KL, Malaysia Day 11

Super Big Reception Day
We awoke at 7am, and were ready for our checkout at 8:40. Much to my dismay the internet wasn’t working on the two terminals in the lobby, which I was kinda hoping for. We met everyone down on the ground floor for 9, but didn’t actually get going till after 10, since there were so many people to organize and everything is done by committee.
Christine's parents met us all there and we went in 4 cars to Restoran Bao Gong, where we dined on dim sum at 4 separate tables. The waitress was kind enough to point out the pork dishes, so I knew exactly what I could eat. It was not air conditioned, but instead it was cooled by fan only. Interestingly, Christian saw a girl go to the bathroom, Chinese style. The toilet was behind our table,and she must have not noticed that the curtain was too short, leaving a 3 foot gap to the floor. I of course missed the whole thing, but Christian had a new appreciation of my experiences with Asian toilets. We all jumped in our cars, a good 20 something of us, and rode in a 5 car convoy back to KL. Christian drove one of the vans. We stopped at a rest stop part way and all hung out in a little shelter off the parking lot. The adults brought durian fruit and that tortoise jello for snacks. We however had a Nescafe, since we had tried them before and didn’t feel the need to relive that experience.
We arrived in KL at around 2:30, and parked up in the carpark under our hotel, the Pacific Regency, which is adjacent to the KL Tower, where we will go tonight. Whilst we were all waiting for the lifts to the lobby, I rather stupidly pulled the suitcase too quickly over my foot; scantily clad in my toe-exposing Teva's, it ripped the toenail off my right big toe almost completely, totally starting to bleed. I wasn’t in any way worried about the pain, I could deal with that. It was the incredible fear of infection, since my feet were dirty. Visions of losing my foot to some Asian flesh-eating bacteria filled my head. Not to mention that in 4 hours we have the big wedding reception and I only have open toed shoes to wear. Luckily, there was a paramedic and a police officer in our party from Hong Kong, and they used the hotel medical kit to wrap it up all snug. I kept asking them if they were going to smother it in alcohol, but the consensus was that a simple wrap was best.
We checked in and I limped up to our room 2411. This is a 5-star hotel and it's easy to see why. The room was immaculate, with a stunning view of KL below us, and a full kitchenette. Although I had been sitting in the car all day and was desperate for a polish change, Christian made me lie down with my foot up whilst watching Backdraft.
Then Ric called and told us we had to be in the lobby for the wedding by 6:30. Oh my gosh, that’s fewer than 2 hours! We ran downstairs and took a cab to KLCC, the mall at the base of the twin towers. It cost a mere RM2.80. First stop was the pharmacy, where we had the pharmacist rewrap my toe, this time using antiseptic. Then up to the 4th floor, where I had my makeup done and hair blow dried for RM150 (£21.80)
Its now 5:50, we race downstairs to Ikesan, a posh department store, for a shirt, trousers, and tie for Christian. It took about 15 minutes since he needed the pants hemmed. Altogether, we paid through the nose since we didn’t have time to shop around.
We had 20 minutes to take a cab back, get dressed, and meet some of the family in the lobby. Although KL Tower is very close, it’s not really advisable to walk to it, especially in heels and me with a booboo toe.
I took a cab with several family members, and Christian was meant to follow after due to lack of space. It was only when we were approaching the tower that I realized I had all the money! Christian ended up running the whole way, passing several monkeys playing in the trees.
The reception was on one of the upper decks of the KL Tower, aptly named Mega View Banquet Deck (they’re really into “Mega” here). We entered an amazing room with a stage, 14 tables of 10 laid out beautifully, and photos of the bride and groom displaying on several projectors on the walls. There was a large ice sculpture of two swans with their names on it, and an enormous, pink multi level cake on display. The curtains were drawn, which was peculiar, so we sneaked into the adjacent room, currently used only by staff, to look out over the entirety of the city of Kuala Lumpur.
Our assigned table was lucky number 13, so we were not sat with Henry, Lucia or Raymond, who were all at 14. We were initially bummed, till we were joined by two lovely, fun girls, Wendy and Cherie, then Agnes Tan, who we both knew slightly through our company, as she used to work in the Singapore office before leaving. Then, oh my gosh! It’s Kim!!! Kim Tan (no relation to Agnes) came in with a friend of hers. Kim is a very good friend of ours who used to work in our London office till she left about two months ago. She is currently taking time off visiting her family in Malaysia. We hugged and tried so hard to catch up on everything. Kim, Agnes and I couldn’t help but discuss the latest goings on at the company.
Our table ended up being the funnest, and we had the most wonderful time. Around 8pm they opened the curtains so we could see the beauty and the vastness of the city below us. Then, goodness gracious, there was the bride and groom waving at their guests. Something had possessed Ricardo and Christine to load themselves into a large window cleaning crane, and it slowly passed by all of us, outside. They both had safety suspenders on, and Christine was wearing a blue gown. However, with his white shirt, the suspenders looked more like lederhosen on Ric.
After they passed by, we didn’t see them again till they entered at 9pm. It turns out that due to a fault they each had to leap from the crane, as it got stuck in one place and couldn’t be moved. Ric was still recovering from the fright of that hours later.
The first course was introduced in a fabulously cultural way. A group of men in gold vests and shiny balloon pants marched in carrying a large, stone clamshell, with woman in ornate dresses following along carrying the initial dish. They placed the clamshell down before the bridal table, where a tiny girl emerged and presented them with the first course. She then got back into the clam and was taken away.
The food was very typical of a Chinese wedding, and very similar to what we had the previous night in Muar, only slightly fancier. The menu, which I liberated from the event, was as follows:

Deluxe Hot & Cold Combination
Braised Shark Fin Soup with Shredded Scallop & Seafood
Thai Style Crispy Chicken
Steamed Hong Kong Style Promfret
Two Combinations Prawn
Braised Vegetable with Dried Scallop & Mushroom
Hong Kong Style Fried Rice in Lotus Leaf
Rich Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake by Chef Jerome

The whole time, the MC spoke constantly, only this time mainly in Cantonese, so we couldn’t understand anything again. Agnes did however and translated everything for us. There was the expected Kareoke, then more speaking from the MC, interviewing the couple and other guests so it was very much like a gameshow. The bride and groom, along with the fathers, came over to our table first for our yum sing moment. The other guests at the table didn’t know what was coming, till Christian and I leapt up and, drinks raised, joined the party..."YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM SING!"
The rich chocolate cake was present thanks to Ric, who hates the typical Asian dessert with its bright colors. We were loathe to leave, but Kim and her friend were kind enough to take us back to the hotel. It was time, since my toe was throbbing in my high heels and started bleeding again. It was one of the greatest weddings we ever attended.