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Batam: Day 1

30 Apr

Life is meant to be enjoyed. With friends, golf and drinks. We bought 4 bottles of whiskey for this trip. Day 1 started with an hour turned back upon arrival and a quick lunch at Tering Bay Golf & Country Club before teeing off at 12.30pm.

It was an interesting situation, with all six of us in one flight! And all teed off from the white tee box, men and women alike. It was fun. Tering can be considered easy but I fluffed a lot of shots too. Well… There’s good days and there’s better days.

The skies were threatening initially but eventually mellowed to allow us to enjoy ourselves. After the game, a quick shower and we went off for dinner.

The Chivas was the first to be consumed with the choice of Sundanese food for dinner. I’ve never had my whiskey with a straw in a milkshake glass before, so there’s always a first!

How quickly the day went by. By 9.30pm, tiredness has kicked in or maybe it’s the whiskey…

Harris Batam Center is very new and modern. I look forward to a hot shower and a good night’s rest before waking up early tomorrow for our next game at Palm Springs Country Club.

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An Unexpected Escape

30 Apr

I was not supposed to go; we were not supposed to especially having just returned from Chiangmai not too long ago. But the lure of another golf outing was too strong to resist so here we are again, with the same people albeit a couple less, going off for another trip!

Wheeee……

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The Energy is Sapped

24 Mar

It’s interesting to note when one goes on vacation, the level of energy is always high and charged up even though sleep is insufficient and complete rest is lacking during the whole time. The minute one gets home, a sense of the oncoming familiarity kicks in with the thought of an uninterrupted sleep ahead yet the energy is sapped.

I guess when the vacation is over and faced with going back to work, responsibilities and routine, the enthusiasm is at a different level. No wonder people always say another vacation is needed to recover from the just concluded one.

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Why Not Go Shopping?

23 Mar

Since we woke up early and got done with breakfast, we might as well explore a little bit before leaving for the airport. The group also woke up early and after breakfast, we decided to take the Red Car to Chinatown.

It was fun to walk through the stalls. Weaving in and out, there were all kinds of things on display to tease our sight and it’s just our bargaining skills to make a worthy purchase if something caught our eye. The one image that caught both hubby and I was the lady who was selling duck. Put it this way, one has to look good when selling duck!

We bought several knick-knacks for the girls as always. As I got myself a knitted elephant already to add to my elephant collection, I am quite contented to just browse and admire the colors and culture. After two hours or so, we managed to meet up for brunch. Seated at the side of the street, we had fried carrot cake and fresh coconut water. Yum…

Done with the quick eat, we caught another Red Car back to the hotel and yes, it’s time to go home. A quick shower and an organized final packing, we’re going home.

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Bull frogs!

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A bit of eye shadow first before making a sale!

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Why Did I Wake Up So Early?

23 Mar

It is our last day and we should sleep in a bit as there’s no more golf today. But I woke up at six! Aaargh… Why? Why? Why? I should be sleeping in…

Oh well. Might as well go downstairs for breakfast and after that check out the vicinity before our pick up at one for the airport.

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Tomorrow We Leave Chiangmai?!

22 Mar

The phrase ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ is so apt. I find the outing this time filled with so much laughter and intimacy, it’s amazing. The group is just hilarious beyond belief and have clicked so well.

What we have shared the last few days are so priceless and I laughed as much as I golfed. Such treasured moments. Thank you all…

Tonight we had dinner at Thanum Restaurant, by the riverside and the final bottle of Aberfeldy was finished, complementing another sumptuous spread. I can’t believe tomorrow we head home! Didn’t we just got here?

We left the restaurant high and happy and decided to call it a day. Salute to all of us on covering 54 holes: walking twenty thousand or more steps, about 10km or so each day and burning close to 600kcal each time. Some may think it’s crazy what golfers do but are we complaining?

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Rockin’ the golf course!

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Good whiskey!

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How Time Flies

22 Mar

By the time we got done with our game, we waited briefly for the hubbies to finish their game and like yesterday, we had lunch at the clubhouse. We must be ravenous for this time we forgot to take pictures of what we ate.

So busy we were calculating our scores, I hardly ate and had only chicken wings and Singha beer. Today’s lunch was such a noisy affair. I think our table was the noisiest there.

Satisfied with all our golf outings, we leave Chiangmai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort with good memories. Our next stop was a two-hour stopover at Central Festival Shopping Mall.

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And Off We Go!

22 Mar

After breakfast, we hurtled across the apocalyptic horizon to Chiangmai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort. Unsure of what to expect, I just pray my breakfast stays in me especially with such a bumpy journey.

I must say Highlands is an in between Inthanon and Alpine. Colors in brown and green, I would rate it in between in terms of scenery.

Weather-wise it was bearable. The walk today cover slightly over 19 thousand steps, 9.98km and 500 odd kcal. All in all, the ladies played better today. Can’t say for the men though. To say the course is easy is an understatement. Then again after three days, if we don’t improve, then I don’t know what to say.

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The happy breakfast.

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The bumpy journey!

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Wake up! Wake up!

22 Mar

The bed was not comfortable. It just didn’t have the support especially for the back. So I did not slumber into a good sleep. But then again, I never sleep well whenever I travel.

Anyway, the hotel’s wake up call was decent, not like Inthanon’s shrill yesterday. Groaning, I pushed myself to wake up. I think the massage yesterday did my body in; I can feel kinks here and there which were not felt after two days of golf and intense walking. Not wanting to let this spoil things, the spirits are still high as we are all having a good time. The group is fun and we click well together.

So we get ready to go have a hearty breakfast again and journey to Chiangmai Highlands for our final round of golf.

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It’s a Long Day

21 Mar

When one wakes up at 5.30am, it is definitely a long day ahead. Statistically, today I walked 13.02 km, 23,842 steps and burnt 659 kcal. No wonder my legs were calling for mercy!

The massage was good, dinner was good at Jia Tong Heng, a Teochew restaurant and an hour or so at the night bazaar to cap the day. I better sleep early tonight as tomorrow, we wake up early again and head to Chiangmai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort for our next game.

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Oh Chien (oyster omelette).

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Fried Chai Thou Kueh… really good!

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Pig’s Stomach with Salted Vegetables soup.

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Suckling Pig.

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Oh Nee Pek Kueh (Taro paste with Gingko Nuts)… very sweet.

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