Edie & John Summey



Edie & John are a very special couple and friend to Adrian & myself. During Adrian's college days in Southern Illinois University (SIU) at Carbondale, he stayed with them and learned many valuable life lessons there. They have helped nurture him into the person he is today and have continued supporting him in every aspect of his life and now, mine. They're akin to our adoptive parents while our real parents are at home, thousands of miles away from us.

John is a Professor at SIU and was recently honored with the most distinguished "Teacher of the Year" Award; a recognition he fully deserved for the years of hardwork and dedication he has put it for the school and his students, both past & present.

Edie is also an accomplished educator in her own field of study and a certified professional scuba diver. Being a very experienced diver, she and John have swum with millions of underwater life and sea creatures from coral polyps to the great white shark. She has a beautiful blog about her travels to dive sites all over the world. She definitely has more albums than what is posted in there! Her underwater shots are impeccable.

They introduced me to my first American Thanksgiving in 2003.

Here's John cooking up a storm. Please beware: He is a GOOD cook! No short-cuts in the Summey kitchen. Everything is prepared, cooked & presented in a precise manner.

Roasted sweet yams with brown sugar

Roasted turkey in full regalia :)...yum, yum!


Edie & John are also avid travellers and have a GREAT sense of adventure. John is the first westerner I know who enjoys eating durians i.e. Malaysian king of fruits with thorny skin & very pungent smell. But, on this hot, dog days of summer, I turn to their vacation photos in Arctic Bay to mentally cool down... ahhh!


John & Edie next to their Qumatik (sled)



Here is Edie getting into the 28.8 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 0 degrees Celsius) water in the North Pole.


No live polar bear sighting (only one dead polar) so here's their own version

Polar bear foot prints!


It has been 3 years since we visited Edie & John in Carbondale. They stopped by New Jersey two years ago and we were able to return their kind hospitality.

Here's Edie enjoying M'sian food at Satay...Yes, that's kangkung belacan and beef rendang. Followed by ice-kacang. Yum!

John enjoying a simple home-cooked meal in our apartment :)


THANKS FOR YOUR WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIP!

Razed to the Grounds

Even though I am in Jersey, I still have very good friends who keep me up-to-date with home news. Last night, I received a phone call from my brother who informed me that one of my hometown's oldest institution The Sarawak Club had burnt down.

The Club's mainhall with all its wooden structure and historical memorabilias, restaurants and watering holes were destroyed. Adrian & I celebrated had our wedding reception at the Hornbill Restaurant a couple of years ago.

These photos - courtesy from friends back home...thanks ladies.

Looking at these pictures, I question the efficiency of Kuching's fire houses and the security guards at the Club. The nearest fire house is just 5 minutes away and considering that the fire allegedly happened early in the morning and there's no heavy traffic at this hour, why weren't they able to quickly arrive at the scene and reduce the losses?

Was it because:

(a) Sarawak Club guards were sleeping on their job;

(b) Firemen were sleeping on their job;

(c) Equipment used (fire trucks) not powerful enough to handle the blaze and/or fire hydrant coughs out water ala spring showers only;

(d) Inexperienced firemen working on scene; or,

(e) All of the above

Some might say that the Club is a snobby institution for the rich and privileged but whether you like it or not, it's still an endearing historical landmark for Kuching City, being 130 years old. Sad to see the old wing and the newly renovated areas destroyed.

Crazy about magnets

I like to keep souvenirs of places I've visited. Some people collect key chains, t-shirts, beer/bar coasters, matches, postcards, etc. but I prefer magnets. I put them on my refrigerator door to remind me of my trip...


So what happens when I run out of space on the fridge? Well, I'll have to buy a bigger one next time..! Ha, ha :)

Bon voyage Vegas!
Tuesday, July 18th. 2006

We left the hotel at 11.00 a.m. after a quick buffet breakfast. Food is cheap here. Everywhere you go, you'll see under $10 buffets or meal of steak and lobster for $10.



Last sight of Nevada....bye, bye!

Don't expect any full meal service on domestic flights here (unless you're traveling on first class). No frills flight whenever you're domestic bound in the U.S. & has been since the stoneages - now you know where Air Asia copied their business operations from. Plus, you have to pay $5 for an alcoholic beverage and a bit less for head sets in order to view your movie. But, we got free head sets on that day since the head stewardess screwed up her videos. What a torture to see Antonio Banderas in "Take the Lead" twice...!



And a dead pest for company :(...


The End...
I am not going to inundate this blog with anymore Vegas photos, so you've to check out my flickr site for more travel photos next month. I have maxed out my monthly allocated MBs. Arghh..!

Las Vegas - Day 6
Monday, July 17th. 2006

Our last day. Sob! Sob! Honestly, I missed NJ's cooler weather but I'm truly gonna miss the fun & excitement of Las Vegas. Atlantic City is no match.

Photo on the left is of the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. The mall is impressive with naked statues greeting customers at the entrance but the price tags are through the roof for 80% of the shops in here.

We started the day here and made our way to Bellagio and its magnificent lake & musical fountain (see photo below). Say, Ocean's 13 is in production but there was no sign of Danny Ocean & gang though. After Bellagio, we visited Aladdin's Desert Passage and Paris Las Vegas.



Paris Las Vegas...Arc de triomphe, mini-Eiffel and inside the hotel casino


Later, we rushed back to Stratosphere for our complimentary Viva Las Vegas show at 4 p.m. The Deuce was extra slow today and we missed so many chances to board it due to over-crowding. Luckily, we made it to the Theatre of the Stars 1 or 2 minutes after 4. Pheew...! As usual no cameras during the show but afterwards Adrian had a photo-op with the VIVA showgirls.

On our last night, we had dinner at Stratosphere's Top of the World Restaurant. It's a revolving restaurant and it took about one hour to complete a full rotation. Great food, great service at a price, of course. Had the booth seat so we didn't have to turn our heads to look out. Hee..hee!

Las Vegas - Day 5
Sunday, July 16th. 2006

Day after the big bash...

Like I said earlier on, our challenge was to find all the interesting attractions and visit the themed-hotels along LV Boulevard. Since we're not gamblers, we took to the sights during our last 2 remaining days here.

The first three places we went to today were Mandalay Bay, Luxor & Excalibur were (thank goodness!) connected by a tram so we didn't have to walk under the hot sun. There wasn't much in Mandalay Bay apart from the man-made beach and fake waves so I'll skip to Luxor. As the name suggest, everything is Egyptian in this hotel resort & casino.

We gave New York, New York a pass (since we are from the East Coast, anyway) and headed straight to MGM Grand. Apparently one of the lions in here is the descendant of the lion in the original MGM Studio logo. They didn't tell us which one though...

Fremont Street Experience

Just 5 minutes from our hotel; this is the older part of downtown Las Vegas. It has 5 blocks of thrills i.e. lots of casinos (what's new!), countless bars/lounges and all this underneath the gigantic VIVA VISION; biggest big screen on earth with 90 feet overhead, blasting state-of-the-art light and sound shows every night. Music was so catchy I felt like dancing too :)

Las Vegas - Day 4 (Sui & David's Wedding Day, Part IV, Finale)

Cutting their wedding cake, garter toss & curtain call

And after lots of dancing and boozing; the reception ended at 1 a.m. & everybody went back to their hotels via a comfortable ride in a different limo with a very workable a/c this time, ahhh..! I must let you see our wedding favor from the happy couple. Cute luggage tag but I'm definitely not using it. Someone might steal it :)

Las Vegas - Day 4 (Sui & David's Wedding Day, Part III)

The Reception

Time to eat...(yes, we've been fed twice already i.e. pre-wedding & pre-dinner, but this is the real deal)

Salad with blue cheese, glazed peaches and walnuts

Fillet mignon & cinnamon chicken

Dessert - chocolate mousse, white chocolate stick and raspberries

P.S. Gotta stop here. It's late and I've to get some zzzz; so the rest of the wedding stories will have to wait. Sorry!

Las Vegas - Day 4 (Sui & David's Wedding Day, Part II)

The Wedding Ceremony

Ponte Vecchio Park, Lake Las Vegas Resort

The violinist played a medley of beautiful wedding songs including my favorite "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" while the wedding entourage slowly arrived...

Bridesmaids, Matron of Honor & Flower girl

David & Sui Mae pledging their love, fidelity and marriage vows

After a sweet but short 30 minute (and emotional) ceremony, they became...

Mr. & Mrs. David Chi (congratulations!)

And now for the festivities...

J.Lo ushered us back inside the resort for some pre-dinner drinks and hors d'oeuvres before being called into the ballroom for the wedding reception.

That's us...Table Delgado (the entourage table, what an honor!)

Las Vegas - Day 4 (Sui & David's Wedding Day, Part I)
Saturday, July 15th. 2006

Before the ceremony...

Adrian & I decided on a relaxing holistic massage at the Roni Josef Spa before going to the wedding. I thought we both needed it after all the sight-seeing, walking, heat exposure and lack of sleep we endured for the past 3 days. Didn't we look fresh and all dolled-up? ;) Yeah, baby...wedding here we come!

The white Hummer limo pulled up at the hotel lobby just before 6 p.m. and guess what?! Murphy's Law took effect.

Woooo-weeee....the a/c wasn't working :( Hot...pant! pant! I could feel my make-up melting even with the L'Oreal Infallible 18-hour foundation thingy on my face! That's it! No more pictures of me.

I told you it was hot; just look at everyone's red faces and sodas/water being consumed. At one stage the temperature read 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the limo! It was like a mobile spa and we were not done picking up people. 7 were still missing in this picture. Urghhh....!!! Can we even squeeze that many more in here? Horrors!!

Further Murphy's Law, (boo hoo!) we waited for this 7 at the wrong entrance at the Luxor Hotel. People were calling each other on their cell phones and heads were bobbing in and out trying to watch out for those MIAs.

After much ado, the MIAs got picked up and we were on our way in the steamy limo. After 30 minutes of sarcastic bickering and joking amongst ourselves and a minor traffic congestion (as if we needed it), we FINALLY reached the mysterious wedding destination...Lake Las Vegas Resort.

Shirley, the Matron of Honor came up to greet us. She was Adrian's former co-worker at TNS too. She said, "Serene, you're sooooo warm!" Thanks Shirley ;) We quickly freshened up, had some cocktails and rested at the lounge until the wedding planner "ala J.Lo" ushered us to the lovely, romantic Ponte Vecchio Park whereby a beautifully decorated pavillion and seats with paper fans & parasols awaited the guests.

Las Vegas - Day 3 Continue

Las Vegas was built on a desert and in order to attract visitors to the City, it must have something for everybody's individual whim and fancy. Besides, who can live by gambling alone, right? After our sky high visit to the Stratosphere Tower, we took the "Deuce"; a 24 hour bus service along the Las Vegas Strip and found ourselves in the Mirage, Venetian & Treasure Island hotels and casinos. Adrian & I had made a pact to visit all the hotels with entertainment attractions and shows. Thus, began our challenge...



The Mirage

Main attraction here was Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden. You have to pay to get in. Nevertheless, their rare white tiger was on display for the public's viewing at the entrance of the hotel. Lucky, lucky us!

They have a nice selection of desserts at the Carnegie Deli...yummy ;)

And my Grandmother's all time favorite - anthuriums and orchids.

The Venetian

Our next stop across the road was the Venetian; a hotel, casino and shopping mall fashioned after life in Venice, Italy. I loved everything about this place. At least, I could experience a bit of Venice, its life with all its grandeur and splendor of Venetian architecture. This without having to fly all the way there :)

This gondola ride takes you right inside the Grand Canal Shoppes

Inside the Venetian Grand Canal Shoppes...

Treasure Island (TI)

The best public entertainment spectacular so far - the Sirens of TI show. Let's see if you agree ;) As for the plot, well...it didn't really make any sense so just enjoy the dancing and live action. In short, sexy sirens lured some pirates to their lair for some supposedly "nocturnal" activities.