Category Archives: Relationship

Our Story : Visa process and long wait – Part 22

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

I was really sad when our holiday to Thailand came to an end. We had had an amazing time together and it was so much fun spending every second together doing things we loved.

The last day, at the hotel, we were busy packing. I couldn’t believe that I had come with an empty suitcase and now there were so many stuffs that AS was having a hard time trying to fit all of them in. It was probably a good we were busy otherwise I would have become too emotional and the impending separation would have been harder.

We took a cab to the airport and checked in. Luckily, we didn’t have any problems with my luggage even though it was 8 kg over the limit. My flight was departing first so we went to the gate where my flight was.

I tried my best not to cry and make him feel sad. We just talked and he promised that we will keep in touch like before and finally he would be with me in Sydney soon. I knew it is not too long in the future but at the same time those few months before he would be in Sydney were going to be hard ones.

With a heavy heart I bid good-bye to AS and went through the gate to board my plane. That last hug lasted longer than intended and both of us were wordless for a while. I really didn’t want to let him go but they were announcing the last call so I had to board the plane.

I looked at him for the last time before entering the plane. It was really hard. Harder than before, because now I had a taste of our life together and thinking it may not happen again soon was killing me. Nevertheless, I had to go back to Sydney and him to his job.

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I really can’t remember the first half of the flight because I had millions of things in my mind. As soon as it was allowed, I opened my laptop and looked at the lovely photos we had taken in Thailand. It felt like a dream and I had woken up all alone again.

Back in Sydney, life resumed as normal. I missed him a lot and we talked or sent messages every day and Skyped as much as possible. We spent several hours talking about our lovely holiday in Thailand and planned more holidays for the future.

All I wanted at that stage was for him to be next to me.

At his end, he was preparing papers for the visa. Some of the documents were taking longer than expected delaying the whole process. Eventually everything was done, visa lodged, and everything was out of our hands. We had heard some people had their visa in weeks and some had gone for months and even years. Therefore, we didn’t know what to expect for ours.

I knew in my heart it was not going to be years but at the same time I knew he wouldn’t be in Australia tomorrow. AS used to make light of our situation asking me to enjoy my single life as much as possible before he arrives and controls my life. I definitely preferred that option than what I was in at that time.

I was back at my job and it was good because that kept me busy and gave me less alone time. Otherwise, I might have gone crazy thinking about our situation. I really don’t know how people handle long distance relationships for long periods of time. For us it was not so long and still I was losing my mind. I especially salute the family of soldiers who are posted away from them months on end; on top that they are always worried about their loved getting hurt or worse.

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I kept reminding myself that we were lucky and things had worked out so well for us so far. Rest of the things would be OK as well.

But then I had the days when I was down and I feel bad thinking now that I had unreasonable fights with AS during that period. I knew in my heart he didn’t have any control and he was doing his best but still I had to take my frustration out on someone and he ended up being at the receiving end. Poor AS.

I have to give most of the credit to AS for our long distance relationship’s survival. He was so patient and listened to me no matter what mood I was in. On my bad days, he just tried to show me the light at the end of the tunnel and on good days, he laughed with me. No wonder I love him so much and I feel blessed to know he is in my life. He is one of the greatest blessings from God, and his love is a gift that I open every day anew.

A few months went by just like that. There were definitely some difficulties at that time but we were still surviving with a big hope of being together soon.

Then one evening he called me. I was surprise that he called me as we didn’t have a plan to Skype that day. I was still at work and he had some other things planned but I was so happy to receive a call.

Me: Hello, baby. How are you?

AS: I am good. Are you Ok?

Me: Of course why? I am at work and will be finishing in a few hours. Can’t wait to go home and talk to you.

AS: I know baby. I was thinking of you so decided to call you.

Me: Ohoo so sweet and thank you baby.

AS: By the way I got an email from the immigration department.

Me: AND???!!!

AS: And that’s it.

Me: Come on. That it WHAT???

AS: And they said that I can go to you whenever I want.

I screamed when he told me that forgetting there were people around. I was so happy.

Me: Ohoo that’s such a good news and I am so happy. Did you call home?

AS: I will soon. Just wanted to tell you first.

Me: I am so, so happy baby. Now no more late night Skype and phone calls. Can’t wait for you to be here and hold me.

As: I know and I feel the same. Anyway, go back to work and I will talk to you tonight.

Me: OK love.

When you receive a good news that you have been waiting for, for a while you are thankful and relieved. That was exactly what my reaction was when he told me, relived and thankful. I was so happy thinking he would get here soon and then I would actually see him at the airport–in real life 3D and not Skype; that would be one of the best days of our life. Finally my prayers had been answered and he was going to be here.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy. Otherwise, our life would have been boring.

Stay tuned for the next post.

Take care ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Go to Part 23

Life’s small pleasures

There are moments in life that makes you smile and I love those moments. I think it is the small moments like this that make life truly amazing. Here are some moments in my life making me a happier person.

The love between generations

My brother posted this photo in Facebook, my nephew kissing my dad (laptop screen). They were Skyping and he saw my dad on the other side and kissed the screen. How cute and heart touching. I am sure my parents are overjoyed.

my nephew

My parents are really enjoying their first grandson and it is really nice to see my nephew loving them back unconditionally.

The Lion King musical

I am normally skeptical about musicals but we decided to go and watch when we read so many raving reviews about The Lion King.

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The show tells the tale of Disney’s “The Lion King” through acrobatics, dance, music and puppetry. Based on the 1994 animated film, the musical follows the adventures of Simba, a lion cub, as he struggles to accept the responsibility of adulthood and his destined role of King.

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We loved the 2 and half hours of amazing performance with singing, dancing, brilliant costumes and breath taking stage settings. I highly recommend this show to everyone especially if you have kids over 5 years old who know The Lion King story.

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Discovering yummy food

I was starving after our show yesterday and was walking around looking for place to eat. We like the adventure of trying new food in new places and found this nice Malaysian place. It didn’t look much different from outside but the food was just amazing.

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We had Nasi lemaka and Mee goreng and both AS and I enjoyed the food. The Nasi lemak was so perfect that we decided to order take away for our lunch today. This was a discovery of some great food 🙂

Loving hubby

Knowing deep down that you truly matter to someone else is one of the happiest feelings in the world. My hubby has shown that to me time and time again. Recently I have been sick due to cold and flu and he has been so amazing. I become an annoying bi*ch when I am sick and I know that. Even when I try my best not to be, I cannot help it.

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But hubby was there all the time taking care of me, making me feel better even though I was giving him a hard time. He was understanding, caring and looking after me that my demon died after a while and I was grateful to have someone in my life who cares for me so much.

Making him smile

I decided last week to cook a nice meal for hubby. That day I decided to make an extra effort so cooked rice, chicken, vegies, achar as well as baked a cake for desert. It took me a couple of hours to accomplish what I wanted to do but it was all worth it when I saw his smile when he was eating dinner. He just loved my cooking and I love to see his happy face when he eats.

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Parents love

Even though I have been living away my parents’ home for more than a decade now, I just love the feeling when I talk to my parents. We Skype every week and it feels like we have never been apart. My mum shares everything with me from what she cooked for dinner to what she did, bought, went, talked, watched and my dad still talks about finance and household. It really makes me feel so close to them and still a part of the family.

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I guess for parents, no matter where the kids are and how old they are, they still know how to make them feel special and my parents do that every day without expecting anything is return. Thank God for such wonderful parents who made me who I am today and making me stronger every day.

A million thanks to God for making my day right with reminders of what is truly important.

Please share your life’s small pleasure and have a great day.

Take care ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Anniversary celebration @ The Black by Ezard

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

Happy Third Anniversary my darling husband

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

anniversary

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

Our Story : Enjoying holiday – Part 21

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