Again, my husband left me a surprise on our Multiply. When I hopped online to see if he's still on, an e-mail popped up and the only word I uttered was "Wow!!" when I finally got to take a look at what's inside the e-mail - a link to the photos taken during our trip to Malaysia on August 17-20, 2008.
It took this long before J was able to post our photos because he got so busy with work. I'm happy that he took the time today to do this. He knows it will surely put a smile on his wife's face ;) Mahal, thank you so much and I appreciate this a whole lot!! mwah mwah mwah I love you bunches and bunches, kiddo!!
Here's what he wrote on Multiply for the album description.
This was a miracle in the making as I was able to fly my wife out to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Even though it was short lived because of how the flight schedule was from the airlines it was the best time I think we have had yet. Being able to see my wife during deployment was the best thing I have experienced yet in my career. We were able to eat at Malaysia's only revolving restaurant and it was very romantic, well at least I hope it was for my wife ;) The experiences I have been able to have with her will carry on to our children when we have them. Mommy and Daddy have definitely went to some places and we have many more to journey to. Mwah mahal ko!!!
And here are our photos. They're not much, but each surely does hold remarkable memories that would last us a lifetime.
The beautiful Petronas Twin Towers at day time and nighttime
[view from The Federal Kuala Lumpur, Revolving Bintang Restaurant]
These were taken on our way to the Petronas. I think we walked a good 2 miles to get there!!
[John and the giant soda!!] & [KC at the Revolving Restaurant enjoying the moment with her husband]
That's us...Enjoying the great meal and romantic ambiance of the place...Taken hours before I had to leave back to the Philippines...
J's right when he said "The experiences I have been able to have with her will carry on to our children when we have them." It's true, we capture photos using our cameras, but the real images and the memories behind them are forever kept and treasured in our hearts :)
Our trip to Malaysia was truly a miracle, a wonderful blessing that we will forever be grateful to God for. We didn't even have enough time to plan for it. J just suddenly asked me on August 8 if I would like to fly out to see him and get to spend time with each other during their port visit. I thought he was just joking at first, but later that afternoon, I went out to print a copy of my flight itinerary :) He even forwarded to my e-mail the copies of the hotel reservation and the hotel transfer voucher that I also printed out together with my itinerary. I knew then, he was really serious.
We almost didn't make it because of some card problems we encountered while J was trying to purchase my ticket. And at the airport, on the night of my departure, I almost ran out of money because I didn't know I had to pay for the Tourism Tax with an amount of P1,620.00 aside from the P750.00 at the Immigration. I had to convert my money [in USD] back to PhP just so I'd be able to make it through. At the time, I already had converted my money to USD for the hotel deposit. You can't imagine how nervous I was at that very moment when I looked into my wallet and found out I may ran out of cash. But God saw right through our hearts the desire and longing to see and be with each other even just for a short time and that we weren't giving up, so He made a way where there seemed to be no way!! All in all, I only had a total amount of P200.00 [$4] left in my pocket. I even only bought a cup of noodles and a bottle of water on the plane. But, everything was worth it :) I stayed up the whole flight, reading and listening music. I couldn't sleep. I was just too excited knowing that I was going to see my husband again and in a country we both had never been to before. In other words, it was both our first time in Malaysia!!
The whole flight to Kuala Lumpur only lasted 3 and a half hours. We left here at exactly 2100 and arrived there at 1210 - that's 20 minutes ahead of the actual time of arrival. After filling up the disbursement form, we then went to wait for our turn to be asked by the Immigration officer regarding our purpose of travel. I got asked by a lady and the only question she asked me was, "How long are you staying here?". I answered right away, "Three days." Then, she stamped my passport [I got 30 days on it] and off I went!!
When I went out of the airport, the hotel transfer was already outside waiting for me. I didn't have a hard time looking for him because he was right outside, in front of the exit way and was holding this sign with a big, black print that read "Mrs. K.A.C. The Federal Kuala Lumpur Hotel". I was greeted by his warm and kind smile, and although I was already starting to get really tired, that simple gesture of his brought me back to my senses and somehow made me smile as well. He took my suitcase and escorted me towards the waiting car. One thing I will never forget about that night - that was my first time being inside a right-sided car. They drive on the right side of the lane. I was a little bit intrigued as to how it would feel, so when the car started moving, I realized I also started liking it :) In fact, I enjoyed all the way to the hotel. I forgot about being tired and all that. All throughout the whole travel, I was wide awake. I didn't want to miss a thing. Though it was early in the morning and dark outside, I still got to admire all that were in front of me. I said to myself, "Finally, I am here. Oh, so this is Malaysia?! It looks so much like Philippines!" Honestly speaking, everything that I saw there reminded me of my own country. I didn't compare the two because I know each is unique and beautiful. There were just some things I wished we have here as well, at the time. They got really wide lanes there, not-so-heavy traffic, clean air and surroundings!! I admired how disciplined they are for keeping their places clean, air pollution-free. I loved the whole time we were walking outside. In fact, we even decided to just walk all the way to get to the Petronas Twin Towers instead of riding in a cab. It was hot, but still it felt great.
I talked to the driver the whole time. We introduced each other by name. His name's Nabeel, a Malaysian. But for me, he looks more of an Indian. He was so kind for answering all my questions. That was my way, too to at least break the ice and make the whole travel comfortable for both sides. We had a nice and sensible conversation that night that we almost didn't notice we were close to the hotel. My oh my, the whole trip from the airport to the hotel was close to one hour!! Yes, that's how far. There was no traffic and Nabeel was driving quite fast, yet it took us that long to get to our destination - The Federal Hotel in Bukit Bintang.
Anyways, after checking in, I went straight to our room. The moment I was inside the hotel, I suddenly felt so tired again - and at the same time, really sleepy. John was not supposed to arrive till later on that day, so I spent the whole time alone in the room. I wasn't able to fall asleep until, I think, 0330. The room was huge and I felt so alone and empty. All I had in mind the whole time was my husband. Oh, how I couldn't wait at the time for him to be there next to me!! I couldn't wait to see him, hug him, talk to him, and above all, I wanted him so bad, but I know I had to hold back all those emotions. He was on his way anyway. It required a lot of patience out of me, though convincing myself he'll soon be next to me. I was just so over excited to finally see my dearest husband again!!
J arrived at exactly 1330 later on that day. Not on the actual time he first told me he was coming. Supposed to be, he'll be at the hotel at 1000, but he said that the ship was an hour away from the city and he still had to take an hour-long bus ride and a cab to get to the hotel. Mind you, when I realized he wasn't coming yet, I cried. I was crying because I was wanting so bad to see him and I was ... hungry!! You read it right. I haven't had my breakfast and lunch. I wanted to wait for him. So, when he rang the doorbell, I ran to the door and opened it - and there he was!! I kind of acted as if I wasn't that happy to see him - the heck, I was!! I just felt so relieved that he was finally there with me that's why I was in my quiet mood as what he calls it. But the moment J pulled me close to him and hugged me, I gave in to all the feelings I had been holding back since the night before. When I heard him crying, I automatically cupped his face with my hands and wiped his tears away telling him it's all right, we're together now - and then ... we kissed :) We kissed so passionately, neither of us wanted to stop. I loved that moment. And I love how he smiles when we're kissing. I'm sure you already have an idea as to what happened next ;)
We stayed in our room till 1630. We went out for a little walk and looked at stuff and bought some items from stores/shops just near the hotel and we went down to the Delaney's Irish Pub to meet up with his buddies from work at 1700. I was a bit nervous but so excited that I was going to finally meet them in person :) They were all so nice and funny and I must say, I enjoyed my time with them.
After that, we left the group. J and I went to this Indian restaurant and had dinner there, then we went to the Salsa Havana just inside the hotel and played pool. We made a bet - loser will do whatever the winner says or asks ;) I LOST!! Well, yeah, tell me about it!! We went back to our room after finishing the game and to make the loser pay ;) We both went to sleep with a wide, wide smile on our lips...Aww!!
The following day, we went out to look at some more stuff, bought souvenirs, and had lunch at the Planet Hollywood. Then, we went to the Petronas. We didn't know it was that far, because from our hotel, it looked so close, so we decided to walk all the way there. We only found out that we actually walked 2 miles when we were in the cab on our way back. But we had fun, though. We got to see the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and really nice places along the way. We bought souvenirs from the Petronas Souvenir Shop. Later that evening, we had dinner at the Revolving Bintang Restaurant on the 18th floor of the hotel. It was a very romantic dinner - a memorable one for us. Everything was perfect that night, I didn't want it to end. But I had to leave back to the Philippines and J had to go back to the ship. We were still planning on going out that night after our dinner, but we decided to spend our remaining time in our room for more intimate moment together. At 2130 that night, J took me to the airport for my trip back home. It was his first time to experience having me flying out and leaving him behind. And on the phone the following day, he told me how it made him feel after I left and he went back to the hotel alone and I wasn't there anymore. Well, I told him, that's how I always feel every time he leaves back to the States. Now, we both know how it truly feels.
Leaving is hard, but sometimes it is even harder for the ones who are being left behind.
The whole trip was truly a blessing!! Everything could have remained dreams if God wasn't there to help us through. It was an experience that we'll truly remember for the rest of our days. We may haven't gotten a lot of time together, but God made sure we'd get the best out of our short vacation - beautiful memories that are worth-keeping for a lifetime.
That's how the whole trip went. Kind of long, isn't it?! I should have posted about this a long time ago, but I couldn't because there were no photos yet to go with the story. I hope I didn't bore you or anything. And thank you for your time reading :)
Our trip to Malaysia was truly a miracle, a wonderful blessing that we will forever be grateful to God for. We didn't even have enough time to plan for it. J just suddenly asked me on August 8 if I would like to fly out to see him and get to spend time with each other during their port visit. I thought he was just joking at first, but later that afternoon, I went out to print a copy of my flight itinerary :) He even forwarded to my e-mail the copies of the hotel reservation and the hotel transfer voucher that I also printed out together with my itinerary. I knew then, he was really serious.
We almost didn't make it because of some card problems we encountered while J was trying to purchase my ticket. And at the airport, on the night of my departure, I almost ran out of money because I didn't know I had to pay for the Tourism Tax with an amount of P1,620.00 aside from the P750.00 at the Immigration. I had to convert my money [in USD] back to PhP just so I'd be able to make it through. At the time, I already had converted my money to USD for the hotel deposit. You can't imagine how nervous I was at that very moment when I looked into my wallet and found out I may ran out of cash. But God saw right through our hearts the desire and longing to see and be with each other even just for a short time and that we weren't giving up, so He made a way where there seemed to be no way!! All in all, I only had a total amount of P200.00 [$4] left in my pocket. I even only bought a cup of noodles and a bottle of water on the plane. But, everything was worth it :) I stayed up the whole flight, reading and listening music. I couldn't sleep. I was just too excited knowing that I was going to see my husband again and in a country we both had never been to before. In other words, it was both our first time in Malaysia!!
The whole flight to Kuala Lumpur only lasted 3 and a half hours. We left here at exactly 2100 and arrived there at 1210 - that's 20 minutes ahead of the actual time of arrival. After filling up the disbursement form, we then went to wait for our turn to be asked by the Immigration officer regarding our purpose of travel. I got asked by a lady and the only question she asked me was, "How long are you staying here?". I answered right away, "Three days." Then, she stamped my passport [I got 30 days on it] and off I went!!
When I went out of the airport, the hotel transfer was already outside waiting for me. I didn't have a hard time looking for him because he was right outside, in front of the exit way and was holding this sign with a big, black print that read "Mrs. K.A.C. The Federal Kuala Lumpur Hotel". I was greeted by his warm and kind smile, and although I was already starting to get really tired, that simple gesture of his brought me back to my senses and somehow made me smile as well. He took my suitcase and escorted me towards the waiting car. One thing I will never forget about that night - that was my first time being inside a right-sided car. They drive on the right side of the lane. I was a little bit intrigued as to how it would feel, so when the car started moving, I realized I also started liking it :) In fact, I enjoyed all the way to the hotel. I forgot about being tired and all that. All throughout the whole travel, I was wide awake. I didn't want to miss a thing. Though it was early in the morning and dark outside, I still got to admire all that were in front of me. I said to myself, "Finally, I am here. Oh, so this is Malaysia?! It looks so much like Philippines!" Honestly speaking, everything that I saw there reminded me of my own country. I didn't compare the two because I know each is unique and beautiful. There were just some things I wished we have here as well, at the time. They got really wide lanes there, not-so-heavy traffic, clean air and surroundings!! I admired how disciplined they are for keeping their places clean, air pollution-free. I loved the whole time we were walking outside. In fact, we even decided to just walk all the way to get to the Petronas Twin Towers instead of riding in a cab. It was hot, but still it felt great.
I talked to the driver the whole time. We introduced each other by name. His name's Nabeel, a Malaysian. But for me, he looks more of an Indian. He was so kind for answering all my questions. That was my way, too to at least break the ice and make the whole travel comfortable for both sides. We had a nice and sensible conversation that night that we almost didn't notice we were close to the hotel. My oh my, the whole trip from the airport to the hotel was close to one hour!! Yes, that's how far. There was no traffic and Nabeel was driving quite fast, yet it took us that long to get to our destination - The Federal Hotel in Bukit Bintang.
Anyways, after checking in, I went straight to our room. The moment I was inside the hotel, I suddenly felt so tired again - and at the same time, really sleepy. John was not supposed to arrive till later on that day, so I spent the whole time alone in the room. I wasn't able to fall asleep until, I think, 0330. The room was huge and I felt so alone and empty. All I had in mind the whole time was my husband. Oh, how I couldn't wait at the time for him to be there next to me!! I couldn't wait to see him, hug him, talk to him, and above all, I wanted him so bad, but I know I had to hold back all those emotions. He was on his way anyway. It required a lot of patience out of me, though convincing myself he'll soon be next to me. I was just so over excited to finally see my dearest husband again!!
J arrived at exactly 1330 later on that day. Not on the actual time he first told me he was coming. Supposed to be, he'll be at the hotel at 1000, but he said that the ship was an hour away from the city and he still had to take an hour-long bus ride and a cab to get to the hotel. Mind you, when I realized he wasn't coming yet, I cried. I was crying because I was wanting so bad to see him and I was ... hungry!! You read it right. I haven't had my breakfast and lunch. I wanted to wait for him. So, when he rang the doorbell, I ran to the door and opened it - and there he was!! I kind of acted as if I wasn't that happy to see him - the heck, I was!! I just felt so relieved that he was finally there with me that's why I was in my quiet mood as what he calls it. But the moment J pulled me close to him and hugged me, I gave in to all the feelings I had been holding back since the night before. When I heard him crying, I automatically cupped his face with my hands and wiped his tears away telling him it's all right, we're together now - and then ... we kissed :) We kissed so passionately, neither of us wanted to stop. I loved that moment. And I love how he smiles when we're kissing. I'm sure you already have an idea as to what happened next ;)
We stayed in our room till 1630. We went out for a little walk and looked at stuff and bought some items from stores/shops just near the hotel and we went down to the Delaney's Irish Pub to meet up with his buddies from work at 1700. I was a bit nervous but so excited that I was going to finally meet them in person :) They were all so nice and funny and I must say, I enjoyed my time with them.
After that, we left the group. J and I went to this Indian restaurant and had dinner there, then we went to the Salsa Havana just inside the hotel and played pool. We made a bet - loser will do whatever the winner says or asks ;) I LOST!! Well, yeah, tell me about it!! We went back to our room after finishing the game and to make the loser pay ;) We both went to sleep with a wide, wide smile on our lips...Aww!!
The following day, we went out to look at some more stuff, bought souvenirs, and had lunch at the Planet Hollywood. Then, we went to the Petronas. We didn't know it was that far, because from our hotel, it looked so close, so we decided to walk all the way there. We only found out that we actually walked 2 miles when we were in the cab on our way back. But we had fun, though. We got to see the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and really nice places along the way. We bought souvenirs from the Petronas Souvenir Shop. Later that evening, we had dinner at the Revolving Bintang Restaurant on the 18th floor of the hotel. It was a very romantic dinner - a memorable one for us. Everything was perfect that night, I didn't want it to end. But I had to leave back to the Philippines and J had to go back to the ship. We were still planning on going out that night after our dinner, but we decided to spend our remaining time in our room for more intimate moment together. At 2130 that night, J took me to the airport for my trip back home. It was his first time to experience having me flying out and leaving him behind. And on the phone the following day, he told me how it made him feel after I left and he went back to the hotel alone and I wasn't there anymore. Well, I told him, that's how I always feel every time he leaves back to the States. Now, we both know how it truly feels.
Leaving is hard, but sometimes it is even harder for the ones who are being left behind.
The whole trip was truly a blessing!! Everything could have remained dreams if God wasn't there to help us through. It was an experience that we'll truly remember for the rest of our days. We may haven't gotten a lot of time together, but God made sure we'd get the best out of our short vacation - beautiful memories that are worth-keeping for a lifetime.
That's how the whole trip went. Kind of long, isn't it?! I should have posted about this a long time ago, but I couldn't because there were no photos yet to go with the story. I hope I didn't bore you or anything. And thank you for your time reading :)
SMiLiES | EMOTiCONS COURTESY OF:
1 Sweet Thought☆
I really loved your story. I'm sure you're making more wonderful memories with your other half now :)
You also reminded me of my trips to meet my husband during his deployments. Maybe I should start a blog to share my story
Leave Some Sweet Thoughts
© My WorLd's A Charm