I Think I will Malay-Up to120 Meters
Trip Start
Mar 09, 2010
1
19
38
Trip End
Apr 21, 2010
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Port Klang is about 90 minutes from KL. From the dock, our foursome (Henry & Debbie from Edmonton and Chris from California) easily arranges a cab to take us to and from the golf course. We are told that it is about 45 minutes and that the cab drive will sleep in the parking lot and wait for us. I believe the fare was $60US. I bet if we asked him to caddie for us, instead of sleeping, it might have cost us another $10. So, the four of us set off in a really rough looking vintage Toyota Carolla. It was 9:30 am and the temperature was already 33C and 100% humidity (3 stupid Canadian's looking for a winter golf game – we will do anything for that, just not sure how we suckered in a Californian. He must have been taking pity on us). After 40 minutes in the cab, we suddenly make u-turn in the middle of the highway, as the cabbie starts mumbling and grabbing for his cell phone. That is never a good sign. Yup, he is lost. He gets us off the highway and onto some side streets. We are now 60 minutes in the journey and no golf course in site. We finally convince him to stop and call the golf course for directions. Well, he does so, but right in the middle of the road, on a corner and it is only a single lane road. I am thinking, "Ya, this is the smartest place to park. Wonder when the next truck is coming? Did I bring my health card?" We finally got there after 90 minutes. Buyer beware.
KL is “very” westernized. They have full highway systems with lots of cars and condos for as far as the eye can see. They also have a tremendous ethnic diversity. I did not make it into KL directly, as the golf course was outside the city, but Tracey did. She didn’t think much of the city itself and felt she could have been in any big city in North America, if it wasn’t for the oppressive heat and humidity. She did get a picture of the Petronas Towers for me, but from a distance and through the bus window. Big buildings don’t impress her much. (Tracey’s Comment: Yes they do, just not from a bus window, and not when they may slow down my shopping)
The golf course was very nice, but I must say, again very much like something you would see in North America. The course is surrounded by the best homes that I have seen in Asia, so again similar to NA. Other than the course being measured in meters vs yards and the fact that it was 36 C and 100% humidity, we could have been playing in Ontario. As we were setting out on the course at 10:15 all the morning golfers were coming off. I think back now and believe that many of them were laughing at us. Probably saying, “Stupid tourists. You should have thought about hiring a couple of caddies to keep you in the shade and fan you”. To compound our situation, it was cart path only. For those of you that golf, you will know that this means your golf ball will also always end up on the opposite side of the fairway from the cart path and you will probably have to walk over with your bag because you don’t know exactly what kind of shot you will have to make. I must have walked a few holes with my bag in this oppressive heat. Making matters worse, we decided to take advantage of their beer special after the 9th hole. So, it is over 100 F and we are now hydrating with beer. Yes, very smart. I think it was the 17th hole when Henry stated that he could see 2 balls then proceed to try and hit at least one of them. He wasn’t too successful. Heat stroke? Drunk? both? Not really sure. A note to beer drinking travelers in KL, be aware that Jazz Beer (the local beer) seems to be made with very weak glass. Of the 10 beers (yes, it seems like a lot for have over 9 holes, but it was HOT!), the top broke off of 3 of them when we used the opener.
We did make it through the full 18 holes and as we were coming off the course people were just starting to tee off, as the temperature was starting to drop again. We were the only group, by the looks of it, that played during the middle of the day. Once again, stupid tourists. With a fresh round of beer, we got into our taxi and headed back to the ship. If you are in KL and want to golf, I would recommend Bukit Jalil. We sat with the Events & Promo Exec, Evelyn Chee, for yet another beer after the round. If you are looking to hook up a game out there, she can help you out pr@bukit-jalil.com.my. Their website is www.berjayaclubs.com .
