Tag Archives: Vacation

Escapade Again

26 Aug

Over the weekend, hubby and I did an impromptu golf escapade again! It was one of those impulsive decisions that a getaway is a solution to rejuvenate the body and mind. Hence, a golf trip out of town. We decided to do a Stay & Play at Damai Laut Golf & Country Club.

At the signature Par 4 near the beachside
Damai Laut

The drive to the country club was leisurely paced. We took the new WCE Highway and arrived just in time for a simple lunch at the clubhouse before teeing off. There was hardly anybody there. We literally had the golf course to ourselves, save for the troops of monkeys on several holes. Being a resort course and allowing the buggy to be on-course, we completed our 18 holes in three and a half hours! Nice.

Enjoying the sunset at the adjacent resort, DoubleTree by Hilton

Our studio unit was spacious and included a well-equipped kitchenette. We even had Netflix, unlike some hotels with limited TV channel choices. For meals, we weren’t fussy and enjoyed simple local fare at the golfer’s terrace.

We ate Nasi Lemak, Pattaya fried rice, fried kueh teow and Roti Canai

During the two nights we were there, it rained late into the night, but we stayed indoors. The Netflix choices were very gripping! During our second game on Saturday morning, we discovered some fallen trees on the golf course. We had to drive around the mess to move forward. Other than this, the course was not affected by the heavy rain, and we were still able to drive the buggy on the fairways.

The two games were very fun as we battled hole by hole. Who won? Heheh, that’s our little secret! The escapade ended all too soon, and I can’t wait to have another impulsive trip soon.

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A Lovely Gift

13 May

Mother’s Day is always a family affair, celebrating the three mothers in the family on Sunday – Mom, myself, and my sister-in-law. A sumptuous lunch and fun jabber to catch up with everyone.

This year, I received a lovely gift. It’s been almost two years since I last worked on building miniatures, and this gift is the perfect one to kickstart this activity again.

Project number 32 was the last miniature I worked on from October 2023, but sadly, I never completed it. I had golf, travel, and games on the iPad Mini, keeping me busy. At this point, I’m not sure if I can complete the set because it’s too tiny.

Anyway, maybe it’s long overdue to spend time building miniatures again. And of late, my golf sucks, and I find no joy in playing, so the timing is just nice to go back to doing things that gave me so much joy.

My Mother’s Day gift. Love it!

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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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End of the Adventure

16 Nov

It has been a whirlwind trip for us, with the big city lights, attractions, crowds, sights, cold, smells, food, wind, graduation, colder temperatures, sceneries, and smells.

We took it all in stride. When we see what the other side of the world faces daily, I think it makes us appreciate our home more.

The cold weather and the wind were a challenge. And wearing four to five layers is not something we enjoy doing, but we have to do it to stay warm. The wind is the killer factor, and that makes it unbearable at times.

The graduation ceremony was the highlight of the trip. It is hard to describe our pride and joy in seeing our baby receive her degree. A new exciting chapter awaits her life.

As much as we enjoy going on an extended holiday, I’m glad our adventure is coming to an end. We now have to prepare for hot and humid conditions back home. It will be uncomfortable to readjust, but we have had enough of the cold and wind.

Goodbye Ireland, we leave with good memories.

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Beyond 1000 Days

22 Jul

I must say I didn’t let go of the Daily Bonus trek when I was traveling to the US. It’s amazing that the chain didn’t break for both the iPad Mini and iPhone XR even with all that different time zones when we were flying. But sadly, the chain broke for the iPhone5S because I did not bring the phone along as a spare. There was no need for it especially when it had all this battery problems.

As for the Daily Bonus pursuit, basically all I did was checked both devices after 24 hours when there was wifi connection. Sure enough, the chain continued! Woo hoo…

So as of today, both are on Day 1064. Crazy….

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Let’s Play Golf!

25 Jun

The mini golf yesterday was quite enjoyable. I think the last time we did a round of mini golf was ages ago when hubby and I went to Florida for vacation. Of course during that time, it was just the two of us.

I looked at the score card and had a good laugh. If only our usual games are like that! What pros we were coming back with 11 pars and two birdies (for me) and nine pars and a birdie for hubby. M1 was not quite the golfer unfortunately.

Today we will play a real round of golf. Let’s see the scores after that…

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Ugh! Monday

17 Dec

It’s always the case of needing another vacation to recover from the vacation that just concluded. Ugh! Monday.

The journey home yesterday took longer than necessary – five and a half hours, almost akin to our annual Chinese New Year trip back from hubby’s hometown up North. And this was from Penang which should be shorter. There were two stretches where the crawl was just so tiring and the rain didn’t help. After three hours, we changed drivers.

And the rain continued all the way home. Not feeling refreshed but quite the opposite, I did not even unpack, leaving it to today. Ugh! Monday and we have to be in the office.

IMG_6359

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Chat

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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Candy Crush on Hold

5 Nov

Candy Crush finally updated its app for the iPad (last Friday) but see I told you, I passed the chapter and it’s no use for me, I still have to wait for the next update.

It is indeed one chapter at a time and I am way ahead at the next chapter at level 466. Sigh.

Well, I am going to put it on hold for the next few days as things need to be prioritize, I have some serious golf games and fun ahead to be enjoyed.

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Here I Go Again

5 Nov

The phone call came close to two months ago. I was in the midst of a discussion with my team of designers when the invite was thrown at me if I’d like to join for an upcoming golfing trip. Ooh… It was so tempting. The discussion had to be halted and a quick decision had to be made.

Right after the quick decision and some back and forth, the number 54 was somehow stuck in my head when I outlined the itinerary on TripIt to share with the whole group. This was the number of days until the trip.

Fast forward to today. Where did 54 days go?

So here I am sitting in the Premier Lounge with partial of the group (there’s 11 of us) laughing and carefree, enjoying the benefits of the lounge at KLIA before boarding. The group is not new in friendship as mentioned before but new for me in traveling together with them. My previous overseas golf excursions has always included hubby and just another couple. This time, the numbers are bigger.

There’s 3 couples and 5 ladies, myself included. At the eleventh hour, the 12th person pulled out due of work commitment that was unavoidable. It was too late to get a replacement and our golf tour coordinator, cuegolf.com, was very efficient and professional to readjust things for us.

So Thailand, here we come!

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