This is simply madness in its purest form. The weekend of 23rd and 24th October 2010 drained me like no other weekend. As fun as it appeared to be, I sincerely hope I will not be repeating anything similar anytime soon.
22nd October 2010: After work, I rush back home to fetch my luggage, of which I half-packed the night before. By 8.00 p.m. I am ready to leave for the island state of PENANG. After some complications, I finally leave at about 10.00 bloody p.m. On the way, due to extreme tiredness, I end up making 2 stops in quick succession - to sleep. I finally reach Penang at about 3 a.m., waking my uncle (with whom I was staying with) in the process. Thank you so much Uncle Joo Chye. Salut.
23rd October 2010: First thing in the morning, it's off to B&F's (more like F's parent's house in Penang) for the Persian version of the Chinese tea ceremony. This remarkable ceremony invoved a symbolic tree planting as well as individual blessings from various family members. Was absolutely glad to be there to shoot the whole thing. Lovely people, lovely family, and lovely pictures. Lovely food too although I did not eat much. Can you believe that at 11 a.m. by Godma calls me and asks me where I am? Apparently my Godsis (not the Catholic version) was getting married (tea ceremony Saturday morning and dinner at night) and I was only told about it by me mum a few days earlier. And I did not know that they did not have an OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER. Thus they were relying on me. Sucks.
At night, we confirmed the absence of a photographer. They had a videographer but IMHO, If I had to choose between the 2, I'd go for a photog. So I took the opportunity to pull out my Weapon of Choice and went trigger happy. Oh, and I wish you could check out the Boney M sung by a leggy chinese singer. Nice legs indeed, but you can keep the rest.
24th October 2010: The craziness truly begins NOW. I'm at Parkroyal Hotel by about 5.30 p.m. to prepare my equipment. They're were going to have a Parsi Zoroastrian blessing ceremony (sorry if got that one wrong) before the actual dinner. Amazing stuff! They even handed down little flyers explaining the whole process and what it means. I hope my pictures can tell the story adequately.
I'm not a fan of hotel food by any measure, but dinner was very good, Excellent service and delicious food. Both the relatives of B and F clans were absolutely lovely that evening, the small hall filled with laughter and other joyous sounds.
I left dinner early, just before the wedded couple had their first dance together as husband & wife. Mind you, 'early' happened to be about 11.30 p.m. I went back to my uncle's house to quickly pick up my things, and hastily bid him goodbye.
25th October 2010: I hit the highway at about past 12 a.m. Instant nightmare! I quickly realised that I was getting drowsy fast. Worse still, there was no Rest Stop in sight. I finally found a stop and took me a 1 hour nap. When I started driving again, in about half and hour, I stopped yet again for a one half hour nap. Only then did I feel fit enough to continue driving. The problem is, it was already past 4 a.m. I finally got back at about 6 a.m. Took a clarinase pill and slept for exactly 1 hour before I got up to change and head to work.
Dear Lord...
I left dinner early, just before the wedded couple had their first dance together as husband & wife. Mind you, 'early' happened to be about 11.30 p.m. I went back to my uncle's house to quickly pick up my things, and hastily bid him goodbye.
25th October 2010: I hit the highway at about past 12 a.m. Instant nightmare! I quickly realised that I was getting drowsy fast. Worse still, there was no Rest Stop in sight. I finally found a stop and took me a 1 hour nap. When I started driving again, in about half and hour, I stopped yet again for a one half hour nap. Only then did I feel fit enough to continue driving. The problem is, it was already past 4 a.m. I finally got back at about 6 a.m. Took a clarinase pill and slept for exactly 1 hour before I got up to change and head to work.
Dear Lord...
