Tag Archives: golf

Meeting in Hanoi

19 Mar

Hanoi is fast becoming a preferred destination. Not only my recent golf trip there was memorable, but it was there that I managed to meet up with an old friend from my college days! It was not coincidental but planned.

More than three decades have flown by since leaving Northern Arizona University. We were both pursuing the same degree, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design then. We had the same classes, the same lecturers, and all. Upon graduation, we parted ways, each following her career paths and dreams. Years flew by, and we lost touch.

Thanks to technology and social media, specifically Facebook, we reconnected and kept in touch now and then online. It was recently when my dear friend talked about her bucket list trip to Asia that mooted the meeting in-person idea.

Bangkok was the initial city to meet, but the timing clashed with Chinese New Year and the Reunion Dinner occasions for me. However, all was not lost, as I had a golf trip to Hanoi and decided to adjust the dates to coincide with her arrival. And after some changes, she swapped her hotel choice to my hotel to save commuting time because we found a window! Isn’t it wonderful?

Words cannot describe the feeling when we finally met on the second last day of both our trips. It was an emotional moment when the hotel elevator doors opened, and I saw this towering person with a familiar face inside! I had tears of joy upon the bear hug.

We had five precious hours together and couldn’t stretch it any longer because both had flights to catch home the next day. Friendship is beautiful and precious only if we put our hearts into it. These days, distance or time differences are not an issue because we can connect online, on the phone, or eventually, in person.

Let’s not wait decades-long again to catch up with old friends. We can meet in my country, your country, or any country mid-way!

My towering American friend!

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Eating in Hanoi

15 Mar

Food in Hanoi was glorious! Bursting with flavors and almost similar to the tastes in Thailand, one can easily forget the waistline! Food aside, coffee is a big thing too. Our hotel was very central in its location for food and shopping.

During the day, nothing was out, but by nightfall, tiny chairs and small tables lined up along the sidewalks in front of all the buildings, ready for customers to dine in these pop-up street restaurants. It must be the French influence that has all the chairs facing the street for people-watching. Correct me if I am wrong on this.

So vibrant!

The narrow streets became more narrow when the dining furniture was all placed outside. Yet, vehicles of all sizes still come into the streets from both directions! Yikes. Even the big canopies were insufficient to deter the traffic from the area. It was quite a sight to behold.

The ushers of the pop-up eateries were rather aggressive, fighting for customers to patronize their places. The trick not to succumb to their pushiness is to avoid eye contact and walk as fast as possible on the crowded street. Don’t even peek at the menu shoved in front of your face.

The few streets near our hotel had all sorts of offerings. Besides food at a proper restaurant, by the sidewalk, or from the street stall vendors, drinks or dessert in a café, tourists were spoilt for choice for shopping, massages, pubs, and even pharmacies. The only thing stopping one is the lack of money from going all out at everything!

Food, salt coffee and coconut ice cream that I tried
Fried chicken wing and chicken feet(!) with beer

For us, we tried some here and there. We ate, drank beer, and sat on short chairs. We also shopped, had ice cream, and drank coffee but skipped the pubs and foot massages. All these were achieved in just the two streets near the hotel after golf, unlike in Bangkok recently, where we walked so much and everywhere to do the same things.

Street performance on the first night, plus the places of interest we visited

Hanoi was fun. We also managed to take in some sights, visiting the One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and the Vietnam Military History Museum.

Would I return? Most definitely, but plans have to factor in which time of the year for the nice cooling weather. Then, only the experience of Hanoi for its flavors, sights, sounds, and golf would be the best!

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Golfing in Hanoi

15 Mar

It was my first time being in Hanoi, Vietnam, for golf–all these years mostly in Thailand–and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The three rounds of golf had been so enjoyable as the weather was perfect for being outdoors and the company fun. With such lovely cooling weather, I did not feel tired after each game, and for once, foot massages were unnecessary for this golfing trip.

The golfing experience was most pleasant, and I hardly broke out a sweat even though it was buggy on track for the first two games. I even had to don my long-forgotten Skins innerwear because it was 18 degrees Celsius for the morning first game! Brr, but nice. It was only the third game that the buggies went on course.

Our first game was at Long Bien Golf Course – a lovely course, but the bunkers were killers. You know my distress when it comes to bunkers, so I shall not elaborate further on the few bunker horrors that occurred.

Conveyor belt to send the golf bags down to the buggies below!

The second game at Thanh Lanh Valley Golf & Resort was equally enjoyable. Although we teed off only at 9.30 am, it was not hot. The final course was at the South Course of Legend Valley Country Club. I felt this was the most scenic and breathtaking course among the three golf courses, with limestone hills surrounding the golf course.

Red tee at Thanh Lanh

It was so new that the course was not even available on the Garmin watches of several friends. Thankfully, my golf app, Hole 19, showed the course details on my Apple Watch, albeit without indexes. It didn’t matter at that point because I had distances to have better course management than the others.

Legend Valley

Our bus had to battle the traffic packed with big and small vehicles to get to the golf courses daily. Words are hard to describe the volume of motorbikes on the road. You have to be there to experience it.

Haphazard traffic!

Of all the three courses, each one had its appeal. I thought the Legend Valley was the best experience, even though there was a lot of water in play. And the bunkers were strategic on the fairways and greenside to trap you. The fairways were so firm that every tee-off shot landed and rolled for extra distance. I loved it!

The downside of the golf clubs was their lack of souvenirs, like ball markers, golf balls, and towels, available for purchase. On the other hand, with nothing to purchase for memory, this is a perfect excuse to return to play the courses again! Golfing in Hanoi, what an experience.

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Hello Hanoi!

13 Mar

A month after our trip to Bangkok, Thailand, hubby and I flew off for a golfing trip on Sunday. We arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, three hours later than scheduled after having our flight retimed three times. Uh-oh, not a good start.

It is my first time in Hanoi, and I find immediate similarities and differences with Bangkok. The plus point is the weather during this time of the year, cooling and not humid, is thoroughly an enjoyable factor, unlike Bangkok, which was hot and humid.

However, the sheer volume of motorbikes in Hanoi feels more here than in Bangkok. And it is astounding to see the drivers navigating the congested roads with such skill and patience. Whenever the honks blare, it’s more like ‘Excuse me, coming through’ than ‘Get out of my way!’

The trick to crossing the roads when faced with oncoming traffic is to move slowly and don’t stop or run. You will survive.

Our golfing fun began on the second day after a simple dinner and two thirst-quenching beers at an eatery across the road from our hotel at the Old Quarters.

Welcome to Hanoi!

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A Washout

8 Mar

It has been raining lately, unusual for this time of the year after Chinese New Year. So, whenever it rains, planning laundry is hard; likewise, playing golf in the afternoon.

Yesterday’s afternoon game was a washout. We managed to complete only nine holes. Very unsatisfactory, if you asked me. But I try to take the positives from the shortened round, where the short game and putting improved. It was so much better compared to the previous outing on Tuesday. And I caught up with my golf buddies, which was more important than the game itself. I have not seen them since before the Chinese New Year festivity.

On the brighter side of the weather, the rain cools down the temperature and is more bearable. However, this won’t last, as the Weather app has predicted sunny conditions for the next few days. Brace for the biting heat again!

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Short Game Setback

5 Mar

After playing two decent games with good putting (31 putts), today’s game was just the opposite. What happened?

It is darn right demoralizing when things do not go as planned. My short game was off, while the putting was not any better. Today, I did 38 putts! Yikes. And to add salt to the wound, I had six three-putts, missing several short putts. Horrible.

I hope all these, especially the short-game errors, are temporary. On a brighter note, my tee-off has improved. A slight tweak to my setup had me averaging at least 30 meters more than before! I am most impressed with myself with this newfound ability.

Now, if only I could say the same about my short game and putting. I have another game lined up to fix all these. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will hold for the afternoon game.

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My Latest Golf Shoes

1 Mar

I love buying shoes, golf shoes especially. The number of golf shoes I have had is quite impressive. My heels collection is nothing compared to them. Then again, when a pair of my heels is the classic Ferragamo Vara, there is no need for any other heels.

My latest pair of golf shoes!

My latest purchase is back to the Skechers brand, my second pair after a merry-go-round with other brands. The last two Adidas shoes, admittedly, were so-so only in terms of comfort. And when they are so used and dirtied, it’s an excuse to purchase a new pair.

I was contemplating between the Skechers or FootJoy, and decided to go with the former, although it is a men’s pair of shoes. In other words, a half-size bigger. The black Skechers and the light-colored lady’s FootJoy pair were equally comfortable, but the Skechers won me over with the color.

Lighter-colored shoes are not the easiest to clean, and I cringe whenever my current golf shoes get dirty after each game. So, with my new black Skechers, there’s less worry to maintain.

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Hit and Pray, Part 2

27 Feb

Last week, I played my first golf game after a two-week break, and it was so bad I could only laugh it off. Then I thought, oh dear, that’s not good with the upcoming Greensome Tournament on Sunday. I hope I won’t let my partner down.

Thankfully, I had a strong partner, and with our combined handicap of 16 and a game plan, we should fare better than last year. I did not have to hit and pray because my partner crossed all the treacherous lakes and gained distances I never could on my own. For the Par 5s and Par 3s, we only bogeyed three holes.

However, we made some mistakes on the remaining Par 4s. There were pars, bogeys, even double bogeys. And it took one hole to erase all our efforts.

My partner launched our third shot way left from the flag on Hole 17. The ball landed on the green but could not hold. It rolled off the green, down the slope, and landed in the compact sand bunker. Uh oh, trouble. And my turn for the sand shot. Gulp.

Bravely, I stood over the ball but could only pop it into the rough on the slope, not any further. The compact sand got the better of me, and the sight of the steep slope facing me did not make the task any easier.

Thankfully, it was my partner’s turn to play the next shot, and I felt the predicament was still under control. All he had to do was chip onto the green, right? The outcome could be a double bogey or a triple at most. But this did not happen. Sigh.

Uncharacteristic of him, he did not contact the ball well on the slope, and the ball rolled back into the sand bunker. Horrors! More trouble, and my turn again at the sand shot! I cringed.

So what did I do? I shanked my shot out from the bunker and almost hit my partner! Yikes. To cut the misery and not relive the nightmare anymore, it took a chip shot and two putts to finish the hole with a horrible nine on a Par 4.

Despite the horrible outcome, we managed our emotions and clawed back the next few holes when we crossed over. We did well, and looking back, the damage on that hole was not too bad. A couple of missed par opportunities saw us finishing the game two over.

Golf is a game of could have, should have, all the time. The outcome of Hole 17 on the back nine should not be the main culprit, for there were other unforced errors throughout the game. Although both of us worked well together, we also did err in judgment. We take to heart the lessons learned and look forward to our partnership again for the next Greensome Tournament.

There was some consolation at the end, though, for our partnership won 2nd Placing for the Ball Sweep on the front nine of the Greensome Tournament. The focus paid off upon the cross-over, and we were rewarded with half a dozen balls each. Nice.

Our Ball Sweep rewards

Who knows? Maybe we will do even better for the next tournament, and I can’t wait for it to come soon again.

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Hit and Pray

23 Feb

Going away for a holiday is always fun. But, coming back to routine becomes a problem. I stopped playing golf the week before Chinese New Year, and being away in Bangkok stretched the layoff to two weeks.

Last Tuesday, I played my first game and discovered how off I was. I could not tee off and lost all my muscle memory. My long game was short, and the short game and putting were off. It was terrible.

Despite all the misfortune, I had fun because the outing quickly became a laugh fest instead. To resolve my problems, I adopted the ‘Hit and Pray’ strategy. Just hit the ball and pray for it to land somewhere safe (read fairway, not the rough, ravine, water, or sand bunker). Hahahaha.

I hope I won’t take too long to get my golf mojo back, for I have lined up several games for next week. Otherwise, the ‘Hit and Pray’ strategy will have to continue.

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Bangkok, We Will Be Back!

20 Feb

We spent five days in Bangkok during the first week of Chinese New Year. It was fun, tiring, eye-opening, and gastronomic. We walked more than ever to discover new places of interest, ate all kinds of food, and drank more coffee and macha tea than ever.

Hubby and I enjoyed ourselves and did not mind golf was not on the agenda despite being in Bangkok, a golf destination, for five days. The girls compromised and waited for us while we did a secondary golf-related activity on the fourth day – shopping at Thaniya Plaza, the golf shopping haven.

I bought the most expensive ball marker ever in my life! For the price I paid, I can buy a dozen new soft-range golf balls instead! For the unfamiliar, we’re talking Srixon Soft Feel 13 (2023), Wilson Duo Soft (2023), Titleist Trufeel (2022), and TaylorMade Distance +Soft (2020). Yikes, I can faint now thinking about it! It was too cute to resist, and I’m a sucker for cuteness.

The most expensive ball marker!

Hotel breakfast spreads are something I look forward to when breakfast is included with the stay, whether in Bangkok or elsewhere. On this trip, we stayed at ibis Styles Bangkok Sukhumvit 4, and their spread was not too bad. But, me being me, I ate the same things every day! I just loved the boiled rice offering.

My four breakfasts – same same but different

As for being in the city during Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon decorations took prominence, although not as elaborate as what I have seen in Malaysia. The dragon displays are indoors, outdoors, hanging, or placed on the ground. The biggest surprise was on the curbside of the road leading to the Grand Palace area. I thought the last one was very clever.

You can tell Bangkok was very enjoyable for us. We hope for the next trip, we can discover new and different attractions! We may stay in a different area to experience the neighborhood and surroundings. But certain places are still a must-do/go, like shopping for golf things at Thaniya and Chatuchak for great bargains. We will be back!

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