures tell a thousand lie. I believed we were the only "local" melayu there. The rest were bikini-clad mat salehs and families. We were this close to Pak Lah and the Malaysia's Agong, as they officiated the Water Festival @ Kuah, Langkawi. Pantai Cenang, Pantai Kok are names of beaches there, and there were happenings at the former. Parties and exhibitions everywhere. Highlights: 1. Cable Car ride @ Bukit Mat Cincang. We dare not walk at the bridge, suspended 1000m+. Reaching the peak was GOOD enough for me.

2. Visit to Makam Mahsuri. We watched an in-house play about how she was framed, and sentenced to death. Mahsuri prayed that if she is innocent, let her blood be white as she bleeds, to prove her innocence. All she did was- sparing a cup of water for the thirsty warrior who happened to pass by. What a drama. I cried. The play is staged 3pm daily. If you are there, dont miss it. 3. Sunset @ Kuah Jetty (the one that we were 'this' close to the VIPs).

Of course, there are many other things we did like, visiting the Underwater World, feasting on seafood at Pantai Cenang, drive around to look for Minyak Gamat. They are famous for that. Then... Monday, April 9th, 2007 2pm- We were at Sadao Malaysia-Thai Border! 7.15pm- We arrived at Sarasin Bridge, linking Phuket to mainland. LOOOONG DRIVE. We watched Happy Feet countless runs. We safely arrived at our 5-Star Blue Marine Resort & Spa, Patong Beach. We were so tired, we slept with the door ajar (until we got a call from reception. Security is good there).

Highlights of Phuket:

Drive up to one of the highest peak in Phuket, Kata Viewpoint.

Patong Beach, post-tsunami 2004.

Rushda had her hair braided. For a toddler to sit still for more than 10 minutes... amazing. Dear got his feet massage here too. I was busy shopping at Bangla Street.

Elephant Ride!!! Rushda tidur!!!

Thursday, April 12th, 2007

Depart for Hatyai. We were there for the annual Songkran Festival. Dear seems to know this place so well. He usually rides up to Hatyai for this occasion.

Basically, you get wet, and floors get slippery as people throw water at you. Sometimes, powder too. On Friday, April 13th, 2007, people gathered on the streets with imitation Super-Soakers, pails, ice, what-have-yous; and you just need to be on guard. Unfortunately for me, I slipped and fell on wet ceramic tiles. Hit my head on the floor, causing excruciating pain, that made people rushed me to the hospital. Head is fine, foetus is fine, despite the killing pain the next morning.

That's the story of our holiday. Go. Its holiday season, all season in Thailand. Kaphun kaap, that's thank you in Thai, for reading my post.