The bed was too soft, the air con not cold enough and the bath tub water so slow to drain but did it matter? We were too tired to let these bother us. We were out by 1.30am last night.
So after a good rest, today all of us are back to our normal selves. After breakfast at the hotel, we left for Palm Resort Golf and Country Club for our day two game. Unlike yesterday, I am staring at clear skies and a hot sun.
Game plan for today, just do it!
The journey to Singapore took slightly over five hours this morning and unexpectedly, the immigration at the Singapore checkpoint held us up. It took almost two hours for the whole group to clear this necessity only to be met with rain and thunderstorm! Nooo….
All that trouble and no golf ahead?! It didn’t look promising as the bus inched its way slowly through traffic to get to Keppel Club. We were so late to arrive but our gracious hosts waited for us for lunch!
So lunch was a leisure affair because the course was closed due to the rain and thunderstorm. When the weather finally cleared, it was about 2.45pm when we teed off.
We never got to finish 18-holes. My flight had 3 holes left while other flights varied from 6-holes to 4-holes to go. As dinner could not be pushed to a later time, we had to finish by 6.45pm regardless of how many more holes to go.
Keppel’s hospitality was impeccable. The food was delicious, the beer and wine was free-flowing and the company very good. But all good things had to come to an end. By 9.45pm, we left Keppel Club with happy memories and braced ourselves for the heavy traffic ahead.
It’s a long Labor Day weekend ahead and we had the holiday makers to contend with on the road. These Singaporeans are headed over to Malaysia and we are leaving Singapore to check in at Johor Bahru.
Tomorrow, we play Palm Resort and thank goodness tee off is passed noon. It has been a long day and yes, I am tired. Checked into the hotel pass midnight.
Mortals being mortals like us, Adidas tagline or Nike tagline did not help at all when one is so tired from the traveling and waiting. Oh well. Tomorrow is another game and it’s either ‘all in or nothing’ or ‘just do it’ again.
Interesting architecture surrounding Keppel
I just realized Adidas changed its old tagline ‘Impossible is Nothing’ to a new ‘All In or Nothing’. Now how do I apply this to my golf? The first thing that comes to my mind would be the putting. Of course to put the dimpled ball in the cup with one putt would be best for the ‘all in or nothing’ statement but what if I missed?
Two putts or even three putts, which is my problem lately, just do not bode well with the brand’s statement. It then becomes I will be nothing because I was not all in. This in a sense would affect my confidence and ultimately my focus in the game. Not good.
Honestly, I would prefer to ‘Just Do It’ but I am not giving the brand with this tagline any justice because I am geared in all Adidas, down to my sports bra but short of my underwear. There is a conflict as far as brand loyalty is concerned.
Even Adidas’ old tagline of ‘Impossible is Nothing’ does not work for me. Most times the impossible become possible in a negative way! Shots that you wouldn’t think possible you’d execute becomes a reality. Nothing becomes everything whereby unwanted situations on the golf course becomes a nightmare, the list can go on! It all works more in the opposite manner instead. Sigh… Although it’s a mental state of mind, it is tough to discipline the thoughts when things do not go the way you want it.
Maybe I am championing the wrong brand all this while. Hmm…
Let’s see how I fare today. The mode of play for today’s Interclub match is four ball, System 36 with handicap of the day.
The journey has taken three hours already as I am writing this. My tee off is at 1.07pm. I shouldn’t be too Adidas on what lies ahead but ‘just do it’!
It’s one of those occasions where I decided to go with my golf club’s ladies group for an out-station golf trip. So 4.00am I woke up this morning to get ready to board the bus that will leave by 5.30am and we will make our way down to Singapore for an Interclub match with Keppel Club. Way early…
And I used to think waking up at 5.30am for golf is early, this tops it all. Yawn…
Nonetheless, it will be a hectic 3 days 2 nights outing as we have 3 games lined up. I anticipate fun, along with frustration as far as my putting is concerned, lots of laughter, good food and fun company.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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
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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