It is the Mid-Autumn Mooncake Festival time! And during this occasion, there is an abundance of mooncake choices to savor. I love ’em all! This sinful indulgence is so bad for my health, unfortunately.
In the past, I used to enjoy those mooncakes with double salted egg yolk inside. These days, I’m more into the Mixed Nuts flavor. Then there are the Snow Skin options, which are so good. Recently, I bought the Durian-flavored mooncake to try as well. Regardless of which flavor, I find my waistline expanding just looking at the mooncakes!
Two days ago, I ate a piece of the double-salted egg yolk mooncake, and I felt so gorged. Although it was one-eighth of the whole mooncake, it was enough to make me feel stuffed. Too oily, perhaps?
As for the Mixed Nuts, it borders on being too sweet, and many times I cannot resist! Sigh, a no-win situation. Mix and match, it is a double whammy situation where my waistline expands and the bathroom scale frowns when I step on it. Hahaha.
September is a month of public holidays! We had another four-day weekend to chill and relax. So, we decided to do a KL city staycation to avoid driving along the Plus highway outstation with the two million travelers. However, the plan did not pan out.
A little past midnight on the night before our staycation, I received a WhatsApp notification informing us that our host had canceled our booking. Unfortunately, I did not see the message until the next morning. It was unbelievable, as it was the first time I had encountered such an issue on booking.com!
The poorly written message stated that the air conditioning in the apartment was not functioning. Upon testing, the electricity sparked and caused the main switch to shut down. Although the caretaker tried to fix it, the service provider decided to replace the air conditioning unit. However, they are unable to do so because it was a public holiday. Hrmph! What an elaborate reasoning! Or should I say, excuse?
By the way, I feel I need to write a bad review for this experience on the Booking app to highlight the incredulous last-minute reason and cancellation by the host. I need to navigate my way through the app or website to do this. What if I came from another state? All my plans would have been up in smoke!
We decided to still stick to our plans for all the activities and brush aside the disappointment. After all, there was a full refund for the cancellation. It was them who initiated the cancellation, not me after all.
In the end, the weekend turned out pretty relaxing. We ate, we walked, we braved the crowds, and we saw interesting things. The difference is that we came back home to sleep in our rooms, not in an apartment overlooking KLCC with faulty air conditioning.
Sunday’s eats and sightsMonday’s sights. Wait was too long Ho Kow, so we went somewhere else.
Towards the end of last month, during the Merdeka celebrations and a series of public holiday breaks, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.
It’s hard to believe that 30 years have passed—where did the time go? Reaching this milestone feels incredible and almost unfathomable.
So, happy anniversary and a toast to the two of us! Here’s to good health and good times ahead, more golfing escapades or travels, and facing the years ahead together, hand in hand.
Over the weekend, hubby and I did an impromptu golf escapade again! It was one of those impulsive decisions that a getaway is a solution to rejuvenate the body and mind. Hence, a golf trip out of town. We decided to do a Stay & Play at Damai Laut Golf & Country Club.
At the signature Par 4 near the beachsideDamai Laut
The drive to the country club was leisurely paced. We took the new WCE Highway and arrived just in time for a simple lunch at the clubhouse before teeing off. There was hardly anybody there. We literally had the golf course to ourselves, save for the troops of monkeys on several holes. Being a resort course and allowing the buggy to be on-course, we completed our 18 holes in three and a half hours! Nice.
Enjoying the sunset at the adjacent resort, DoubleTree by Hilton
Our studio unit was spacious and included a well-equipped kitchenette. We even had Netflix, unlike some hotels with limited TV channel choices. For meals, we weren’t fussy and enjoyed simple local fare at the golfer’s terrace.
We ate Nasi Lemak, Pattaya fried rice, fried kueh teow and Roti Canai
During the two nights we were there, it rained late into the night, but we stayed indoors. The Netflix choices were very gripping! During our second game on Saturday morning, we discovered some fallen trees on the golf course. We had to drive around the mess to move forward. Other than this, the course was not affected by the heavy rain, and we were still able to drive the buggy on the fairways.
The two games were very fun as we battled hole by hole. Who won? Heheh, that’s our little secret! The escapade ended all too soon, and I can’t wait to have another impulsive trip soon.
Last week, soon after I returned from my Interclub trip to Johor and Singapore, I had a day’s rest before heading off on another trip! This time, it was with M2, and we took the train to Ipoh.
The ETS ride by KTM was on time and comfortable. Within two hours, we arrived at the train station. It was a hot day, but M2 and I chose to walk to discover the city.
During our short 3D/2N stay in the city, we were on a mission to eat as much as we could. However, we could only manage 11 choices of food, being small eaters, not counting the Citrus Yuzu Matcha and white coffees.
Lunch on Day 1: Fruit Rojak and Kai Si Ho FunThe start of Day 1, after lunch drink, Lamington cake and chicken rice dinner
There was time for us to even go for a short excursion to Tasik Cermin. It’s an interesting and new tourist attraction. It was there that we had the most wonderful Ipoh white coffee! So satisfying on a hot day.
Day Two brunch was half boiled eggs and toast with the best coffee!Day Two Tau Foo Fah and Nasi Ganja breakfast and excursion; and train ride back to KL
Other than discovering food, there was not much else to do except go into every shop to browse the Heong Peah and biscuit choices. Some were very tempting, but as we were traveling by train, it was a constraint to return with additional bags on top of the two we brought. In the end, we packed everything properly and had just two extra bags, albeit a bit bulky.
Dinner on Day Two was moonlight kueh teow and blanched octopus
The short getaway was very relaxing, but ended all too soon. Both of us had some delicious eats, and both agreed that Ipoh’s pace was a tad too slow for us. Before we knew it, we were boarding the train for home.
Duck rice and pork lard noodles for breakfast before leaving Ipoh
Hubby was not keen to play golf on Sunday morning after a gruesome pickleball session the day before, but he went. And I’m so glad he did because he achieved a hole-in-one!!! Wheeeeeee.
After dinosaur years at the sports, the elusive glory is finally his, along with all the bragging rights. No further words are necessary as the celebration and drinks were non-stop after that.
Have I aced a hole before? No, and I am still waiting for mine, although I can proudly say I had an eagle achievement two years ago on a Par 4. Congratulations, hubby dearest. I hope my turn to achieve this and have the same bragging rights will arrive sooner.
Mother’s Day is always a family affair, celebrating the three mothers in the family on Sunday – Mom, myself, and my sister-in-law. A sumptuous lunch and fun jabber to catch up with everyone.
This year, I received a lovely gift. It’s been almost two years since I last worked on building miniatures, and this gift is the perfect one to kickstart this activity again.
Project number 32 was the last miniature I worked on from October 2023, but sadly, I never completed it. I had golf, travel, and games on the iPad Mini, keeping me busy. At this point, I’m not sure if I can complete the set because it’s too tiny.
Anyway, maybe it’s long overdue to spend time building miniatures again. And of late, my golf sucks, and I find no joy in playing, so the timing is just nice to go back to doing things that gave me so much joy.
On the fifth day of our trip, we visited Wulingyuan, a different historical and scenic site of Zhangjiajie National Park. We see so many rock formations that I have lost track of what is what and where. My knowledge of this place is terrible, as I didn’t do any research before coming.
There was another queue for a cable car to the peak to see more rocks! Hahaha. Another long trek day. I was hitting all sorts of records on the Fitness app in my AppleWatch. Yay!
Wulingyuan
That evening, we decided to attend the large-scale musical, the Fox Fairy Show. The live musical performance was very entertaining and colorful. I was most impressed by the outdoor theater setup at the foot of Tianmen Mountain. Costume and character changes were instantaneous without glitches with AI technology. Very impressive!
The Fox Fairy Show
The next day, we queued again (what else is new?) for the Bailong Elevator. Although we paid for VIP tickets to cut down our time waiting in line, it was still an hour before we could go up to the top. The Avatar Mountains were the highlight of this trip, but again, for me, the crowds marred the experience of seeing the floating mountains. I think the depth of the terrain was hardly visible, with so much greenery below. It was hard for me to grasp the sheer beauty of the place.
The floating Avatar Hallelujah Mountains
At all the attractions we visited, it felt like the whole world was there to see what we wanted to see. And if I thought it was the last of the long queues at Bailong, the next day’s attraction at the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge was another one for the record!
At the Glass Bridge
We gave up the last tour to visit Orange Isle when we saw the queues again. Hahaha. After so many days of long queue experience, we could not handle another long queue to see the statue of Mao Zedong. Everyone agreed we should go shopping instead.
Mass crowds from every attraction we went to!
All in all, this trip was all about nature, crowds, and queues. I have never been so overwhelmed surrounded by people. The trip culminated in the final two days at Changsha with a colorful cityscape skyline, more people, interesting food, and shopping.
So colorful!Array of street food. Bottom right: bowl of cut chili is called a dipping sauce
Nine days were rather long, and although there were more downsides of crowds, queues, and packing the wrong clothes as far as the weather was concerned, I am taking the positives from this trip, checking off my bucket list, and cherish the time I had with the friends I grew up with.
It was supposed to be an epic trip, postponed from last November until this April. But I’m still trying to find the appropriate words to describe the Zhangjiajie and Changsha trip, which has been overwhelming.
What better way to kick off a trip than a beer and char kueh teow past midnight at the Premier Lounge before boarding! We departed from KLIA on Saturday at 3.00 a.m. Unfortunately, our seats were not the best, being a row in front of the emergency exits, which meant they couldn’t recline. Sigh. Luckily, the five-hour flight was still bearable.
Upon arrival, everything went smoothly, and we boarded our private bus for just the six of us, along with our English-speaking guide. The bus ride was scary as the weather was quite extreme, with wind gusts up to 42km/h. I could feel the bus swaying on the highway! We stopped once to allow the driver to rest, and we had our first meal in China: a simple spread of rice, mui choy with pork, stir-fried potatoes, and some fried donuts.
Gusty wind made the bus sway on the highway!
The first attraction was Liuye Lake in Changde City, northwest of Hunan Province; it was strange. It was supposed to be a tourist resort, but hardly anybody in sight— it felt like a ghost town! We wondered whether we were in China, a country known for its crowds. Here we were, at an attraction without visitors. We then proceeded to another attraction, which I can’t recall the name of, but there were plenty of people, shops, and street vendors.
Liuye LakeCute little cooking stations to test your cooking skills!
We spent our first night at the Zeyun Hotel in Changde City and checked out the next day to head to the next attraction and hotel.
I’ve lost track of the days during this Hari Raya festive holiday as my weekend and weekday seem to have merged into one long stretch. As a result, my activity schedule has become quite disorganized. Throw in a lunch get-together with friends that stretches into teatime – it’s no wonder I’ve lost track of time!
Recently, my golf game has not been going well, so I’ve decided to cut back on playing to focus on recovering my mental strength before I tackle the sport again. In the meantime, I’ve been playing more pickleball!
My usual twice or thrice-a-week golf has been reduced to once a week, while my pickleball has increased to twice a week. I find that the latter sport is less of a mental challenge. Although I’m still new at it, I’m making progress. The two-hour pickleball session can be tiring but not as draining as a round of golf that lasts four hours or more.
Golf has always posed a mental challenge for me to play better. And at times, I worry that I may aggravate an old injury or acquire a new one. Unfortunately, it has not been as enjoyable for me lately. I’m surprised I’ve reached this point with a sport I’ve enjoyed all these years. Perhaps the long holiday or my disorganized schedule is contributing to these feelings? Or simply, I’m just overthinking things!
P/S I have really lost track of time! This post is out on a Wednesday instead of the usual Tuesday. Eeeks.
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