opinios

The Greatest Day Of My Life

Yes, it's a fairly big call to say that one specific day is far superior and more memorable than any other day that has passed in my 28 years. But it's true. As sickening as it may sound, the day of our wedding was just simply awesome. Being a more diligent blogger, Kim has already given her take on the day's events, but here is my version.

Poor Jeremy copped the worst of my uncontrollable excitement when I dragged him down to the beach at 7am for a morning swim. I think the conversation went something like:

J: "Why are we doing this again?"
Me: "Because I'm awake! Let's go!"
J: "Oh, ok. I knew there was a good reason."

But the rising sun diffracting through the fluffy clouds was amazing and he agreed that the pain of getting up at an ungodly hour (it had been a late night of drinking) was well worth it. We worked up a healthy appetite in the still, warm water, and then quashed it with bacon and eggs at a beachfront cafe.

As I mentioned, a substantial group of us - mostly my family - then took the terrifying leap of bungy jumping, and most of us enjoyed it so much that we went again (second jump only costs 35 bucks!)

Once we got back to Palm Cove, Sam and Jeremy and I sat around in our hotel room drinking beers as I got ready for my 4pm appointment. The adrenaline was still pumping from the morning's events and I was super-excited. But not nervous. I just couldn't wait. Everything was organized, there was nothing to stress about, we just had to count down the clock. And you couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I jumped around in anticipation.

By 3.45 Nick, my cousin, best friend and always frustratingly tardy best man finally showed up, allowing himself just enough time to change into his attire and get his head around the order of events and where he needed to stand for them to progress smoothly. The setting was on the grass by the beach, with the waves gently lapping, and Nick did a sterling job of completing the scene by providing some light strumming of the guitar to entertain the guests who were by now starting to gather.

At around 4.20 (is 20 minutes late still "fashionable" ??) Kim finally made her entrance, brought proudly down the "aisle" and across the road by her grinning father. She looked absolutely stunning and was grinning as uncontrollably as me. I hadn't seen the dress before and had no idea how her hair was going to look - the girl took my breath away.

Kay, our celebrant, did a great job of the ceremony, and I was in a dream-like state as the rest all unfolded. The vows, the readings, the rings, the kiss, the applause, the photos, the signing of the register. It was all just magical and once it was over my new wife and I disappeared with the photographer to have a few posed snaps on the beach while the guests began on the champagne.

Back at the Reefhouse at 6:00 the tables were set, the chef had fired up the barby and the guests were merrily making their way in for the party to begin. The food was amazing and the wine flowed and flowed because it tasted so damn good. The plan was for Nick to break the news to Kim of me going bungy jumping during the speeches, but after a few glasses of Riesling my dear mother couldn't control herself and spilled the beans, stealing Nick's thunder.

Even so, the speeches were fantastic (except for Kim and mine, which we didn't prepare at all and ended up being just mumbled thankyous) and the dance floor was dominated by Kim's two and a half year old nephew, who had moves to rival any hip-hop performer as he belted out an angry rap in his own toddler language.

And all of a sudden the night was over. The wine had stopped and people were starting to make their way home. So what do you do when you don't want the night to end, ever?

You go swimming.

Yes, the party continued for a select few who still had the stamina for it in the rooftop pool of the Saray'i Hotel next door. Complete with a few bottles of wine that we had managed to smuggle up there.

Nothing feels quite so indulgent as drinking wine from the bottle in a swimming pool.

Three Great Plunges In One Day

We are finally back in Melbourne and I am blogging from a friend's place (John, Bron and Damian you guys rock!) until we find more permanent accommodation.

Now, where were we? Oh, yes. The wedding.

In the morning, against my beautiful fiancee's stern warnings, I went bungy jumping at AJ Hackett Bungy in Cairns. The bungy site was nestled into a beautiful foresty valley, above a still freshwater pool, and I have to say I was having second thoughts. When my cousin Carmel suggested it be a good prelude to the wedding, I was skeptical - not because I was concerned about injuring myself, but that I wouldn't be able to sustain the physical injuries Kim would inflict on me should it disrupt our wedding day.

But as word got around, it seemed the bungy bug was spreading. Pretty soon there were about 8 of us who had worked up the courage to say "Ok, I'll jump too" and forked out $100 to jump off the platform with nothing but an elastic band tied to our ankles.

And what a rush it was.

They made me jump first, so I grit my teeth and hurled myself off the edge, head first. I had a few seconds between the top and my head gently dipping into the water at the bottom to scream out three or four expletives, before lurching back up to wave for the cameras. On the second bounce the blood rushed to my head again, and before my brain had raced to process what had just happened, I was swinging upside-down to a gentle stop.

And then they dunked me again. And again.

Apparently this is known as a "T-bag", but luckily it was a warm day and I was wearing quick-dry shorts, as I was pulled into the pond by the staff member below whose job it is to reel in and untie the jumper before paddling them to shore on a rubber dinghy.

And then we all trotted off to watch me get married, everyone with the understanding that Kim was not to know a thing, until later.

Much later.

Back and Blogging From The Beach

Yes, poor old opinios has been neglected a bit of late, but I do have a good reason - Kim and I got married last Saturday and we are still enjoying our honeymoon in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, Palm Cove, in Far North Queensland.

Being far more diligent than myself, Kim has already managed to squeeze in a couple of posts about the big day, complete with pictures. I, however, have steered quite clear of the computer. There are just too many other distractions, you see: like swimming at the beach, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, improving my handicap at Paradise Palms golf course, eating bucketloads of fresh seafood, drinking too many glasses of delicious wine every night, and just lazing around doing nothing. Am I making you jealous yet?

Kim and I shuffled around from one relative's spare room to the next, and while we were always grateful for the free accomodation, were looking forward to finally having a place of our own. Other family members and a few friends trickled into Cairns the week before the big day, and it was awesome having them in town to hang out at the beach and have barbies with. Snorkelling on the outer reef with Mum and Dad was a bit of a highlight for me as I have seen so little of them over the past few years.

And then the night before I spent on a pub crawl in Cairns with the boys. I guess it could be called a buck's party, but it didn't ever get really crazy because everyone knew that if I was in too shabby a state the next day that they would be feeling the wrath of the bride. And all of them had seen Kill Bill.

Most of the evening was spent at Gilligan's, the most mammoth over the top bar/dance club/pool/drive-in cinema/backpacker's hostel that I have ever seen. At some point I remember we ended up in the casino and my brother, who has always been a lucky bastard, walked out with $60. A few of the guys chipped in some cash for me to try my hand at blackjack, but it disappeared as soon as I lay it down.

Oh, and there was one more activity that I engaged in on the day of the wedding, something which I managed to keep secret from Kim until afterwards. Suffice to say that it was something that she explicitly forbade me from partaking in (I think the words were "Don't you dare!") so I was taking a bit of a risk by ignoring her warnings.

But you're just going to have to wait to find out what it was. Sorry!

More Tales From The East

No updates for a while because I aint been doing much. The lifestyle in Far North Queensland is pretty laid back, and when in Rome...

Instead let me relay some stories from China that didn't make it into the travelogue, while in the background I sit on the beach and order my little elves around to organise things for the up and coming wedding (I wish!)

On our last day in Beijing we had an early flight back to Tokyo. We booked a taxi and a wake-up call, and thought that our trip home would be relatively smooth.

Unfortunately we forgot about China's departure tax.

We did have some yuan left, but it wasn't quite enough. No problem, I thought, we'll just change some more yen at the airport.

Nope. The currency exchange isn't open until 9am. It was 5:30.

No problem, that's what ATM machines are for, right? Well, yes, if you can remember your PIN. Unfortunately I had been living in Japan for a few years, and hadn't used my Aussie credit card for quite some time. But I had a vague idea and it was worth a shot. Hell, we were getting desperate.

* YOUR CARD HAS BEEN FROZEN *

Hey, wait a minute! I thought you were supposed to enter an incorrect PIN number three times before it swallowed your card! Gimme my card back! Hey, somebody! This ATM has stolen my card!!

Nobody had any sympathy, they were all still only half-awake. The bank that owned the ATM wasn't open yet. Now we were really screwed.

And then came the money man. An ultra dodgy-looking scruffy man who had obviously been watching my situation from afar and waited until now to plunge like a vulture on its prey.

"You change money?" he asked me under his breath, and pulled out the thickest wad of cash I have ever seen. He had everything: US dollars, Aussie dollars, Japanese Yen, English Pounds... heck I think I even spotted some Kroners in there. We haggled for about five minutes over the rate - he wanted desperately to trade but knew I was desperate. We agreed upon something that was well below current rates, but not so exorbitant that I felt like I was being completely ripped off.

And we begrudgingly paid our tax and got on the plane.

Touchdown!

I've never been to Cairns before, but I already feel like I am at home.

Kim and I flew in at 5:30 on Wednesday morning, and my dear aunt and uncle were there at the airport, waiting to greet us and drive us home to their sanctuary of home-cooked meals, palm tree gardens, glorious swimming pools, high humidity and a perfect temperature. I am feeling pretty darn relaxed right now.

Not that there hasn't been any drama. There has been plenty.

With all the running around trying to tie up loose ends for our departure from Japan (mobile phone contracts, internet service provider, gas, electricity, water... the list goes on) I ended up leaving my bass guitar in a Subway restaurant. I had tried to sell it to a guitar shop, but felt insulted when they told me they could only give me 1,000 yen for it, and decided to give it to a friend instead.

Luckily, being Japan, it wasn't knocked off and the kind Subway staff held onto it for Martine to come and collect a few days later. I can't believe I just left it there in the corner of the restaurant, but I guess my mind was a melted wreck after running a billion last minute errands.

Then there was the "Ali incident". My aunt and uncle are house-sitting my cousin's dog Ali, an energetic and well-meaning but innocently misbehaving brown Boxer. I thought I would do the right thing by taking it for a run on its lead, but the sneaky pup managed to slip her head out of her collar, and after that there was no getting her back. She ran and ran and ran. Along median strips, around busy roundabouts, through multi-lane intersections and almost under a semi-trailer. I thought I had lost the mischievous mongrel but somehow she managed to avoid all high-speed traffic and came reluctantly home, unscathed. How that truck didn't hit her I'll never know, but my heart jumped out of my chest several times. Guys, if you are reading this, Ali has a good heart and I'm sorry she got out, but you really need to send that dog for some obedience and road-sense lessons!

[Update: And how could I forget the fact that someone broke in and stole a bunch of stuff from my uncle and aunt's house! Most of it was not worth anything, but Kim's battery charger for her camera was in the bumbag that got pinched, so now we have to buy a replacement one of them. Bastards!]

Now we are just kicking back and sorting out the occasional task here and there between trips to the beach, in the lead up to our big wedding day. Fingers crossed that the weather will be like it is today - blue sky and nice and warm.