29 JUNE 2007 - Happiest day in my life !

29 June 2007 - the happiest day in my life ! It's the day I signed my life away ! On this day, we gathered together with our family members at the Registrar of Marriage at Putrajaya to officially become husband & wife. It was an emotional 20 minutes, filled with joy and happiness, as we sweared to love each other ever after. The day you sign on the dotted line is the day you truly becomes a man, as you are now responsible for the happiness of your other half. We now live our life as one - Mr. & Mrs. Jason Tham ! As it was also my wife's 28th birthday, we adjourned to our celebratory lunch soon after.

Hot summer days in Hanoi - June 2007

We had planned this trip sometime in Jan 2007. It was not exactly a dream location, but what the heck, we got cheap tickets from AirAsia then, and we haven't been to Hanoi. So about a month before the actual departure in May 2007, we did our itinerary planning and accommodation sourcing on the internet. It was a 4 days, 3 nights trip. We picked a rather new hotel in the heart of the Old Quarters - Hanoi Elegance Hotel. The pictures from their website looks good and we have to say the rooms are indeed pretty comfortable. The staff too were excellent and helpful. The weather in Hanoi was very hot and humid. We spent our time mostly walking and shopping in the Old Quarters and also visited some tourists sites. Vietnamese food was generally good but after a few days, you are certainly to miss the variety of taste of Malaysian fare. Shopping was mostly for house decorative items, oil painting, clothing & silk, etc. Taxis are not cheap, walking around is easy if you don't mind sweating. As Halong Bay was supposed to be a must see, we made a day trip there where we boarded a boat to tour some of the islands there. While there, we visited some floating villages and old limestone caves. It was a very tiring 6 hours journey from Hanoi and back.

Geneva, April 2007 - The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie

We arrived in Geneva on 15 April 2007 by train. It was a 3 hours train ride. As it was a Sunday, all shops were closed. We checked into the Swissotel with spectacular Lake Geneva views. The SIHH watch expo is for trade visitors only and is dominated mostly by Richemont brands eg. Baume & Mercier, IWC, Panerai, Vacheron Constantin, JLC, Mont Blanc etc. As usual, we had back to back meetings from morning to evening. Unlike Basel, we didn't have to take any train, so it was easier and less hectic.

It was also my first time visiting "Watchland", the birthplace of all Franck Muller watches ! We attended the Franck Muller gala dinner featuring a concert by the legendary Tom Jones. We also attended the IWC event featuring the Da Vinci stageplay by Kevin Spacey.

Basel, April 2007 - BASELWORLD 2007

It's that time of the year again, the annual pilgrimage to Basel, in the land of watches - Switzerland ! This time, it's in April. It's also my second trip there. This time, the weather was rather hot. As usual we stayed in Zurich and not in Basel. As usual, everyday we waked up at 6:30am to get ready for breakfast by 7:00am. Get to the train station by 7:30am and board the 8:02am train to Basel. It's an hour ride. By the time we reached Basel, we hopped onto one of the many trams that brought us to the exhibition site. The crowd was tremendous. This time, I knew my way and was easy to navigate through the huge exhibition site to reach my destinations. We visited most of the big brands eg. Patek Philippe, Zenith, Corum, Breitling, Omega, TAG Heuer, Chopard etc.

With back to back appointments from 9:00am onwards, we hardly had time for lunch ! We usually ate whatever we could find inside the brand's booth as there was really no time for us to go for a proper lunch. Anyway, it was no different for me coz I don't really enjoy the food served, it's always beef, venison, fish or duck ! What about pork, chicken, prawns etc, I wondered. After the last appointment at 6:00pm, it's usually dinner with the suppliers till late. Not too late though as we had to catch the 11:00pm train back to Zurich. We stayed 4 days in Basel before moving on to Geneva for our next leg. Basel trip is no fun but sheer work !

SAWADEE KA..............Bangkok, Sept 2006

We had planned for this holiday to celebrate Chloe's birthday which falls in end June. However, due to overwhelming work commitments, the trip finally took off in Sept 2006. It was a free and easy trip and we planned our own accommodation and tour itinerary. The hotel we selected - The President serviced apartment at Sukhumvit Soi 11, turned out to be a pleasant choice. At 2000 Baht a night, we didn't expect 5-star service and facilities, but nonetheless the room was clean and the location excellent! We soon found out that the area was happening. It was about 10 minutes walk to the highly efficient BTS Skytrain - Nana station. As we walked along the road to the BTS, there were several interesting restaurants and nightspots - Contrazzi, Bed Supper Club, Zanzibar, Cheap Charlie's etc.

As this was a purely shopping trip, we spent time visiting most of the shopping destinations including the famous but hot & stuffy Chatuchak market, the ultra lux Siam Paragon, Siam Centre, the affordable Siam Square, the Bangkok version of Sungei Wang Plaza - Mabunkrung (MBK), Central @ Chidlom, etc. Also took the opportunity to visit the watch fair at Emporium Central Chidlom.

Shopping was good but could be better if we had more money! We bought lots of stuff - for him, for her, for our families. Food was in my opinion rather bland. The Thai food back home taste better! Not much choice, Thai food was all hot & spicy.

From KL to Beijing, June 2006

It was my first visit to Beijing, the metropolitan capital of China. I was thrilled. We were here at the courtesy of Zenith. Just like the luxury watch brand, everything about the trip was sheer luxury ! We were put up at the 5-star The Peninsula Beijing and were treated to the best food at 5-star restaurants serving the best Beijing cuisines. Unfortunately, I was not really a fan of Beijing cuisine as I found out during the trip. Beijing cuisine as I came to realized was very different from my regular diet of pork, seafood and chicken. Instead, there were duck's tongue (local delicacy), alfafa grass, cold yam, fish dipped in oil, & the very famous Peking duck!

Food aside, we visited a number of key tourist sites - the not-to-be missed Tianammen Square and the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China at Badaling. Most importantly, we visited the Zenith boutique at the Beijing Grand Hyatt. It was the first Zenith boutique ever ! Elegant and modern, it reflected the Zenith spirit. We also visited some famous mausoleums of past emperors on the outskirts of Beijing.

Didn't expect much shopping but I was wrong! Wangfujing Street was like Orchard Road of Singapore, 700 years old and 1.6km long, the street is filled with shopping centres and small retail outlets selling mostly fashion items. For a good bargain, we went to the famous Xiushui Street shopping centre - the place for all your shopping needs, from souveniers to sneakers, from silk to watches, you get it and you get it cheap.

It was certainly an enlightening and enjoyable trip, opening my eyes to one of the world's largest cities!

Working in Paradise.......Four Seasons Langkawi, June 2006

It was my first visit to Langkawi. The Four Seasons Langkawi as you can see is a paradise. Facing the white sandy beach, the resort comprising mainly of individual 2-storey villas is surrounded by palm trees. Each of us had our own villas equipped with our very own backyard jacuzzi. The room was certainly a honeymoon suite with a view of the beach. A pity Chloe wasn't there with me. We stayed a night and had dinner at the restaurant by the beach. Well, forgot to add, I was there for work ! It would be great if it was for pleasure and I love to go back, if only the villa didn't cost RM1,800 !