A True Gentleman's Game

Saturday 29 March

Hitting breakfast at 5.30, leaving the hotel by 6, and getting ready to tee off at 6.30 am before the real heat kicked in, I felt like I was finally giving in to a sort of gentleman's code that I had ignored for so long. Having not played golf since the 90s, I had no idea how I was going to fare, but I had the right shirt, acceptable shoes and a positive attitude!

Turned out that I can still hit a ball straight and even get a respectable distance on some shots, so I had a very enjoyable game along with James, the GM Peter, two local sales managers and a few key customers. In the early morning shade under temples nestled in majestic hills, the peace and beauty of the place was highlighted by some young novice monks who smiled and gave me the 'OK' hand-sign on the second hole. I wasn't keeping score but feeling the flow, especially with intermittent stops involving cold beer, our first at 8.15am!

In all we were on the course for 6 hours, and by the end it was as hot as a sauna and I was sporting a light bronze glow. We gorged on lunch and cruised back to the hotel where I plunged into the pool and indulged in a fantastic foot massage - sorry, am I feeling guilty yet? No. Packed my bag with not a second to lose and headed to the airport for another shuttle jet back to Yangon.

Intending to catch some Zs on the flight but in fact only having a short power nap and the rest of the time in animated discussion, I must have been sucking energy from all the golden pagodas over which we were flying! Was picked up by Win Zar at the airport and again I dropped my bag and headed straight to dinner, a delicious and healthy meal at a Yunnan BBQ restaurant - fish, chicken, veges and dofu! Headed to Power Light, a large outlet where the entertainment was an array of singers and models who paraded around unsmilingly and received garlands from the crowd, followed by Country House, an ABC lead outlet where I had my first ever ABC draught followed by the much lighter Myanmar beer. Finished off the night at a place called Music Club, one of the country's only discos in the basement of the Park Royal Hotel. Crashed finally and got my first decent sleep since Monday.