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It Rained

20 Nov

We touchdown on time despite departing half an hour late and made our way to Kelab Golf Sarawak. Our entourage was early and lunch has yet to be served.

So we took our time to unload, settle in and rested before lunch was finally served. After that, we waited for our hosts to arrive before a slight drizzle came down. Haish… All the way here to escape the rain back home only to be greeted by more rain here. Not promising.

Finally, we managed to play some good golf. But as we were about to complete the 9th hole, the siren went off. Oh no…

For everyone’s safety, all buggies returned to the Clubhouse. Within a short time, the skies opened up and it rained heavily but only for a short while, making the already long day stretch even longer.

After the quick downpour, the sky cleared for golf to be resumed. But the grounds were soggy, the balls could not run, often plugged and my Skechers were wet. Plus it was getting dark. By the time we completed 18 holes, it was close to 6.30pm. What a long tiring day.

On the bright side of the situation, I walked 21,412 steps, burnt 652 calories and several grams of fat! This is according to my MiFit band.

I am so tired now and better get some sleep because wake-up call tomorrow is 5.00am. Groan…

Hopefully no rain to disrupt the timing and let us have an enjoyable time.

  

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Now We Wait

20 Nov

It was 2.00am when I got to the Club. Hubby wasn’t sure if I should be there alone because no one was there yet but I reassured him and told him to go home. Pretty soon the other players came along. By 3.15am the bus departed for the airport.

We arrived in the wee hours to a bustling hub, packed with travelers and efficiently checked in and had our oversized golf bags settled too. And now, we wait. Another hour to boarding. Yawn…

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My Goodness!

20 Nov

The last time I traveled at an ungodly hour was when I was flying off to Paris with hubby and my older sibling. They were going for a meeting and I was going to see Mona Lisa. It was 2013. Since then, we’ve avoided such horrid timing where we have to leave for the airport in the wee hours of the morning.

Even my golf trips with my regular group is not at such an inconvenient hour. It is because this time, I am going with the Club to Kuching, East Malaysia and the whole group is taking a chartered bus from the Club to KLIA2. Such an ungodly hour has to be adhered to. Sigh.

What to do? I really don’t want to take a cab by myself at 4.00am in the morning to the airport, nor do I want to make hubby send me to the airport. But he’s nice enough to send me to the Club by 2.30am to hop on the bus, scheduled to depart at 3.00am, I cannot complain.

The group is scheduled to fly by 7.10am for three Interclub games. It will be a tiring but interesting weekend.

My Uneven Tan Lines

3 Sep

It’s amazing what a great getaway can do for a person. However my shoulder still ached but slowly and surely recovering, thanks to the comforts of my bed and pillow. I am definitely one of those who does not appreciate down pillows of five-star hotels and resorts.

The getaway also saw my uneven tan lines become even more pronounced. Although under cloudy skies, three rounds of golf while donning Bermuda shorts outdoors can lead to various shades. I cringe every time I look in the mirror and see the unevenness. 

Initially, I thought I could even them out, vegetating by the poolside after each game. But alas, we never had the opportunity. And although our private little plunge pool was nice, it was shaded and no sun even peeked through the covers of the patio. How to work on the tan?

I think the next vacation should not be a golf outing but one to the beach to really work on the tan. 

Mountain Creek Golf Club

1 Sep

Mountain Creek is tough. I think among the three we played during this trip, this course is by far the most challenging. 

Narrow and a lot of blind holes, it didn’t help that my caddy was inexperienced as well. To the point of useless, I found myself in several dire situations upon tee off and she was incapable in every aspect. Oh well…

Can’t have it good all the time I guess. But overall, we had a good time. Will be doing lunch at the clubhouse before the three hour plus journey to the airport.

Thanks for the memories, Khao Yai. I think we can come back again.

   
   

An Early Day

1 Sep

It’s a first to wake up at 5.15am for this trip. We check out of the lovely Botanica this morning and will play our last game at Mountain Creek Golf Club. The hotel has been excellent and very attentive to details; they will provide our breakfast box-to-go without us requesting for it.

Looking forward to the rest of the day.

  

We’re Going Home Tomorrow?

31 Aug

Gosh, the thought that by tomorrow this time, we would have landed at KLIA and on our way home makes me realize how short the vacation has been, how fast time flies!

Yes, tomorrow will be our final game at Mountain Creek Golf Club with an early morning tee off.

The massage earlier helped worked out the kink in the shoulder and back in the room, the coolness of the aircon just lulled me to almost doze off. But we still have to get dinner. We sent the driver off because Concierge suggested for us to dine at the Thai restaurant located in Greenery Resort which is closeby instead of going out to search for one. We can just use the buggy service.

Definitely we will call it an early night because tomorrow will be a long day. But I am not complaining. It’s been an awesome anniversary getaway!

Kirimaya

31 Aug

The lazy morning was just plain lazy. Breakfast was good and we had time to explore a little bit of Botanica. It is indeed beautiful from the architecture point of view, with the clever use of materials and space. Lots of infiniti pools here and there. 

Soon it was time to get ready for our second game. Kirimaya was just a short distance and within 15 minutes, we arrived. There were hardly any other golfers there and we could tee off earlier than our scheduled time.

Weather was excellent despite a slight shower, it did not spoil the game. 

For the second day, I played to my USGA handicap, so it feels good to be able to maintain the level. Hubby played his best game ever. All in all, the game ended all too soon. I must admit the greens were not as fast as yesterday. The course was not as sculpted like Toscana but nature played its role to shape the challenge.

A quick lunch again, this time at an eatery across the road from Kirimaya, I decided we need to go for a massage. Not so much from golf but I suspect this could be the pillows. Down pillows and I just do not do well together.

It’s been a good day!

   
    
    
 

The Second Game

31 Aug

It was a lazy day yesterday after returning from Toscana Valley. A dip in the pool we did (Brr… The water was cold!), a snooze to recuperate and basically we just relaxed. Dinner was simple, pastas and a creme brûlée accompanied by Singha beer. Today we will play our second game at Kirimaya Golf Club.

I’ve been to Kirimaya once with the big group I mentioned earlier and really enjoyed the course. So it’s befitting to revisit and enjoy it again with hubby. I opted for an afternoon tee off for us so it’s an unhurried morning with a long heavy breakfast before we make our way there.

It should be a good game, the sun is not out and the surrounding cool. Being a Monday, I hope it won’t be crowded. We can probably finish quite fast. Yesterday, we clocked exactly four hours for our game. The front nine was very fast but when we crossed over, there was a flight in front of us. Every other hole, we had to wait which affected the momentum slightly. Even then with this hiccup, we completed in four hours, which was very good. 

Let’s see how we fare later.

After the Golf

30 Aug

After our game and quick simple lunch at Toscana Valley Country Club, we decided to head towards Khao Yai Floating Market. As the attraction was not that far away, we might as well check it out simply to add on to the ‘been there, done that’ list.

The place was not as its name suggested like the other famed Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. There’s no boat on the water at all! It’s more like a mini zoo and a collection of little stalls, amusement park style. Also there seems to be a lot of foreign influence. Marilyn Monroe was everywhere!

I poked the tail of a sun-bathing alligator. It was gooey. I don’t know how else to describe it…

Well for 100THB per person for the entry fee, we covered the place in half an hour. By 3pm, both of us were tired out already and dreaming of the plunge pool. So we will spend the rest of the day enjoying a dip in our private pool before dining at Tempo Restaurant in Botanica itself.

Hopefully tonight I will sleep better and won’t be so tired for tomorrow’s game.