Handicap and strokes

Was in a meeting at a different department and when I returned back to my cubicle there was a tube of golf balls left on my table. No notes from who it was from, hence I couldn't thank the person who left it. Upon closer inspection ...

Could it be from one of my kakis who have seen me play? :-0

Today, I was able to join a friendly competition today organised by mybenz.org. This is the second time I joined them. The piece de resistance was a hole-in-one prize of B170, but I managed to drowned the shot...must have been a water seeking ball...Anyway, I managed to return home with a Cleveland Launcher Fairway Wood, a little bit different than the usual toaster/kettle/dvd player/coffee maker prizes that I use to get. At least it was worth the entrance fees but not scoring any brownie points with the mrs as it is of no value to her...may need to brush up a lot more for the LCD TV/double door fridge...hehe

The boy posing with the newly won club.. he thinks its for him...

On the road again .. part 2

This time it's to Kuala Terenganu. The last I was here, the old airport was still there and the new terminal is still under construction. Now the sight that greets visitor is the all new terminal building. As work was scheduled to be a whole day affair and I was booked on the last flight out from KT, I managed to get sometime to visit the new and controversial Masjid Kristal.

For me it was an unnecessary building as it was situated on an unmanned island, hence making it ineligible to be used during Friday prayers. The makmum that makes up during the prayers were mostly tourists like me. Wish it could be utilised better in the remote part of Terengganu, where development is still wanting.




ps :- got some order of keropok lekor up to the point that I had to check the keropoks in.. but was told that the ones I got was one of the better tasting ones in KT. Thanks guys for taking us to the keropok place. No pix tho as battery ran out

On the road again

My work schedule will take me on the road again. I don't mind travelling as it broadens my perspective as well as letting me experience new things but too much travelling could be stressful too. Just got back from a town down south, where its famous for its rail station cafe. Work went over lunch and the guys brought us to one of the town famous railway cafe's. The lunch crowd was there but the service was prompt. The piece de resistance was the toasted/steamed bun with generous fillings of butter and kaya, so much so that we had it for appetizer and dessert.. :-0

What's left of the so many plates of buns

Mee rebus - delicious

After work was done, my golfing partner & I headed towards the local golf course as we had some time to spare. It it a 9 hole walking course and known to the local as the "Commando Course", but we had the help of some local caddies to carry our bags and give us pointers too. Felt like a professional golfer (but it was not reflected on the scorecard). The course was tough with the first two holes got me. After some adjustment then I managed to salvage my score.

Owh, before I forget, my friend had the cheek to ask for a discount on the green fees only to be told that we have to be introduced by a member to enjoy the guest rates. He then asked whether any member would mind to introduce us so that we could get the discount and cited some names from the register book. The clerk actually said that she need some confirmation and proceed to call someone and to our surprise he agreed hence we got the discount! Thank Er*c O*g for the intro, he must be wondering who the hell that he's introducing eh...

Need to get some R&R now, have driven for a total of 380 miles/ 7 hours today, and need to get up early for another trip to the East Coast tomorrow (luckily by flight...)...another day away from the office and home, and the boy's birthday is tomorrow...sigh...

Paris van Java trip

Just returned from a 3d2n trip to Paris van Java, better known as Bandung. Bandung town is supposed to be a retreat for Indonesian especially those from Jakarta as it is set on top of a mountain range, which offers cool and breezy weather. This is apparent when we set foot there, as it looked cloudy and grey like its going to rain but we were assured that it is the norm there especially in the late afternoon. Also Bandung is known as a shoppers haven, with loads of factory outlets and its Pasar Baru.

First stop after checking in the hotel and refilling our stomachs was Pasar Baru. It is a six storey building which offers what most women were looking for, eg kain batik, textile, telekung etc. I think any nusantara women would go gaga in this place. Imagine Pasar Payang in Terengganu or Pasar Siti Khadijah in Kota Baru, then add five more storeys. My aunt was at a loss of words...

Telekung Shop Assistant at Pasar Baru

Decisions...decisions...and after that .. haggle... haggle..bisa diborong satu gedung ni...

We were at Pasar Baru until they closes and god knows how many bags were in the van after it ended. After Pasar Baru, we headed towards Jl Riau to start the shopping at the factory outlets. There were a few outlets there and we started at the Heritage. On the whole, the selection for kids was extremely good with the brands, quality of clothes and most importantly price..in RP or RM...hehe. Once you there, anything above RP60,000 or RM24 is considered expensive as we were spoiled for choice.

For dinner, we stopped at one of the restaurant recommend by Pak Suki, our guide as its near our hotel, Warung Nasi Ampera (masakan Sunda). The taste is almost similar to our cooking, which is better than the last time I went to Yogja, which everything was too sweet for my liking.

Pais Ayam, Sayur Tahu & Cumi Bakar

Gurame Bakar ... enak banget

Impressed by the packaging - takeaway

The next day we went on a trip to the north of Bangdung to Mount Tangkuban Perahu, an active volcano with accessible live craters. The drive up the mountain is about one hour, depending on traffic.

Photos at the edge of the crater

The still active crater- with sulphuric gasses

The other side of the view . . Bandung City

Some of the ole-ole sold at exorbitant prices by persistent sellers

On the way down we passed lots of nurseries and fruit stalls, due to the fertile soil around the ledge of the volcano. It seems that those with green fingers would prosper in this area. Definitely not me.

Look at the size of that and colour

Alpukat or avocados

Lunch was at Sapulidi, a rustic place setup in between paddy fields. They have huts/pondoks amidst the streams and with the cool air, the place was calming & soothing. The only thing that we could do after lunch would be sleeping it off in the pondoks. The menu is a typical Sundanese fare, and quite good too.

One of the huts for lunch

With Pak Suki, our guide.

waiting for the food ...

Adi's enjoying herself

Adi with her travel companion

After lunch, we got into the swing of shopping again, but were hindered by the presence of people, from Jakarta doing their shopping as well. It did not help that it was their school holidays and most of the outlets were jammed packed with people. We went to Rumah Mode, Dago area and sent the kids back to the hotel before going back to the Heritage area for some more shopping.

A point to note is that some of the stuff on sale true rejects or overrun stocks, some of them have dubious origins but good quality, some look like obvious imitations. Managed to get loads for the kids as with brands as Guess, Gap, Next, Oshkosh etc. Not so much for the adults or we have been looking at the wrong places. All in all, an enjoyable trip, maybe worth a repeat, this time the guys would head out golfing whilst the girls shop.

Goofies on Ice

Goofies on Ice. That would sum us today. Or that what people would perceive of us from the viewing gallery. It all started sometime last week, when we were thinking of activities to do during the school break. Somehow this has managed to creep in the conversation and upon hearing it, everyone got excited.

To be frank, the last time I went ice skating must have been during the circa of 93-97, making it about 11 years ago and it didn't look good then either. Ok, I could move from one end to the other as graceful as elephant on skates and it ain't a pretty sight.

The day started with the four of us (Me, the mrs, the boy and his girl next door) heading out to the rink. Everyone were psyched up seeing it would be the first time for the kids. It started as what I could imagine, the slippery feeling on the skates on the ice. The boy was saying that why nobody bother to invent like trainer skates, with two blades on each shoes for better support. That would be a very good idea I presume. I think the first session was about as quick as it could be, the initial adjustment was hard. All of us were holding on to our dear life at the plexi barrier and stayed in the slow zone. After a few breather off the ice, the long coordination came back and most of us could get by from point a to point b without making a total fool of ourselves.

Then when everyone has adjusted to the ice, things were really moving along. The boy could groove to the music played, me could glide as ackwardly as I could, the mrs and the girl next door could actually let go off their hands of the barrier. I didn't know that we sweat a lot on the ice, probably due to the higher ambient temperature here but that would be better than a red nose or numb ears.

All in all, it was an enjoyable time out. Would we do it again? Dunno, depends on how soon I forget about the sore bum...

Harga minyak naik lagi - 40%

Pergh....minyak naik lagi...kali ni 40%, nak buat macammana ni... nak kena ubah gaya hidup?

Now, where's my bicycle?

ps. went out to fill out d mrs car just now, the queue was about 750m with 3 layer of cars, the second station has ran out of petrol and the third, after about 1/2 hr wait manage to get to the pump, swiped my credit card and put the nozzle in only to get RM 0.12 as the petrol has ran out at the station and as per reports, nationwide. Not planning to wait another 1 hr and be disappointed again ... have to pay the 40% increase ...

P Ramlee The Musical

At last, I managed to get some tickets for the show after missing out on the first one. It was not easy to find the 'range' of prices considered appropriate with the appropriate timing of the show, but nevertheless it was better than nothing.

The second edition of the play has a new hero and one of the heroines, in fact Musly Ramly does looks like and sounds like P Ramlee. The play took us from the earlier days on P Ramlee right up to the end. For those who grew up after P Ramlee has passed away, this is sort of a Clifford Notes of his life journey.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable show. The sets were excellent, the actors were great and it ended in a standing ovation! A remark from a friend who had watched the earlier edition said that this one is even better better due to the likeness of the lead actor. To me it was worth the wait, in fact maybe even worth for a second viewing?