October 3rd, 1999, I embarked on a new journey of my life stories. It has been 10 years since and nothing much has changed maybe except for a few 'faint' laugh lines, frown lines, dilated pores and what have you. A colleague saw Hubby for the first time and commented that we don't look like married couple especially since I told her it's been a decade since we exchanged our wedding vows. Hmm... she said it's a compliment and so I took her word for it. Of course like all marriages there are up and down moments and the rule of thumb for me is to never give up trying to make the most out of the relationship and never stop trusting each other. Because when either of it fails then trouble bestows.
Before
Celebrated the special day at Angsana Bintan Resort. Ferry ride was comfortable, however, the weather was gloomy and rained shortly after we arrived at the resort. Thankfully the sun was out again an hour later and we made our way to the beach for some Vitamin D therapy. Since we were not planning for a romantic (and expensive) dinner by the South China Sea we were happy to feast on seafood BBQ by the beach, but it started pouring near dinner time so we had to make do with buffet at the resort's one and only cafe. To sum it up, the service far exceeds the meal. No need to elaborate I believe.
If there ever is a reason I need to head back to Bintan again it's definitely the spa that's luring us back. I've heard so much raving reviews of the award-winning spa that the pre-requisite for staying at Angsana is only if I could book my treatments and so I did. Plus, I managed to book the outdoor pavilion! Ooh la la. The masseur, Athi, was one of the best I've had; her strokes were firm and at the same time gentle enough for me. That coupled with the nice weather and by that I don't mean the sun, instead it was raining, so, imagine the sound of raindrops hitting against the cemented floor and the wind blowing against freshly scrubbed and well moisturized skin. I was quickly transported to dreamland, soundly asleep but not too deep to still be able to enjoy the experience. One session is definitely not enough so we headed back for an hour of Indian Head Massage the next day to loosen up the tense shoulders and give the tresses its much needed pampering treat. Again, it was a delighting experience.
Lunched Banyan Tree just before we headed home. Contrary to the negative reviews on TripAdvisor the food was pretty decent - good but not great. However, if there's one item I will advice against ordering that would be the beef burger. The patty was a letdown as it dry and hence tough and the only saving grace on the plate was none other than fries. Ask for alfresco dining and you won't regret it comes with a panoramic view of the South China Sea, a feast for the sight.
After
Quotes of wisdom and wit...
'Our marriage was many years ago but our celebration continues till this day' ~ Gene Perret
'Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing' ~ Goethe
'Love is blind, marriage is the eye-opener' ~ Pauline Thomason
'It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life' ~Rita Rudner
And this is for the husbands out there...
'Only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. One is to let her think she is having her own way, the the other, to let her have it' ~ Lyndon B. Johnson