When hobby is work, hard work!!!

They say that golf is for people young and old, and that one can continue to enjoy golf in old age when the tennis players have developed tennis elbows, the badminton and squash players have lost their stamina, the elderly swimmers have developed ear imbalance and find the water too cold on all days ending with "y" and the elderly "Mahjong" players have run short of "Kakis" to play with. However, they miss the main point and that is one has to start young.

In golf the ball sits in front of you motionless, waiting for you to get the ball rolling, so to speak. You look down at that little ball and think, "I have to swing this club, strike that tiny ball perfectly and send it away out there to a specific target." With beginners, far too much thought and concern are thrown into the equation, often resulting in a badly hit shot. It can be quite unnerving, especially with others watching!

Y S was at the driving range for several weeks and this is where he thinks where the real work is done. But he is wrong, putting where the small ball is guided into the small hole, is even a more daunting task. After your fourth trial, you just feel like lifting it off the ground, walk straight to the hole and dump it there!!!

Perhaps, they should design bigger putting holes for aged beginners like y s. See picture above. LOL

Golfers are gentlemanly and they enjoy a strong fraternity. Too often coaching tips are freely given unsolicited. They also comfort frustrated beginners like y s with sweet words. "You have to be patient. I have taken half a year to master my swing."

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though chekered by failures, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt.

Religious acceptance or tolerance?

Yours Sincerely ( y s) and better half attended a wedding in Kelantan and following that took a short tour of two new temples, Wat Phothikyan at Kg Balai, Perupok in Bachok area, and a shrine to the Goddess of Mercy. Btw, they are not actually brand new temples but have been added on with unending new statues, extensions and wings. Our visit coincided with the opening ceremony of the giant statue of Standing Buddha, five storey high. Awesome, as it looms from the tree tops in an Islamic State!!! There were many bus loads of devotees from outstations. Y s even met friends from Alor Star. A small world, indeed.

This has been the way temples grow in Kelantan. No federal or state fundings but continuous donations, "offerings" and contributions from the devotees, near and far. To imagine that these happen in a so called Islamic state is interesting. Does it signify religious acceptance or tolerance? The answer was partly observed by y s when he noticed numerous Malay RELA members helping to oversee traffic flow and parking in the temple compound. Hope for a " Malaysian Malaysia" surged inside y s. Unity is not lost. We can still give it a try. According to a Ethiopian proverb, when spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion!!!

Anyway, whatever it is, there are several temples with giant statues in this part of Kelantan which also has a predominant Siamese demography.

This is the entrance to the temple. The fence is girded by a whole length of two dragons which meet face to face at the main entrance. Good idea.

This gigantic statue looms above the trees and is five storey high. Pretty amazing as it watches over the surrounding with keen eyes. The body glitters and sparkles as it reflects the blazing noon sun. The white body and robe reflects purity and hopefulness.

This is right infront of the prayer hall, an extension to the old temple and is supposed to be another statue of the Godddess of Mercy. How Siamese Buddhism co-exists with the Chinese popular deities is a good area for academic research. The co-existence is so harmonious that they overlapped and dissolved their differences, while clinging on to their similarities - care, concern, benevolence, selflessness, charity and a host of other lofty human kind moral values. Religion which emphasizes differences, exclusiveness and segregation is questionable. It seperates and divides, and this does not reflect the characteristics of the Almighty.

This is a shrine to the Goddess of Mercy and she is facing the South China Sea, looking out for the sea farers and fisher folks and supposedly bring sublime peace to the area.

What they say about RELIGION :-

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosohpy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. " - Dalai Lama

"Religion is a candle inside a multicoloured lantern. Everyine looks through a particular colour, but the candel is always there." - Mohammed Neguid

" The main object of religion is not to get a man into heaven but to get heaven to him." - Thomas Hardy.

"My understanding of Christianity is God in search of lost men, not men in search of lost God." - Ronald R. Hatch.

" When a religion is so enshroulded in complete darkness, a little light sheds on it would seem so threatening." - Thomas C B Chua.

Live on. " It is better to live rich than to die rich" Samuel Johnson.

Another trip on the west-east highway.

Driving takes on another meaning if you have time and drive with your heart and mind with you. Many a time, long journeys were hastily completed, and upon arriving, we have God to thank for the saving us from the near misses. Your sincerely ( y s) last trip on the West-East Highway was leisurely and we arrived with our heart and mind. Usually the heart arrived first and the mind raced hard to catch up with it. Driving at a manageable speed, not too fast for the Guardian Angel to catch up with, there are so many wonderful sights that y s had missed all those years of "Balik Kelantan" (Home to Kelantan.)

This is the picturesque man-made lake, Tasik Banding, right beside the highway. The valley was flooded after the construction of the Temenggor Dam in the 1980s, many acres of valuable tropical rain forest trees were drowned. Those days you could see them sticking out of the water as if trying to catch a breath, but they had now been completely logged . Someone must be laughing his way to the bank! So, the lake looks tidier and more placid. Fancy that this is the first time we stopped to gaze at the serenity of the lake.

This is also a new discovery. It is a lab for rain forest research. It is a bit off the main road but you cannot miss it. When we went it was closed for HRH the Agung's birthday. There are some rain forest exhibits here worth viewing.
The flora at the Titiwangsa's peak is awesome. If only there is a walk way through the green or a sky walk above the canopy of green, Malaysians can learn to value more their priceless natural heritage like what the New Zealanders do to theirs at Milford Sounds. There is a wealth of flora and fauna, and so much to be descovered by all Malaysians. If only we treasure and appreciate what God has blessed us with and STOP bickering over racial, religious and POLITICAL issues.

This is partly in Kelantan and Perak. Lush green pristine tropical jungle, stretching as far as your eyes can see. It is a feast to the tiring eyes of the drivers, and also passengers.

Try to arrive before noon and you will be rewarded with the cool soothing mountain air and gentle mist. Of course, bring along your sandwiches and coffee, and your beloved one, too.

To borrow a line from the Cornetto's ad : "Hidup Mesti Sedap ."
Get busy living. Life is GOOD. One has plenty of time to be dead.

Pictures to share with you

Images speak volumes. At the edge of giving up while doing anything physical ; like yours sincerely's ( y s ) golf fling, y s always think of this image. Determination, persistence and diligence reign supreme. " Never, never, never, never give up." Wiston Churchill.

Some claim that life is confusing. Can it be so confusing as this?

This is a toilet with a view. Excellent for those who constipate. Take your time and enjoy the view. It certainly helps.

Y s saw this salon opposite the demolished Cathay Cinema Hall at Jalan Limbong Kapal. So, ladies, the message is clear. It isn't meant for you!
This was sent by a friend. Why divorce? What is needed is not a change of partners but a change in partners. They say that marriages are made in heaven, but remember, so are thunders and lightnings. And if you still insist that marriages are made in heaven, remember, the maintenance works has still to be done on earth. Btw, y s likes what Agatha Christie says about who makes the best husband. "An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have. The older she gets, the more he is interested in her ! LOL

Not only cats are curious and curiosity does not only kill cats, baby elephants, too!!!

" No labourer in the world is expected to work for room, board, and love - except the housewife." Letty Cottin Pogrebin.

Have a GREAT day, or rather MAKE it GREAT.