When we first met, we used to live 30 mins away on foot from each other. To make the trip shorter (and given taking public transport was discouraged during covid time), Man Chun got a bike from his brother so that he can be at Mary’s place in less than 10 min. Since then, Man Chun has become an avid cyclist, introducing Mary to cycling too. During the pandemic, we cycled almost every weekend.
The above photo shows the two of us forming a “bubble” and spending a staycation weekend cycling in Kent during spring time. Other cycling staycations we have been on together during the pandemic include Oxford, Cambridge and Isle of Wright.
During the lockdowns of 2020, Mary and Man Chun faced, and overcame, various pandemic challenges together. On one occasion, at a time when loo rolls were sold out in shops, Man Chun shared his limited supplies of loo rolls with Mary. On another occasion, at a time when hair dressers were closed during the pandemic, Mary stepped in to help Man Chun with a haircut after watching several YouTube videos.
The picture above shows the “before” photo.
Pandemic was a tough, and surreal, time. But, for us, we managed to run from this reality by running through it together.
From March 2020, we started running outdoor in or around London parks. And, within the space of a year, we did half a dozen of races / events from 5K to 10K.
The photo above was taken at a Hyde Park 10km running event.
In February 2023, we visited Portugal for a second time. This time, we were in Porto. After exploring this beautiful city and sampling some fine wine in the Douro Valley, Man Chun proposed to Mary. And, she said yes! The rest is history!
After the pandemic measures have eased, we began travelling abroad together and explored more of the world.
One of the trips was to visit Thessaloniki in Greece. The main reason for this trip was to attend the wedding of our dear friends Dimitra and Kostas as well as visiting (and, in Man Chun’s case, exploring) Mary’s de facto hometown - where she grew up and studied. We are honoured to have Dimitra as one of the two witnesses on wedding day and is also the bridesmaid ;)
This photo shows Man Chun and his family on holiday in Vietnam before the pandemic in 2018. Man Chun’s brother (who will act as one of the two witness and is also the best man in our wedding - far right in this photo) will act as one of the two legal witnesses and is also the best man at the wedding.
Man Chun and his brother are close. Prior to the pandemic, they climbed Ben Nevis together during winter. During the pandemic, they cycled together regularly.
In this photo, Man Chun, his mom (known as “Connie”) and his dad (known as “Fung”) are all wearing the “non la” (aka Vietnamese leaf hat) to shield themselves from the summer heat.
This photo shows Mary and Christos (Mary's brother). They are very close, and Mary visits her brother every year in Brussels where Christo lives. Often, Christos would be showing Mary around town, including going to the latest art exhibitions and visiting all the nice coffee shops and restaurants in Brussels.
This photo was taken in March 2020 when Mary visited her brother in Brussels just before the lockdown.
We spent time in Chalkidiki, Greece with Mary's parents in 2021. It was nice to spend time with Mary's parents there, where they had a summer house. With no / little access to the internet, we spent more time talking to each other and enjoying nature. We swam in the sea, we walked around the local hiking trails, and we made food together. It was on this trip that Man Chun baked his first bread under Mary’s dad supervision.
The photo here shows the last dinner we had in Chalkidiki at a seaside restaurant before flying back to London the next day.
This photo shows Man Chun’s family who lives in the UK. This photo was taken at the celebration meal of Man Chun’s mom birthday. Earlier that day, we went to see the “wicked” musical and came to this restaurant later in the evening for the birthday dinner.
From left to right: Man Chun, Mary, Martin (Man Chun’s brother - the best man), Cassandra (Martin’s girlfriend), Man Chun’s auntie (aka “Elsa”) and Man Chun’s mom (“Connie”).