Kuala Lumpur - Saturday 29th July - Monday 31st July

We had a great flight from Sydney to KL and took the express train from airport to central station were we had rung jason from the airport to pick my mum and I up but as usual we arrived and there was no one there.... we should have been prepared and when I rang should have said we were at central station ready to be picked up. Was so good to see all the KL relatives and spend time with Jas and Zab. As soon as we arrived at their place I went to the store and bought 4 heinekens to quench my thirst after the heatwave we arrived into as it is so sticky and humid there. They went down well as we stayed up chatting for a few hours. The next day was off to meet the relo's at Zabs parents place in Bangsar and catch up with the other now 3 married children and their loved ones. As usual Zabs mum Zabeda put a feast on for us and filled our stomachs to the brim.

We then sat around and told stories of the past and watched Zachy & Emelias wedding dvd from June. It was a beautiful wedding with the theme colour red and a wonderful event.

Zab, Josh, Izan, Me, Mum & Jason went to a vietnamese restaurant called Sao Nam on Sunday night and it was great. Sat outside drinking Australian wine at ridiculous prices (79RM or $30 AUS for a $4 bottle of hardys) but Heinekens were also there for ony $4. So I was happy with that. Food was great and we had a lot of laughs.
Monday was meant to be a relaxing day by the pool but we ended up spending most of the day shopping, eating, shopping, then eating again. We then decided to try go karting in the afternoon to unwind. Mum and Zab wanted a massage so we decided that mum deserved a massage more than we deserved to go flying around a race track at 60 km/h. We tried to fit both in but in the end we gave mum what she deserved. Then it was the usual rush back home, pack fast, eat on the run and head to airport. Airport ride was great for me as I had a chance to catch up with Gabbi via 20 or so sms messages on jasons phone. Thanks again Jas from Gabbi & I xoxo

When I met Gabbi - Saturday July 22nd - July 29th

I had no idea when I arrived at the Paddington Arms Hotel in Sydney that my life was about to be turned upside down by meeting such an amazing woman. As soon as I walked into Shane & Sarah's engagement party I looked across the room and my eyes came across her. She had this aura around her and I was instantly attracted to her and wanted to get to meet and know everything about her. After mingling with other guests it took me about two and a half hours to finally be by her side and be introduced to each other. Her name was Gabbi. From that moment on we didn't leave each others side. Right from then we had an instant connection that was going to flourish and go beyond our wildest dreams over the next few days. We spent every possible minute we could together and our relationship grew to amazing heights. Sunday morning we spent together and had breakfast in a cafe in Coogee whilst staring into each others eyes blown away with the connection we had found with each other only hours before. I rang Shane that night to ask about her and Sarah's reaction to the two of us. He said earlier on yesterday whilst going through the guest list they came across our names and joked about a possibility of the two of us being a match together. Well the matchmakers did a great job. On Monday night I left my dads house after seeing them off for my overseas trip and headed over to Gabbi's to see her. We spent the next 5 hours talking about what had happened between us over the last two days. On Monday Gabbi was looking into changing her xmas plans to come to Whistler and see me instead of Italy. At the same time I was looking into changing my plans and meeting up with her in Italy then having her come to Whistler and the cold snow. One day I would love to teach her how to ski or snowboard but I couldn't pass on the opportunity to spend a romantic three weeks with her in an amazing country. This all after 48 hours. We both said it was a feeling with each other that couldn't be explained in words and just felt like the right thing to be doing moreso than any other decision in our past. There were ecards going back and forth and later music cd's being made by us at the same time for each other. Thursday she had met my mum when we had dinner with her and then came to watch me play basketball. It was all happening so fast but that was what made it so special and so right. We both knew. I had asked her to come out to the Roxy on Friday night for Eskimoe Joe concert but unfortunately she had other plans with a friend so I was disappointed but understood and hoped she could come out later and meet us. Her plans fell through and I was soooooooooo happy that she would be able to come out and we could spend our last night together before flying out Saturday afternoon. We had a fantastic night with dinner beforehand at the Monkey Drum Thai restaurant in the Roxy courtyard where she met some of my friends and some friends very close by 2 degrees of seperation instead of 6. The concert was a sellout and they put on an excellent show. Afterwards we ventured downstairs to the nightclub and had a good time dancing to some old hits before retiring to our hotel by 2am. There were gifts exchanged and another up late night together as we knew we could always catch up on sleep when we were apart. Saturday was hectic sorting out last minute details before she drove my mum and I to the airport. There she then met my Dad and sister Kristie. It was a somber moment as I knew I still had to get away and take this journey to move on in my life but at the same time I was walking away from the person who made me have feelings I have never experienced and want to share more of them for the rest of my life.