DREAMING OF PLACES ONCE VISITED – MALAYSIA

Continuing our series of dreaming about those places we have enjoyed traveling to and have had wonderful experiences on, today we re-live Malaysia. Malaysia is an Asian country that Kiwis haven’t had on their radar over the past few years, but as we discovered, there is an interesting history to discover and much to see and do there. After landing in Kuala Lumper, we drove straight down to Malacca, Malaysia’s founding city and an UNSECO world heritage site. We played our first round of golf here on the Tiara Melaka Lakes and Meadow 9’s, which got us off to a good start. Temperatures were in the late 20’s and early 30’s with relatively high humidity for most of our rounds, which meant that we all came back to the locker rooms ready for a shower! We retraced our steps back to KL next, where a city tour orientated us to the sights and the shopping potential! The highlight round here was playing the number one golf course in Malaysia, TPC Kuala Lumpur, the home of PGA & LPGA annual tournaments. Onward and upward – literally – as we climbed up to 5,000 feet to the Cameron Highlands, where many escaped to in the past from the heat of the high summer of KL. Here, mid 20’s and a lower humidity was refreshing. After a round on the Cameron Highlands course, currently being renovated, we enjoyed visiting the first tea plantation established in Malaysia to enjoy an obligatory cup of tea. Next we moved back down into a warmer Penang Island, crossing over the Malacca straights on a 23km long bridge! Here we were based by the sea with the night markets close to the hotel, much to the delight of the ladies on tour! After another two rounds played here, we took a short 30 minute flight to our last stop, Langkawi. Once again we were based beside the sea – this time the Andaman. The two courses played here were much enjoyed, albeit our last round at the Els Teluk Datai was broken in half by a thunder storm. There was much the group enjoyed on tour – monkeys stealing golf balls, the steepest cable car ride in the world, the highly decorated trishaw rides, plus much more.