Thailand Golf Tour - ChiangMai, 2016 Jan 18-22

Initial Preparation..

Sometime in May 2015, a few members suggested we made a trip to Chiangmai again since the last one was done more than 2 years ago. Air tickets were booked for 5 members on 14th May during the promo period for travelling in Jan 2016 as we wish to enjoy the cool weather during this time of the year. Later another 3 friends joined to make up the perfect 8 for 2 flights, although David can only arrived in the afternoon due to other commitment.

Day 1. 18th Jan 2016 - Maejo Golf Resort & Spa.




Francis with old friend Khun Payon (L)

Our early flight arrived at Chiangmai Airport just before 9am, and our tour leader cum driver,  Khun Payon was ready to take us for a quick beef noodle before we checked into our hotel.
Since our rooms were not ready, we had to leave our luggage in the hotel store room and proceed to Maejo, which is about an hour drive away.

Our tee-off time is set at 12.00. Although the course condition is reasonably well maintained, none of us had a good game; possibly because we don't have enough sleep since we had to get up about 3.00 in the morning. Also the green speed must be around 12.0, it is not uncommon to end up with triple bogey if your ball end up on the wrong side of the green!





Day 2. 19th Jan 2016 - Gold Canyon Golf & Resort.

When we arrived at the golf course before our tee off time at 8am, it was cold outside. I guess the temperature must be around 15C. Because there was still a group of Korean golfers at the tee box, we were asked to tee off from t-box 7 instead. It was freezing when I rode the buggy from tee box 1 to 7, especially when my buggy did not have a wind shield.
Guess what, this is not the end of it.

Our first flight had finished hole 7 and one of us had also teed off. Then, a Korean golfer from hole 6 came over to ask if we could let them pass. Initially, we agreed but then when we were told that they were a group of 2 flights, we politely said no. Few minutes later, one of our caddy received a phone call from the Marshall telling us to start the game from tee box 1, which is now cleared (guess the Korean must have called the club.) Reluctantly, we agreed and proceed to gather our front flight to follow. To our surprise, when we arrived at the tee box, we were told to wait again because there was another Korean flight there. Obviously preference were given to Korean players.  At this point, we could no longer hold up our anger, so there were loud & angry exchange of conversation between our members and the Marshall. Seeing that the Marshall was not able to resolve the situation, Dennes barged up to the club house and demanded to see the Club Manager, who did came down to meet us. He was apologetic and just keep saying "sorry, sorry", probably cannot converse well in English. Finally, he offered to compensate lunch for all.

This was an unpleasant incident that we had never experience before. Lesson learned...avoid golf tour during year-end from Nov-Jan, which is a peak season for overseas golfers, especially the  Korean and Japanese golfers who like to travel to the warmer countries during their winter season. Worst of all, most of them had little understanding of golf etiquette.

Although the course was in good playing condition, none played well presumably affected by the morning incident.

Day 3. 20th Jan 2016 - Summit Green Valley GC.

                                                                                  
Our tee off time was scheduled at 12.30 noon. Unlike the previous 2 days, the weather was rather hot. The course just average, I felt that the fairway were cut way too short. So the irons could easily dig too deep resulting a 'changkul' shot that produced a shorter than expected distance.











A coin operated toilet in the market

Day 4. 21st Jan 2016 - Royal Chiangmai GC.

This course had matured a lot since I last played more than 5 years ago. The fruit trees has grown a lot more taller, but unfortunately this was not a fruit season so no chance to savor the longan or mango that were planted abundance on the course. RCGC is still a very challenging course, though most water are not in play but there are plenty of sand bunkers, with deep front lips, guarding the fairways and around the greens. As long as you can avoid going into these deep bunkers, a fairly good scores can be achieved.

waiting for food at a teow chew restaurant beside the hotel

after a dozen beer, more beer at an open air food trucks

very clean & nice atmosphere surrounded by beer, coffee & snack trucks

David serenading the blues away

a singer on top of the Chang Beer van

thumbs up for this place

cheers to good time

 Dining out for street food....

Famous pork leg rice prepared by the sexy lady boss

we came for pork leg rice?

Accommodation..

This time we chose to stay at CH hotel, which is an old  3* hotel  with reasonably big room that comes with a long bath. Though the fittings are old and worn out, it is located immediately behind Anusan nite market, which is opened every night. The hotel is also centrally placed with massage centers ,karaoke, 7/11, bars etc within walking distance. Some of the facilities we looked forward to after 18 holes on the golf course.

There are a few relatively new hotels nearby, but one could expect these hotels with smaller room and basic amenities.

Summary...

ChiangMai Golf Tour, 18-22 Jan 2016
Total expenses approx:
per pax	RM		thai bht	avg Exc Rate
Air Ticket:	400-600
Golf Package:	2021		16500	0     .1225
Caddy tips x 4	147		1200
Meals +Misc	214		1750	(incl tips to driver)
Golf package includes all ( transport,  hotel + golf packages)

KRTU GanG 2014 year end dinner

On 29/1/2015, the Gang had decided to meet for a year end dinner at Pek Wah Restaurant, KL. The event was attended by almost all of the regular members, with the exception of Francis who was on a business trip to Japan,and Kee who had opted to stay out for personal reasons. As usual, Chan Peng came with his partner, Ah Cheng, as he cannot drive at night due to poor eyesight.
Dennes also brought along Ms Chanya, who hails from ChiangRai and is here for a month long holiday. He is having the best start to 2015!




Apparently Siew and Khoo were regulars at this restaurant since their younger days, so Siew has volunteered to pre-order the best dishes available. We had steam chicken in bacon, stewed pork with buns, stew terrapin in mushrooms, special fried rice with sausages and steam "soon hawk" or marble goby fish, just to name a few. As Chinese New Year is just around the corner, we started off with a plate of "Yee sang" topped with slices of raw salmon. This is a dish only available during the CNY festive season and everyone is supposed to dig in using chopsticks, toss and stirred up all the ingredients at the same time shouting all the auspicious wishes, including "Hole-in-one lai lah, lai pa hole-in-one". The action called "Lou sang" symbolized the beginning of a new year with prosperity and good health! Since this is the first time Ms Chanya has eaten a dish in such a rowdy manner, she must be amused by what she just had; but I am sure she will remember this occasion for years to come.

 Of course, such grand dinner cannot go without rounds and rounds of  "yam seng" or cheers with liquor and wine. For the night, Allan contributed a bottle of Camus cognac and a bottle of "Pears" whisky, Khoo brought a bottle of Martel brandy and red wines from Siew and Chan Peng.
We were told that the bottles of brandy and whisky has been bought more than 30 years ago!

Gentlemen, thanks for sharing the stocks with us. Hi guys...Liquor are meant to be consumed and not as display units in a showcase, hahaha.








Incidentally, tomorrow is the birthday of our beloved captain Alex .



Happy Birthday to You, Alex

So we had also taken the opportunity to celebrate his birthday with a small cake.
We wish him good health and stay young for another 50 years...guys, we need him to book our tee off times!









I think another reason why Siew chose Pek Wah restaurant is because the room is equipped with a karaoke machine. He was itching to start off the session even before the dishes were served. Later, he was joined by Dennes, Alex, Lau, Gan and Ah Cheng. It was surprised to see even Khoo sang a few numbers. Since we were all in the 60+ age group, top hits by Teresa Teng, Chong Sek Choong, Sammi Yip, Lisa Wong, The Bee Gees were the choice of the night. I was coxed to sing the Eagles' greatest "Hotel California" as well. It did not matter whether you were out of tunes or sung in the wrong keys, no one noticed because most of us were half  drunk and we were just having fun! Enjoying the moments!





Finally, we called it a night at around 10pm. For those who had to drive , be safely home. For Liaw and me, we had to walk 2 and 3 par5 to our LRT and KTM stations respectively. On the way, my heart was thumbing hard and my head spinning. I believe Liaw had the same feelings because I had to look back and waited for him a few times when I noticed that he was falling behind. I am sure, we were not walking in a straight line even though we were making every effort to do so. No doubt, both of us had reached our limit!
By the time, I boarded the train, my eyes were so heavy that I was afraid I might slept through till the last destination instead of getting off at Kepong! I hope Liaw found his way home safely as well. To me it was pure suffering, who said the cognac and whisky were so good to drink?????

Last but not least, we would like to extend our appreciation and sincere thanks to the two young men, Low and Gan; for footing the bills. 3 cheers to both of you!

We play hard 9 (golf), we eat hard (turtle) and we drink hard (liquor)....sadly at our age, these are the easiest  hard stuff that we can still do without MACA!!!

Thailand Golf Tour - Ayutthaya, 2020 Jan 13-17

Ayuthaya Golf Tour - 2020 Jan 13-17

After  exactly 5 years on the same dates, we have decided to come back to Ayutthaya for our 1st overseas golf tour in 2020.

Jan 13 - Muang Ake Vista GC.

   After landing at Don Muang airport at about 11.30am, we had a simple lunch on the way to our first golf destination, Muang Ake GC. However, our enthusiasm suddenly dropped after being informed that the course was closed for a local competition. Fortunately, we were told that there is another course nearby, called Muang-Ake Vista GC. It was a blessing in disguise as we found out that the whole package only cost THB700, which is very much cheaper than MAGC. The course is quite flat but reasonably well maintained. Probably a good place to warm up before our next games.

   Of course, to make the game more interesting and challenging, we introduced “Fish” betting when the group of Lim/Alex/Lee/Low played as the 1st flight, followed by David/Allan/Liaw/Khoo on the 2nd flight.

Although Low only played this betting format for the first time, he quickly grabbed the lead with 2 fishes after the first 5 holes. Though he lost back 1 fish on the 7th hole, immediately he caught one back on the par-3 8th after holed out for a birdie from closed to 30 feet. Unfortunately, the new catch didn’t last for another hole! 

Overall, the 18th hole is probably the most difficult and intimidating par-4. Tee off has to be straight through a narrow) opening between trees, with OB to the right and water hazards in front. Alex had the best lucky breaks after his tee off bounced off the buggy track but landed on the fairway about 165yds to the pin. Then he  topped his 2nd shot, but the ball strike the flag stick and landed about 1.5 ft from the hole, where he eventually scored a net birdie to win. Lee drove an absolute perfectly straight tee shot about 140yds to the green, though scored a par but still not good enough to half Alex, who “huat huat” at the very right moment!

   Overall, the package was value for money and very much make up for the disappointment after being closed out from our first golf itinerary.

Dinner.
   We went to a restaurant by the river side, where there was a local guitar soloist belting out oldies of our times. We gladly sing along whenever our favorite songs were played. It was a good start on day 1.

Jan 14 - Ayutthaya GC

  Upon arrival at AGC, we could understand why our tee off time was slotted to 11am.

The course was flooded with golfers from Korea, on golfing holidays during the winter season. The quality of the course coupled with the low golf package, certainly attracts these visitors. Although relatively flat, and very well maintained fairways and greens; player has to be weary of the many water hazards nearby. 

The par-5 hole 18 was especially intimidating. Although  the green is clearly visible on the right side of the tee box but separated by a vast expense of water, so shots had to be played round the pond with absolute precision to avoid the water grave! Lim can certainly testify to his disappointment. His tee off cut across the water surface, looking pretty good on take off but unfortunately the ball flew across the fairway and landed in the next pond! After taking a penalty drop, his 3rd shot landed perfectly about 130yds away from the green. A pitching wedge put his ball about 6ft away from the flag and eventually ended with a bogey. A very good recovery, I must say!

Never miss an opportunity!

Dinner.

   Today we went to an air conditioned restaurant nearby. We were surprised that we were the only dining group there, though the food were delicious and cheap too. Low volunteered to settle the bill, so thanks to him, we had a free dinner lo!

Jan 15 - Bangsai Country Club

Originally 18-hole, but another nine-hole, course C; was added in 2010, making it a 27-hole golf club. The owner must have the intention to make this new 9 different from other courses, so it was created with a link style with undulating and rolling fairways, which are flanked by waste land. Furthermore, the greens are mostly elevated with narrow and elongated putting surface. A welcome change from most of the flattish Bangkok golf courses.
Again we changed the flight members into:

Lim/Low/Liaw/Khoo in one group and David/Allan/Lee/Alex in another. Lim and Low continued their “fish” betting, fighting neck to neck from beginning till the end. The dual ended up all square, a happy hand shake  indeed.

Lunch.

Since we were able to finish our games early, we went to “Ruay Goong Pao “ for lunch. This restaurant is famous for its giant river prawns.

Compared to the last time we were here 5 years ago, the dining area which was built above the water by the riverside; has undergone major renovations. The structure is bigger and built with tall wooden pillars so one can have a clear view of the river and watched those huge barges plying up and

down the  river one after the other. Really not sure why the chairs are replaced with square blocks made of wood?

Walking to the edge, we could clearly see many reasonably sized cat fishes and patin fishes fighting for the prawn shells when they were thrown over the side of the floating restaurant.

The giant prawn cost THB 400 a piece and Khoo happily paid the bill which amount to about THB6000. Many many thanks to Khoo for a wonderful lunch!

After the sumptuous lunch, some of us visited the temples in the “Ancient City of Ayutthaya”. Then the group went to Wat Mahathat, but they left immediately after  being told that foreign tourist has to pay 50baht, whereas the locals only pay 10.

Dinner.

Since we had a heavy lunch not too long ago, for dinner we decided to go to a food court in town. The place has probably more than 50 dining tables in the center court, flanked by about 20 food stalls serving a variety of food. At the back, is a center stage with a local band was performing live.

After having our individual choice of dinners and 2 towers of Chang beer, we can’t help but clapped along or waved our arms towards the band, when our requested songs were played. The mood got higher after more beers went down the throats, or is it because the lady singer waved back in response? 

 Do you know what is the answer when beer is mixed with nice music? Well, just take a look at the video below for clue!

Jan 16 - Wangnoi Prestige GC.

Young Low had to leave us for a romantic redzevou with his wife to Pai, north of Chiangmai and Liaw had also decided not to join us for personal reasons; so we were able to tee-off in a “Jumbo Flight” of 6 (David/lee/Lim/Alex/Alan/Khoo).

WPGC is a very challenging course, with water hazards running, on both sides of the fairways almost on every hole. Furthermore, the greens are relatively small and guarded by high lipped bunkers in most cases. Definitely not easy to hit low scores for any casual players. This could also be one of the reasons that the course was quite empty even though Thursday was a sport day but in terms of golf package; it is still expensive compared to the last 3 courses that we had played. 

Khoo was given 2 strokes per hole to join the “Fish” betting game, true enough he took the advantage to equalize  and blocked the winner in a few occasions. He even won a “fish” by scoring net birdie on hole 13, unfortunately the fish escaped from his net immediately after.

By the time we finished the 17th hole, only Allan still held on to his 1 fish advantage. As soon as we reached the 18th tee box, it took some time for us to grasp what lies ahead. This  is going to be a really really tough hole. There are water left and right and  in front of the tee box, in a u-shape guarding the fairways.  That’s not all, there is a waste land with couple of fully grown trees right in the middle splitting the fairways into two. A good tee off is absolutely critical. Lim and Alex took the right fairways, Allan’s ball eventually found the water on the left, Khoo’s ball did not crossed the water hazard in front, whilst David’s ball landed in the waste area. Lee has the best shot in the middle of the left fairway.

Allan must have felt the pressure and knew that he had to put the next ball on the green to avoid a double bogey. True enough, after taking a penalty drop, he topped the next shot which found the water again. Apparently, Lim found water on the 2nd shot, whilst David’s 2nd shot still land the ball in the waste area about 170yds from the green. Since there was nothing to loose from, he took out his 5 wood and hit the 3rd shot from the waste area, which he said has never done before.  As if god of golf was with him, miraculously the ball found the green about 12ft to the hole. Lee has the best chance of putting his 2nd shot on the green from about 150yds away. With a 7 iron in hand, the approach was almost perfect, unfortunately the ball flew just about 2ft off the right of the flag and rolled down the elevated green. He did well to chip the ball to about 5ft from the pin, but missed the winner when the ball rolled just inches by the hole.  At the end of those grueling 18 holes, nobody caught any “fish” at all; even though Alex had the best score!

With 6 players in the game, it’s really tough to find an outright winner for a hole, coupled with the tough course conditions; the “fish” could easily slipped away in no time.

Dinner.

We went to another restaurant near the river side. Since we already had a few rounds of good local foods, we decided to order just a few simple dishes to go along with a plate of seafood fried rice. I think the management was a bit disappointed that we did not order giant fresh water prawns, which looks like a must order dish judging from the tables nearby. Who cares?

Jan 17 - home sweet home.

Since our flight departs at about 6pm in the evening, after a sumptuous breakfast at the baan; we still had plenty of time to do our last minute shopping at the wet market, which is about 10 minutes walking distance. Then we had lunch at the food court of a shopping center, more shopping before arriving at the airport about 3pm.

Accommodation.

I believe all of us agreed that Baan Bussara is a perfect choice for the 5 days stay in Ayutthaya. The rooms are clean and neat, the breakfast prepared by khun Pu; is excellent and portion is big on Asian Standard. The lady boss, khun Nud, friendly and helpful, oh ya!

I especially like the design of the baan, where rooms are arranged in a row with plenty of airy space in front . The breakfast area has just the roof over the tables, absolutely good place to gather and chat over a cup of coffee, which are provided FOC all day round. Definitely one of the cheapest home stay we have experience to-date. Only set back is probably the shortage of massage centers nearby!

The lady boss

Summary.

Total spending for the golf tour, which includes Accommodation/ Transport/ 4R golf package/ Caddy Tips/ Meals:

Finally.

We must thank Khoo and Low for generously paid the 2 dinners, thus partly accounted for the relatively low expenses.

David deserves a very big thank you from all of us for his tireless effort to plan and organize the tour.  Despite a few unpleasant encounters, he had done a marvelous job to ensure that everything runs smoothly so we could just sit back and enjoy our holidays! 

So here’s to David....”krob khun mak mak krab”!



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Ayutthaya Golf Tour - 2015 Jan 13-17

Editor's Note: it was unfortunate that the full contents were accidentally deleted while updating the post.  20.Feb 2020

Qzone Boutique Hotel - front yard

Fresh River Prawn at Ruay Goong Poa Riverside Restaurant