Tag Archives: Singapore

Red Putters and Me, Part 2

7 Feb

Every day I was on the prowl looking for the TaylorMade Spider Mini putter. I was determined to get it, come what may. Perhaps it can bring better fortune and lesser or no three putts?

Thankfully, my search did not last too long. I stumbled upon the Spider Mini on a Singapore buying/selling site instead of a location further, thus saving time and shipping costs. The condition of the pre-loved putter is almost mint. Wow, what a godsend find!

My new baby! 🥰

I enlisted my cousin to close the deal on my behalf, and bless her; we lucked out with an additional 20 percent discount off the listed price. Yay! Every dollar counts because the Singapore dollar is much stronger than the Malaysian Ringgit.

And my dear cousin brought it along when she flew in to visit during the Lunar New Year festive holiday break. So now I have another beautiful red putter to add to my collection. The best part of this latest acquisition, it’s a 32-inch putter, just like my Peanut Putter. I love it!

It’s been a month now since I last played golf. I am sure my muscle memory is all gone for the game. Oh well, better be healthy than risk any further problems.

When I am fully recovered and able to play golf again, this latest red Spider Mini putter will be in the bag instead of the Peanut or Scotty putters. I can’t wait.

Traveling Again, Part 3

30 Aug

I have always flown into Singapore via Changi Airport. However, for this trip, I flew in via Seletar Airport. And what a pleasant surprise it was! There was no crowd, no queue, and no delays at all.

I chose to fly from Subang Airport instead of KLIA as it’s more convenient. Subang and Seletar airports are smaller compared to the two main big airports. And Changi is world renowned as a destination by itself. But being smaller, certain perks are missing, like buying duty-free things. Oh well, this is not critical.

The trip ended too soon, and the weather was not kind during our return flight. As the plane descended, we experienced turbulence going through the clouds. It has been quite a while since I flew, so the nauseous feeling was just ugh.

Leaving Seletar Airport

Thankfully, the journey was not too long, and we arrived safely. Rain greeted us, and traffic built up on the way home. Not the best welcome home situation, but it’s nice to be home after an enjoyable getaway.

Arriving at Subang Airport

Traveling Again, Part 2

29 Aug

The trip to Singapore has been a good one catching up with friends and family. We had simple and sumptuous meals and memorable gatherings.

We tried Peruvian food

The four of us enjoyed delivered food and homemade cocktails in the comforts of our condo, chatting and laughing away. Precious is such of our friendship since seven years old.

Delicious gin collection

There was hardly any time for shopping, but we didn’t mind. And although it rained daily, it did not bother us. Luckily I brought my umbrella, which came in handy when we went to Orchard Road in search of some local food.

We had fishballs and mee pok and dessert.

Time has gone by too soon. We depart for home late afternoon today. I’m so glad we made the trip for friendship.

Traveling Again

26 Aug

It is exciting that I am traveling again by air! The last time I flew was in October 2019, going to Langkawi with all my high school girlfriends to celebrate our friendship. Three years have passed since that memorable trip. And as we all know, the pandemic struck in early 2020, and the whole world went into lockdown, my country included.

There were a lot of travel restrictions of varying degrees since then to manage the pandemic, and flying was the furthest thing from my mind. There was no need to fly anywhere, especially for the last two years. Also, it was a hassle with strict SOPs in place. But as the world is moving towards relaxing the travel restrictions, people are traveling again.

Two of my high school girlfriends and I spontaneously decided to go to Singapore for a short four-day getaway. We thought it would be great to catch up with friends and family whom we have not seen for so long due to the circumstances.

Besides visiting people, we will take this opportunity to enjoy the local food and play tourist in the city-island-nation. Exciting as it may be, we will be extra cautious for the four days in Singapore to avoid any unnecessary Covid-related situations. We fly off an hour past noon today! Whee.

Homeward Bound, Part 2

15 Jun

I had a restless night tracking M2’s flight. She has another five hours of flying before arriving in Singapore for a short stopover of an hour and a half. Then another hour’s flight before arriving in KLIA as of this entry.

I cannot believe how fast time has gone. Last October, she went back to Ireland, and now, another year of college is complete.

But we won’t get to be with her for another two weeks as she has to undergo quarantine requirements at a hotel. So close yet so far still. Sigh.

Short People Travel Too, Part 2

30 Mar

I must say I was impressed with the ample hooks in the bathroom of Kings Green Hotel at Malacca. It’s rare because most hotels that I have stayed at somehow do not place an importance on their availability, what more on height especially for short travellers. Could this be a hotel star-rating issue? A five-star versus a three-star for such amenities?

I remember when we were in Ipoh in August last year for golf as well, we faced a similar short travellers’ woes…

The hotel we stayed at was boutique-status and you would expect a nicer setup. If having a rain shower facility is considered a nice boutique offering, having no shower curtain certainly spoilt it.  I certainly didn’t place my dry clothes on the covered toilet seat because it’s so close by and water from such a height hitting a body would definitely splash beyond the imaginary demarcation.

In truth, I don’t recall any bathroom hooks (not even on the door) to hang clothes but I do remember the towel rack was placed at such a ridiculous height, it was impossible to use. I understand they may be trying to clear the floor but touching the ceiling? Goodness! How do I place my clothes? Throw them up and hope they land safely on it? Geez.

Maybe the boutique status was more of the coffees and cakes they serve at the lobby? Hmm… Now compare it a five-star hotel…

Several years ago, I was on a business trip to Singapore and stayed at Shangri-La on Orange Grove. Their bathroom was outstanding. Hooks everywhere and at a height a shorty feels right at home. Like I said, are such little details due to the premise’s space and ratings being a higher star-rating with full amenities versus a lower star rating with basics?

You would think that amenities were just stuff in the room and its fridge and bar, but no, additional hooks in the bathroom are actually an amenity too. Think about it the next time you travel…

Society must remember there are short people everywhere and because of this, I think I will start to document this little detail every time I travel from now on.

Ipoh-2016

The square patch above is the rain shower. Too bad I didn’t take a picture of where the towel rack was! 

Countdown Begins!

6 Dec

It’s exciting knowing that a week from today, our firstborn will be home for the Christmas holidays! We can’t wait. One more week to go…

It’s occasions like these that I want to will time to hurry up. Other days, I wish time would slow down for me to enjoy the children. They grow up so fast and too fast.

M1 is finishing her sophomore year at university. How quickly time has gone by. Somehow it feels like it was only just yesterday that we sent her off and now, she will be back for her second Christmas break! This year, she will fly directly into KLIA, unlike last year where we drove down to Singapore for her.

Ooooohhh… Can’t wait.

4.30am, Twice

22 Aug

As you know I have always dreaded the 5.30am wake up calls during my golf trips. Well, over the weekend, it was far worst than 5.30am. It was 4.30am, twice! After a late Friday night out, sleep was pretty much eluded as we had to wake up at 4.30am to ready ourselves for the journey down south for golf. Hubby and I were joining the Club entourage to Johore and Singapore, two bus loads of enthusiastic golfers, departing at 5.30am. Tiring needless to say.

Orchard Golf and Country Resort was our first stop for a Saturday afternoon game, which was hot, breezy and super hot. Amazingly I played one of my better games but in the process I think I aggravated my old wrist injury. The next day, we checked out to head on to Singapore for an 8.00am tee off at Raffles Country Club. So being an early tee off, 4.30am was the wake up call because we had to cross the Tuas checkpoint. And for the second time I am in Singapore for golf, it rained, just like the other visit back in April. We had to wait it out. Tiring needless to say.

This time around, the pain in the wrist flared and despite the course being scenic and relatively manageable, I did not enjoy myself as much. Sigh… 

Actually both games were not that tiring because they were buggy on course instead of being limited on just the tracks. It was more of the timing for logistics, the lack of proper sleep and the travelling time that made it tiring. However, I am not complaining. We had a good time and look forward to the next opportunity.

Now to get that wrist looked at…

Trains, Planes and Automobiles

9 Aug

Last Friday, taking the KTM ETS train back alone from Ipoh was my first time using the improved service. It was on time, smooth, clean and comfortable. Although it was cold in the coach, I didn’t mind and do recommend at least trying this once.

My other time taking the train was dinosaur years ago with Dad. I recall it was when the train service first started, I thought it would be quite a fun experience to take the train down to Singapore instead of driving to visit Grandma. It was the longest journey ever to Singapore! Seven hours and certainly not fun. That was my first and last time until now.

When I was in the US, I usually travelled by road or air. Never the rail, never took the AmTrak service. The only other fun experience taking the train was when hubby and I were in Italy. Hopped on the train from Rome to Venice. It was comfortable, smooth and the sceneries were very pleasant.

Back to my experience this time, would I do it again? Certainly if logistics work out well, why not?

Tribute to the Purple One

10 May

When Prince the megastar artiste died recently, the world, myself included was shocked of his sudden demise. It made me looked up my collection of his music and had a Prince weekend song fest. And like everyone else, I made a tribute to him.

But unlike the typical tributes, I bought a purple cabin bag-purple being a color synonymous with him-and this turned out excellent when I used it for my recent weekend golf escapade to Singapore and Johore. From afar upon alighting the bus, I could easily spot my bag from the sea of other black bags. Purple is a great choice.

Likewise, the Purple One was great.