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Business as Usual

20 Jan

You know the holidays are over when routine kicks in once again. The girls are back to work, and our weekly activities are business as usual. I did not realize we actually took a five-week break from pickleball. With the festivities and long holiday stretches towards the end of last year, and our recent New Year trip to Chiang Mai, that is quite a stretch!

Last week, we played our first pickleball game for the new year, and it felt good to sweat despite the cool air-conditioned court. There were nine of us, and two courts, at two hours each! No wonder everyone worked up a sweat. Hahaha.

The weekly golf games have also resumed. This year, I’d like focus on participating more in events organized by our club, such as monthly medal games and tournaments. It will be beneficial to build my mental strength by competing in these games rather than just playing casual matches with friends. It doesn’t mean fewer social games, but more club-organized games. A busy year ahead, and I’m looking forward to it.

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First Trip of the Year, Part 2

13 Jan

Last week, we flew to Chiang Mai, Thailand, for three rounds of golf. It was just the four of us: hubby and I, along with two friends. The weather in Chiang Mai was excellent! I’m glad we chose this destination over Jakarta for our trip when we were deciding where to go.

The temperature was around 14 to 15 degrees Celsius every morning, which made it wonderful to play in such comfortable conditions. By noon, when we finished our game each day, it was still cool. And being buggy to the ball on the fairway for all three courses, we hardly broke a sweat.

At Alpine Golf Resort
Chiang Mai Highlands and Summit Green Valley

We played at Alpine Golf Resort, Chiang Mai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort, and Summit Green Valley Chiang Mai Country Club. All three courses were enjoyable, yet challenging as well. And for the first time, after-game foot massage was unnecessary for the whole trip! Amazing.

The highlight of the trip was definitely the food—there were so many palate-pleasing gastronomic delights! Then again, on this trip, we ate at Michelin-level restaurants, something we never did when in Bangkok. Somehow, Chiang Mai’s cuisine has more finesse and flavor than the options in Bangkok. However, this is unfair to say because I have yet to visit a Michelin-level restaurant in Bangkok. Can’t compare apples with oranges, right?

At Ekachan Ethnic Thai Cuisine
Wantan noodle choices and Vanilla Coke!
At Baan Landai Fine Thai Cuisine

Anyway, besides the two Michelin-level restaurants, we had noodles in a roadside shop and food from a food court in Nimman Square. To cap off the wonderful trip, the shopping after golf was so satisfying! I cannot recall the last golf trip being so relaxed and carefree. I have added several new golf shirts to my wardrobe.

Doi Suthep temple
Wat Rajamontean

All in all, every aspect of the first golf trip of the year was excellent! From the company, the golf courses, the sights, to the food and shopping, I am blessed to kick off 2026 with a memorable start. More to come? Definitely.

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First Trip of the Year

5 Jan

What better way to kick off the new year than to go on a golfing trip with friends? A very Happy New Year indeed.

It was an impromptu trip planned within a few short months. We decided to keep the group micro small, as such, there are only four of us, unlike previous golf trips, where there were 16 to 20 people.

Anyway, four is enough to make a flight, and it’s perfect. I hope this will be the start of many more trips for 2026! Yay.

First trip of the year!

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Two More Weeks, Part 2

23 Dec

While I excitedly recounted my travel highlights for 2025, I regrettably noticed a decline in my other activities. My carving dwindled to just a few pieces, and building miniature creations has become a thing of the past!

Instead of sitting to create, I sit and play my games on the iPad Mini. Too much at times! I do feel guilty, but I can’t seem to break away from this addiction. And it’s just two games—two silly games only—that sometimes take up to mindless and endless hours on the device. So bad! Ugh.

Perhaps in 2026, I should reconsider my sedentary activities and return to carving or building miniatures. There were other games that I was playing on the iPad, but I managed to tear myself away from them and even deleted them. However, Homescapes and Tasty Travels are still keeping their hold on me. I need to be stronger!

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Two More Weeks

16 Dec

Gosh, 2025 is coming to an end soon! There are two more weeks left in the year. And what a year it has been for me. As always, there were ups and downs, as well as memorable and sad moments, to mark another eventful year.

For me, the highlights have been my international travels! This year, I visited Bangkok, Halong Bay, ZhangJiaJie, Kyoto, and Osaka. And not to mention several local road trips within Malaysia. A good mix with family and friends, I would say, in terms of activities like shopping or golf, sights, and gastronomic adventures.

2025 saw my golf skills fluctuating up and down too much. I experienced both great games and frustrating ones, whether it was putting issues, chipping challenges, or just inconsistencies in my swing – I have encountered it all!

When the mindset leans more towards treating the game as a social outing, the focus on doing well tends to falter. If I want to play to win, I have to be very disciplined and change my mindset. We shall see.

2025 was also when hubby and I became serious pickleball players. We invested in better paddles, balls, and shoes, thus making our weekly games more enjoyable. When one has the right equipment and apparel, it makes the outing more comfortable and fun. And it’s a great alternative to golf, especially during the rainy season, because we play the sport indoors, covered from the weather in an air-conditioned space!

Thank you, 2025! But it’s time to store these wonderful experiences and memories away soon, and make way to usher in 2026 with a bang!

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The Carving Completes

11 Nov

Completing the three gnomes took considerable effort towards the end, after missing the first two deadlines in August and September. And my trip to Japan in October set me back even further. Upon my return, I dealt with a persistent cough that left me too drained to do much.

And when I felt better, I was busy playing golf and pickleball, leaving me little time to focus on the pieces. Eventually, I sat down and added several more layers of varnish before deciding they were good enough to gift the intended recipients. The completion was dated 1st November.

The final picture does not do justice to the gloss varnish that I have painstakingly applied. But the colors are so vibrant, I think I did a good job. Ahem.

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We Loved Kyoto and Osaka

28 Oct

It has been two weeks since our return from Japan, and I have not wrapped up the story of our adventure! Two days after returning, I developed a cough, just as I had in April when I returned from Zhangjiajie. From that moment on, the will to do anything, much less writing or thinking, was not there. I just needed to rest and recover. It is alarming and cumbersome to fall ill each time upon return after a wonderful holiday.

Sights of the last two days in Osaka
Okonomiyaki lunch

Looking back, we loved Kyoto more than Osaka, as it felt more laid back and relaxed. There was no hurry in the world, and we both learned to appreciate the surroundings with a leisurely pace. Although Osaka felt more crowded than Kyoto, we managed and did enjoy the last two days before flying home. Both cities had very different vibes from Tokyo.

The highlight from the last two days in Osaka was my purchase of seven brand new Honma Beres NX irons from the golf pro shop! It was a steal of a purchase as the offer coincided with the Osaka Expo 2025. Changing my irons had been on my wishlist, and I’m thrilled that I was able to fulfill this on this trip.

My new irons, Honma Beres NX. Love ‘em!!!

So Kyoto and Osaka are a wrap for us! We enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Don’t be surprised if plans are in the pipeline for another trip to Japan next year! Why not? The country is so vast, and there are still so many cities to explore.

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Hello Osaka! Part 2

21 Oct

Day Six in Osaka continued with some planning. We inadvertently hopped onto an Elegant Saloon 8000 series train, and clearly, the train felt a class above the normal ones we have been taking. There were two levels of sitting, but as our train rides are typically short, and this ride was not any different, we just stood.

The Elegant Saloon 8000 series train

We decided to see the Osaka Castle, and the sky was a tad overcast. As we walked towards the Castle, I felt the slightest raindrops. Uh oh. Luckily, we had our umbrellas! We did our dues, spent some time there to take some pictures, but with the overcast, the colors are not very impressive, although the Castle is.

Osaka Castle

A quick lunch, and we moved to our next point of attraction: Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan! It was the best decision to do this, for us at least. I was in awe of the massive whale shark. The pictures are an injustice to its sheer size and beauty. The other aquatic attractions were equally impressive, for lack of a better word. We spent a fair bit of time at the aquarium, oohing and aahing over the exhibits.

By the time we left the aquarium, we were drained and had KFC for dinner! Hahaha. Too tired to figure out what we should eat. It’s okay, as the flavor was different and just as appetizing. We headed back to the hotel, happy and contented, and looked forward to a good soak in the tub again, and be ready for Day Seven.

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A Day of Discovery, Part 2

15 Oct

During our trip to Kyoto and Osaka, although we deviated from our original itinerary, we ended up discovering and experiencing more. So much so that every night upon returning to the hotel, I was exhausted and did not catch up with any writing after Day Four.

I discovered a good therapy. As the rooms we stayed in had a long bath, and both hotels provided aromatherapy bath salts, I made full use of this. This simple indulgence helped soothe the body from the daily eight to 11 kilometres we put in.

On the fifth day of our trip, we departed from Kyoto with good memories for Osaka, taking the Kintetsu Line instead of the JR Haruka. Upon arriving in Osaka by train, we took the subway and made our way to the hotel. After checking in and wasting no time, we headed out to explore Osaka.

Another day of discovery! Osaka felt very different from Kyoto. With more people, noise, and traffic, it took a while to adjust. Welcome to the busy big city!

Kyoto Tower, Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, and a very crowded Kyoto Station. A weekend beer festival was set up in front of the temple. So chill!

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A Day of Discovery

10 Oct

Thursday, being the Fourth Day of our trip, turned out to be a day of discovery. The itinerary was a mixture of Days One, Two, and Three, plus an unplanned destination, Uji, thrown in.

We took the train to Fushimi Inari Shrine, and it was crowded! We did not heed the advice to go early to avoid the crowd. Oh well. We spent only an hour there as we felt it was less peaceful than the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. The next stop was Uji, and we found this place to be delightful, like the Bamboo Forest.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

An early lunch fueled us and kept us going to discover more of Uji. I give this place a thumbs up! On impulse, we decided to go to Nara Park and Gion. Towards the end of the day, we had a lovely dinner in Pontocho.

Uji was peaceful and less crowded
Deers at Nara Park, Todai-ji Temple and Gion Shijo bridge
Dinner at En En

The day of discovery had us taking several trains and the bus. We even ended up on the wrong train on the way back from Gion! But we did not worry because we had Google Translate. Best app for travel in a foreign language country.

I guess sometimes it’s okay not to have a fixed agenda, as we improvised along the way. We ended up seeing and experiencing more. We left Kyoto with wonderful memories and headed to Osaka for the remainder of our days in Japan.

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