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| Wednesday, 22-Feb-2006 14:30 |
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The day after the summit assault...
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When we first reached Sri Intan Resort, we were awed by its surrounding... but when we walked in told that the rooms are on the 2nd floor... we almost cried... told you we are traumatized by it after the ascent... and as for myself, I have to walk down backwards coz my left knees just would not bend...
2.30 pm 22/2/06... we left Kundasang and headed back for KK... lucky enough the Kembara I'm driving was an auto transmission type... else, we may have problems getting back in KK... we reached KK around 4.00 pm and just nice to avoid the traffic jam... drop by at a clinic as one of the girls was not feeling well due to the cold weather in Kundasang...
5.30 pm.. we headed to Anjung Senja for a heavy dinner... ahahaha.. after so much of climbing and less food we decided to feast ouselves at my favorite stall Alinaz Delite... so we had Ikan Putih masak asam, kangkong belacan, some soup and also ikan pari bakar... yummy... and we basked ourselves in the sunset yet again but minus Tg Aru... still the view is breathtaking...
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| Tuesday, 21-Feb-2006 02:45 |
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The Quest to the Highest Summit of South East Asia...
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We begin our assault to the summit as early as 2.45 am... it was dark and very cold with wind blasting into our body making it even colder... No rain and no fog during our initial climb... one of the team member suffered a bad nausea and I have to accompany her all the way up to the summit... Pity her but her courage and efforts is to be made an example to all...
We were hit by heavy fog after the 1km mark... and the wind was not getting any slower either... making the ascent a much difficult one for us as beginners... vision is less than 10 m... as such the torchlite is not much of help except to see what's rite in front of us... can't capture much photo then... until we reached the 8 km mark some 3 hours later... other climbers were already on their way down and our group was the last to reach the summit... the summit was finally conquered at 7.45 am...
Getting down from the summit was faster as we can now see our way around... if only we knew that the route was not as hard as we thought, we could've have gone much faster... next time... my dear... i'll be back for another assault...
btw, going down to the Kinabalu park is much worse than i thought... my legs just couldn't take it and for the final 1 km, I was just dragging my feet and how i wish that i can just fly to timpohon gate... and seeing the final steps to reach the gate was traumatic... and stairs has become a taboo for us... we begin descending at 12 and finally reached timpohon gate at 4.30 pm... arggghhh!!!! my legs hurt so much!!!!!
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| Monday, 20-Feb-2006 07:30 |
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Day 5 - Climbing up Mount Kinabalu
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We began our journey to the Kinabalu Park as early as 7.30 am from KK. Today, another member of the group will be returning back to KL. Only 4 of us will take the challenge to conquer the highest summit in SEA. Another team member will be waiting for us in Kundasang as she was declared unfit for the assault by her doctor.
We begin our quest at about 10.30 am from Timpohon gate guided by Mr Rahili of Kundasang... Ponsikou Rahili for a job well done... We reached Laban Rata at about 5.30 pm... in all we walked the whole 6 km distance in 7 hours... hmmm... oklah considering all of us are experiencing it for the first time...
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| Sunday, 19-Feb-2006 10:00 |
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LUV di Monsopiad Cultural Village
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Today is the last day for 2 of the group member in KK... They have to leave as duty calls and will not join the rest of the journey... To mark their presence, I took them to Monsopiad Cultural Village. Since I have mentioned abt MCV before, I will only post photos much more related to LUV activities there...
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| Saturday, 18-Feb-2006 08:30 |
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Day 3 - Trip to Tamparuli, Kundasang, Ranau and Poring
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On the 3rd day, we make our way to the much awaited place and the one that they wanted to go to most i.e Ranau. We began our journey quite late as some of them wanted to have breakfast. We finally starts moving at about 8.30 am in the morning.
Our first stop for the day is Tamparuli. It's a small town and made famous for its suspension bridge. Thus the song Jambatan Tamparuli came about. Unfortunately, the original bridge was destroyed by flood and has since been replaced with a new one. The original bridge was built with a single plank crossing the river. Even though the new one are stronger but still the excitement while walking across it is still there. The bridge still sways and move about when you walk across it. Even when someone just step onto it at one end you can feel the bridge moving with each steps he takes at the other end.
Our journey took a short delay as we have to change the tyre of the Kembara I was driving. Not due to puncture but more towards safety reason. Then we continue with our journey to Pekan Nabalu. There we all went for some shopping spree. It not a big town but we were just captivated with what was offered esp the "padi bukit" which comes in different colors and also t-shirts as souvenirs. Not much to see along the way as we were late and fogs covered most of the beatiful scenery. Therefore, whoever wish to enjoy the view, just make sure you left Tamparuli roundabout and start your upwards driving before 8 am.
Away we go with the next stop being Pekan Kundasang. It's not a big town but most famous for its vegetables and fruit market. Price wise is not cheap though due to the tourists attraction not only to the market but also the beautiful scenery it offers. Here stood one war memorial known as Kinabalu War Memorial Kundasang built in memory of the many PoWs who died in the forced march from Sandakan to Ranau during WWII. However, the group did not managed to visit the place as we were running out of time.
Photos taken were from my earlier visit to the plave and my, it's not a place to be missed if you planned to visit Sabah. There are no graveyards whatsoever but just beautiful gardens built with different themes. The first being Australian Garden, then British Garden and followed by Borneo Garden. The last garden was a walkway built like any garden a manor should have and ended with a breathtaking view of Kundasang and Gunung Kinabalu in front of you. Since it was raining when I first went there, thus not much can be seen and the bright sunny day during my second visit would be better if we have had spend some time there.
Our next stop, is Ranau, the birthplace of Linda Nanuwil of Akademi Fantasia 2nd season runner-up. About 5 km from Ranau, you definitely want to stop at this particular spot where you can see the whole of Ranau and even beyond it. After sending some time at Linda's home and fish ponds, we continue our journey to Poring.
Poring was gazetted as one of the World Heritage Site. Over there you can visit its butterfly farm, rainforest walk, rafflesia garden, bat caves, jungle trekking that will lead you to some beautiful waterfalls and also of course the Canopy Walk. One of its kind in Sabah, the first in fact, and it stoods 41m above the ground. Once you have gone through all these exciting places, you can dipped yourself in its hot springs be it in public pool outside or twin tub in enclosed chalet or if you prefer, a hot spring jacuzzi in an enclosed room. Nothing beats the feeling of hot water (i mean hot and not warm) around you. The temperature can go as high as 87 degree Celcius on a hot day.
The hot spring dip ends our journey to Ranau district and we made our way back to KK full of satisfaction.
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| Friday, 17-Feb-2006 14:00 |
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LUV di Tip of Borneo, Tg Simpang Mengayau
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Having left Kg Bavanggazo, we thought of heading straight to the ToB but we have to detour to Kudat for refuelling. So, I finally reached Kudat town. Not much to say about the town though as we were only dropping by for fuel and lunch. Once filled up, we headed towards ToB.
Since I have posted about ToB before, I would only add some other photos that I have taken in the beautiful day as it was a nice and sunny day compared to my first visit when it was raining. And definitely the lovely LUV members who went there to view the scenery.Since it was sunny, I managed to capture clearly the lighthouse and also we can see from afar one of the Philipines Island.
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| Friday, 17-Feb-2006 10:00 |
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Rungus Longhouse, Kg Bavanggazo, Kudat
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On their 2nd day in Sabah, I took them to Kudat. The first stop is at a traditional Rungus Longhouse in Kg Bavanggazo. Rungus is a tribe that lives in Kudat area. Along the way you can see padi being planted on the hillside. These are called padi huma or padi bukit to some. It's astonisihing to see how the padi can grow among other big trees and on the slope. And when the time comes for harvesting, the whole area will turn gold. Unfortunately, we did not managed to capture these as the road condition are bad and we keep jumping around in the car and almost impossible to capture any pics.
First we take a look at their longhouse. It was built from bamboo and that explains why you are not allowed to walk under the house. It housed a number of rooms and each family members occupy 1 room. As such a large family will have a longer house compared to a smaller one. A Rungus longhouse is called "Binatang". Yup... pronounced just like binatang in Malay which means animal in English. Cannot complained about the name though as each tribe has different language. Each room is named according to the tenant or family living in the room.
Then they have a placed for ritual which is built as a wing to the longhouse. The priestess or better known as Bobohizan in Sabah will perform their ritual at the stage built on that wing. Outside, you can also find a Sulap, a small hut built for shelter while guarding their padi plantations from birds. At the front of the longhouse, stood a tall tower about 3 stories high. It was meant for a woman chosen to be the queen of the longhouse. She will be placed there until her wedding day comes.
There, we also saw a giant "bubu". A "bubu" is a small trap to catch fish in the river. But as the name suggest, this trap are meant for human. For Muslim rungus who were caught in proximity will be placed in this giant bubu and put in the sea to die. This is as a punishment to their sin. But this is no longer in practise as a lot of other traditional culture of tribes in Sabah when they joined Malaysia in 1963.
Having spent about one and a half hour there, we then continue our journey to Tg Simpang Mengayau where the Tip of Borneo is located.
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| Thursday, 16-Feb-2006 12:00 |
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Sunset At Tg Aru Sabah
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On this day marks the arrival of 7 members from LUV KL to Sabah. LUV stands for Linda United Voices i.e. a fan club dedicated for Linda Nanuwil the 2nd runners-up in the 2nd Season of Akademi Fantasia. Actually, they are here for different reason but have to switch to experiencing Sabah. So, I took this chances to take them to experience the breathtaking view of sunset from the Tg Aru beach on their 1st day in Sabah. It was my first time as well. Wait for more updates on their trip around the West Coast of Sabah in the next few postings.
Btw, enjoying the sunset in Tg Aru is best accompanied by some chicken wings or even bishop's nose bbq to fill your stomach and some fresh coconut to cool you off.
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| Saturday, 28-Jan-2006 12:00 |
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An Evening with Linda - Charity concert KDCA 28012006
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After successfully launching her album in the morning, Linda treated her fans with a charity concert for Kooisan Educational Fund. She was the main artist together with Atama. There were other local artistes belting out their numbers. The one that captures my attention most of her many guest artistes is the little kid from Ranau. She was brilliant considering her age at only 10 I guess. She was the winner of a local contest in Sabah. Imagine a kid belting out numbers like "Usia Remaja" an old song from one of P Ramlee movie and also Penasaran. Complete with her "dangdut" dance... simply brilliant!!! Apart from that there were also Gracie of Audition 2.
Atama, too was brilliant. His performance accompanied by hip-hop dancers and also sumazau dancers!!! Way to go buddy!!! Like I said, a man of my age may not be easy to accept your kind of music but u really make the different. And I would say, the album, My Tribal Root was a great one. I really enjoyed "Can't Stop The Sumazau"... and thank you for the autograph... One day, I hope you will team up with Zahid of AF2 and Linda for a bigger and more thrilling show.
Now back to the main star... Linda was amazing... her voice was almost a carbon copy of her album... and you know it's not miming... didn't managed to capture much of her photos though as I was busy video capturing her performance and enjoying her music that I forgot to snap still photos of her. Her rendition of Pudar made popular by Rossa was, in my opinion, much better than the original singer. She too rendered one other song that was not sung in the morning that is "Ku Percaya"... I was hoping that she would belt out "Memori Rindu" but she could have missed my beating heart wishing her to sing that song...
For all those reading this posting, do get a copy of an original Linda's Jika Kau Kekasih debut album... You'll not regret paying RM25.90 or less for it...
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| Friday, 27-Jan-2006 12:00 |
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Monsopiad Cultural Village, Penampang, Sabah.
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Monsopiad means "Warrior" - The Kadazan warrior... The Monsopiad Cultural Village is located in Penampang district about 20 - 30 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu City. It's a must visit place if you want to experience a true life of the Kadazan tribe. Tourists came in group would definitely be brought here to experience it. If wanna go on your own here's how you get there...
Drive your way out of the City and heading towards Putatan... Just before you reach Putatan town, you will see one Perabut Matahari (Matahari Furniture Center) on your left... Turn in just as you reached the building and you will enter a small road. Head on straight and drive on for about 3 km or so... The Monsopiad Cultural Village is on your left... do be careful when you drive there as the road is quite narrow and winding... You will not miss it if you drive slowly... Entrance for local tourist is RM30 and for foreigners it will costs you RM50...
If you like to own a set of the costume, I was told that the women's costumes will costs you about RM1000 for an original version of it and much lesser for the men of course as they uses less fabrics and accessories...
You will get to see how the tribes life and then be entertained by the cultural dances of the Sabahan tribes. You too will be served with a drink, can't remember the name though, but it was sort of like Sake in Japan... So, for those thinking of travelling to Sabah, do visit this place and I am sure you'll be mesmerized by it...
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