Category Archives: Relationship

Anniversary celebration @ The Black by Ezard

Posted on June 26, 2014 | 12 comments

First of all, thank you everyone for your wonderful wishes. I am excited to report back that we had an awesome day.

I have to admit taking a day off to celebrate the anniversary was a great idea as we were able to stay in bed till 9 am. I was awake before 7 am but it was nice not to worry about the time and spend more time in bed in the cold winter morning. I just cuddled with AS on the bed.

It was even nicer when AS gave me a nice and sweet card. I loved what he wrote on it and you can say I was touched.

To M,

The love of My life,

My past, My present,My future

Always & forever

AS

anniversary card

As you can see my AS is a man of few words but when he writes, he makes it count :). I just loved it.

I can see that as the years have passed, we became more compatible and stronger as a couple. We know each other better and we know what to do to please each other. We fight less and get annoyed less. If we fight, it doesn’t last long like before and we both understand each other a lot better. I have to give most of the credit to AS for sure. He brings out the best in me every day.

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We had a lazy breakfast and decided to go out for lunch. Before that, we stopped at a park and spent some time there. It was a windy afternoon but we still had fun in the sun.

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Thai was on the menu for lunch and it was nice and filling. I was again thankful that we had a day off as we did not need to rush. We took our time, enjoyed the food and went home to change.

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We had dinner reservation at the restaurant called Black by ezard.

Black by ezard is by Melbourne chef Teage Ezard, at The Star casino. Ezard is the creative force behind the two hat restaurant ezard and Asian street food diner Gingerboy. The venue is cool and slick, a mix of elegant booth seating and leather upholstered seats, fronted by floor-to-ceiling glass windows that look onto Pyrmont Bay.

We were given a table with a window view. We could see the beautiful Sydney city in evening light.BLACK by ezard (7)We ordered drinks first. I had ORANGE – Angostura Bitters, Passionfruit, Carbonated Natural Spring Water mocktail and AS had a beer, Lord Nelson Three Sheets.

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Before our drink, we were served complimentary brioche with butter and volcanic black salt. It was just delicious with chunks of the warm, buttery bun and inky black sea salt.

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My mocktail came shortly with AS’ beer and we both were happy with our choices.

When faced with a dilemma over what to order, the best thing to do is share. So AS and I decided that we are going for three-course meal but would share all the dishes and it was a good decision.

We stared with mushrooms; a warm salad of exotic mushrooms, rocket leaves, brioche crumbs, parmesan and pork hock, crisp fried, nashi pear, radish, yuzu and green chilli caramel.

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To my surprise I loved the mushroom more than pork. It was so tasty and full of flavour. Also the portion size was really good for up class restaurants like this.

It was followed by gnocchi, handmade potato, roasted chestnuts, black cabbage and ocean trout with crispy skin, cauliflower, heirloom carrot, caper and lemon sauce for main.

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The ocean trout looked and tasted great with lots of fanciful accompaniments. Gnocchi was very enjoyable with black cabbage.

By this point, I was stuffed – I was wondering why I had decided on a three course meal as there was more to come.

Of course, I can never skip chocolate dessert when I am with AS so we had chocolate caramel and chocolate custard, peanut butter mouse, wood grilled banana sorbet as well as lemon olive oil and lemon cake, lemon curd, poppy seed cream, frozen yogurt.

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We had mentioned that it was our anniversary during the reservation and we were happy that they remembered this and so in a wonderful show of hospitality, our dessert plates had ‘Happy Anniversary’ piped in melted chocolate.

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Desserts tasted wonderful, super rich chocolate and peanut butter mouse and the lemon cake was surprising yummy in every bite. I only left some poppy seed cream behind because I was going to explode if I had another mouthful.

The service, while quite good for a restaurant in general, falls somewhat short of hatted service.

I noticed that every time we go to a hated restaurant, the wait staffs make you feel so special.  There were three of them looking after us making sure everything was perfect. I was telling AS that it must be that great feeling you have when you have you own butler like in Downton Abbey 🙂

Overall, I found Black by ezard an amazing dining experience that is everything you would want and expect from a restaurant of this level with impeccable service. Both of us were happy when we left the restaurant.

After that we went to The Star casino for some fun.

It was such a perfect day for us with amazing food and lovely company.

Till next time, take care

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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Posted in Marriage, Personal, Relationship

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Happy Third Anniversary my darling husband

Posted on June 24, 2014 | 33 comments

Today is our wedding anniversary. Like every anniversary, I am writing a letter to my dear hubby.

My dearest AS,

I can’t believe that it has been three years of our union because it feels like only yesterday that I met you again and I started believing in forever. Now that we are together, I want to believe in eternity.

I am glad we have made it so far and I am sure we will go far as we love this journey that we are in together. Every year our anniversary becomes more and more special as every year seems to bring more and more happiness and priceless memories.

I couldn’t have done anything without you by my side. Since I met you, my life has never been the same. Thanks for making it better and happier. Even though we are supporting different teams during FIFA world cup, I know that you are happy when my team wins and vice versa. (You know that my team goona win the cup 🙂 ). Despite our differences, I always have fun when I am with you and that is the most important thing and the most precious moments of my life. At least we agree on one thing that The Games of Thrones is the best series ever.

When I feel sad I turn to you for support and when I feel happy I turn to you to celebrate  because I know you will be there for me as my partner and guide. I know I don’t say it often but I want to thank you for all the love and care, for all the moments we shared, which I truly treasured. Happy Anniversary, my love!

All my love, now and always!

Yours M

Getting ready

my wedding sindoor at wedding

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This is how I looked on our wedding day.

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P.S: Both of us took a day off so have a nice day planned. Will update you soon.

Take care ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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Our Story : Enjoying holiday – Part 21

Posted on June 11, 2014 | 2 comments

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

We took a few more tours while we were in Bangkok and they were quite interesting.

Floating Market

I had heard a lot about the floating markets in Thailand so we planned to see it. Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets is a prime tourist attraction that not too far from Bangkok.

We were picked up from the hotel in a van and driven 100 km southwest of Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak. As soon as we were in the canal area I saw lots of floating boats some with tourists and some selling colourful souvenirs, fruits and other items.

The floating markets of Thailand is a great place to view colourful boats with vendors selling fruits, vegetables and other delicious goods. It’s a great place to also see a traditional way of buying and selling goods of the Thais.

The best things about these markets are the food stalls. There is no Thai dish you cannot find here. The hardest decision is narrowing down your choice to one or two. Squashed in amongst the food and tables lining the canals are handicrafts, plants and clothing stores too.

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We were asked to hop into one of the boats and we had a guide who took us around the 32 km canal. Sitting on a wooden long tail boat, we ventured out to the floating market. It was fun passing through narrow canal lanes and underneath bridges. It was a really fun way of seeing the market.

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Once we were back where we had started, we had some time to look around by ourselves. I ended up buying lots of souvenirs like a floating boat, a tuk tuk, a hat and a beaded earring.

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River Kwai and The Jeath War Museum

The next stop for us was in Kanchanaburi province where we went and visited the war museum and the river Kwai.

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Once there we went to the war museum and there were lots of information about World War II.  Then we went to the bridge over the river Kwai which was built-in World War II.

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The JEATH War Museum is situated on the junction of the Rivers Khwae Yai and Khwae Noi, right on top of the old rail tracks. The name is an acronym recognising the primary nationalities of those involved in the construction of the Death Railway; Japanese, English, Australian, American, Thai and Holland. To the locals it is known simply as the Wat Tai War Museum.

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The museum is divided into several sections. While the main path through the exhibitions charts Thailand’s involvement in the Pacific War (from the first invasion through to the destruction of the bridge, and finally Japan’s retreat accompanied by the release of prisoners), other areas offer a range of different perspectives on the region.

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One room focuses on the prehistoric evolution of the area, while another charts the annual winners of the Miss Thailand competition. There seem to be Buddhist shrines tucked away into every empty corner, and there isn’t an inch of wall space that hasn’t been written on. Some of it in Thai, other passages in French, English or German, and these verses range from military history through to religious philosophy. To read them all would have taken a day at least.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the museum however, are the wooden effigies used to depict the suffering of Allied POWs. Carved in a similar style to those that appear in Thailand’s numerous Buddhist Hell Gardens, these often crude figures show naked men engaged in hard labour, being tortured, or lying dead and bloody at the bottom of rivers.

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The intention is to shock… but also to bring home the very real pain and suffering which prisoners were subjected to. Towards the end of the museum, a courtyard is walled in with mounted figures of WWII’s military leaders: Churchill and De Gaulle; Mussolini and Hitler; Japanese Generals Tōjō and Yamashita; Joseph Stalin and General Douglas MacArthur. On an adjacent wall, written in both Thai and English, hangs a sign which reads, “War is sinful behaviour”.

Perhaps the most poignant feature at the JEATH War Museum however, is the broken wooden structure which protrudes from the riverbank beneath an observation platform. This is all that now remains of the former bridge, and is a stark reminder of the tragedy that befell here; in 1945 both the Royal Air Force and the US Army Air Force mounted bombing raids on the bridge, but after both attacks it was repaired using prisoner labour.

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Finally, on 24th June 1945, an RAF squadron was ordered to halt the Japanese movement into Burma at any cost. Fearing defeat, the Japanese filled the bridge with as many Allied prisoners as they could fit, in a hope to deter the bombers. It failed however, and when the bridge was finally put out of action, its destruction came at a cost of many Allied lives.

Kanchanaburi’s ‘Tiger Temple’

The last stop of the day was the Tiger Temple and it was the highlight of our trip. It is a Buddhist temple where there were many monks, lots of tigers and few other creatures.

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Almost a decade ago, monks started to look after tiger cubs whose mothers had allegedly been killed by poachers. With the outbreak of tiger-euphoria, tourists reported enthusiastically how the monks of this remote temple devotedly cared for the animals. Initially there were just a few young tigers – joined by freely roaming deer and other small mammal species. Therefore, it all started as a neat little temple zoo with lovely deer, orphaned tiger cubs and monks as keepers.

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For around fifty dollars each, we were allowed to be up-close and personal with the tigers. This was 600 Bhat admissions and 1000 Bhat for photo with the tigers. It was a really unique experience and I was a bit scared but then it was all good as there was a guide with us all the time. I patted the tiger and he didn’t eat me 🙂

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We also saw a cub on the way back and we were allowed to take pictures and pat it. It was a really nice experience.

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After coming back from the holiday, I did some research about the place and I found lots of negative things so I am still confused as to what to believe.

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Also if you are going there make sure you wear a covered dress as they will not allow you in otherwise as they have a dress code for both men and women.

By the time we got back to Bangkok both of us were tired and ready for bed.

For the next few days in Bangkok, we met AS’s cousin and went shopping. I was feeling sad already as I knew we were going to different places once the holiday was over.

More on that in the next post. Till then take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Go to Part 22

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My mum, my Super women (Mother’s Day 2014)

Posted on April 29, 2014 | 11 comments

Today is Aama ko Mukh herne din ( Mother’s day) in Nepal. Please click here  and here to read more about it. I want to dedicate this post to all the moms of this world.

This article was published in +977 (a Nepalese Lifestyle Magazine in Australia) in April 2014 issue.

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When I was young, I didn’t realised that my mum is a super women. But I know now that my mum is my hero and my treasure, she is like a prize I won the day that I was born.

My mum had a normal upbringing but she started working at a very young age. She worked as a teacher and continued working for most of her life.

When she got married to my dad, as in most of the household in Nepal, being a daughter in law, she had to cook, clean and look after the family and at the same time went to her 9-5 job six days a week.

After doing her daily chores, making sure we had breakfast, our lunch packed and everyone else is fed, she would to the school to teach. She usually arrived home late in the afternoon or before dawn and would prepare our food and take care of our needs.

I can’t remember her complaining about anything but remember her willingness and perseverance to help our family and trying to give me and my brother a better life. I really didn’t understand her sacrifices and to make it worst I used to complain about the food we ate, clothes we wore, toys I owned and other things.

It all seemed normal to me as a kid because most of the women around me were doing the same thing while most of the men were working in a job or business and were served hot meal 3 times a day without needing to lift a finger in the kitchen.

As I became more aware of the society in Nepal, I became aware of gender biases as well. I always asked questions if someone treated me different from my brother and I used to hate the answer when they say, “It is because you are a girl”

“Girls should not be saying this.”

“Girls should not be doing this.”

“Girls should be learning how to cook.”

The amazing thing is, most of the times, these words were from the mouth of women like grand ma or aunties than men. As a child, it never understood why I have to be different from my brother. I am the same in every way I can think of to my brother so why I can’t do certain things or why I have to do certain things.

Watching Hollywood movies, I was happy to know that at least in some part of the world, women are treated better and equal and this made me dream of running away from Nepal and finding a future in a country where men and women are equal and gender bias didn’t exist.

When my destiny took me to Australia for further study, in my mind I knew that I was going to a developed country. I was sure my future was going to be much better than in Nepal. I had big dreams and was happy that I was taking the first step towards my dream.

Out of many things, I left behind in Nepal; I thought one of them would be gender bias. Living in Sydney for a while made me realise I was wrong. Like my mum, most of the women here were doing their duty at home as well as at work. Only few lucky ones had husbands who would help a lot in the kitchen and with kids but most women were doing 80% of the house chores while their partners were resting, as they were tired from a hard day’s at work.

Even though western society looks like they have no gender biases in movies I soon realised that the wives and mothers in Australia were going through the same story that my mum was going through in Kathmandu. Only a few lucky enough were telling me a different story but most of them had to look after both house and work. Therefore, my dream of living in a gender equal society was scattering into a million pieces.

I realised only when I started working and studying at the same time, how hard life can be. The hardships I went through as a student in Sydney made me think how great my mum is and how she is a super woman, able to do all that for us.

My mum deserves to be cherished because she taught us the values in life that inspired us to live wisely. She showed us how to be strong in times of weaknesses. She took care of us, fed us and did everything for us without complaining whether she was tired or sick. I feel bad that I used to complain about her food and the things she did or did not do.

Now I am a wife I understand her situation much better. I feel blessed to have an understanding husband but still feel a need to take care of many things in our house. Call it a women’s instinct but there are many things I feel I need to do to make sure our house runs smoothly and it is not an easy job. Right now, we are only two adults in the house and I can’t imagine how life going to be when we will have a couple of kids running around.

After a hard day at work, some days I feel exhausted and tired and remember maybe that’s how my mother felt as well when she was raising us. There are days I don’t want to go to the kitchen and then I remember my mum and how she handled two hungry screaming kids when she got back from work. It wasn’t easy for her and I can feel in my heart what she must have felt then. I know now that I should have appreciated all her efforts and all the sacrifices she made. She deserves to be loved and treated special. She is a superwoman.

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One day when I am going to be a mum and I hope to come into my own as a strong woman like my mum. I salute women like my mother who have paved the way for me as not only a woman and wife but someday as a mother and super woman to love and give with a big smile.

Please pick up a phone and call your mum and tell her how much you love her because you may not be this lucky one day.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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Back and alive

Posted on April 3, 2014 | 14 comments

You must be wondering where I have been for so long but I have had one hell of a busy time in Nepal that I went MIA. Now I am back in Sydney so here is the update.

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The wedding of my BIL went well but for the first 3 weeks I was there, I was so busy that I didn’t get to do much but just concentrated on the wedding. I was glad that AS was with me the whole time. I was sleep deprived most of the time for one reason or another.

After the wedding AS came back to Sydney and for the next 2 weeks I was just being lazy and missing him a lot. I know I might sound like a broken record to all of you but I miss him very much whenever we are apart. Skyping and Vibering definitely helped but still it was not like holding him or getting a kiss from him. I am just glad to be sleeping next to him again and seeing him when I wake up in the morning.

Lots of things were fun in Nepal expect being sick multiple times. I was sick a couple of times before the wedding and I was scared I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. I was really careful the whole time drinking only bottled water outside and going to selective restaurants for food but I still got sick.

The day before the wedding, I was vomiting the whole night. We had gone to this fancy (supposedly good) restaurant at Darbar Marg in Kathmandu and we had had momo and pakoda. Looks like that made me vomit the whole night and the diarrhoea started the next morning.

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Imagine my state of mind and body when everyone was coming to our home. Thankfully, I took some medication and I was mostly OK for the wedding.

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As I mentioned before, my SIL is from a different caste from us so there was a slight confusion regarding tradition during the wedding but apart from that it was a great experience. The reception was equally fun, me meeting lots of relatives and friends. The wedding went really well and we have a new family member in our house who calls me sister :).

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I was glad once everything was over because I was planning to rest for a few days. It turned out to be just a dream because when the wedding was over, AS had just a week before he would leave for Sydney which meant we have to finish his shopping and on top of that, meet and eat with all the relatives who had invited us.

The week went really quickly and suddenly it was the day AS was to leave. I made a decision at the airport that I would never travel separately again. I know I was going to see him in 2 weeks but still my heart was crying for him not to go. Stupid me, but it was really hard.

The following day, finally I got to go and live with my parents and it was a good feeling. Even though, my new home (AS’s home) is good in every way, I had a different feeling when I got to sleep in my old bed and to be with my parents. I think the history I have with the house, my dog and seeing my old stuff is simply priceless and definitely, it will be my home forever.

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My parents spoiled me rotten for the next 2 weeks, breakfast in bed was really nice. My mum made sure she cooked whatever I would feel like eating. It was heaven just to wake up late and relax. I was so busy for the first 3 weeks that I just wanted to be lazy and relax the next two.

I did go for day trips to a few places with my parents but apart from that I spent lots of time at home just talking with them and relaxing.

I did went and visit my grand ma, who is 86 now. She is always so happy to see us and give her blessing. I can see a pain in her eyes sometime but still she smiles and tells me to be happy. The time I went to visit her before I came to Sydney, she almost made me cry. She told me , “I may not see you again so be well and make sure you look after your parents.” I am sure I am going to see her again and hope she will be strong and well for a long time to come.

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This time I managed to meet Kathy, from Himalayan Happenings with her lovely husband. It was such a nice moment and it was great to know you guys. I will be in touch and thanks for the momo. I loved it so much 🙂

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Thanks to one of my friends from school, I got to attend the gathering of my friend from primary school. I hadn’t seen most of them for 15 years now and it was so good to catch up. I couldn’t believe how much we have changed but at the same time we have the same level of comfort with each other. It’s like we had never been apart, conversation flew so easily. It was one of the most memorable moments of my visit to Nepal this time.

The other one has to be taking a family portrait with my grandparents in law. As I mentioned before granddad is 95 and grand mum is 90. We got a photographer to their place and had a great time taking photos. Here is one of the many photos we took. Having so many people, it was really hard to make sure everyone was OK in the same photos but finally we did get a few good shots.

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The highlight of my trip was definitely the wedding of my BIL but I am also glad to let you know that I managed to bring heaps of Nepali things for our new home.

We managed to bring two big carpets (Nepali carpets are quite famous and good), many showpieces like the idols of Buddha and Tara as well as the painting we were after.

Over all a great trip back home but now back to real word. I am still jet-lagged and tired from the trip. I might take me at least few days to be OK and normal.

I almost forgot to mention, I managed to be in Nepal for 5 weeks without any exercise. I took my yoga stuffs with me to exercise but it never saw the light of day. This afternoon after 5 weeks, I managed to go and swim during lunch. It was refreshing and relaxing. 🙂

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Of course, you will hear a lot about things from Nepal but for now, I need to stop typing. My hands need a rest.

Until my next post take care everyone and come back to blog. I am back now  🙂

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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Posted in Kathmandu, Nepal, Nepal 2014, Travel, Wedding

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