Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Mabul Island - Youthful and adventurous

馬布島 Mabul Island







Island of the Children

We found Mabul is an lively Island with many children and young people.
Half the 2,000 population on Mabul are children below 14 years of age.
Most of them loved having their photos taken.

Children play with whatever they have. Usually boys in a group and girls in a separate group. Shouting and laughing at each other.



The sea their playground

The sea is the playground of the kids in Mabul. They play and swim in the sea like a pro at young age. All boys and girls seem to know how to peddle a boat.  Some poorer kids peddled around the resorts seeking foreigners to ask for money or snacks.  They are those immigrant kids not entitled for the education from Malaysian schools.


Some, not all, of these “Bajau Laut” kids are stateless with no proper education. There is one primary school in the island.

City children think these Mabul Children are lucky to be born in this island with beautiful water where everyday is a holiday.

By the time these island children attend teenage, they begin to have their hopes and desire, they wanted a better life elsewhere, their families also want a better future for their kids, to have a proper education so they can move out from this tiny island to roam the world just like we do. 

But for the time being, this boy (photo above) is contented to roam around the water village with his Styrofoam box.



Alijah and Abijah 

We met these two sisters at the beach.







Attentive, cheerful, confident and good physical body , something most city children are lacking.




This small 21 hectares oval shaped island located at the south-eastern coast of Sabah.

Surrounded by soft white sandy beaches and perched on the northwest corner of a larger two square kilometer reef.

With nice scene of swaying coconut trees and a pleasant water village.

Half an hour by speedboat from Semporna Town.
From Mabul Island to Sipadan Island is about 15 minutes boat journey.

Mabul became popular due to its proximity to Sipadan  and Sipadan is one of the world top dive sites.

Because Sipadan is protected from overnight stays, Mabul became the main choice of accommodation for the Sipadan tourists.

A number of resorts and homestays on Mabul Island were built to cater the tourists’ accommodation and also to provide the diving and snorkeling services.

Mabul Island itself has its unique marine life and is arguably one of the richest single destinations for exotic small marine life anywhere in the world.

Mabul is well recognized as one of the best “muck diving” sites in the world.


Kite flying on Mabul island

The children fly kites in the morning, in the afternoon. The village boys fly kites whole day through.

Vegetables handpicked from a garden



Life at Mabul island is simple and self-sufficient. The sea out there is loaded with fresh seafood. There are sundries shops, a police station, a school, a mosque and a popular banana-kue shop.






TOY STORY of Mabul Island

Photo 1)      Early morning in an island while an adult just awoke walked pass in his sarong pajama, the children already busy in their sandy playground for their routine daily play. 
“My wheel barrow, you never seen such toy in the city right?” With big eyes steering on me, this small boy seems asking me when I strolled into his village with amazement.

Photo 2)      Nearby an elder brother (in white singlet) knows something else, he quickly took over the toy “This is not a wheel barrow, it has paddle, it is a …..a….. a bino-cycle. I have seen one in TV alright.”  
He likely think so and try to prove it by demonstrate how to cycle with its paddle. That unhappy young brother (in blue T-shirt) could only stand aside to watch. Somehow this elder brother unable to get this “bino cycle” moving no matter how he paddle forward and backward with his feet. Meantime, their father kept an eye on his children from the stilt house.


Photo 3)      “My toy is bigger with 2 wheels” 
A neighbor kid came show off his similar colored toy without paddle. But he does not know the name of his toy. While puzzling on how to play with his strange Two wheels toy, a fourth boy came showing a latest model of toy available in the village – a Guitar. This small plastic guitar is not only too new but also too precious to be touch by others and has to be protected in it original plastic case. 
“I will play for you some guitar music, but only if you invite me to your birthday party.” 
He certainly can entertain his peer group with great excitement and exotic music with his plastic guitar – but only after he insert a pair of batteries and switch on.  While children play with joy , a father has to face hard ship of a real life in an island with no tape water supply. All domestic water has to be carry back to the house bucket by bucket from a near by well. Why not he uses the barrows? The children have a 1 wheel barrow and a 2 wheels barrow.

Photo 4)      There is no limitation in the imagination of a child. Whether 1 wheel or 2 wheels, they know what their toys are. Whether has paddle or without paddle, they know how to use their toys.  Mean while a big boy has been watching us with amuzement under the shed beside his house. He might wonder how the children toy could amazed an outsider (me) with just their ordinary and routing daily life.  
But he himself play toy too. His toy is not a plastic but a real, big, steel made bicycle. He has a much wider playground. Those swaying and curving bicycle tire marks on that long village beach are created by him.

Toy Story goes on in Mabul Island.


In the morning a fishermen came to sell fresh crabs and lobsters for a low prices.
The Chinese cook also help visitors to select fresh lobster and fish from the fisherman coming by, and cook for you the fresh sea foods for a small fee.

One of the resorts here do not serve any seafood in meal because the management support sustainable fishing in the area. Eating seafood does not help to preserve the marine environment. When there is more demand of sea food, more supply will be provided by the fishermen resulting in damaging the ecosystem.  








Link : Fascinating, affordable Mabul






Sunday, December 16, 2012

1990 Company Christmas Dinner


16th December 1990
Christmas Dinner
The Hong Kong Club
1 Jackson Road, Central
Hong Kong




Many names I can never recall any longer. Here are some I still remember:

Andrew - Account
Katherine - Finance
William - Administration
Ah Mui - Assistant
Claudia - Business Development
Roy - Account
Kam - Account
Patient - Administration
Shirra - Secretary




ANNUAL COMPANY CHRISTMAS DINNER 1990

Each year in December, the company will organize a dinner for the about 20 staff. I worked for this company for 6 years.
Sometimes is buffle sometimes sit-down-dinners

The highlight of each annual Christmas Dinner was the lucky draw. The most fortunate year for me was 1991.

In 1991 I won the second prize of Sony Mini-Hi-Fi set during the Christmas Dinner. For years I longed for a CD prayer for some music relaxation at home but never have the spare money for one. So this costly Hi-Fi set was a great gift to me. In my WordStar digital diary I entered the excitement ".........this is a gift from Baha'u'llah......I must make good use of it...."

But life in Hong Kong was so hectic that by the time I left Hong Kong 2 years later, I hardly enjoyed some music from this HI-Fi set. The set is hardly used. And I have less then 10 CD in collection. One of it was a CD on traditional Lu-Dit instrument. And if I did enjoyed some music, this was the CD I played most often.

I never had any Hi-Fi sent since then though I always have a CD player. I wish to have another Hi-Fi set again for only a Hi-Fi can magnify the beauty of a good piece of music.

I spent 6.5 years in Hong Kong out of which 6 years working for this trade service company as a clerk. I am not a Chinese by nationality thought a descendent by ancestry.

There were not much photos of me in Hong Kong. There were not much recreation activities for photos either; life was just work, work, work and work.

1993 I gave the Hi-Fi set to my newly wed wife for her to sale away and with that extra money we bought a notebook computer to bring to Paraguay ... well that is another new story to tell.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

“Come Dream With Us” in Christmas Capital

Photo above : HSBC Children's Choir made a small presentation on Wednesday 21st November 2012 to the press, giving a preview of the show "Come Dream With Us" in December 2012

In 1991, HSBC started the "HSBC Children's Choir" as a present for the city of Curitiba.
Curitiba City is home to HSBC's Brazilian headquarters.

Today, this annual celebration "HSBC Children's Choir" has become one of the city's best known attractions.

At night, three times a week, starting the third week of November and ending at Christmas, 100 over children would sing Christmas songs from the windows of the historic Palacio Avenida - the building of the HSBC bank.



This spectacular caroling of the children at HSBC's Palácio Avenida is televised all over Brazil each year.


This year (2012) the shows will happen on November 30th, December 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th and 16th. 

Curitiba is known as Capital do Natal (Christmas Capital) of Brazil because the metropolis celebrates Christmas season with parades, festivals and fairs of music and light from the end of November through the start of the New Year. 

The highlight of  Christmas Festival is the Children’s Choir of HSBC’s Christmas Show (image above).


Curitiba-based HSBC Bank established the non-profit unit of Instituto HSBC Solidariedade in 2006 to manage its increased social investments in education, and  environment all over Brazil. 

The bank's Education Program sponsors the Children choir of 100 over children from the city's 11 Casa Alianza - Street Children Shelters

The objective of the program is to enable children’s development through the support of counseling, education and health services.

Every year hundred of thousands of visitors from across Brazil and around the world come to see the choir sing and dance from the windows of Palace Avenue (image above) – the HSBC headquarters on Rua XV Novembro – each Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from end of November to Christmas day in December.





In 1996 I brought my wife and son to Curitiba for a holiday  because :

They have never been to Brazil though We have been living in Paraguay since 1993. While I come to Brazil for business every couple of weeks, my wife and son has never been to Brazil yet (Except to the border town Foz). Paraguay and Brazil are just across a bridge. We will return to Malaysia soon one day and they certainly like to be able being to Brazil once before we left. This coming long Christmas Holidays is a good time to go. And I choose Curitiba because I am familiar with this city. And my Lonely Planet guide book might have also talked about Christmas atmosphere here that helped my travel planning.


We did had a happy Christmas Holidays for our selves in Curitiba that 1996. That turned up to be our last Christmas in South America. Early December 1997 we left Paraguay for good.

That Christmas Holiday in Curitiba became a joyous Christmas in our memories.

But one thing I remember for myself, I had underestimated this city back then in 1996. I did not realize at that time that Curitiba is equally a happy Christmas Holiday for other families.

The same joy and happiness not only my family can discover, but also can be experienced by both Brazilian and tourist.

And I realize this only in 2012, after 16 years, when I searched "Curitiba" in Internet I found................


“Come Dream With Us”
- Curitiba is becoming the Christmas Capital!


A progressive society does not stand still. With progress for the last 16 years after we visited, Christmas in Curitiba increased in cultural value and entertainment varieties.

Today there are so many events happening for the holidays that a website has been set up to provide all the details: http://www.natalcuritiba.com.br.


This year’s 2012 festivities will be the biggest ever. The numerous holiday activities are providing tourists with an entertaining destination for Christmas as well as fun activities enjoyed by families in Curitiba.



......Curitiba’s most famous Christmas concert, the Avenida Palácio Children’s Choir, returns with their presentation “Come Dream With Us”.
......The brightest exhibition in Curitiba will be the “Gallery of Light” created by the Italian company Studio Festi.
......50,000 colored bulbs will return to illuminate the Rua XV de Novembro promenade from December 4 to 20, 2012
..... In front of the Gallery of Light will be a presentation entitled “About Angels and Light”
..... The Liberty Palace (Paço da Liberdade), will host special presentations throughout December. .. violin and piano music played from the balcony at noon and a Christmas show with Santa Claus, artists, musicians, acrobats, dancers, and fairies.
..... the Radisson Hotel Christmas Tree “Enchanted Tree” will display with choral presentations.
... The Curitiba Tourism Bus Line will also make special trips to the main holiday attractions during the month of December.
.... windows and storefronts throughout the city will be adorned, thanks to the Commercial Association of Paraná.


How I wish to bring the family to Curitiba again for another memorable Christmas Holiday.
I am as if hearing a calling from that distance South America ..................“Vem Sonhar Com a Gente - Come Dream With Us".



Link : Christmas in Brazil 2012 November 7, 2012
Link : Christmas In Curitiba December 5, 2012