Tanah Merah Country Club Golf Event

Remotely tucked away in the visually quaint eastern end of Singapore and close to Changi airport, Tanah Merah Country Club boasts two of the finest 18-hole par 72 championship courses in the region namely, the Tampines course and the Garden course. The multi-award winning Garden course has hosted many major tournaments including the HSBC Women's Golf Champions and Johnny Walker and seen many of the world's best players in golf competing. Most recently this course was voted the Best Maintained Course in Asia Pacific and the Best Golf Course in Singapore due to the fact that it has been meticulously prepared and primed to perfection especially in anticipation of the confluence of women's golfing talent.

So why am I talking about this golf course and what has it got to do with my travels?

First of all, travellers are of different types with different purposes of going to places. Generally, travelling does not only mean being able to go to another place to sightsee, relax or do adventurous stuff but travelling is being away from your own vicinity and be taken to another  place to which purposes may vary for each person. Some are work-related, business-related, leisure, international sports competitions, overseas meetings, etc. 

Saying that, I am very fortunate to be able to work here in Singapore and at the same time enjoy various opportunities of exploring this beautiful country. I have been writing things about what you can find in the city in my previous posts and so today for a change, I would like to talk about the recent golf event that I had witnessed in Tanah Merah's Garden Course.

For an entrance fee of S$30 for a one day pass, I secured myself a ticket to watch the HSBC Women's Golf Champions tournament on the last day of the 4-day golfing event. It was definitely an opportunity that I  had to grab before I miss the chance of witnessing it in my entire life.

It was beautiful Sunday morning and the day was indeed fabulous to see my favorite golfers on real course.

I fancy golf by the way, not that I play the sport or enjoy a round or two but it's just that the first time I ever tried swinging at a driving range, the feeling was jut awesome! I borrow golf clubs from a close friend here in Singapore so that is really cool! I can manage to swing, and then attempt to hit that tiny little ball on the green and finally feel  an amazing torque sensation around my waist - a feeling that I absolutely like about it. But golf is a game in which you cannot force yourself to play if you think your body is not flexible enough to do the swing movement or else you may end up injuring your back, shoulders, or hips when playing. Don't think this is an easy sport where you just hit the ball and let it fly as far as 200 yards or more but I tell you there is no joke trying it. I can humbly say I can't even attempt more than 150 yards. Pity! Oh well, I guess I have to really devote myself into it if I want to see improvement. But on the downside though, golf is a very expensive sport or hobby to even start with so I guess I'll just have to stick to taking this as a leisure where I don't necessarily have to invest so much monetarily just to perfect it but only when I'm given an opportunity. Haha! 

So last Sunday was one of the most memorable day for me here in Singapore. Dressed in my so-called golf fashion to say the least, I went to register my name first and got myself a water bottle and an umbrella as souvenirs. The day was perfect! The sky was clear although it was scorching hot but everybody's mood was just fantastic! I visited each interactive villages  before proceeding to the actual course. There were putting challenge, a free 10-minute lesson of golf swing with a qualified Pro, golf simulator which seemed to be the crowds favorite, a zone for younger golf enthusiasts (young children I meant), children's kart track and a golf photo experience with the defending Champion, Ai Miyazato from Japan.

Michelle Wie 

After having fun at the interactive zone, I proceeded rightaway to see the real golf in action. I'd been dying to see Michelle Wie. Something about her that piqued my interest like her height and her swing. She's quite an attractive golfer I must say, a tall young lady who has recently been sporting a flower on the left side of her cap for fashion.  Witnessing her live in action was my ultimate aim of going there and of course I couldn't afford to just let my chance sway away aimlessly so I tried to take quiet snapshots of her immediately from the distance. Her swing was something I wished to emulate but perhaps, that was too much of an ambition so I guess I rather have to shut up.

I decided not to follow her all the way throughout the 18 holes as it would be a waste if I  miss the other golfers in action. So with the right decision of staying back, I was fortunate to see my favorite pink panther golfer Miss Paula Ceamer from California, whom facts have stated that she holds six career victories to her name and is currently in the 11th position in the Rolex Ranking. She was named  the LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2005 and won her first Major last year at the US Women's Open at Oakmont. 

Another golfer whom I admire is Christie Kerr from Miami Florida who has 14 career victories to her name so far. She has played on the LPGA tour since 1997 and has since earned millions in her career as a golfer. Her current Rolex ranking is third.

I also got the chance to see Jiyai Shin from South Korea whom record had showed she rose to World No. 1 on the Rolex Ranking last year after two victories on the LPGA tour. She now has 34 career victories for the record. And, that beautiful swing from Na Yeon Choi on the right, also from South Korea, who topped the money list on the LPGA Tour last year with $1, 871, 165 in her prize money earnings after four runner-up finishes and two victories at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Ohio.

Yani Tseng from Taiwan was actually the main focus of the game having been in her excellent form lately from all her tournaments. In 2009, she became the fastest player in LPGA history to reach the $2 million mark in career earning, achieving it in mere 32 events over 1 year, 1 month and 13 days beating Paula Creamer's record in 2006 by three whole months. She also had an extremely successful year in 2010, winning four tournaments, 3 of which were on LPGA. This year she has started the season impressively by winning the ISPS Honda Women's Australia Open, the RACV Ladies Masters at the Royal Pines resort and claimed the world no. 1 ranking from Korean Jiayi Shin.

Karrie Webb further left of the picture, Chie Arimura in the center who was seen walking beside Tani Tseng.

Karrie Webb from Queensland Australia was the proud Champ of the 2011 HSBC Women's Golf Champions tournament last Sunday. With 47 career victories to her name including the recent victory, she finished 13 under par, only a shot different from Chie Arimura who was supposed to lead so much of the entire tournament from the first day till the fourth day. But Webb's  experience had put her to the test and thrilled her all the way to the last hole and as a result, Webb won the competition.  

So if you are thinking of travelling overseas to play golf, think of Singapore as one of the choices and you will surely be pampered with a world class golfing experience.

Karrie Webb receiving the trophy.

Travel Feature of the Week

This week's travel feature will take you on a tour to one of my favorite hang-out places in Singapore - the Sentosa Beach.

Sentosa's beach is a stretch of more than two kilometers artificial beach, reclaimed using the sand bought from neighbouring countries Malaysia and Indonesia. It consists of three picturesque and  idyllic beaches namely, the Palawan beach, Siloso beach and Tanjong beach.



Palawan beach is known for its suspension bridge that leads to a small islet on the other side of the island beach. From there, you can find a viewing deck, a perfect place for viewing the beautiful island setting with the scene of the Merlion's head and the Resort World Sentosa at the distance. This beach is more for the family beach goers who just want to enjoy a nice weekend getaway at the beach with their loved ones.

Tanjong beach on the other hand is more for tranquility and solitude where you can relax and sunbathe having the nature as your company. This beach is more for those who seek peaceful and quiet setting to meditate and repose from work or other hectic and stressful activities.



Siloso beach is famous for those outgoing and fun-loving people who enjoy beach activities like beach volleyball, kayaking, skim-boarding, cycling, rollerblading, or surfing at its man-made wave at the Wavehouse and trying out the Flying Trapeze and the famous Megazip (flying fox or zipline adventure) - all these are happening at Siloso beach. After dark, this place is the best hang out venue for those who love to party! Siloso beach really comes alive with lively music from its coolest bars and restaurants. This is also one of the most popular settings for Singapore's New Year Countdown celebrations.

So this is it for my travel feature of the week. Hope you had enjoyed the photos. Every week I will be featuring travel photos and information of the places that I am featuring for the week. This is the first travel feature that I have posted and Singapore's Sentosa beach is the lucky first choice. So hope you'll come again to view my next week's travel feature and let's all have a look and say about it.

Moments in Time

{this moment} - A Friday ritual - no words - capturing a moment from my travels. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to savor and remember.

This moment is a ritual I found on life inspired by the Wee Man, kidnapped from Sarah -Jane and bumped into A.

Check out their blogs...  and if you have a moment to share too, please leave a link to your Moments in the comment box below.

Travel Photos Thursday - Tigers at Safari World

I'm joining in Nancie's Travel Photo Thursday at her Budget Travelers Sandbox introduced to me by Jim inspired from his Holes In My Soles. Here are my photos:

The Safari World is one of the most popular attractions in Everland (South Korea's largest theme park), which exhibits animals like tigers, bears, giraffe, elephants, and many more. A 15-minute Safari bus ride will give you an opportunity to feed the giraffe, get up close with the tigers and elephants and admire a   black bear doing its own stunts of entertainment. It is a delightful experience of photography and excitement that you should not miss when you visit Korea's Everland.

Travel Poem

Music In My Journey



Whenever I travel down the road

I look around and I 'm feeling bold

There's a place that lives within me

Whichever city I may choose to be.

I will always get the pleasure

Recall every street and shore

Sail down the oceans to the city I hold

so dearly, winding through my world.

That is where I wish to go, surely

Where I know I must be

A place where there's no boundary

A place full of hope and history

That is where I wish to go, truly

Where my senses tell me

Where the adventures wait for me

Where explorations are always free.

As I traipse down long and winding road

I witness scenes that I behold

High mountains, tall buildings and city lights

Endless expectations and sights.

I always recall the beauty

Reminisce every nook and bay

There's a place I know within me

In my heart I used to be.

I will be there, shortly

In no time, you will see

That is where I desire to be

For that is where I know I'm free.

There's a music in all my journey

Inspiring me in every way

As I see over the horizon

I see life full of mystery.

Temple of Heaven in China

Situated in the south eastern part of central Beijing in China is the Temple of Heaven - a magnificent temple often visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual prayer ceremonies to Heaven for good harvest in the past. Definitely the biggest park to visit in Beijing more than twice the area  of the Forbidden City.

Temple of Heaven for Good Harvests

The Temple of Heaven was constructed during the reign of Ming emperor Yongle in 1406 to 1420, who also oversaw the creation of the Forbidden City. It was originally named Temple of Heaven and Earth, but was renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of emperor Jiajing in the 16th century. Jiajing also built separate complexes - the temples of the earth, the sun and the moon in the north, east and west respectively but were later revamped during the reign of emperor Qianlong.

Panorama of the Temple of Heaven viewed from the south.

In 1998, the Temple of Heaven was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, described as "a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the world's great civilizations".

One of the halls with me at the fore ground....

The temple grounds cover 2.73 sq. km. of parkland with three main structures in it namely: the Altar of Heaven, the Imperial Vault surrounded by Echo Wall and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

Temple for Good Harvests

Inside the temple

The most prominent structure situated at the north end of the Temple is the majestic Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. It is an impressive three-tiered wooden structure that sits on a large three-tiered marble plinth, six meters high, without a single nail used to construct it - an amazing feat that needed a high level of craftmanship. Inside the Hall are twenty - eight pillars that support this three-tier building. Four pillars symbolizing the four seasons and the twelve pillars on each side to represent the twelve months and the twelve Schichens of a day. Schichen is a unit of time used by the ancient Chinese in which one Schichen is equal to two hours.



The Imperial Vault of Heaven is like a huge umbrella with a gold head. It is almost similar to that of the Hall of Prayer but just smaller in comparison. It was used to place memorial tablets of gods. The Vermilion Steps Bridge or also known as the Sacred Way connected these two structures. The emperors in the past believed that they could go to heaven through this bridge.

Panorama of the Imperial Vault of Heaven from the opposite side.

It is such that the enormity of the structures found in Beijing never fails to amaze! And, Temple of Heaven is just one of the many magnificent places to visit there. It was indeed a great pleasure to be able to witness it myself.



.:. All Panorama images are courtesy of wikipedia.

The Great Wall Of China

Great Wall - a name which speaks for itself. And having scaled even just a portion of it is a feeling I can not trade with anything else. And if you think that it's easy to climb it, think otherwise! Climbing those fiendish, steep steps of barricades certainly challenges your limits. A grip on a hand rail to make sure I won't fall back. But when you get to the top, you'll embrace an inexplainable feeling of satisfaction for having done an amazing feat and you are just taken aback!

The history of Great Wall goes back over 2000 years ago. Qin Shi Huang Di started its construction to protect China from the northern tribes and its enemies. It began as an independent wall of different states when it was first built and did not become the 'Great Wall' until the Qin Dynasty. It was Emperor Qin Shihuang who succeeded in his effort to have the walls joined together. Most of what is left of the Wall today was constructed during the Ming Dynasty and amazingly it still continues to stand the test of time.

The Great Wall is a series of stones and earthern fortification in Northern China, built, rebuilt and maintained by several dynasties at different times in Chinese history, between the 15th century and the 16th century B.C. to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire. It was built in a great army of manpower - prisoners, lives, soldiers and local people. They made the walls by piling up bricks or stones on mountains and even at the expense of countless labor's lives - a really unthinkable human effort!

Map courtesy of travelchinaguide.com 

The Great Wall of China is of different sections. Each section relays an important part of Chinese history and culture. Some sections are renovated and turn into a safe tourist place while others are just too hard to conquer. Some of the famous sections of the Great Wall are listed on the map on the left. So if you are thinking of scaling the Great Wall in the future, you might want to consider listing the sections mentioned on this map.

Moments in Time

{this moment} - A Friday ritual - no words - capturing a moment from my travels. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to savor and remember.

This moment is a ritual I found on life inspired by the Wee Man, kidnapped from Sarah - Jane and bumped into Alejandro.

Check out their blogs and if you are moved too, please leave a comment and a link to your Moments in the comment box below.

Travel Photos Thursday - Giant Panda

I'm joining in Nancie's Travel Photo Thursday at her Budget Travelers Sandbox,  introduced to me by Jim inspired from his Holes in My Soles. Here are my photos...

This photo was taken during my trip to Beijing, China in June of 2010 at its Giant Panda Zoo.



Panda or "Xiongmao" in Chinese term is the symbol of peace in China. They are large yet adorable, cuddly-looking - mostly shy solitary mammals. Giant Pandas are the rarest as well as the most endangered member of the bear family. They thrive mostly in central and western China, mainly in Sichuan, Shaaxi and Gansu province. They have strong and powerful teeth and they feed on bamboo shoots which is a tough diet for survival because bamboo species usually go through periodic die-offs after they flower and they die-off at the same time which will eventually result to pandas constant migration to another area where bamboo is flourishing. But today's modernization especially in China has greatly reduced the number of bamboo forests leaving most Giant Pandas to periodic starvation. This is one of the main reasons of them becoming endangered animal.

Generally, Giant Pandas are creature of bamboo forests and they like to be alone most of the time, always leading a mysterious life. So, chances are they have short breeding season as a result of only brief meetings with the opposite sex during mating seasons. And, females only give birth to one or two cubs each time -  another reason why they are so vulnerable to being endangered animal.

They are fast mover, not fast runner though. But it will be a surprise if you see them be faster than a human 100-meter dash champion in a sprint because they sometimes really do! They are also nimble-limbed especially when climbing trees.

That's about my travel photos Thursday on Giant Pandas. If you have travel photo to share on Thursdays, please leave a link on the comment box below so I can check it out too.

Songs of the Sea

This post is inspired by Nelieta's Sound and Light Show Giza Pyramids so I'm sharing to her and to you my readers the Songs of the Sea in Sentosa Singapore. This most talked about extravaganza set in the sea brings you a mesmerizing show with live cast and dramatic effects of pyrotecnics, water jets, brilliant lasers special computer imaging, burst of fire, captivating music and stunning flame outbursts!





Songs of the Sea is a magical fountain show featuring an unforgettable tale of a young man's discovery and triumph set in a specially - built 120 meter long Kelong (Fishing Village). This amazing show started way back in the year 2007 replacing the 25 year old Musical Fountain show in Sentosa. It is the world's only permanent show set in the sea boasting pyrotecnic displays and an open - air viewing gallery which can accommodate 2500 visitors. The show runs twice at night, 7.40 p.m. and 8.40 p.m. and admission fee is $10 per person. A rain or shine event and a must not miss spectacular happening in Sentosa island Singapore.



Here's a 2-minute clip of the ending of the show.... I hope you'll like it!

Bintan Resorts - Nirwana Gardens

Summer fun is irresistible and the summer breeze and whisting winds are whispering delights of tropical escapade which is just too hard to snub away. So first stop for a summer getaway is the Bintan Resorts in Indonesia.

Bintan island is the largest island among the 3200 islands in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It covers a land area of about 2, 400 sq. km. including 96% of sea area. It has a coastline of  105 kilometers and has a rolling topography in its landform. Huge it may be but it is sparsely populated. The Malays are the original settlers but over time, Indonesians have migrated in large numbers and eventually dominated the island.

Bintan is very close to the Equator that is why tropical climate is dominant all through the year with two distinct seasons namely the northeast moonsoon from November to March and a dry southwest moonsoon from June to October. March to early November is the dry and calm season with clear sunny days, a brilliant time to visit the place and just soak up the sun.



Bintan Resorts are Singapore owned resorts although the area is within Indonesia's territory. It is without a doubt that everything here from accommodations to food and shops are in Singapore dollars and not in Indonesian rupiah. So expect a rate that maybe expensive for others and maybe just fine with those more fortunate. It targets visitors from the nearby Singapore, to whom this island is only a mere 45 minutes ferry ride from the Singapore's Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

The resort has been laid out in four areas, namely Nirwana Gardens, Laguna Bintan, Ria Bintan and Bintan Lagoon.



I had the opportunity to stay at the Nirwana Gardens where my accommodation was at the Nirwana Resort Hotel. The hotel offers 245 rooms and suites catering to every budget and need offering breathtaking ocean views, pool views and garden views.

Nirwana translates into "perfect bliss" and Nirwana Resort is set right on the palm - fringed beach overlooking the South China sea. With the unique blend of sunny Mediterranean spirit and warm Indonesian hospitality, you are sure to have a cheery smile in this sunny cheery paradise!

The beach is fairly good but not so much of an invitation for a dip for me, personally, as I am frightened off by floating weeds on its seawater and who knows what strange creatures are actually lurking underneath those stuff! That's just me!

But soaking up the sun is my best alternative to relax and commune with nature and myself. So I am contemplating in this picture....

The pool is just the excellent venue for a dip! You'll also get a view of the beach where it faces directly from it. And since I'm running out of descriptive phrases to continue further, I may as well let these pictures do the talking.  So  hope you'll enjoy as much as I did!

The resort also offers other fun activities such as Flying Fox, archery, horse riding, pintball and elephant show all happening at Nirwana Resort Centre. Here you can also enjoy a game of bowling, billiard, etc.

Backdrop of the resort centre

Flying Fox

Nirwana Beach Club is just beside Nirwana Resort so if you are thinking of a real good fun at the beach, this is definitely the best place to stay at Nirwana Gardens in Bintan. I had the chance to get a glimpse of the beach on my very last hours of stay at the resort. The below pictures will show you how it looks...

This is just about it and overall I had pretty good fun at this resort even for two days of stay over the weekend. A nice way to relax and immerse in my dreamland for a while.... So if you happen to be visiting Singapore for a few days, why not give this island a go as well. Please visit this website for more information of  Bintan Resorts. Have fun!