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What? 5.00am again?!

9 Nov

Three days in a row waking up at this ungodly hour is an achievement for me. I feel as though I am in some touring pro league on the Asian swing.

Palazzo Bangkok does not have free wifi, so for once, my Zookeeper Battle has been neglected. As for my Candy Crush, I had accepted the fact, prior to trip that it has to be on hold.

Eating a hearty breakfast within a short time, three days in a row is also an achievement for me. The group is amazing to chow down in preparation to channel all the food to energy for their golf game. I just cannot do that.

Our van came at 6.30am sharp and we are to battle traffic to head to Amata Spring Country Club. However, rain and gloomy skies greeted us outside. Oh dear.

I hope the journey to the club, outside of Bangkok, would have better weather and perhaps, clearer skies.

An hour into the bumpy ride, I worried if my breakfast would come out! The driver sped along the elevated highway at a speed that would curl your tummy.

The skies are still grey but the rain has lessen. We have gotten off the highway by now and apparently another 15 minutes before we arrive.

This golf club is the highlight of the trip. We look forward to the experience.

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Hello Bangkok!

7 Nov

In a blink of an eye, we arrived in Bangkok. Heavy with traffic, smog and full of people, welcome to the city!

Our hotel, Palazzo is off the beaten track. At least for me because it is not the usual place hubby and I stay whenever we come here.

But it’s a new place to explore, see and experience. After checking in, the group split into two and my group went in search for food.

Street food are always a welcome in terms of taste, smell and color. Contented we trotted back to the hotel for a quick shower and next on the agenda, massage!

The four of them in my group opted for the aromatherapy while I chose a foot and shoulder treatment. Everyone felt two hours should suffice.

So here I am, enjoying a two hour relaxing treatment on my tired legs.

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Goodbye Kirimaya

7 Nov

By 12.45pm we were done with lunch and boarded the vans for our next stop, Bangkok.

It will be a two and a half hour ride as advised but we doubted it. Generally, I think the whole group agrees that the place is nice and highly recommends it. Trust us, cuegolf.com did a good job on this leg so far.

We are head to Bangkok now. Stay tuned…

One hour into the journey, we stopped at the Khao Yai Premium Outlet for some shopping. As you know, shopping is not my cup of tea but as we all agreed to an hour here, I did the obligatory browse through. Nothing caught my fancy. Oh well. But I did take some pretty pictures of trees.

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It Rained

7 Nov

It was cool and cloudy when my three ball flight teed off. The golf course was very serene and ours to play.

The greens were very slow with the morning dew. Some holes were challenging with intimidating ponds filled with lotuses to cross, some were beautiful with big houses in the midst.

It rained in the early stages so raincoats and umbrellas came out. Thankfully there was no lightning charge in the skies, so we continued on.

As we were the first flight out and being three balls, we finished our game by 10.45am.

All in all, today’s efforts saw 392 kcal burnt, 7.41km distance covered and
13,906 steps taken.

I like Kirimaya and I think the whole group agrees to. Good plan to stay two nights here instead of just one night and being rushed.

We say goodbye to Khao Yai area now as we prepare to leave for Bangkok.

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Another Early Day

7 Nov

I realize the only two times I wake up before the sun comes up is when I have a plane to catch or when I have a golf game to play.

Good morning!

Another early day has started. Day three in Khao Yai has begun. Today will be a long day, with a round of golf in Kirimaya golf resort then we journey into Bangkok in the afternoon.

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Done for the Day

6 Nov

It’s not even ten and all of us are calling it a day. No bonding session tonight and the second bottle of whiskey is still around. Amazing…

Pooped from the early wake up this morning, add in the golf game plus a two hour or so of frolicking in the cold pool and coming out pruned, we are done for day two.

Day 3 will start equally early and the game will be at Kirimaya itself. Let’s hope a good night’s sleep will restore our energy for tomorrow!

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Day Two Continues

6 Nov

Done with our game by 12.45pm, everyone agreed that the golf course was very pretty.

We opted to all go back to the resort and jump into the pool.

Ahh… bliss.

After the complimentary high tea, half the group jumped into the cold water to be refreshed. It was nice.

But after a while, we were pruned to the core. So plans changed again. A quick shower and another bonding session with whiskey and snacks before dinner.

Dinner plans were changed from Khao Yai Kitchen to Chokchai Steakhouse.

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The First Day

6 Nov

First impression upon arrival at Kirimaya Resort and Spa was one of finding inner peace. The two and a half hour or so journey northeast bound was worth it although thoughts of ‘Are we there yet?’ kept popping up in my mind.

It is set in a very peaceful atmosphere, laid back and giving you a sense of having all the time in the world to lull away.

The room is thoughtful and practical. The bed, heavenly but I brought my travel pillow along (this is another story altogether).

After a warm welcome, lots of picture taking, everyone had half an hour to freshen up before we headed out for dinner.

Dinner was somewhat of a letdown. After much debate over choices, the boisterous, tired and hungry lot of us waited for the food to come.

The first dish came.

“Huh?” is that for one person, everyone lamented.

The vegetable choice was indeed a very small portion. To make light of the situation, we rationed each to have a leaf and a stem. Yes, that’s how little it was.

Soon the rest of the dishes came. I guess by then we were all hungry and ate along when the food came out. There was an oyster omelette, a tom yam soup, chicken, a glass noodle seafood salad and the last killer papaya salad that fired up everyone’s palate.

After dinner, we stopped at 7-11 to buy Singha beer and cup noodles!

The drinking and bonding session continued in one of the rooms. By 9.30pm (local time), everyone declared tiredness has kicked in and called it a night.

It’s been eventful.

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Day Two Activities

6 Nov

Wake up call was ridiculously early! My roomie woke up even before the call came through. Packed and changed for today’s golf game at Rancho Charnvee, we trotted through the resort to breakfast.

The Kirimaya Clubhouse is also another laid back atmosphere. overlooking the driving range. Breakfast was typical with my eggs and bacon. Everyone ate their fill in preparation for the morning game.

Soon the vans came and by 7.30am we were on our way.

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On Our Way

6 Nov

We arrived early and got our bags in no time, despite being a relatively big group and each having two bags.

Our coordinator host was most hospitable and met us at the airport. We had two vans and soon, we were on our to Kirimaya Resort and Spa.

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