Friday, December 14, 2018

沙巴馬來西亞大學

長子終於2018年畢業於沙巴馬來西亞大學
社會科學(地理學)學士


沙巴馬來西亞大學社會科學(地理學)學士

2018 HOLIDAY TRIP: MOUNT KINABALU

20TH NOVEMBER - 4TH DECEMBER  2018

THEAM OF 2018 HOLIDAY TRIP: MOUNT KINABALU

Day 1 : 2018-11-20 TUE Tawau to Kundasang

Day 2 : 2018-11-21 WED Kundasang

Day 3 : 2018-11-22 THU Kundasang to Kota Kinabalu

Day 4 : 2018-11-23 FRI Kota Kinabalu

Day 5 : 2018-11-24 SAT Kota Kinabalu

Day 6 :  2018-11-25 SUN Kota Kinabalu UMS Convocation

Day 7 : 2018-11-26 MON Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site

Day 8 : 2018-11-27 TUE Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site

Day 9 : 2018-11-28 WED Taun Gusi Village Homestay

Day 10 : 2018-11-29 THU Taun Gusi Village Homestay

Day 11 : 2018-11-30 FRI Kota Belud to UMS homestay

Day 12 : 2018-12-01 SAT UMS to Kundasang Rest house

Day 13 :  2018-12-02 SUN To Poring Vacation Lodge

Day 14 : 2018-12-03 MON Akinabalu Lodge

Day 15 : 2018-12-04 TUE Tawau Home sweet home

Monday, December 3, 2018

Day 14 : Pond shadow at Poring Vacation Lodge

Day 14 : Pond shadow at Poring Vacation Lodge
Poring 2018-12-03 MON  08:14


Pond shadow at Poring Vacation Lodge


Me and blue sky in one pond

Awesome reflection of trees shadow of natural background on pond water in early  morning.

Day 14 : Feeding bunnies

Day 14 :  Feeding bunnies
Poring 2018-12-03 MON 11:58


Feeding rabbits with red carrot at Poring Vacation Lodge.




Poring Vacation Lodge is tucked away amongst rubber and cocoa plantations and around your accommodation are farm life of cats, chickens, guinea hens, and rabbits. A nice scenery quiet place.

Budget accommodation with natural and peaceful environment is good location for team building activities. During our 1 night stay here, a Muslim youth group also have something like a summer school or conference here.

Day 14 : Feeding fishes at Poring Vacation Lodge

Day 14 : Feeding fishes at Poring Vacation Lodge
Poring 2018-12-03 MON  07:46

Feeding fishes at Poring Vacation Lodge



Tilapia fish pond at Poring Vacation Lodge

Kinabalu Poring Vacation Lodge is a farm house converted lodging house. It has a poultry compound with rabbit, duck, chicken and pools with fishes.  An example of relaxing tropical atmosphere of farmer living in Borneo

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Day 13 : Poring Hot Spring

Day 13 :  Poring Hot Spring
2018-12-02 SUN 16:29

Poring Hot Spring



Poring Hot Spring is a great place for a family day out.



Day 13 : BW BUS RESTAURANT

Day 13 :  BW BUS RESTAURANT
Kundasang 2018-12-02 SUN 11:05


BW BUS RESTAURANT


Dine In An Actual Bus!

Unique restaurant of converted old buses on top of another serving western health food. Newly opened this year in July 2018.

Restaurants are growing like mushrooms after rain in Sabah to meet the need of increasing international tourists. BW BUS RESTAURANT (or easier remembered as Blue Bus Restaurant) is just another.

How the idea came from? According to FB gossip, the founder find pity to see old buses being rusting in a junk yard and did something in recovery.  The result is this successful restaurant that became a must stop Rest & Go location for Chinese tourists travelling between Ranau and Kota Kinabalu. The restaurant’s new clean toilets became free public toilets to the passing travellers.

Located 10 minutes from Kundasang town, this restaurant is beside the highway. But most travellers may oversee it as the location is beside a winding curve. As your car curve in, you see it but for only few second then out of view as your car curve away.

The buses are designed in modern setting, with small wooden tables and blue cushioned seating, and new air-condition running even though the day temperature is about 24 degrees.

The restaurant attraction not only on foods and free washrooms, another selling point is that you can enjoy the beautiful view of Mount Kinabalu from the bus windows on a clear day.

Even though we did not stop for foods, the friendly staffs welcome us to use the toilets. “FRIENDLYNESS” is part of the selling point of tourist industries in Sabah (and Sarawak) that bring in millions of tourists’ dollars each month.

Day 13 : Cattle statue landmark roundabout

Day 13 :  Cattle statue landmark roundabout
Kundasang 2018-12-02 SUN 10:16


Cattle statue landmark roundabout


The main dairy product company in Borneo is in Kundasang. This roundabout in Kundasang used the status of a cow and a calf as landmark to the farm.

Desa Cattle farm has a 199-hectare cattle dairy farm at Mesilau  few kilometres drive from Kundasang Town.

High craftsmanship isn’t it, the cow look so real!

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Day 12 : Beach of University Malaysia Sabah

Day 12 : Beach of University Malaysia Sabah
2018-12-01 SAT 11:18


China Tourists and University Students. 


China Tourists and University Students.

Both meet at the beach where the students busy practice their paddling skill for the coming Dragon Boat Competition.

UMS is the first university to launch tourism packages in Malaysia since 2016. And the success can be seen in the every day visit of international tourists to the university compound.

“Visit UMS” project has five EcoCampus Tourism Packages founded on the concepts of Nature Tourism and Green Tourism.

NATURE TOURISM is to ‘travel to natural areas to see, admire, enjoy and learn about the environment and its living things, as well as local culture of people in the areas.”

GREEN TOURISM is to ‘travel to natural areas with efficient utilization of energy and water, minimized production of wastes, recycling, and promotion of environmentally friendly products for the conservation of natural resources’.

Nature lovers certainly enjoy a great walk around the lush green university campus exploring its gardens, lake, hill and beach.

Day 12 : UMS Aquarium

Day 12 : UMS Aquarium
2018-12-01 SAT 10:35


University Malaysia Sabah Aquarium


The UMS (University Malaysia Sabah) Aquarium houses a major marine biodiversity showcase.

Photo 1 - With a big lobster
A gigantic lobster - Panulirus Penicillatus (Asian Spiny Lobster)


Photo 2 - With the world’s first hybrid of Grouper fish
Hybrid Grouper is a new type of Grouper fish (Ikan Kerapu). It was created via cross-breed process by researches from University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in collaboration with other researchers across the world. The breakthrough was achieved in 1996 when the researchers successfully cross-bred two species of groupers to come up with the world’s first hybrid of its kind.

Friday, November 30, 2018

Day 11 : Flower of Moon Bay Beach

Day 11 :  Flower of Moon Bay Beach
Kota Belud  2018-11-30 FRI 10:41

Strange little flower looks like half of the flower being carefully cut off, but its not. Growing by the sandy seaside of Moon Bay Beach,

I for long have the impression of  Kota Belud as a quiet boring farming town. Not until this trip when, Chun Xing, my son who studied Geography, specially pin pointed several sigh seeing locations in Kota Belud. It turned out to be eye opening.

Kota Belud is another town blessed with natural beauty.

If I have enough time to collect a sample of all the wild flowers by the road sides of this town. It will be easily 50 over difference wild species in nature, not to include those artificially grown horticultural flowers in houses and parks.
This indicated how rich in natural flora of Kota Belud.

Perhaps I should make a next trip to prove that there are really 50 over species of wild flowers natural growing in this town.

Day 11 : A tantalizing time in Moon Bay Beach

Day 11 :  Moon Bay Beach
Kota Belud  2018-11-30 FRI 11:01

Moon Bay Beach



A tantalizing time in Moon Bay Beach, Kota Belud. Photoshoped with four images

Moon Bay Beach is situated in the South Sea surrounded by a beautiful bay with reefs coral and marine life. A well kept secret beach of the local villagers until recent years the government paved a good road to this area.

A quiet place where a happy family wishing to enjoy a relaxing, peaceful, family bonding time in an isolated location.

哥打毛律的月亮灣海灘, 馬來西亞
Moon Bay Beach月亮灣位於哥打毛律,周圍環繞著美麗的海灣,珊瑚礁和海洋生物。

長久以來是當地村民的私密海灘,直到最近年政府鋪設了通往該地區的道路後。

這樣一個安靜無人的地方, 能享受到輕鬆和平. 是一個家庭戶外活動理想地點.


Thursday, November 29, 2018

Day 10 : Feeding fishes at Kg. Telungan

Day 10 : Feeding fishes at Kg. Telungan
Kota Belud  2018-11-29 THU 11:23

Feeding fishes at Kg. Telungan


Feeding fishes at the river of Kg. Telungan a Tagal Conservation Site.

Kg. Telungan is a short drive from Kota Belud Town. This site has fresh air and clean mountain water. Ideal for family leisure activities.  .

Sistem Tagal (Tagal System) is part of the social and economy development  in 190 rivers in Sabah.  Under this Tagal System the villages restrict the frequency of catching fish in the rivers.  And instead have a big community harvest of the fish once or twice a year.

There are  190 rivers with Mahseer fish  in Sabah have been designated as conservation sites under the Tagal (conservation) System programme.

Day 10 : Cows and Horses

Day 10 :  Cows and Horses
Kota Belud  2018-11-29 THU 16:04

Cows and Horses 


Sabah tourism is promoting that “Everywhere in Kota Belud you can see cows, horses and Bajau Cowboys.”

It is not true to say “Everywhere”.  Only when we drive to the lonely roads in the country side, here to our great amusement are groups and teams of horses and cows.

Sabah tourism also promoting that “Bajau are Cowboys of the East.”.

We found this is not true after we visited Kota Belud. We see all the Bajau men are none is a Cowboy. Only on each Sunday market, a few men may dress up to look like a cowboy sitting on a horse for showing off to the public. International tourists’ Internet photos on these few fashion show men created the wide spread legend that Kota Belud is the cowboy town in the East. (We came on the wrong day, today is only Thursday)

But the teams of horses and cows in the country side excited us for the rest of the afternoon. In our hometown we can never see troops of animal wondering freely on the highway like this.

Day 10 : Nepenthes gracilis

Day 10 : Nepenthes gracilis
Kota Belud old road 2018-11-29 THU  16:36

Nepenthes gracilis is one of the most widespread Monkey Cup plant (Pitchers Plant) in Borneo.

Native to Borneo Island, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula.

This is a great opportunity to see a Monkey Cup again. In Sabah these tropical pitchers plants usually to be seen in Mount Kinabalu and in protected forests.  To be able to see one just by the country road side of  Kota Belud indicated that this town still has it natural environment in control. This protection must keep up by the authority.

The last time I saw one just by the road side was in 1978 in Kuching City. At that time Kuching was still a town with many well covered hills by the country road sides. Flatten and gone are these green hills with pitchers plants in an over developed Kuching today.  One has to go deeper in the jungle to find one now a day.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Day 8 : Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site

Day 8 : Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site
Kota Belud 2018-11-27 TUE 07:09

Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site


Another graduation photo with Mount Kinabalu as background.

We all woke up early in the morning and stand ready infront Mount Kinabalu to catch the first ray of the sun rising above Mount Kinabalu. It’s the most famous mountain in Southeast Asia.

Day 8 : Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site

Day 8 : Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site
Kota Belud 2018-11-27 TUE 17:47

Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site



Camping create lasting memories.

Elegant river, exquisite landscape, and a jaw-dropping view of the majestic Mount Kinabalu in the morning and evening.

This is Kota Belud’s Kampung Melangkap Village where several camping sites operated by villagers on their own lands where generation ago were still rice fields.

Less then 2 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu city on good road. We chose this family friendly camp site which is getting popular in recent two years for its river and view on Mount Kinbalu.

Monday, November 26, 2018

Day 7 : Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site

Day 7 : Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site
Kota Belud 2018-11-26 MON 17:51

Day 7 : Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site


Camping under the Rainbow.

If camping create lasting memories, camping under the rainbow create everlasting memories. How shell I say an everlasting praise to Mother Nature when camping under a double rainbow?

With a canopy and two camping tents, we spend two wonderful nights at Polumpung Melangkap Camp Site. Above us is rainbow when sunset. Above us is a night sky with starlight.

Nightfall, I slept in the open air directly under the starlight, only to be defeated by  cold in midnight to take refuge into a tent squeezing with other family members.

Day 7 : Resting place of ancestors

Day 7 :  Resting place of ancestors
Nirvana Memorial Park – Kota Kinabalu 2018-11-26 MON 12:20


Resting place of ancestors


Resting place of Great-grandmother and Grandparent.

As a respect and remembrance of the ancestors, we pay a visit and offered a prayer in Nirvana Memorial Park富貴山莊 (亞庇) about 8 km from the city.  Shirley, though married to the Wong family for over 20 years, this is her first time to visit this ancestor site.

Great-grandmother and Grandparent came to Borneo Island from China during the darkest history of China 100 years ago. Their six children were all born in North Borneo (now Sabah).  As descending continue, there are now grand and great-grand children being born in Australia and Canada.

This is not the ancestors’ original burial place. This is their migrated and integrated grave in 1999. Three of them were originally buried separately in a small old cemetery near Kota Kinabalu city. In order that the future descendents can easier to find them together, their remaining bones were collected and transferred into this modern cemetery.

We are descendents of the Hakka people from Guangzhou 廣州 in Southern China, as their tombstone reminded us.

Day 7 : After Convocation

Day 7 :  After Convocation
UMS 2018-11-26 MON 10:19

After Convocation


Don’t know why these grown up kids need to play with their cap in this way.

But it is a global tradition of graduates all over the world throwing their caps to the air after convocation ceremony.

Chun Xing Wong - Bachelor Social Science (Geography).