THE Wedding - part 1

Before embarking on my journey to Asia, I told many friends and family about a wedding I would be attending at the start of my 4 month trip. I always mentioned that it was an Indian/Nepali wedding at a resort in Thailand, with many events planned, for which I had to pack many nice formal dresses ... but despite my anticipation and excitement for this unknown event to come, all my wildest dreams of the most beautiful, elaborate wedding imaginable were far surpassed with this incredible 3-day experience.

Welcome to the Sharaton Hua Hin, a newly opened luxury resort with a mile-long swimming lagoon, beachfront lawns and infinity pool, fountains, flowers and marble elephants gracefully placed along winding pathways. The bus pulled up and a young harmonica-playing elephant greeted us, placing a hat upon my head with his trunk, and I knew a once-in-a-lifetime event was about to take place.
We settled into our rooms and I started getting to know my roommate, a beautiful, super-educated Bangladeshi girl who lives in D.C. and works for the World Bank. (I am starting to feel already a little lame that I work, I mean worked, for a simple branding and package design company, doing little good for the world besides making the trash more attractive.)
We change (outfit #1) and go to the "meet and greet brunch" with serving trays after trays of the most delicious Indian and Thai food ... a literal taster of the food to come throughout the weekend. (And forget any weight-loss this weekend. I couldnt stuff my mouth fast enough to try all the delectable flavors available at each meal!)
I meet Indians from Australia, Nepalis from Boston and NY, British, Thai and Canadians. People came from Hong Kong and from Camaroon. (Though I was the only one who had flown in from Mexico! Just trying to represent the US and Mexico as best I could.) The guests spoke many languages and studied so many different things ... all highly educated, successful and from the higher classes of the world. I felt just a tad intimidated by the collective amount of knowledge and money in the resort, but soon would forget all that with the magical world I was wisked away to.
We return to our rooms, I get in a quick dip in the infinity pool with a huge smile on my face, and I meet a sweet girl from Boston whose family is from El Salvador. We speak a little Spanish and laugh at the Indian boys trying to "perform" for us with their poor volleyball skills in the pool. Then it is back to the room to change into tonights coctail dress for the beach-side soiree. I slip on dress #2, a cute red silk dress that I must suck in my stomach to wear. (after a week of eating tacos and drinking nightly prior to leaving Mexico, I didn't acheive my perfect wedding body I had hoped for.) I walk with my roomie down to the beach-front lawn, decorated with boquets dripping with a plethora of flowers, including roses, gerber daisies and orchids. Large torches burn bright with flames lighting the evening, and we are handed sweet, fun pink drinks and begin mingling. At first people did stick to their groups a bit, though with some more drinks and dancing, the groups soon opened up to reveal many fun, energetic, interesting wedding guests. We walk around and drink our drinks, then eventually make our way to the tables and food. There is so much food I don't even know what to do with myself. A 100 feet of serving trays, with 5 chef stations ready-cooking everything from asian noodles to thai papaya salads to indian tandoori dishes to sauteed shrimp and fresh veggies. I almost get stressed about which types of food to eat because I am so full but I want to try everything. I find a table with my new group of girlfriends and we soon start filling up the dance floor. There is a DJ set up with the coolest table right in front of the ocean, with lights and a dance floor and all. No detail is forgotton. And the drinks are nothing to sniff at ... I am no whiskey fan, but I have heard Johnny Walker Blue Label is nothing to sneeze at. With Absolut vodka and a great brand of champaigne, this wedding is nothing but the best.
After eating and drinking and dancing our hearts out, the 200 guests make their way away from the beach to the resort's night club. This place could compete with the best of them in Mexico City or SF. With a cool design, an indian DJ and singers flown in from Bombay, a bar stocked with the same top-shelf options (free to us), and a crowd full of international guests, draped in their finest duds, the party was just getting started. For the next 5 hours, we all danced and laughed and drank and partied, with hindi music blasting, feet jumping and hundreds of hands pulsing in the night; it was an Indian experience like no other! At about 2:30am I called it a night, slipping out and back to my room to fall asleep with sweet dreams of day 1 of the dreamy South Asian wedding weekend ...