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Where to Eat

1 May

One must know where to eat when in Tawau. And it’s not just normal food, it has to be seafood. Do avoid big air conditioned places where their menus don’t have pictures at all, not even their signature dishes. On top of this, the service crew looks frazzled, the Captain avoids eye contact, being evasive about choices, totally rude and  not apologetic when service is not up to par.

One should eat at non-air conditioned places where the food is good, cheap and prompt. Above all, they don’t make you wait an hour to be served.

In short, Yah Hoo gets our thumbs up while Maxim’s a thumbs down.

  

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Shocked

1 May

After our shower, the driver recommended us to Maxim’s Seafood Restaurant for dinner. We thought it was a good suggestion until we got there. Boy! Were we in for a surprise.

The service was much to be desired but the attitude sucks! After an hour’s wait, we were quite angry when we were told our order has yet to be cooked. We found this appalling when patrons who came after us were served! We queried the Captain, who was not quite knowledgeable in recommending what to eat, and his attitude and reply really shocked us! Is this what custom-facing front liners should treat their patrons?

When we asked for the bill, ready to walk out as nothing was cooked after an hour, he was not even apologetic! Can you believe that?! Collectively we all walked out.

We then called the driver to go to another restaurant and this time, he recommended Yah Hoo Seafood Restaurant. Here the lady boss was definitely more customer savvy. The first dish came even before the seats were warm.

Within five minutes, everything came out. Everything.

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Welcome to Tawau!

1 May

We arrived in time at Tawau Airport. The weather has been good unlike what we googled up, prior to departure, through Accuweather.com which said rain and thunderstorm!

Nonetheless, Tawau Golf Club is one very challenging golf course. Up and down the hills with narrow fairways and many blind holes, I lost a good six balls!  Only one game and the loss is way more than my four rounds in Bangkok and Hua Hin the week before.

We are all having noodle soup and beer now to replenish our energy before a hot shower and the real seafood dinner.

Life is good.

  
  

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Surprise! Surprise!

1 May

Bitten by the golf bug, we are off again for yet another golfing trip with the same people save for the 4th couple! Whee… With Friday and Monday being public holidays, this long weekend is an opportunity not to be missed.

By now, M2 is used to it but I suspect she’s very happy we won’t be around to nag her to study for the coming mid-term exams. Although the maid is taking care of her, there’s no real restriction on her watching her shows online or playing her games to her heart’s content.

I just hope this time around we will have better wifi connectivity so that I can check on her periodically. But until we arrive, I wouldn’t know.

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You Want a What?

30 Apr

Whenever we travel, we would buy stuff for the girls. But now with M1 at university, it is just M2 whom we have to consider. At KLIA prior to departure to Thailand last week, we spoke to her, reminding her of the usual study routine before asking what she would like.

Now having been to Bangkok last year in December, M2 knows more or less what we can get. But the cheeky one was very specific. She wanted to know if we will be heading to Siam Paragon. We may or may not because this is a golfing trip and the hotels where we are staying at are off the main shopping area.

Anyway, to entertain her, we prodded.

The usual stationery stuff? Pajamas?

None of the above apparently.

All she wanted was the Rolls Royce that is on display in Siam Paragon.

Hahaha… She is one funny girl.

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It’s Been Good

23 Apr

Despite the lack of sleep and being awaken by the other rude hotel guests, our last game at Lam Lu Ka was superb. The weather was cloudy making the playing condition optimum; it should have been like this the past four days instead of hot and very hot.

The terrain was not too hilly and the pace was good. I think it’s a befitting end to cap yet another wonderful trip with our golf friends.

We are now at the airport, checked in, seated and connected to update our status because we have been starved of wifi connection. The one down side of this trip is the lack of free wifi at the hotel that we stayed in. Oh well.

It is a golf trip and I think we should learn to deal with the sparse connectivity.

So goodbye Bangkok again. I know we will be back. Soon.

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My Goodness

23 Apr

I have heard and read many stories about the Chinese from mainland China on how rude they are as tourists when traveling abroad. I am sorry to say this about them but this morning, we experienced the rudeness firsthand. 

At 5.15am before our alarm went off, we were woken up by a loud commotion in the hallway of our hotel floor.

Unable to stomach it, I grumpily opened my front door and stared daggers at these several people talking so loudly outside their room door, four doors away from us. My goodness! Can you crank it up a wee bit more so that the floors above and below can hear you as well? Sheesh.

There was absolutely no consideration at all for the other guests as they bickered for a good five minutes. When hubby opened our door again to shush them, they just stared at him as if he was the one creating the disturbance. Sheesh.

Obviously I cannot go back to sleep. Might as well get ready for our last game at Lam Lu Ka.

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Foot Massages

22 Apr

Foot massages are the best thing to do after playing a round or two or three of golf under the hot sun. Foot massages are also recommended if you spent 10 hours walking or shopping daily.

There are many types of massages but I like the footie ones best if the legs are tired to the core. Coupled with a back and shoulder treatment, it is just so soothing. But somehow foot massages are only considered when I travel to Bangkok or Bali, never to the Western world. It didn’t cross my mind to have one when I was in Paris two years ago. But always whenever we go to Thailand or Bali.

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Day at the Golf Course

22 Apr

Can’t believe we are into Day 4 of the trip already. Today we played at Nikanti Golf Club. A very modern club with good service with an excellent course condition, today proved to be a less stressful golf outing. 

One reason being we were allowed to have the buggies on course. As such, after the game, I only walked 7,623 steps after the game. I had an even better game today than the first two games. Although it was windy, it was hardly a factor.

But it’s never just the golf course but the company. We simply had a really good time. So much so, we decided we will go for an impromptu game tomorrow morning before we fly home!

For now, we head to Plaza Thaniya for some shopping and hopefully, a foot massage after that.

Dinner was quick, hot and uncomfortable. We couldn’t get a table in the air-con dining area. The humidity and heat was unbearable, I was hit with a sudden wave of nauseousness. The last bottle of whiskey was not appealing and the thought of more sweating if I ate all those chilli dishes just made me lost my appetite totally.

So thank goodness, there were slots for us to be rubbed down. Tomorrow will be a long day, waking up at 5.30am again and off to Lam Luk Kha for our final game before catching the 7.30pm flight back to KL.

   

 

  

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Off to Bangkok

21 Apr

Banyan Golf Club was nice but hot and windy. The 18-hole walk today covered a lot of ups and downs over the hilly terrain. I felt totally drained and challenged with the wind factor. But I played better today than at Black Mountain.

Anyway after the game, we stopped for a quick duck noodle lunch before saying goodbye to Hua Hin. Our journey ahead to Bangkok should be about three hours and we got into Chinatown just in time for dinner.

Everyone agreed to Teochew food and we had a really good dinner at Tang Jai Yoo to go with the bottle of whiskey that none of us could pronounce the name. I think it’s best to head to the hotel, no more walking for the night, to rest.

  

Tomorrow we will play at Nikanti, a new golf course. 

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