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Spring Break

24 Mar

M1 is having her Spring Break now and has gone off skiing at the mountains with her friends. How fun! During my college days, I had the San Francisco Peaks and Arizona Snowbowl in my backyard but never once had I tried skiing the three years I was in Flagstaff. I did take the ski lifts though but it was during Fall and there wasn’t any snow yet! Does it count?

Then I moved to New York City. Together with hubby (who was boyfriend status then) and a group of friends, we took the opportunity and headed for Upstate New York to go skiing. I must say I did not enjoy it at all even though my experience was not on the slopes.

It was cold, I couldn’t balance and was afraid of the downhill speed if you can even call it speed on the bunny hill. Yes, bunny hill. The point being, I fell quite a bit, got bruised and felt pained all over. Ouch.

Well I hope M1’s experience will be better than mine.

But I like Spring Break. My first break, I flew to sunny California and hung out with a friend in Annaheim. We visited Disneyland and I did Knott’s Berry Farm when she was still having classes. And when we didn’t do the theme parks, we just hung out with her friends and enjoyed the Fullerton area. I think something like this is more fun than falling on my butt half the time and being chilled to the bones.

M1 returns to campus today.

 

“Mom! Lookie me!”

  

Beanie for warmth and helmet for safety

  

Is this how you do it?

  

And off they went!

   

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A Long Day

29 Feb

Saturday was a long day. Amazingly, I beat the wake up call of 5.30am by waking up 15 minutes ahead and finished my packing. It was our last day in Phuket. We got ready but I did not have my coffee as the van came early and we left for Blue Canyon Golf Club after loading up everything.

Traffic was not too bad being a Saturday but we barely made it. With the golf registration all done and before I knew it, we had to tee off and I still have not had my coffee.

The Blue Canyon canyon course was tough, an old course amidst rubber trees. The course was very dry and tons of dried leaves on the ground. There was even a point where the tee boxes were missing, buried under an ocean of leaves. The caddy had to use a sand bunker rake to clear a spot for us to stand properly to tee off. 

Overall, I guess our expectations of the course left us a wee bit disappointed. Course was generally dry, even the creeks and bare trees lined the sides of some fairways. The sun came down hard and it wasn’t windy. I opted not to have a beer on the course because I have yet to have my coffee. Oh well. We finished our game early, had a good lunch at the clubhouse and got to the airport by 2.30pm.

Our friends’ flight was at 5.00pm, two hours earlier than ours so it made sense to get to the airport early which we didn’t mind as our departure was only two hours after theirs. But it was not to be when we discovered our departure was delayed and the day stretched longer for us. Sigh.

It was only then at 4pm that I finally had my coffee and I was very tired. Our wait at the airport was long. To cut a long story short, I had to have another coffee to stay awake. We finally boarded and left Phuket at 9.00pm instead and got into KLIA2 at 11.00pm. The huge airport meant we had to walk a good distance to retrieve our golf bags from Oversized Claims and from there to the Arrival Hall, another good kilometer away. By the time we arrived home, it was 1.00am! What a super long day.

Thank goodness, it was Sunday the next day to rest and rest we did. The getaway has officially ended and back to routine and time to plan for the next one to recover from this one!

   

 

Where’s the tee box?

  

Tee box must be here

     

 

 

Pin is right behind the tree in the middle!

   
   

 

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Hot and Windy Again?

27 Feb

The 5.30am wake up call this morning is unavoidable; it’s our last day in Phuket today. We check out and by 6.45am leave for our last game at Blue Canyon Golf Club for a 7.50am tee off.

Maybe it will be hot and windy again like the last two days? Whatever it is, looking forward to a good finish to what has been a pleasant trip so far.

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Hot and Windy Again

26 Feb

We spent the morning looking for a place to eat breakfast. At nine in the morning, nothing was open as Patong Beach is more of a nocturnal area and we ended up in Burger King. Dissatisfied with the choice, we walked around to kill time and ventured to a Pork Noodle stall which opened at ten and had their noodles to our satisfaction.

Then off we went to Red Mountain Golf Club. Another hot and windy day, the place was less crowded and very enjoyable. Up and down the mountains we went, thank goodness the caddies were good drivers. Today I had two Singha beers and played much better. Heheh.

But the flight in front of us delayed our pace of play and we had to rush a little bit in order to make it to dinner at Tunk-Ka Cafe on Phuket Hill because we made reservations. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and decided to go for a good rubdown. Well deserved I think.

And when you think you’re having a good time, the getaway draws to an end soon.

Tomorrow we play our last game at Blue Canyon in the morning before catching the flight home. Gosh! Can’t believe it that the pass two days have gone by so fast.

   
    
    
 

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Hot and Windy

25 Feb

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel before heading to Loch Palm Golf Club. Today’s outing was very hot but very windy. Half the time, I removed my cap for fear of it flying off my head. Then again, thank goodness for the wind, else I would have melted. For someone who golfs so much, I simply cannot stand the heat.

Several times, the tongue slipped and ‘Loch Ness’ was mentioned instead of ‘Loch Palm’. I thought it was funny but it was not when the lakes swallowed several of my golf balls! Goodness, what was wrong with me this morning? Nonetheless, I fared so much better on the back nine especially after downing a can of cold Singha.

Maybe that was what I needed. A cold beer.

After a quick lunch at the clubhouse, we then headed back to Patong area to check out the shops lining the streets. The heat was unbearable, such a scorcher and I could feel my bare calves burning. It’s just too hot to walk the streets and collectively, we decided to go back to our rooms to rest. And just as well so that I can catch up with my virtual games. 

By evening, we all met up for dinner and ventured to Mr Good’s Seafood. And as always, we would go into 7-11 and pick up snacks from there. It is always exciting to discover new flavors and try them.

As we wind down for the day, it has been good. Tomorrow we have a noon-time tee off at Red Mountain Golf Club. For once, we can sleep in. Yay.

  

   

Bright and hot day!

  

Lunch at Loch Palm

  

Dinner at Mr Good’s

   
   

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Do What You Like

25 Feb

When one is on holiday, one should do what one likes. With this in mind, here we are in Phuket, doing what we like: having a cold Singha beer on a hot afternoon, going for a foot massage, eating at odd hours, enjoying people-watching and play golf with good friends. Phuket is interesting and to a certain extent, very different from Bangkok.

Maybe because all the happening things are all concentrated at Patong Beach area, where we are staying, we can feel the vibrancy. But it is not a place for children. A lot of skin and a lot of booze, maybe a little too much even for me. I have grown to become a dinosaur…

But then again, this is our first time here and experiencing Phuket for its attractions and the golf courses. We tee off at 8.55am today.

  

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Call Me Spencer, Angie Spencer

24 Feb

KLIA2 is always crowded with travelers. Everything went smoothly from leaving home, checking-in to departure; we were on time. The one hour 20 minutes flight went by quickly yet I still had time to enjoy my pre-ordered Bukhara Chicken Briyani lunch on board.

Upon touchdown, everything went smoothly also. We got our bags in no time and walked out to look out for the pick-up board with my name on it.

We looked to the left and to the right of the sidewalk but we couldn’t see my name. Or even his name. Uh-oh. Where’s our pick up? After ten minutes, hubby said to call the number to ensure the pick up has been notified. So I called.

We waited another five minutes and suddenly a guy approached us. He had ‘Angie Spencer’ written on his paper! Not sure where this came from but it’s supposed to be me. No wonder I didn’t recognize my name! Hahahaha…

I looked at hubby and asked since when he became Mr Spencer? I thought it was funny.

Soon we were on our way to our hotel, Yorkshire Inn, home for the next three nights. We wait for our two friends to arrive later this evening. And will have a cold Singha shortly to toast this trip and perhaps, my new name, Angie Spencer. The holiday has begun!

Game one is on tomorrow at Loch Palm Golf Club.

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Yes, We Are Going Away

24 Feb

I wouldn’t say this was impromptu nor was it planned months before; we just decided we needed to go away. Enough festive eating and celebration, a time away to realign ourselves to ourselves.

We are off to Phuket this time, a first for us as it has always been Bangkok for us whenever Thailand comes to mind.

There will be golf, of course and food. I guess the eating cannot be avoided but with golf thrown in, I think there is lesser guilt.

Looking forward to this first getaway of the year!

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Who’s Lying?

25 Jan

Some hotels like to put a weighing scale in their room bathrooms. Whatever the intention is, for better or for worst, I don’t appreciate it. I could don’t stand on it but sometimes resistance is futile. Or curiosity kills the cat.

When we were in Singapore last December, Ibis Bencoolen being a small city hotel, did not have a bathroom scale. So it was pretty much a guilt-free vacation. But when we were in Lone Pine Penang, there was an electronic scale.

And the freaking machine stated that I was 2kilos more than my usual trusted scale at home! Who’s lying?

Am I really that heavy? Is my trusty home scale whom sometimes I battle with, not telling me the truth? Hmm…

M2 was philosophical. She said resort scales don’t want guests to overeat, hence the extra numbers. Gee thanks, either I was over-eating in Penang or I am really two over.

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Chat

Sleepless Nights

29 Dec

Monday morning was a zombie day for me because the night before I did not sleep at all and a little headache was building throughout the day. Anxiety, fits of cough and stomach cramps all rolled into one the whole night as I willed time to speed up a little so that we can know M1 is safe. 

Thanks to technology, we were able to track her flight path through flightaware.com and managed to connect with her when she transited in Narita. She told us they departed 20 minutes late from Changi but yet managed to arrive 20 minutes early. Amazing.

Even with such connectivity, there was worry in us. Parents. I simply cannot fathom back then how Mom and Dad felt when I went off to college with the wait and anxiety. Maybe like this but worse without the two things we have nowadays, technology and instant connectivity.

There was one year I came home for Christmas and it took a total of 36 hours, starting with a bus ride down from Flagstaff through the icy roads to Phoenix to catch my flight at LAX but was rerouted via San Francisco instead to head on to Hong Kong, Singapore and finally, Kuala Lumpur. 36 hours, what a marathon.

M1’s journey was not as crazy as mine, thank goodness but still, it’s a long way. It was slightly after 1.40am my time when she landed and two hours later, we heard from her. I then slept better. 

No more sleepless nights!

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