Over the last few weeks, I have been traveling overseas in Asia. During the first part of my trip, I flew to Malaysia to conduct clinics, seminars and pro-am events with Dave Smart and Robert Smith on behalf of 900 Global.
On the day of our arrival, I was able to meet up with my old roommate Shalin Zulkifli and have dinner with her and her husband. I also got to meet her cute little baby girl Aleya, who is 4 months old. It was so nice to be able to meet up with her and catch up, since it had been nearly 2 years since we had seen each other.
The next day we had our first event, which took place at Tropicana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This bowling center was part of an exclusive membership club and had a 12-lane wood center inside the complex. We had around 50 people attend the classroom seminar and on-lane clinic. Later, we had a 2-game pro-am event and then had an additional game where I bowled against the highest female player and Robert bowled against the highest male player. Everyone seemed to have a great time!
The next day, we traveled 4 hours East by car from Kuala Lumpur to the city of Kuantan, Malaysia, where we conducted another classroom seminar, on-lane clinic and pro-am event at Premium Lanes Kuantan. We had about 25-30 people attend and everyone seemed to be really appreciative. We had a very nice dinner at a seafood restaurant and then went back for the pro-am. Robert and I didn’t get any practice shots and they wanted us to bowl for score right away without warm-up. So that was different, but then everyone waited for us to throw out the first ball. It wasn’t too pretty to start, as the lanes were really dry too. Robert and I both shot about 160 something that first game, but then it got better after that. I shot 210 and then 258.
The next day, the bowling center managers took all of us to sightsee around Kuantan, prior to our flight to Penang. On the way to our destination, we saw a big alpha male monkey walking around on the side of the road. That was pretty cool! Then we drove to Teluk Cempedak Beach. There was a trail along the gorgeous beach that would take you to a secluded little cove and on the way back from the cove, right by the trail, we saw about 10 little monkeys playing in the trees and also saw an endangered black squirrel up in the trees as well. That made my day!
After our sightseeing and a yummy lunch, complete with watermelon juice – my favorite! - we then took a small propeller plane for our one-hour flight to Penang island, Malaysia.
The following day, we had another seminar, clinic and pro-am event at Premium Lanes Penang. The attendance was a big majority of youth bowlers who were also a part of the Penang state team. We saw a lot of talented boys and girls and that’s always a pleasure to see! Robert and I also did a few individual lessons, prior to our formal clinic/seminar. I had a lot of fun in Penang and met a lot of really great up-and-coming bowlers!
The following day, we attended a youth tournament and gave out all of the prizes to the boys and girls. Then we headed back to Kuala Lumpur, a 5-hour trip by car. Dave and I flew out that night to Tokyo and Robert stayed the night and then flew back to Hong Kong, where he is currently working.
We had a lot of fun in Malaysia and the weather was nice too - Mid-upper 80's but about 90% humidity. :)
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