Marianna and Hernan hired the string trio Jasmine Strings to play for the ceremony and cocktail hour. They did an outstanding job!

This was such a beautiful wedding ceremony. Their celebrant, Behroze Bilimoria, began with a funny story of how Marianna and Hernan met. I’ll let the rest of the photos speak for themselves. Marianna and Hernan wrote their own vows to each other which they had not shared with each other until this day. Everyone in attendance was so moved by their words, including me. At least I had a giant camera with which to hide my face and my red eyes welling up with tears. Your love and your words are beautiful, Marianna and Hernan!

The guests made their way to the front patio for canapes and drinks while Jeff and I captured the beautiful reception area, all set up for dinner! Of course, with all the pastry chefs and restauranteurs in the family, the cake was one of the priorities! This beauty was made by Bill Penrose, owner of Sweet Connoisseur. Marianna and Hernan said it was by far the most delicious cake they tasted when sampling different bakeries, and the price was right as well!  The wedding favours were, of course, amazing swiss chocolate truffles by the family-owned Neuchatel Chocolates that were specially brought over from the USA for the wedding!

Out on the patio, the sun was turning the sky into an amazing pastel watercolour palette. Jasmine Strings continued to wow us with their beautiful renditions of popular songs. I was very impressed.

Is this view crazy beautiful or what? And we were sure blessed with a pretty epic sunset…

Click on this panorama to view it larger!

Inside, everyone settled in. Marianna told us last year that her two main priorities for the wedding were the photography (thanks Marianna!) and the food. They certainly chose well when they selected the Tea Room as their venue. The Tea Room is, of course, known for its delicious High Tea of finger sandwiches, sweets and scones, but the dinner they served was truly outstanding. Jeff and I felt super lucky to have been given a plate of this food! Bravo, chefs!

The Tea Room has such great ambiance both before and after dark!

We had to grab another fun shot of Marianna and Hernan’s beautiful wedding rings.  Their dear friend Zoe Chicco (whom Marianna calls “designer extraordinaire”) designed the wedding bands for them. Gorgeous! Then, before we knew it, it was time to cut into that delicious cake.

There was no end to the gourmet-ness. More dessert and a delicious cheese platter were brought out!

I love this shot of father and daughter dancing.  Then, it was time for everyone to boogie!

Hernan and his sister had some fantastic dance moves together. Haha, I love this girl!

I love that they brought out their fun giant heart-shaped glasses from their engagement session again too. Great idea!

Marianna and Hernan, we enjoyed being a part of your day tremendously. Thank you so much for letting us be a part of it! Wishing you many, many happy years together.

Friends and family of Marianna and Hernan, leave a comment below (with your email address in the email field) to be notified when the full gallery of images is available for viewing online.

I have to say, after meeting Marianna and Hernan’s families, I can really see where they get their sense of humour and jovial personalities that you may have caught a glimpse of in their engagement session. The whole wedding party was in the BEST happy spirits all day. There was so much laughter, I just loved it. It was partly the laughter, partly the heartfelt emotion at their ceremony, partly the intimate nature of their wedding that had us at the end of the day wishing that somehow we were a part of these two families too. Marianna’s mum has to be the most fun and happy mother-of-the-bride I’ve ever met!

The amazing (and rather famous) celebrity stylist Helen Dowsley did the hair and makeup for the girls, and as you can surely see she did an outstanding job!

Marianna was looking absolutely stunning. Her hairdo was so perfect for her look!

WOW. So gorgeous. Va-va-va-voom!

Marianna was looking like a goddess in her “Athena” gown. Then, suddenly, Marianna’s father opened the door and caught a glimpse of his beautiful daughter. There were tears all around.

My goodness woman, you are drop-dead gorgeous!!

Meanwhile, Hernan was getting ready in his sister’s company over in Mosman. These two were an absolute riot together! You could tell from the get-go that they have a really special bond. It will become even more apparent as you see the day unfold.

While the ladies put the finishing touches on their makeup, Hernan took a chance to take in the beautiful view at Cremorne Point before getting his first look of his bride.

Marianna and Hernan decided to see each other before their ceremony at the Tea Room Gunners Barracks. We absolutely love it when our couples want to do this. Their family members hid away for a short while to give Marianna and Hernan a chance to have a moment alone. A “first look” can be a great way for you and your partner to have an intimate moment away from all your guests. We had Hernan wait with his back turned until Marianna appeared.

Next, we headed to Balmoral Beach to do some bridal party portraits. It was a beautiful breezy day on the bay!

What a good looking group!  We knew how much Hernan and Marianna like jumping photos, so of course we had to do one. Everyone was game! Awesome!

Next, it was time for Bradleys Head, the beautiful hilltop just outside the Tea Room Gunners Barracks.  The view extends from the mouth of Sydney Harbour all the way to the city skyline. It is a stunning spot!

The families arrived early for some photos with the bride and groom before their ceremony. Normally we don’t post many family formals on the blog, but we just love this spot!

I absolutely love Marianna’s mum’s expression in the photo above. She was so happy and so proud! Next up in Part 2 is Marianna and Hernan’s emotional ceremony and their stunning reception. Stay tuned, you’re not going to want to miss this one!

These two also fit another trend I’m noticing among our couples: they are both confident, highly intelligent people. They see each other as soulmates, but they are far from codependent. They share a lot in common, but they still maintain their own strong sense of individuality. They are each other’s best friend. It just warms my heart to see such genuine, sweet people in love!

Esther and Joe live on the north shore and love to take weekend walks between Manly and Shelly Beach.  They even got engaged during one of their normal morning walks, when Joe stopped at the side of the footpath and proposed, taking Esther completely by surprise.  After they told us this, we knew that this spot would be the perfect place for their pre-wedding photo shoot! We lucked out with an extremely warm day—one of the very last of the season. We started amongst the trees near Shelly Beach to stay out of the hot sun for awhile.

Joe told us that he loves sepia-toned images. Jeff and I normally don’t process our images in sepia tone, but we wanted to do some especially for them. I have to say, I’m really digging it! We might have to do more of these now and then!

We asked Joe what he loved most about his bride-to-be, and one thing he mentioned was her beautiful, striking eyes.  I can sure see why. They are incredibly striking and gorgeous!

I can see why these two love strolling along the pathway between Shelly and Manly beach! The relaxed beach vibe here is pretty special. Here is Esther’s beautiful ring, sitting atop one of the little metal sculptures that line the pathway. This is right around the area where Joe popped the question!

We saw this unusual giant flower tree on the side of the road and had to stop for a photo beneath it!

We took a quick drive up to North Head for a few more pictures in the late afternoon sun.

I just love these photos here in the grass. Did I mention Esther’s eyes are amazing?!?

Back down to the beach we went for some sunset shots.

We ended the session right back at their exact proposal spot!

With the sun below the horizon and the beautiful twilight light bathing Manly Beach, Esther and Joe were just as keen as we were to hop over the fence, scramble over the rocks, and finish up with a panorama of the beautiful view! Click on the image to below to “enhance”.

Esther and Joe are getting married by the sea in just a few short months. Congratulations to you guys, and we can’t wait for your big day! Leave a congratulatory note below for Esther and Joe, and tell us which is your favourite image of these two lovebirds!

This is the very spot that Nic and Fred stood when they first locked eyes.  I said something about how romantic and sentimental it was, and then they both said something to the effect of, “Yeah, who would have thought that a boozy night out on the town would lead to this day?” Haha, I love these two!

After the Argyle we wandered down to the harbour edge for some sunset shots with the must-have icon of the Sydney skyline.

Then came one of my favourite parts of the night. While we had been snapping photos in the Rocks, Nic and Fred’s guests had been at the pub wondering where the reception was going to be.  That’s right, Nic and Fred kept the location a secret and told their guests to report to the Rose Bay marina at a specific time.  They were greeted at the dock by The Blue Room, one of Sydney’s newest harbour dining vessels.  With the guests already on board and out at sea, we had only one option of course… to meet them in the middle of the harbour!  This jumbo water taxi picked us up and shuttled us out to meet the ship.  It was perfect timing with sunset and it felt like we were characters in a James Bond movie, dressed in our finery, setting out to infiltrate the fancy party and take down the bad guy… OK, maybe that was just me. But it was pretty cool and certainly glamourous!

After zooming away from the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, we finally got our first glimpse of the reception venue…

The downstairs dining area looked stunning, decked out with white orchids by Butterfly Philosophy, and a magnificent cupcake tower by Burnt Sugar Cupcakes. They looked YUM!

When the skies went dark and the lights came on, it looked even more magical.

Up on top of the boat, the retractable roof was wide open and everyone was enjoying the beautiful warm evening under a starry night sky.

Nic and Fred’s family and friends had an amazing line up of speeches in store for them. So many kind words and good laughs!

During dinner, we were treated to a brief and unexpected fireworks display! Luckily we were poised with our telephoto lens on the roof at just the right moment in between the speeches!

And, I just have to say, these desserts right here are the most delicious thing ever. We got to try them on a reconnaissance mission of the Blue Room prior to the wedding. So, we know they must serve them all the time. They are kind of like a berry pavlova with ice cream and chocolate bits. OMG. It’s almost worth booking this cruise ship just for the dessert alone!

After the speeches, it was time for their first dance!

And then, the party got started!

Of course, being on a boat in the harbour meant spectacular views galore!

Nic and Fred, your wedding was truly fabulous. Thank you so much for having us as your photographers! We wish you a lifetime of happiness! Do you have a favourite moment from Nic and Fred’s wedding? Leave a comment below and tell us what it is!

Friends and family of Nic & Fred, leave a comment below (with your email address in the email field) to be notified when the full gallery of images is available online for viewing.

The day began with the girls getting ready at the very beautiful (and thematically appropriate) Blue Hotel in Woolloomooloo.  The room was bustling all morning, but the bridal party remained relaxed and in great spirits.

Mark of Marked Hair Salon did a fabulous job styling the ladies ‘do’s.  Katherine of DIVA Creations and Nic’s friend Sally did a great job on the ladies’ makeup. I was also super excited to see the floral creations by the wonderful Elaine of Butterfly Philosophy Flowers & Styling. The bouquets looked absolutely perfect!

Nic and Fred were a joy to photograph. I just love Nic. She is confident, she is sassy, she is classy, and she is fun! Fred is cool, calm and collected, and as you’ll see, oh-so-in-love with his bride.

Nic looked absolutely beautiful! Her father’s reaction when he saw her was so sweet.

The ladies were looking hot! Meanwhile, Fred and the boys getting ready nearby at the Woolloomooloo Waters Apartments.

As it turned out, none of the boys could work out how to tie the infamous double windsor! Somehow, the guy who had trouble with his own tie before our wedding (my hubby Jeff) managed to straighten them out after a few goes.

A little speech reviewing never hurt!

Nic and Fred’s beautiful church ceremony was held at St Mary Magdalene’s in Rose Bay.

It was so sweet to see Fred trying to hold back tears when he saw his wife-to-be for the first time that day.

After the touching ceremony, Nic and Fred had an amazing surprise for their family and friends up their sleeves for the reception. If the “Blue Room” doesn’t mean anything to you, let’s just say it’s not your traditional ballroom reception venue. And the way they got there was like something straight out of a James Bond movie! We can’t wait to share with you in Part 2, but for now, let’s congratulate Nic and Fred on this next step in their journey together. Share your thoughts or leave a message for them in the comments below!

Out here, the majority of the few vehicles on the road were mining trucks, like the one on the side of the road above. In fact, due to a mix-up at the car rental company, that truck is the very truck we used for our journey through Western Australia! It was fun camping and driving around in a mining vehicle and feeling a sense of camaraderie with every mining truck that passed us by.

As we approached the coast, the landscape began to change from dry deserts to grasslands. The dirt became less red and less dry and we saw more signs of the rains that recently drenched the landscape.

And where there’s rain, there’s bugs! We spotted this beautiful praying mantis on our tent one morning near the Nanutarra Road House where we camped. In fact, these guys were absolutely everywhere, along with millions—if not billions—of grasshoppers and dragonflies.

On some stretches, the grassy fields besides the road were littered with termite mounds as far as the eye could see. The density of termite mounds conjured images of an alien landscape.

Unfortunately, not all bugs survived their encounter with us. As we drove down the road, huge numbers of these giant insects leapt and flew out of the grasses and in front of our truck, battering our windscreen in a continuous mesmerising whirl. The grill of our truck was splattered with some of the biggest grasshoppers and dragonflies we’ve ever seen! And of course, no adventure to the Australian outback is complete without a horde of flies to annoy the heck out of you at every corner.

We drove for hours and hours due west into the path of the setting sun. The sun was so intense, even near the horizon, that it became so difficult to see the road that we had to eventually pull over and wait it out!

Nearly 900 kilometers away from our entry point into Western Australia, we began to see signs of civilization again! We got to tick the Big Prawn off the random list of Big Things that residents in Australian country towns have erected for the delight of tourists the world over.

We zipped through Exmouth and over the tip of the cape to Cape Range National Park and found secluded beaches like this everywhere.  It was quite unique to see a beautiful, tropical turquoise sea lapping onto desert sand dunes. We took a dip at this beach here, along with some playful (but shy) turtles! Unfortunately, they were too shy for the camera… but it was pretty neat.

We got to set up our tent just right over the sand dunes near the beach.

Some amazing snorkeling awaited us the next day! We spent most of our time at beautiful Turquoise Bay, where the drift snorkel proved to be quite possibly the best snorkeling spot we’ve ever been to.  You walk all the way to one end of the beautiful beach, hop in the water, and let the gentle currents slowly take you down the beach.  When you get to the sand bar at the other end, you hop out and run up the beach to do it all over again!  There was no shortage of beautiful creatures, including nudibranchs (that colourful slug you see below) and turtles. Erin did get zapped by a harmless-but-still-stingy orange-coloured jellyfish like the one you see below—the first jellyfish sting either of us have gotten in 5+ years in Australia! But even with that, this snorkel spot was awesome. We must have done the drift snorkel at least six times!

The next day was the highlight of our time in the Ningaloo Reef! I had long ago dreamed of swimming with whale sharks thanks to my endless obsession with nature documentaries. But I never thought it would be a real possibility until we learned of their very predictable and reliable arrival every year just in time for the coral spawning in Ningaloo Reef. But even then, it still seemed like a far-fetched possibility. Would we even glimpse a whale shark, let alone swim with one? Well, there was only one way to find out.

We booked an all-day tour with Ningaloo Blue Charters, which we would highly recommend. They even had a whale shark research specialist on board the day we went out, who told us all about these gentle giant fish.  Once the spotter planes in the air caught a glimpse of the whale shark, our boat would zip over to the area and a “tracker” would jump in. A “tracker” is a person with mad swimming skills whose job was to follow the whale shark whilst holding one arm into the air so we knew where the whale shark was headed. As we soon learned, the whale sharks were deceptively fast. The boat would then position itself in the tracker’s path while us snorkelers sat on the back all geared up and ready to go.  Then someone on board would shout, “Now! Now! Go! Go!” We’d all jump in, look around aimlessly until we spotted the giant, get the heck out of its way, and then swim like mad to try to keep up! All while trying to film it on my little point-and-shoot so we could share it with you guys! It was AMAZING!!!

Having both grown up on the west coast of the United States, Erin and I both miss sunsets over the ocean now that we live on the east coast of Australia. So we definitely seized the opportunity while in Western Australia to catch the pretty sunsets over the water. The photos above and below are from the beautiful (and tiny) town of Coral Bay. We caught a glimpse of life in this remote and relaxed beach town on the edge of the desert. I love the way these locals think!

We only got to scratch the surface of what Western Australia had to offer (after all, it makes up more than one third of the Australian land mass), but boy was it an adventure! We can’t wait to go back. Leave us a comment to tell us what you think of the Ningaloo Reef and tell us where we should visit next!

It turns out that flying out to the Ningaloo Reef or anywhere on the north-west coast (Exmouth, Karratha, or Carnavon) during school holidays is rather expensive, so we took a cheaper flight into the small mining town of Newman, about 900 kilometers inland.

We thought we had seen red dirt during our 2009 trip to the Northern Territory, but it rather paled in comparison (pun somewhat intended) to the deep, dark, extremely rusty color of the dirt of this corner of the country. You can tell why they mine iron out here! In fact, Newman is home to Mt Whaleback mine, the largest open cut iron ore mine in the world!

Flying into Newman meant we could check out a national park famous for its beautiful gorges—Karijini National Park. Sparkling rock pools, waterfalls, and heaps of adventure awaited us in this red outback oasis. The landscape in Karijini was quite different to other desert national parks we’ve seen, such as the ones in southern Utah in the USA. To put it simply, we were expecting to see something resembling mountains. But driving along the roads in Karijini all you can see is flat ground topped with a surprising amount of greenery. It’s not until you get quite close to a gorge that you realise what lies below. Below you can see the view of Joffre Gorge from Oxer Lookout. See that waterfall at the end? That’s where we were headed!

The cool shade and subterranean swimming holes that dot the gorges of Karijini provide much appreciated relief from the intense desert sun. But as we soon discovered, we weren’t the only creatures who found solace here. Although we never had the fortune of encountering the pythons and other snakes that supposedly live here, we did find insects of respectable size… heaps of colourful dragonflies and a massive centipede!

It was quite an adventure hiking through the gorges and there were photo opportunities around every corner. The colour of the rocks was so striking and the endless cascade of streams and waterfalls were mesmerising. Here we are trekking through Kalamina Gorge:

One of our favourites was the hike through Weano Gorge. The gorge got narrower and narrower the further we went, eventually shrinking to a narrow crack in an otherwise impenetrable red wall before opening up to a massive swimming hole known as Handrail Pool, so-called because you better hang onto that handrail if you want to make it into that pool alive! I imagine the original explorers called it “Slip, Slide and Die Pool” before the convenient handrail was installed. Handrail notwithstanding, I had a close call with our trusty camera bag! But as evident from the photos below, the camera gear survived the harrowing experience!

I was amazed to find so much greenery in Karijini, amidst the red rock and soil that dominated the surrounding desert landscape. Here, the plant-life seemed to thrive in abundance and contributed to the rich colour palette of the area. What also thrived were termites—littered all across the landscape were gigantic termite mounds like those you can see here, some reaching two metres in height! This part of Australia felt so different and is quite certainly the most untouched part of the earth we’ve yet experienced. It felt so wild, so empty, so rugged, so incredibly quiet and peaceful.

We must have been lucky to visit during a particularly wet year. Although our camping experience may have been easier without all the thunderstorms we experienced, all that rain served to fill up all the gorges. Below, you can see some of the magnificent waterfalls and pools in Dales Gorge:

Some of my favourite photos come from Hancock Gorge (below). It was quite tricky hiking through sometimes waist-deep water over slippery rocks with all of our camera gear, but it is all worth it in the end when you get to magical places like these and have them all to yourself!

Thunderstorms usually also mean dramatic clouds… and dramatic clouds means awesome sunrises and sunsets!

We did, however, luck out with a couple of clear nights. And being hundreds of kilometers from civilization means we were rewarded with some spectacular stargazing! Erin always gets excited when we’re remote enough to see the Magellanic Clouds (the fuzzy blob just above our tent is the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy).

Karijini was a remarkable place and served as a great first half to our Western Australia adventure. Part 2 is coming to the blog soon, where we’ll share one of our most memorable experiences ever. I’ll give you a hint… freaking whale sharks! But for now, tell us what you think of Karijini National Park… have we tempted you to visit?

Then we were off to Bangkok! Day two of Songkran meant the festival was in full swing. We got used to the fact that we would be soaking wet within five minutes of leaving our accommodation. Every street was lined with grinning, water-logged groups of people standing outside their home or shop, staring down passersby with a look that said, “I’m gonna get you!” Songkran must be every Thai child’s favourite holiday. Think of what fun to have complete permission to soak anyone and everyone and make the biggest water mess possible. So many families participated together and you could tell they were all having a ball. But for us non-waterproof camera-toting tourists, the constant threat of soaking did make sightseeing more challenging. We started to plan our walks around town like a stealth mission, crossing streets at strategic points to avoid getting drenched. By day three, the locals were ruthless. Even my desperate plea, “I HAVE A CAMERA! PLEEASE!” was met with giggles and gallons chucked in our direction. It was quite an experience!

Bangkok definitely has the most colourful taxis on the planet. The city was also much more modernised that I was expecting. Here’s the view from where we stayed.

But the colourful taxis haven’t completely replaced Bangkok’s iconic tuk tuks, also painted in vibrant hues.

Signs of Bangkok’s cultural roots were also around every corner, mixed in with the modern skyscrapers. We visited Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha, which features the largest reclining Buddha in the world.

In Part 1 we mentioned eating from a street stall or two, and it’s a definite must on any visit to Thailand. The streets of Bangkok are covered with food stalls selling all kinds of various meals, snacks and drinks. Here is Jeff buying a serve of jackfruit.

And of course I had to gorge on the delicious Thai Iced Tea that was everywhere. A very long time ago, I blogged about this drink when we moved to Australia and it seemed unavailable in Sydney Thai restaurants and it had me wondering if it was in fact an American invention like “California Roll” sushi. We have of course since found it in many restaurants here (it seems many restaurants have recently added it to the menu) and it is indeed a very Thai drink. I’m sure it is terrible for you as it is loaded with sugar and sweetened condensed milk, but it is delicious, and also a wonderful accompaniment to spicy dishes. It was really fun to watch them make it the traditional way!

Like many tourists do, we also went to see a Kathoey cabaret show. Kathoeys are also known as “ladyboys”. In Buddhist Thai culture they are more accepted in society than their transgender counterparts in many Western and other Asian countries, although sadly they still face much societal and legal discrimination in Thailand. The show was good fun and their performances were impressive!

The most impressive performer was this Marilyn lookalike. Um, wow!

Once we heard about a cocktail bar called Sirocco on top of one of Bangkok’s tallest buildings, we knew we had to go check it out. The roof of this building also featured a fancy restaurant, all in the open air. We all felt very James Bond for about an hour or so. We were just missing the tuxedos and evening gown…

The next day we hired a driver to take us out to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets which made for a fantastic day. We floated around the canals, where we could shop directly from the boat! Of course there was no shortage of delicious food and exotic fruit to sample…

The boys insisted on posing with this giant snake. Eeeesh… I just took the photos.

For another day trip, we headed inland to Kanchanaburi to visit the local wildlife. An elephant ride was on our must-do list! We felt a bit bad for the elephants though, since the day we were there the temperature had to have been about 50°C (that’s 120°F for you yanks reading).

After the elephants, we arrived at the main attraction for the day: the Tiger Temple, a Buddhist temple and animal sanctuary. Jeff found out about this place, and when he first told me about it, my reaction was “No way, we’re not going there, that’s crazy!” But sure enough the boys talked me into it, and in the end I am really glad that we went. The Tiger Temple started when some orphaned cubs were left with the monks, but has since grown to house a ton of tigers that you can get up close and personal with. Really up close and personal. The day began with the monks walking the tigers into the main viewing area. We had to stay behind the tiger and could only touch their back (not anywhere near their head). A bit scary, but there were SO many staff, who presumably would let themselves be eaten before the tourists!

This gentle pre-teenage tiger lounged in the shade and acted in some ways like a gigantic playful house cat.  She would bat at her caretaker occasionally in a playful way.

The bit of shade where we were in the photo below was a rare bit. There were actually hardly any trees around, and we were there on a 50°C day, right up there in heat-stroke territory. As such the big cats were verrrry sleepy in the height of the day. We did see them “exercising” later in the afternoon, which you can see below! Here we are with some sleepy teenagers:

Then came the really big cats. We had to choose who in the group would have the tiger’s head in their lap, and Chris won the game of rock-paper-scissors. I wasn’t too heartbroken that I lost.

The absolute best part of the day, however, was a special afternoon session bottle feeding the BABIES! There were six cubs all together, two were only two months old and the other four were four months old. They were sooooo cute I didn’t know what to do with myself!

I mean, just look at that little face! I doubt you could get this close to tiger cubs anywhere else on the planet. It was pretty special. The cubs were so little, but their paws were the size of our adult hands. Their deep “baby” growling noises were adorable yet very worthy of respect.

Feeding them was not as easy as we thought it would be, but boy was it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The idea of picking up the cubs surprisingly never crossed my mind, or the minds of anyone else in our group for that matter. But as we were leaving, this boy didn’t think twice!

I definitely tried to delay leaving the baby enclosure as long as possible when they said time was up. But then we got to have a last glimpse of the big guys during their “exercise” period while the staff dangled toys on sticks in front of them, encouraging them to jump and play around in the water. We of course watched this portion through a fence!

Travelling around Thailand was definitely a trip we will always remember. Even though I may have griped a little bit as we waded through the intense heat and the buckets of water thrown upon us, I have to say that every travel adventure we’ve had with extremes has made it all the more memorable. Where on your travels have you experienced something “extreme” that you’ll always remember?

We flew into Phuket with one of our mates, Matt, just days before the Songkran festival, which celebrates the Thai new year each April. The rest of the world celebrates New Year’s Day, but that’s not nearly enough celebration for the Thais. Each Songkran lasts for a full THREE days, and involves the throwing of water. Yes, the throwing of water. We’ll get to that in Part 2. Of course, it makes total sense why they have this tradition each April, and I’ll explain why…

Our plane landed sometime after 9:00pm in Phuket. Freshly spray-tanned for the first time (OK, not Jeff) and eager to get our hands on some authentic Thai food, we chatted excitedly in the comfortable cool of the airport terminal. We grabbed our luggage, and as we emerged from the throngs of taxi and minivan drivers at the airport exit we were blasted by a wall of humidity. This was humidity like I’ve never before experienced—thick, pea-soup humidity. I had experienced humidity before elsewhere, and I’m certainly used to heat having grown up as a “desert rat” in California’s Coachella Valley where it wasn’t uncommon for summer temperatures to reach 50°C. But Thailand in April is a different beast. Be wary of those Phuket resorts claiming a “free sauna” as it could very well be a convenient loophole in advertising.

A very friendly cab driver dropped us off at our accommodation in Surin Beach at nearly 11:00pm and the cream-of-potato-soup humidity had not lifted in the slightest. In fact, to me it felt even hotter. I could not wait to order some authentic Thai food, and luckily we found a local establishment still willing to cook up some grub for us. I was amazed that our stroll down the street resulted in the same quantity of sweat as my normal hour-long Taekwondo class. In an effort to let my body cool down I tried not to move, but it wasn’t helping much as I soaked into the seat cushion, wondering why the restaurant had not chosen metal chairs. I began to feel my newly airbrushed glow slowly melting off of me like a paprika-and-butter glaze oozing off of a thanksgiving turkey.

Now, if you know Jeff and me, you know we love our chili peppers. But on this particular night, my excited declaration of “I’m going to order some Larb!” caused Jeff and Matt to shoot me a “you’re crazy” look as they sipped their cold beers. For those who haven’t tried the delicious dish that is Larb, it consists of ground meat (usually chicken or pork), fresh mint, coriander, red onion, citrus juices, and LOTS of fresh chili. It is acidic and HOT. I dove into the dish, which was indeed extremely spicy and piping hot. Mid-way through the dish I began to feel a bit dizzy as my internal temperature rose with each bite. I once again proclaimed my love for Thai food as the beads of sweat emerged from my hairline, rolled down my forehead and dribbled off my chin.

That night I thanked the heavens (or, our friend Wilson) for booking a hotel with air conditioning. Oh, the luxury of not sleeping in a puddle of your own sweat! Here’s where we stayed. We spent a fair amount of time in that nice pool!

The next day felt a bit more tolerable for this desert rat as it was more chili-pepper hot and less potato-soup humid. We were reunited with our old pals Chris and Wilson and hit the blazing sands of the local beach.

And when I say blazing, I mean that quite literally. Running across the beach required one to wet the soles of one’s feet first, like preparing for a walk across hot coals. We lounged for as long as we could in the shade of a forest of cotton beach umbrellas, and snacked on some more insanely spicy, fresh and delicious papaya salad from a street stall.

Here’s some evidence of the heat in the form of Wilson’s sweat-mustache. Haha!

Then we plunged into the bathtub that was the Indian Ocean. Now, for those who know how big of a wimp I am with the cold, you’ll be familiar with my easy 8-step ocean-entrance procedure:

Step 1: Slowly approach ocean. Dip toe.

Step 2: Retreat

Step 3: Dip same toe, pause

Step 4: Dip whole foot

Step 5: Retreat and wince

Step 6: Dip ankles

Step 7: Remove one foot, wince

Step 8: Repeat and continue until submerged

My usual (and painful) slow slip into the ocean was replaced, for the first time ever, by a glorious full-body flop into the water. Ahhh, Thailand, I think I love you.

We also had to go check out the nearby town of Patong, a touristy mess of wires and neon lights, and plaster, paper mâché and paint-laden establishments that lended a disneyland-like feel. Though the aesthetics left something to be desired, it was still a fun sight to see!

The next day we ventured out on a day trip to the beautiful Phi Phi Islands, where the popular Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach was filmed. Somehow I had not seen the movie until just a few weeks before our trip. It was actually pretty amazing to see how different the island and beach looked in real life.

We also got up close and personal with some cute monkeys, a spot on the tour advertised as a highlight. There were many of them on the tiny beach, although we were dismayed to see how much the tourists and tour guides fed them. These monkeys were drinking cans of coke and many were visibly sick. Please everyone, no matter where you travel, please don’t ever feed the wildlife!

On our final day in Phuket, it was time for some obligatory scooter riding. We buzzed around the island in our swimmers, delighting in the breeze when the bikes were moving. Petrol stations were a new experience!

We shook hands (and had a neck hug) with an adorable baby elephant that we happened to come across on the side of the road:

We had another insanely hot and delicious mid-day lunch by the roadside:

Saw some beautiful views:

And had a watergun fight with a couple of kids! (And with ourselves).

Oh, and some more papaya salad for good measure.

After our delightful few days in Phuket, it was time to head to Bangkok. Our last day in Phuket also marked the start of Songkran, which was quite an experience! Stay tuned for Part 2 to hear all about it and see what else we got up to, including one of the biggest highlights of the trip: PLAYING WITH BABY TIGERS! Yep, you heard that right. Baby tigers. Coming soon.

Minnah and Phil are polar opposites in some ways and just alike in others. Phil loves to cook but hates washing up, while Minnah prefers the opposite.  He likes documentaries and UFC while she prefers American TV sitcoms. On the other hand, they both love nights in, sharing a meal and enjoying their new home together.  They love to play games with each other, especially Words With Friends, but they both admit to cheating! Phil even claims Minnah has resorted to cheating at thumb wrestling. Haha!

There were a lot of fun and colourful murals around Cockatoo Island when we visited.  We wandered to the upper part of the island and found some more really neat spots, including these interesting old silos.

Yes, they are adorable together, but I think what makes me smile the most is that you can tell Minnah and Phil just adore each other. It’s so sweet the way Minnah smiles at Phil and the way Phil stares lovingly at his bride-to-be. Awww!

As we wandered around all the old buildings, we happened upon this empty room and the first thought that Jeff and I both had was that it looked like a room meant for dancing! Minnah and Phil got right to work practicing their first dance:

It was actually a pretty hot day for this shoot!  We stopped for a bit in the shade of these lovely Frangipani trees.  It’s been so wet this summer that I’ve hardly noticed them this year, but these two trees were fully in bloom and smelling amazing.  Love this shot of the two of them on the bench!

This building had one of the only staircases on the whole island that wasn’t fenced off somehow. Loved the light in this spot!

Whenever we suggested to Phil that he should run or jump, he was always up for it.  Man, he can jump really high too!

Shortly after the photo above was taken, enroute to the ferry pick-up point, we nearly got attacked by a bunch of seagulls! Yes, seagulls. I have never seen a seagull that angry until that day.  Apparently we got too close to a nest hidden behind a giant mural and they started dive-bombing us.  Jeff nearly got a photo (or nearly got his camera lens scratched, or his eye pecked out) and we all ran a little faster towards our ferry.  Hah! We took the ferry over a few stops to Balmain, where we walked to Ballast Point Park for a few sunset shots. Similar to Cockatoo Island, Ballast Point Park has a few interesting industrial-looking features and definitely some nice views. Minnah and Phil decided it was time to break out the giant lollipop that they had brought along. Haha!

At Ballast Point Park there is an interesting “wall” covered in padlocks, many of them inscribed with wedding dates. How sweet!

There is also a mysterious cement structure with small holes in it, through which I grabbed these shots.

And even after several hours walking and climbing around Cockatoo Island in the sun and riding the ferry, Minnah’s hair was still looking gorgeous, natural and sexy!  I would love to know your secret, Minnah…

Minnah and Phil, thanks for another super fun afternoon! You guys make such a cute couple and will make a very beautiful bride (and groom) come May. We can’t wait!  For all of you reading, do you have a favourite shot from this session, or from the last one? Let us know in the comments!