The trip to Singapore has been a good one catching up with friends and family. We had simple and sumptuous meals and memorable gatherings.
We tried Peruvian food
The four of us enjoyed delivered food and homemade cocktails in the comforts of our condo, chatting and laughing away. Precious is such of our friendship since seven years old.
Delicious gin collection
There was hardly any time for shopping, but we didn’t mind. And although it rained daily, it did not bother us. Luckily I brought my umbrella, which came in handy when we went to Orchard Road in search of some local food.
We had fishballs and mee pok and dessert.
Time has gone by too soon. We depart for home late afternoon today. I’m so glad we made the trip for friendship.
It is exciting that I am traveling again by air! The last time I flew was in October 2019, going to Langkawi with all my high school girlfriends to celebrate our friendship. Three years have passed since that memorable trip. And as we all know, the pandemic struck in early 2020, and the whole world went into lockdown, my country included.
There were a lot of travel restrictions of varying degrees since then to manage the pandemic, and flying was the furthest thing from my mind. There was no need to fly anywhere, especially for the last two years. Also, it was a hassle with strict SOPs in place. But as the world is moving towards relaxing the travel restrictions, people are traveling again.
Two of my high school girlfriends and I spontaneously decided to go to Singapore for a short four-day getaway. We thought it would be great to catch up with friends and family whom we have not seen for so long due to the circumstances.
Besides visiting people, we will take this opportunity to enjoy the local food and play tourist in the city-island-nation. Exciting as it may be, we will be extra cautious for the four days in Singapore to avoid any unnecessary Covid-related situations. We fly off an hour past noon today! Whee.
I cannot stress enough how fast time flies. Our M2 has completed her Bachelor’s degree and is coming home from Ireland today! Woohoo. Yes, we are excited.
After almost eight years of being three, then two, and then three again, we will be back to being a family of four at the stroke of midnight. Suddenly, all those years of hard work and separation are no longer an issue and seemed like a long time ago. We persevered in our situation, and both girls persevered in their education. They make us proud beyond words.
As always, I will be tracking the journey on flightaware.com in anticipation of her return. Oooohhhhh, be still my beating heart! I look forward to doing things and having both my girls around again. I’m anxious and will be so fidgety awaiting her safe arrival tonight.
The afternoon Interclub game was a blessing because we did not have to wake up so early as the day before. After breakfast and checking out, the entourage was on the way to Ipoh. Again, the journey was pleasant, and we arrived early at Royal Perak Golf Club. We were warmly welcomed and soon ushered in for lunch.
Fishing farms dotting the waters along the Second Penang Bridge
The weather was hot, so the air-conditioned dining area was nice. But one must not get used to it because, after lunch, we tee off at 1.00 pm under the hot sun! Dang, the weather was hot.
Luckily, it was buggy on the course like the previous game, so this helped with managing the heat factor for the game. As this was an Interclub game, playing well was important. How did I fare this time around?
I played better. The greens here felt better, and putting was not a letdown. The course was very long, especially for the Red tee boxes. Many a time, I had to pull out the wood or utility clubs for the Par 3s.
Before we knew it, the game ended. The cold shower was refreshing to cool down the body, and the after-game dinner spread was sumptuous. There were some controversies, and the outcome was not what we expected; I will not elaborate on this to mar the positives of the trip.
It has been a fun outing and the Club’s first away trip after two and a half years of living with the pandemic and the restrictions. We will host our opponents at our Club for the return match soon.
We left Ipoh and arrived on schedule at our Club. All too soon, the short golf getaway is another chapter to store away in the memory. I look forward to participating in another Interclub match, home or away.
It’s a mixed-feeling golf trip. Sometimes one can’t have it all.
Although it was nice to play at outstation clubs for a change, waking up early for the trip was not. We had to wake up at 4.30 am and then did a Covid test before leaving the house. The test was to assure everyone was safe to travel together on a bus.
The bus departed at 6.00 am, and the journey was pleasant enough without any traffic woes along the highway, and we arrived in good time. After a simple lunch at the clubhouse, we teed off for a round of social golf among ourselves at Penang Golf Club.
The course is very undulating, and buggies were allowed on the fairway, which was nice. How did I fair for this first game? It’s an unfamiliar course, and there were mistakes or mis-hits here and there. And for this trip, I opted to use my Scotty Cameron putter. Alas, putting was my biggest bane again. Sigh.
Penang Golf Club
After the game, the bus left for the hotel. Soon after checking in, we met with hubby’s sister (and husband) for dinner. It’s nice to catch up with family again after two and a half years of lockdown and not see each other. There was a lot to talk about over a delicious dinner.
Not local Penang food but Dallas BBQ duck!
They brought us to see another side of Penang. Typically, we would be around the town center or Tanjung Bungah area. But as we were in Bukit Jambul, we saw a different side of the island. All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. We parted ways, and sleep beckons after such a long and tiring day. We depart for Ipoh for the Interclub match the next day.
The short excursion plan continued over the weekend, but this was a little more than a short drive outstation. We decided to visit hubby’s parents up North.
The weekend was yet another festive holiday, and with Monday being a replacement holiday, traffic would be heavy. So, we left on Friday instead of Saturday, which turned out well for traffic that morning was not too bad.
As always, we detoured to Ipoh for lunch. But this time, we opted for something else instead of the usual Chicken Rice and beansprouts that Ipoh is famed for, and it was a pleasant change. Although our Nasi Ganja portion was not excessive, it was just enough for us. I have to say the coffee was excellent.
Nasi Ganja and iced black coffeeCurry noodles and Nasi Lemak for breakfast
For once, we did not play golf and just savored food that was under our radar previously. We even drove to the north-most state, Perlis, which I have never been to in my whole life. But sadly, there was nothing much to see there.
My first time visiting Perlis A quick hello and goodbye
The weekend came and passed quickly. All too soon, it was time to return. The drive home was equally pleasant, without traffic jams on the highway. I’m glad we made the trip to see the folks who are well.
The power of advertising today, especially on social media, has changed advertising from what or how it used to be. It was from a Facebook posting that I found the cafe that served lovely strawberry cakes.
So I convinced hubby that we should drive to Hulu Yam to try the cake, and this was the beginning of our short weekend excursion plans. A nice change from the usual weekend golf game and window shopping at shopping malls.
Two weekends ago, we drove to the Kebun Cafe. The drive was long because traffic was heavy. But when we arrived, it was a pleasant discovery. There was an organic vegetable and fruit farm next to the cafe, and yes, we bought some fruits and vegetables.
The cafe had a small crowd, but we managed to get a table. There were only drinks and cakes on the menu. Luckily, we had lunch already before we drove here! We ordered the strawberry cake and the black sesame cake, and both were heavenly. I’d say it was worth the drive. But as there wasn’t much else to see and do, we left after the short coffee break and sinful cakes.
Doing such short excursions during half a day on the weekend can be therapeutic, and we are convinced to continue with this activity. Away from the hustle and bustle of work and city living or even the monotony of our daily life, this activity discovery is pleasant for our well-being and mental rejuvenation. I look forward to our next excursion!
The weekend routine has become so predictable that we decided to do something about it. Week in, week out, we were either playing golf or at shopping malls, and it wasn’t so exciting and monotonous.
So for the past two weekends, we went away on short excursions, driving out of town to discover new places and food to eat. The drives are not that long, within an hour or so. It only took longer when we were diverted from heavy traffic and traveled on the trunk roads.
And when unsure where to go and what to do, the internet is the best place to do some quick research before embarking on something new. Last weekend, we decided to drive to Janda Baik because I found that there are some nice cafes located there.
The drive was long and windy because the navigation app diverted us to take the toll-free road instead. Oh well, we were not in a hurry.
The Pineyard at Janda Baik
When we got to The Pineyard, our lunch stop, the place was packed and bustling with activities. We walked into a garden wedding being set up for probably a late afternoon wedding to take place, followed by dinner in the main dining area. The decor was pretty, and the surrounding made the ambiance very romantic.
The cafe was packed and had a long waiting line of patrons, either walk-in visitors like us or wedding guests. We had to change our lunch plans, for it would take forever before our turn for a table. Our tummies were protesting already when we saw the crowd.
Fresh figs were very goodA pleasant discovery
We drove off, intending to go to another place when we saw Figgy’s Cafe and decided to have lunch here instead. The local food was delicious, and the Fig Farm beside the cafe was a bonus discovery. Now I know how figs grow on trees! After lunch, we checked out another cafe for coffee before heading home.
Coffee at Pinto Coffee
We never realized a simple initiative to drive off to a nearby town to discover new things would give us such pleasure, and I think we may do this more often because it’s not that tiring a drive, and it’s delightful to see places and try new food.
The announcement caught us all by surprise. Hari Raya was assumed to be tomorrow, but last night, the news broke that the first day of Hari Raya is today. It is a long stretch of holiday for this festive occasion regardless of this. Given that May 1st is Labor Day, but as it fell on Sunday, the next day is the replacement holiday.
This year is a meaningful Hari Raya because Covid-19 SOPs are now relaxed, and people are traveling again. Due to the pandemic for the past two years, interstate travel was very restricted, so this is a welcome change.
As for us, we are staying put because we don’t want to get caught in the traffic snarl. To those celebrating the festive occasion, here’s wishing you Selamat Hari Raya and happy holidays! Have a joyous time together with your loved ones.
When we went to Forest City Golf Resort, we thought we had the perfect getaway from it all. Little did we know, we would bump into two golfing friends who were also there for golf. It’s a small world!
The first encounter was a brief one in the pro shop when the friend was heading out as we were walking in. A quick chat was all we had. The second encounter was equally brief, but we made plans to meet up for dinner as the friend had just checked in.
On Friday afternoon after our morning tee-off, M1 and I decided to visit Legoland, located not too far from the resort. Hubby opted out since he had work to do. So the arrangement worked out well.
Both of us spent the hot and humid afternoon wandering through the attractions at Legoland. The Day Pass ticket was not cheap. But we were upgraded to an Annual Pass as the theme park is trying to retain or attract visitors. So would we visit again with the Annual Pass? Perhaps.
No crowd, no queue, it was ideal
The plus side of a semi-post-pandemic situation is no crowds in a theme park. There was no queue at all the rides, not many wailing kids to contend with, and no icky arms close to us because everyone had to maintain the one-meter social distancing. It was perfect save for the humid weather.
The mini wonders at Legoland Sealife at Legoland
After completing the outdoor attractions and rides, we moved indoors to Sealife aquarium. I think we enjoyed the air-conditioning more than the attractions! The rain came down when we came out from Sealife. It was a short drizzle, and the umbrella came in handy as we headed to the car.
That evening, we had dinner with our friends in the next township from Forest City, followed by a bottle of lovely French wine in the hotel lobby. It was a good getaway for us to rejuvenate and reset to face our daily routine.
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