Gunfight and Bullet Train

Looks like a scene from Iraq...except for the red scarf and Chinese face.

Its SAF troops doing an urban warfare show. I was there for the preview of Army Open house. Brings back good old memories of those days. Its been 10 years since I first got enlisted.

Sometimes, we look back for a moment, and then it hits us. Life is like a bullet train.

Centenarian

I was assigned to cover a story on Centenarian with xl 2 days ago. We met 110 year old Teresa Hsu, founder of a non-profit charity organisation and possibly the oldest person in Singapore (We heard that there is a 114 yr old lady who has gone back to China). Mdm Hsu appeared stern at first, but she turned out to be a humorous centenarian who loves to read and has perfect eye sight. Some words from her struck a chord in me. She said someting like this: "people choose to see bad things and miss the beatiful scenes like the birds singing and the leaves on the tree". When asked how she manage to live longer than most people, she whispered: "Try not to have in-laws". I made some portraits of her in her living room which is filled with books (a perfect background which shows her thirst for knowledge), and left her house with much admiration for the oldest person I have met.


Mdm Teresa Hsu

Next, I was assigned (as another colleague couldn't make it back in time) to interview another 2 centenarians with xl for her feature story. I was pretty excited to be able to meet more of these amazing people who was either born in the 19th century, or been through 2 world wars.



Mdm Liow Hup (105 yrs old). Her feet was binded when she was 12, in China.



Mdm Heng Siak Chye (101 yrs old).

Countdown to the Party (Rewind to 5 Aug 07)

Its been tiring since Thao's family arrived on Friday. But I figured that this may be the only time that all of them were here, and there were so much things to do that we just have to keep going till Sunday. Ferrying 20 people around town is no easy task and gathering them after late night shopping at Mustafa takes about half an hour. We just wanted them to have a good time prior to our wedding.

I checked into the Marriott Hotel bridal suite on Saturday (4 Aug 07), getting pretty excited over the whole thing. This is the first time I stayed in a local hotel, and a 5-star one indeed has a impressive suite. We packed food for everyone and ate on the floor of RELC hotel room, much like what her family did at home on special occasions. Cau Tuan, Cau Tien and Bac Danh helped to tie the bridal car flowers and I settled the final guest list. By the time I got to bed, its 2am. I couldn't sleep. I have not been so excited for years. the feeling is like what I had the night before my primay school class go for an excursion to the zoo. I finally fell asleep at 3am.

Felt like I just closed my eyes for a few seconds and it 545am. I got up fast and was ready in my suit (made my Thao's grandfather) waiting for my friends to arrive. Everything went on smoothly on this beautiful Sunday morning. I made my speech, telling the guests our story in english and thanking my family and her in Mandarin and Vietnamese respectively. When I finished, Thao started to speak in Vietnamese, and I was caught by surprise when she broke down in tears on the 1st sentence. It was an emotional moment, and this was the first time I saw her uncles and grandma in tears. I was lost for words. The little girl that in the family which all of them loves and adores so much is someone's wife now. We were officially married...in Singapore (on 5 Aug 07).

The fun was not over after the wedding. We went to Sentosa the next day with her whole family and had a great time. I couldn't believe her grandparents actually took the skyride. They are a very fun-loving family, and Im happy to be a part of them.

The day that the whole family flew back home, we felt a sense of emptiness. All those months of preparations have ended. Suddenly, there isn't much to plan or do. I felt a bit sad, but thats because we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Our family and friends have helped us a great deal for our wedding.I thank each and every one of them for it. The biggest day of our lives is indeed the happiest day of our lives too.

View our Wedding Pictures
Taken by my pal, Ray

Preparation for the Big Day (5 Aug 07)

Its been hectic since I came back from my wedding in Ho Chi Minh city. Been trying to edit the video footage taken in Vietnam and include it into our slideshow at Marriott Hotel on our wedding this coming Sunday (5 Aug 07). Thao's uncle, Cau Tuan and make-up artist Cau Tien arrived on Tuesday for 2 days of outdoor shoot in Singapore before her whole contingent of 18 family members and friends arrive for the Wedding day. The weather was on our side on Wednesday and Thursday and we had a sightseeing (for them) cum photo shoot (for us) throughout the 2 days. We covered Fort Canning, Peirce Resevoir (one of our favourite places), Boat Quay, Botanical Gardens and Labrador Park. The pictures turned out very well. Cau Tuan is a master in background spotting and being a tourist with a fresh eye certainly helps. He is really good is setting up poetic and romantic shots, complimented by the master in model poses, Cau Tien, a perfect combination which beats most local wedding photographers, I must say. All this and alot of fun and jokes in the process makes for a very enjoyable and memorable shoot. I had wanted to do a relax shoot, just covering one or 2 places a day, but I think we enjoyed it so much that we were just went on and on till the sun sets.



See the shots at my Flickr page.