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What a Pleasant Surprise!

21 Mar

Despite the early wake up call, the energy and spirits were high. Breakfast was sumptuous and satisfying. Onwards then to the next golf course! Alpine Golf Club was a pleasant surprise from Inthanon. Lush and green, there was no indication of drought and lack of water. It was literally green everywhere.

We had plenty of fun on top of an enjoyable round of golf. Well, with a chip in for a birdie for a highlight of my game (and there were two other birdies today from the others), the game ended in good spirits for all. Totally deserved the Singha beer at the clubhouse during lunch!

After lunch at Alpine, we head on to check in at Holiday Inn. A quick rest and a massage awaits us all…

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What Did I Tell Ya?

21 Mar

The morning call from the front desk was a horrible shrill. Yes, 5.30am… Wakey, wakey! Yawn… It is Day 2 and today we will leave the Resort and head to Alpine Golf Club.

I will continue my sleep in the van.

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A Hazy Start

20 Mar

I managed to catch 20 winks probably instead of 40. We arrived on time. CHX Airport looks new and within a short time, the luggages were out and our tour guide greeted us. We are using cuegolf.com again as we find their packages well-planned. Deciding breakfast was needed, we headed for fish ball flat noodles at a local coffee shop. Then an hour’s journey through the haze. I thought we were escaping the haze back home but it looks worse here.

Inthanon Golf and Natural Resort look nice but not as lush as Kirimaya (which we went to last November). Maybe it’s because of the heat and the dry looking grounds that it does not look appealing. But the resort has amusing signages and statues playfully placed here and there that makes up what it lacks.

The heat was unbearable. Thank goodness I had my umbrella. The golf course was dry and fast. Our ladies group was fairly matched; we had fun and a good fight despite the heat. Walking the whole five hours, I have definitely surpassed the walking quota for the day: 19,819 steps, 575 kcal burnt and covering 10.85km and the day has not even ended. Mind you, this stats does not include our adventure from 3.00am this morning!

All in all, it’s a good start.

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Can’t help but grin when greeted by these two at the Reception.

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What an Ungodly Hour to Wake Up!

20 Mar

I had to force myself to sleep, what with me being a night owl. I read somewhere two days ago that creative people are night owls with the tendency to always sleep late. So if every night, I hit the sack at 1.00am or thereabouts, indeed I must be creative and a certified night owl. Going to bed at 11.30pm was tough after my usual nightly routine of Zookeeper and Farm Heroes. I did not even crush any candies…

Seven minutes before my alarm went off at 3.00am, I woke up. Somehow the body always manages to stir whenever there is a need to wake up early. But the only times I wake up this early is to catch an early international flight or for a morning tee off. But for golf, it would be at least 5.30am, giving me a couple more hours of rest. Either situation, the body automatically wakes up without the alarm.

The roads were devoid of vehicles so it was quite nice to step on the pedal to enjoy the sheer driving pleasure of the ultimate driving machine. We got to our friend’s place in no time and with the van arriving simultaneously, the oversized golf bags and luggages were quickly loaded up and we were on our way to the airport.

Things were a blur at the airport. You cannot imagine the number of people traveling at this ungodly hour! LCCT was packed. But then again, with a tagline like “Now Everyone Can Fly” the KL base of AirAsia definitely had people of all kinds flying.

I guess all this is worth the ungodly wake up hour as we will play our first game upon arrival. Slated for a noon tee off at Chiangmai Inthanon Golf Resort, I just hope the weather will be nice.

I should attempt to catch 40 winks on board. Stay tuned…

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The Ugly Crocs are Traveling Again!

19 Mar

Well, well… Guess what? I am traveling again! Seems like an eternity that I last went away on vacation. Eternity?! Some may query. Well it was November and it was last year, so it seemed like a long time ago…

Nonetheless, a vacation is always totally deserving to get away from the work stress and all. So hubby and I, along with my ugly Crocs and our golfing buddies, are off to Chiangmai, Thailand for some golfing fun.

So goodbye KL! I can’t wait…

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Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

24 Dec

I cannot believe another year has gone by so fast! Wasn’t it just yesterday the whole family was visiting the US – the adults catching up with some of our dearest friends and the children seeing what I deem as my favorite places from my college days? Wait a minute, that was last year! Dang.

The past few days I was reminiscing about this time of the year and out of the blue, the song by Band Aid (Do They Know It’s Christmas?) popped into my mind! Wow. That was dinosaur years ago. Watching the music video when John Taylor (of Duran Duran) fleetingly appeared made my heart skipped a beat even after all these years. Sigh…

It’s such a classic and oldie now, that song.

This year I decided to host the family Christmas (eve) dinner, relieving my only sibling of this annual duty. I look forward to the usual happy, fun and boisterous occasion despite the reduced head count (the twins are away in college and the younger niece, at camp). The tree is up, the presents are in place, the wine chilled and the food prepared with love. This time of sharing will no doubt be cherished.

This year has been significant for me, in many aspects of my life. For starters, I tried Candy Crush (in March) out of curiosity and look what happened? I became so addicted to it, I qualify to be called a professional candy crusher. I also started this blog (in June) and have been going strong ever since. With 4,851 views and more than 200 ‘Likes’ so far, I must be doing something right.

This year also marked my M1 turning Sweet 16 and my M2 fairing well in her UPSR exam. Children aside, Hubby and I traveled a fair bit—not to new destinations—but to near and far and enough to keep our sanity in check to balance up the work stress that we face daily.

And this year I made more new friends compared to any past given year. Pretty unusual but then again, golfing friends are a unique breed and it’s nice that it has developed into wonderful friendships over many outings and dinners beyond the fairways and greens. I also rekindled old friendships, thanks to technology for making the world smaller and reachable. For all these, I feel truly blessed and yeah, it’s been a significant year for me.

So I’d like to end this significant year by wishing all—from the bottom of my heart—a happy Christmas and a merry New Year in its truest sense! Hope your 2013 was equally significant for you to reflect back in years to come with fond memories and a smile on your face.

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Home Sweet Home

16 Dec

We went to the airport last night to fetch M1. She was due to touchdown at 7.55pm. Ten days had gone by really fast. During that time, we only heard from her a handful of times as the host family that she was staying with does not have wifi, nor the places that she visited. Basically, contact was occasional but we were not worried.

Her last SMS to me that Sunday morning stated that she will see us in 9 hours. Methinks she can’t wait to come home. I tried to not to keep looking at the clock yesterday, keeping busy meeting some friends, even having lunch with my mother and later, doing some paperwork.

The airport is a place of only two emotions, hubby commented when we arrived at KLIA – one of happiness and the other of sadness. And most times, in opposites in the Departure Hall and Arrival Hall. We stood at the Arrival Hall observing returning travelers and it was interesting to note the many facial expressions and body language of mixed emotions.

Ah! There she is. A smile splits her face, a happy feeling surged in us and a sense of completeness enveloped me. My baby is finally home.

Tired from the long day, enriched from the exposure and experiences for the last ten days, maybe wiser and definitely happy, nothing beats the best feeling of knowing you’re finally home, and home sweet home awaits.

Welcome back M1!

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Am I Counting?

12 Dec

It’s Thursday already and we have been going about our things. The first two days without M1 around, we felt incomplete. And when we went out for dinner, the hubby automatically asked for a table for four.

M1 emailed once on Sunday, saying wifi is sparse and her phone has charging problems. But she’s fine and having a wonderful time. So do we feel relief or wonder in darkness? Hmm.

Well, it’s past midway of her ten-days away from us and as long as we busy ourselves, we are doing okay. But still, I think we can’t help but count the days until she’s back.

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Bundle Up!

9 Dec

Back in December 2010, we went on a family vacation to Korea and it was right smack during the winter time. And dang, it was cold! Seoul weather was in the low teens and sometimes in single digits even during the day. And when the wind kicked in, goodness gracious! Even the bones were not spared and chilled to no end.

It was the first time for M1 and M2 in such extreme weather conditions and I was worried for them. So I was constantly saying, “Bundle up!” to remind them to do so, every single time before leaving the comforts of the bus or the warmth of a restaurant into the cold blustering winds.

So much so, M2 started counting each time I said that phrase. The cheeky girl.

At the end of the eight day trip, M2 reported that I said that phrase 40 times! My goodness. Did I actually do that? I can be so predictable at times.

Then in November 2012, when we went on another family vacation, this time to the West Coast of the US, that familiar phrase was uttered again. However, as weather was not that extreme the whole time, it was mentioned only in cold places like Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and San Francisco.

But the girls remembered! They would exchange knowing looks at each other and say out loud, “Yes we know… Bundle up!” Sometimes before I can even open my mouth, M2 especially, would beat me to it, “Mummy? Aren’t you gonna say ‘Bundle up!’?” Hrmph.

I cannot remember at the end of the three-week vacation, what my final tally was…

Now that M1 is in Japan during this cold season sans mummy, I made sure she has enough to bundle up without me having to constantly utter that now infamous phrase.

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Oops! I Did It Again

15 Nov

Back from my back-to-back travels, it’s so nice to be home. Done with the customary hugs and kisses, I got back to my candy crushing ways. And what a welcome! I managed to finish the Sugary Shire chapter, completing Level 470 and awaiting tickets as I pen this. I guess I have not lost my candy crushing skills despite being away from the game for nearly two weeks.

King.com has just been so slow. Their last update on the iPad to the Butterscotch Boulders chapter (Level 455) was pointless for me because I had progressed along on the laptop to the subsequent chapter, Sugary Shire. And if they do update for the iPad, it will still be pointless for me again as I have finished this chapter.

So yea… I did it again, beating the game developer on the iPad. At this point in time, the game on Facebook ends at Level 500. It may or may not have more chapters, we shall see. But I think once I reach that level, I will officially retire from the game, whether the updates on the iPad come along or not. Will life be the same again? Hmm…

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