Recovery day

The wedding had been great fun.  The location had been stunning and bride and groom looked great.  The next day, they had arranged a recovery day for everyone back at the villa.  They set up an incredible lunch and relaxation session for everyone on the grounds which rivalled the events of the evening before.  I think I actually liked the food at the lunch even more than the food at the reception!

We had been told it was going to be more of a pool and lounging day, so Renee and I arrived dressed for that occasion.  I dressed like a homeless person who lived on the beach.  Renee decided to simplify for the pool and came in a bikini and a sheer wrap.  When we arrived, we had clearly gotten the message wrong as everyone was far more dressed up.  Renee didn't seem to mind and she turned heads as she strode past everyone at the tables and straight towards the most comfortable beanbags set out on the lawn overlooking the ocean.

I grabbed some food and drink before making my way over to Renee.  The lawns were well manicured and it was a nice sensation to be able to walk on it barefooted.  It's something that you don't think too much about living in Hong Kong.  You don't have access to that many lawns, and certainly not lawns like this.  It's not that you miss it as such, but it's something you notice when you are around it again.  Standing here in the tropics, next to the ocean, the feeling of the grass under the feet felt slightly incongruous.

It was hard not to have a good time.  Everyone was relaxed and happy to be together.  The wedding had been incredibly fun, but this was now an opportunity for everyone to socialise without the formalities surrounding the wedding.  The suits were gone and everyone was free to lay down, talk, eat and drink.  On top of that, the bride and groom were both able to now enjoy themselves as well.

After a little while, Ed and I were feeling a bit restless, so we decided to go down to the beach to try and swim.  When we got there, we found it full of people lounged around on beanbags, but no one was swimming.  We ran out into the water and then realised that with the tide out, the water was at knee height going out far into the distance.... we tried our best to swim out a little bit and then realised that almost all of the ocean floor was teaming with spiny urchins.  We did our best to avoid them as we swum in this shallow water before giving up and returning to the comforts of the villa.