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Escapade Again

26 Aug

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 beachside
Damai 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.

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Back-to-back Trip

22 Jul

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 Fun
The 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

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July Interclub Down South

15 Jul

The Interclub trip down South over the weekend came and went by in a blink. Waking up at 4:30 in the morning is not something I wish to do often, but it was necessary, as everyone had to meet at the club to depart by six o’clock in two buses.

Although there were 60 players, some chose to drive instead. The journey was comfortable with fewer people on board, and traffic was manageable along the highway. Despite taking a couple of wrong exits, our group arrived on time.

Our first Interclub match was against Ponderosa Golf and Country Club. After the welcome lunch, the shotgun start matches began. It was a good fight, but our club lost out with a score of 13.5 points versus 16.5 points. However, Ponderosa, being a gracious host, declared everyone a winner! The losing team players received silver medals, while the champion host team members collected their gold medals. What a friendly way to build friendship in a golf tournament.

The next day, the entourage traveled to Singapore via Woodlands to visit the Keppel Club for our second Interclub game. The format of play was a bit different, which initially left everyone confused. It turned out to be a team event; our players were paired with the opponents, meaning we were playing with them rather than against them. The team with the best ball score for Stableford points will be declared the winner.

Keppel Club is not an easy course to play. It may look short, but the distances to the pins were deceiving, especially with the undulating terrain. I felt so drained after the game despite the cool and cloudy weather. The early confusion on the game format aside, I would say everyone left Keppel feeling satisfied and happy.

On the final day, we had a casual game amongst ourselves at Palm Resort Golf & Country Club (Cempaka course), which was not an Interclub match. I played with my regular group, and it was quite an enjoyable round of dueling to see who would end up contributing less money for lunch! Hahahaha.

I’m just glad to be home after the hectic and tight schedule for three rounds of golf.

Keppel Club with a glaring OB spelled out guarding the Par 3; approaching Woodlands on the Causeway, and sights of the other golf courses.

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Timely Change

8 Jul

Recently, I made some changes to the clubs in my golf bag. After that horrible sticky phlegm health issue that took forever to recover from, I lost distance with my driver and woods. And golf was not fun and very trying.

I decided to fix my problems with a few changes. I replaced my XXIO MP900 12.5-degree L-flex driver with an XXIO Prime 10.5-degree R-flex driver. Then I removed both the MP900 3-wood and 5-wood and replaced them with my old Cleveland Launcher woods.

After several games, I’m pleased to say the changes have worked out well. I am gaining 30 to 50 meters more, especially with the driver! Second and third shots become easier with more choices when the distance gained is so much.

Slowly but surely, I feel my game is coming back! Yay. I am very pleased, as it is a confidence booster ahead of the upcoming Interclub golf trip that I will be going with my club to Johor and Singapore. I hope the weather will be kind when the entourage makes its way down south. We leave this Friday.

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A Lovely Gift

13 May

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.

My Mother’s Day gift. Love it!

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Back to Golf!

6 May

It’s been a month since I last played golf! That’s a long layoff in my books. The trip to China took nine days; upon my return, I fell sick. And it’s taking a long time to recover from this bout of illness. It’s a potent germ from China. The plus side is that I lost some weight, which is nice because it’s so hard to shed a pound or two these days.

Exactly a month on, I played my first game today. How did I fare? There was some rustiness in swinging the clubs. The short game was horrid, but my putting was good, thanks to the ever-reliable Scotty Cameron putter.

All in all, it was a decent return. The tee-offs were respectable and even spectacular at times. But this could be the fairways being so hard, and the ball was able to roll some additional distance. The three- and five-woods were striking well, but it was the short irons that I had trouble.

Such is usually the case with a month’s layoff. All muscle memories are gone when gauging strength and distance. So I shouldn’t stress over this issue. I need to play more to get back my golf mojo, then I will be fine.

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The Overwhelming Trip Continues

29 Apr

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.

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The Overwhelming Trip, Part 2

25 Apr

Day Two began with our visit to the Phoenix Ancient Town. The girls decided to do the photoshoot in Miao costumes, and I couldn’t opt out! It was quite an overwhelming experience for me, but I survived. After that session, we explored the vibrant night lights of the town, went on a boat cruise, and enjoyed some delicious street food.

On the third day, we visited a Miao Village. Although the walk was not too draining, it was the beginning of more challenging walks and paths. The steps and distances we covered increased daily as the terrain became more difficult. Having strong knees is essential when visiting China, especially if you plan on visiting all the natural parks. Another challenge is the public toilets, which are the squat type.

Miao Village

By the fourth day, the feeling of being overwhelmed kicked in. The crowds, the queues, the waits, and the walking! Our guide took 15 minutes to purchase the cable car tickets for Tianmen Mountain, and we then stood in line for almost two hours for the ride. It was the start of many long queues and waits. Such situations bring out the worst in a person or persons. There were some uncouth individuals—older women, mind you, and not young adults—who hopped over the barriers to cut in line without any shame. We could only look in disbelief.

Tianmen Mountain

From the cable car—at quite a distance—we could see the large hole known as Heaven’s Gate, or Tianmen Cave. It’s a natural archway formed by a cave that runs through the Mountain. And below the cable car, the 99 Bends road was a breathtaking sight. I was more impressed by the road than the gap in the Mountain, to be honest.

Spectacular!

After all that time and effort going up, it’s time to come down! The 999 steps await us. Dang, it’s a long way down. I kept my focus, looking at the steps going down, as I didn’t want any mishap to happen. I’m proud to say I took 18 minutes. What a day.

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The Overwhelming Trip

25 Apr

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 Lake
Cute 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.

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Back from the Travels

22 Apr

I’m struggling to find the right words to describe my recent trip to China, especially my visits to Changsha and Zhangjiajie. The best word to summarize the experience is “overwhelming” of the natural scenery, vast crowds, and buildings with their vibrant night colors, be it the city or the villages.

I need a little time to collect my thoughts and fully process everything before I can articulate everything. Arriving home at the ungodly hour of 4:15 a.m. hasn’t helped either, and it has only aggravated an unsuspecting sore throat.

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