in every man, there’ll always be a boy
India was quite the experience.
It was not as tough as one might think (maybe it’s just me) but nevertheless, there’s always work to be done. If there’s one statement I’d make about the trip, it’ll be this:
It’s humbling to know how little they have, and how much they do with it, compared to how much we have, and how little we do with it.
Hi, we’re leaving tonight on the 8:20 pm flight to Chennai.
Here’s the map of India, and the rough itenary. While you look at this map, do pray for the team as we share and proclaim God’s Word in the land!
Whooops. Looks like you’ve gotta zoom out first. Click the [-] button on the top left corner ..
Liz and I travelled down to Yik Kee Restaurant, Karak for my mom’s birthday celebration with Aunty Nioh. Uncle Nioh’s so cute with his roundish features and small eyes.
Can you guys guess what the first dish is? Leave a comment! It’s a specialty.
Yik Kee Restaurant was one of the restaurants I grew up frequenting, whenever our parents were thrown business dinners in Karak. Brought back many memories, just eating there.
The second installment to the update of our trip back to Penang over the long weekend!
But still as busy.
It was a good break for myself, and Liz too. I asked her to come along, cause a break will do her good too. So .. we took a slow drive up, stopped by Ipoh for snacks (but didn’t know where to go .. so didn’t have nice food .. at all. Coffee was good though.) and arrived in Penang in time catch lunch with James, Carol and Bryan. Here are some shots!
After so much talk about where I should go for a road trip, I finally decided to go back to Malacca and visit the place, since I have not been back for 11 years … And I brought along two lovely ladies with me! It’s no fun to go WITHOUT kaki .. you know. I’m glad Lee Nah came along, as she was the tour guide. My 11 year old memory of Malacca failed me while I was driving in the Malacca town.It was a good trip, overall. We had several setbacks, like the erratic RAIN! After parking and while walking to Equatorial Hotel to make full use of their services [toilet], it started to drizzle! Then, midway while we were walking out from the historical site of St. Paul’s Hill, it started to rain! Gosh. I had to run for about 3 minutes to where my car was parked while PuayLeng and Lee Nah took shelter at a hut. Then the rain stopped shortly after, as we made our way to the infamous durian cendol. Gah.
I guess, thank God that it wasn’t constantly raining. If not, we wouldn’t have been able to do much there. Overall, it was a really fun time .. ya LeeNah, PuayLeng? Hahehae.
Here are the pictures.
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On the way back, we decided to detour to Putrajaya to catch some pictures … and also use the toilet there. Pictures to follow soon!
Till the next … holiday!
David[woohoo!]
Monday morning arrived, and actually .. I still didn’t know if I’d be allowed to be on Sipadan Island. See, the Sabah National Park authorities doesn’t allow just anybody to visit the island for two obvious reasons. One is for the conservation of the corals and wildlife there, and the other is to prevent nice people like you and I be kidnapped by not-so-nice people like Abu Sayyaf the pirate. Hmm.. I wonder if he has an eye patch. Anyhow, you’ll need a permit .. in which the diving guys were supposed to get .. but couldn’t confirm before then. So .. you could call it .. going by faith.
I left the house slightly after 6:15am, to make the hour and a half journey to Semporna. The sun was just coming out, and the drive was just pleasant. Of course, other than travelling alone WITHOUT the mental threshold of speed hovering in my head, or in this sense .. beside me in the form of my aunt .. I truly enjoyed the drive. I sped all the way, and took about a little less than an hour and fifteen minutes. I was supposed to call my uncle and tell him that I’ve arrived, but I didn’t do it immediately. Ehehe. Didn’t want him to know I arrived super early. Shhh…!
I had to wait for all the divers to come, the permit to be approved, and the gear to be loaded up into the boats. I waited from 7:30 am till 10plus! Boy, was the wait long. At first, I was excited and all .. but after a while, I just wanted to get off the wooden planks I was sitting on while everyone’s talking about their diving gear. I did join in their conversations .. with some of the backpackers that were on the same trip. A Finn, and 2 Brits. Oh, and a grumpy German. He was like,”Khow longhh zhu whvee hahve to whait?” [That's .. "How long do we have to wait?" .. for those who don't speak German. Haha!]
Finally, we were “cleared” to go! I found out from one of the guys that we’re just gonna go there and ask permission directly from the coast guard. Now, that’s a way to get a permit. I like. Of course .. to have someone in your boat that knows the guys over there on the island helps. So, instead of the 120 people allowed to visit the island in a day .. there’s 128 now! And I’m one of them!
The boat ride was long though. You’d think after waiting for 3 hours, another hour wouldn’t be a problem right? It would .. on land. The sea was moderately rough, but the boat was going up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down .. you get the point, right?
Finally, we arrive. I had to snap out of my up and down routine and my first impression of the island was .. “Wow.” I’ve never seen such a thing .. I mean when you look down into the water, it’s just dark blue. As you approach the island .. you begin to see corals under you .. and that’s such an amazing contrast between the island and dark blue sea! We first approach the jetty to obtain our “permit” to hang out around the island, and off we went!
First stop, was the most beautiful part of the reef .. as told by the boatman. The divers were going for a deeper dropoff while the German guy and myself were dropped off at the shallow reef section. This was the second time I am snorkelling .. and though I was a little braver now .. I still panicked in the water once. I was swimming around, and when I looked up to check where the boat was .. I got scared! I called for the boat to come and pick me up immediately .. and yeah. Got scared lah. Of drowning. The shore was way off .. and there’s no way I could swim to dry land … like when I was on Manukan Island. I got on the boat .. and the boatman urged me to give it a try .. and told me that there are places where I can stand .. at the shallower parts.
So .. I went back in and this time .. I was able to see some turtles! Tried to chase them .. but it’s amazing how fast they swim underwater .. contrary to how the move on land. There was a big momma turtle .. and maybe a papa turtle .. and there was a junoir turtle .. prolly half the size of the papa turtle. Kinda cool .. to see them swimming around .. and going up to the surface to get air. Ah, it was WAAAAY cool LAHHHHH! I mean .. you’re flapping around in the big blue sea, and a turtle just swims pass you! In slow, gliding motion! Gosh. I gave the German guy a thumbs up .. and he was psyched. I swam around, took some pictures with my disposable underwater camera and headed back to the boat. The cold water was getting to me .. and I couldn’t stop shivering. Dang .. should have asked for a wetsuit.
We headed back to the jetty, and it was time for lunch. I ordered a packet of fried rice with chicken earlier at Semporna, which cost me RM4. So, on top of bringing some Chipsmore chocolate chip cookies, 2 hot dog buns, and some kaya puff thing I bought the night before in preparation for this trip, I had LUNCH! Ah, I filled my stomach well. Then, the Japanese couple [quite aged, in their fifties] told the German guy about some fish ball in the sea .. going on and on about .. “This giant fishball .. near the edge, near the boat” .. I found it kinda funny .. cause the only fishball I’ve ever seen is floating in a sea of noodles .. not in the sea. So I kinda ignored, rested and let the food settle, before going out again. The weather was just so nice. It wasn’t all too sunny, and it looked like it was gonna rain .. but thank God .. it didn’t.
I grabbed my fins and snorkel .. and went out snorkelling on the shore .. when the German guy signals me to follow him. So I did .. and I saw a huge school of fish .. just swimming around .. in smooth circular motion! I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was an amazing sight. What was also amazing was the fact that below me .. was NOTHING! Despite how clear the water is, I couldn’t see anything below me. It was truly .. the deep blue sea! Freaking out … I swam back … to the portion where there was the island. See, Sipadan is like an upside-down cone. The top part is the land .. and as you swim out .. it just drops down to the ocean floor. So all the corals and anemone .. are all on the sides of the wall of the island. How cool is that?!
Looking from afar, I couldn’t help but to be drawn back to that school of .. hundreds and thousands of fish .. so I swam back into it .. and the fish would just swim around you! Then .. the sight of a huge fish, not a huge school of fish .. but ONE BIG HUGE FISH swimming with the school of jackfish. It was a grouper fish, which was prolly slightly less than a meter in length .. and it was FAT! Like really fat! Fatter than a FOOTBALL! Gosh .. that was so cool. I didn’t dare swim close to it .. in case it thought my hand .. or my foot .. or worse still my gonads as .. fish feed. God knows what’ll happen if it takes a snap at me. Hmm..
The school of fish was amazing. It’s a sight that I’ve only been able to see when I watch Discovery channel, but experiencing it was just exhilarating! I guess you can call it my .. fishball in the sea experience! Trust the Japanese to give you the best description, aye? HahaHAHA! The rest of the time was spent hanging out on the beach .. and taking stupid shots like the one you see as the slideshow image .. below. Hahaha.
I thought the boat ride coming to Sipadan was bad. The boat ride back to Semporna was even worse .. cause I was kinda wet from the sea, and didn’t wanna use my towel yet. It was cold, and the sea was mega choppy, and nearing the islands around Semporna .. it started raining! We were in the rain for a full 25 to 30 minutes! By that time .. I had to bring my towel out .. to shield myself from the rain. It was all wet when we arrived at Semporna, but that spared me from being drenched. My bag was spared too, so my Chipsmore was safe. Thank God. Hahaha. I had a change of clothes in the car, so I got into dry clothes and made my way back to Tawau .. another .. hour and a half drive back.
As you might be able to tell, I enjoyed the sunset.
David[hmm]
I knew that Sipadan is one of the must-visit places if you’re ever in Sabah, so while I was in Tawau I wanted to make arrangements for a trip there. My aunt helped in getting information for me, but none of which were useful to me. Her friends and my cousin could only recommend me of the 2D/1N package, where you stay on the nearby island called Mabul for a night, and while you’re there .. they’ll bring you diving or snorkelling at Sipadan Island.
I called some travel agencies, and the prices to go there were in the range of RM4XX to 6XX! I was shocked! I mean, to pay that amount for a one night stay at some hotel/resort on an island and snorkelling .. is definitely too much for a local traveller like myself. I couldn’t justify the price so dejectedly, I called off the plans to visit Sipadan.
Sigh.
I was really looking forward to hanging out on the beach and swimming with the fishies again. Memories of when I was on Manukan Island came back to me, and I was wishing that I went to more islands, or spent more time at the beach. Sipadan was not a public island, and going there involved an application for the permit from the National Park authorities. Unlike Manukan Island, or the other islands near KK where you could just go to the jetty and go there.
My aunt offered to pay one third of the sum, and still asked if I wanted to go but again, the cost wasn’t justified. You tell me if it was worth spending RM6XX for a nights stay and snorkelling? Definitely not right? Truth was .. I didn’t wanna spend the rest of my money just like that le .. Must save a bit. Ehe.
So .. with plans to Sipadan cancelled, I thought for a bit about what I should do for the rest of the 5 days I was to be in Tawau. There isn’t much to do in Tawau, as mentioned by my dad and all, so I actually asked my aunt if Semporna was worth a visit. Well, it’s the least I could do, while I’m in Tawau. Besides … I knew how far it was from Tawau, about 110 kilometers. And I’ve been through half the road before, on the express bus.
Hey, what if I drive there? There’s an extra car around, right? I asked my aunt. After some discussion, my aunt reluctantly decided to allow me to drive to Semporna .. but with certain conditions. She was gonna coma long, and then she wanted to bring one of her aunty friend along, together with her son. I was like … “Wha…?” So much for backpacking, aye? Bringing along 2 aunties and a guy along. Her reasoning was that I wasn’t familliar with the roads there, and that I might get lost or something. Hmm… I’ve just travelled across Sabah on my own, crammed into a mini bus [van] and travelled with the locals all the way .. so I guess driving [which is something that I think I am quite good at ..] to Semporna wouldn’t be a problem le. So, after reassuring both uncle and aunt .. we were to drive to Semporna the next day, which was a Saturday.
On Saturday, it wasn’t until about 10:30 before we left Tawau. It wasn’t before my aunt had the green light from her cleared bowels too! Gosh, had to wait till she went to the toilet .. get some shots from the doctor and all. But you can’t blame her. She had a long stretch of colon removed .. so her digestive system has some serious production line issues you know. It’s extra fast. Don’t mess…
The journey was not too long, about an hour and a half. I drove the MyVi the family bought as the extra car, and it was quite fun! I had been wanting to sit in one .. as I’ve heard of it’s spaciousness and here I am .. driving it long distance! The only gripe I had about it was that condensation happens on top of the center air-conditioning vent. Kinda like .. the car’s perspiring. Hahaha. The road to Sipadan was flanked by palm oil plantations ALL the way! Look left, and you’ve got palm oil. Look right, and you’ve got .. PALM OIL! There are stretches of flat land, and there were some hilly ones too .. about 3:4 ratio. It was a pretty scenic drive, I must add.
The only places worth visiting in Semporna is the place on stilts. There a whole inn built on stilts, together with a restaurant and some huts for diving services. I think the Lonely Planet book .. or some foreigner was saying .. that Semporna is a dead town. It was. Except for the locals, who seem to go through their daily routine fine as it is. Had an unsatisfactory lunch at the restaurant there, because of the rude and imbecillic captain that took our order .. and walked around the place.
The Dragon Inn. One of the two places to put up in Semporna. The other being a boring hard cement building with a lot of floors. Which would you pick? This one, right? EHhehe.
The view from the restaurant to the open sea. notice that the islands .. put together looks like an old man lying down?
Then I had an idea. Actually, I had the idea the whole time I was driving. I thought, maybe I could find a place where they would bring you on a one day trip to Sipadan. So I walked to one of the huts that offered diving courses and trips and enquired. And to my delight, there was! You can’t imagine how excited I was when I found out that I could head out on Monday! And it didn’t cost even half as much as the lowest price I was quoted earlier by some of the travel agents I called the day before!
Oh joy!
Wait for part 2 of .. the road to Sipadan!
David[woohoo!]
Being my last stop in Sabah, I set foot in Tawau with a heavy heart knowing that my holiday was to end soon. My aunt leads me to her home, which was probably about 15 minutes walk from the main road but she gets a call from her grandson saying that he's just nearby, and could give us a lift back. A Hilux 2.5D pickup truck with a P stuck to the windscreen pulls up. I open the door, and I immediately heard someone greet me.
"Piau Suu!"
"Oh you're calling me?", I replied. "Hi! You must be Ah Hong!"
My second cousin whom I've not seen in .. many years. 17 or 18 years, to be exact. Last I met him, he was prolly less than 2 feet tall. Now, he's all grown up and pimply. By saying "pimply", I meant .. full of pimples, not the .. pimping kind. I gotta get used to him calling me that. Piau suu means grandmother's side uncle. I'm a generation above him, so he's gotta address me as that.
We arrive at my aunt's place, and she immediately starts giving me orders .. where to put my bag, what shampoo I should use, what water I am to drink. Hmm… sounds like my mom. When I was a lot younger, that is. She was being accommodating, I guess. That's another thing that I had to get used to, after 10 days of living alone/independantly.
Didn't take long for my uncle to return home from his routine mahjong game. We hung out in the living room, told them about how I have not showered for 2 full days and they laughed their heads off when I mentioned that I've been in the jungle. Shortly after, we had dinner at home. I hadn't had a good Chinese meal with soup and all, so I totally walloped all the food. I did notice however, that they all ate very fast. Ah Hong was with us for dinner too, and he also ate really quick. Is it a Sabah thing, or a Tawau thing? Or is it just me? I'm beginning to enjoy food, and somehow that contributes to the speed of which I consume my food.
I was taken for a tour of the town at night after dinner, and it actually took less than 30 minutes! Tawau town centre is quite small, but Tawau is actually quite big. The residential areas are quite spread out, and some areas go by miles, like Batu 1, 2 and 3. The airport is about 30 minutes out of town. I noticed a lot of dark skinned people walking the streets of the town centre. I suppose there's a lot of Filipinos and Indonesians here. They could be the Kadazan/Dusun people too.
We got home, and I retired back to a sweet solid bed in an airconditioned room. Sweet.
David[hmm]
PS: The word "Sweet" reminded me of a Tawau-ian. This one's for you, Vic.
So, I got out of the jungle. I collected my bag, which thankfully was still in one piece undisturbed. I knew I could trust the employees of Uncle Tan's Wildlife Adventure.
Now, a geography lesson. I was the operations base cum B&B place at Gum Gum, near Sandakan. It takes about 3 hours to Lahad Datu, and 6 hours to Tawau on the same road passing. The van ride to the river was an hour plus, so that means I'd have to travel for an hour plus to Lahad Datu, and then another couple of hours to Tawau, which was my next destination. I tell you, after that stint with the broken-down-airconditioning-bus I took two days before from Kota Kinabalu to Gum Gum .. I was petrified of the public transportation system. I mean, I have total confidence in the drivers, but not the machines that they handle. But … who am I kidding? What choice do I have? DUH.
I was told that I could get a mini bus to pick me up if I just wait at the side of the road, but thankfully there was a mini van waiting to take some of the foreigners to the Lahad Datu Airport. The foreigners somehow changed their plans, so I guess I'm his new passenger! Well, better than none right? Although, somehow God heard my plight and answered by sending me a mini bus right where I'd be, to right where I wanna be. God is so good.
So I load my bags onto the mini bus, which I think I have mentioned before that it's a van. Naturally air-conditioned .. we embark on the hour plus journey to Lahad Datu, a town of which I would get on an express bus to Tawau. The van picks people up and drops them off where ever they desire on the main road. I then wondered. How would the fare be determined? I saw an old lady give the driver 50 cents for a short trip, and others gave from RM2 to RM5. I asked, before I got on to the van earlier about my fare, and I was told that it was RM15. There was this lady who gave RM1 as her fare, and the driver actually called the lady back and asked for another ringgit. I suppose, the guy might just come after you if you shortchanged him. Hehe.
I observed/interacted with a few interesting people. First was an old lady who was on the way home. I usually greet the people who are around me, calling them makcik or pakcik as a sign of acknowledgement and respect. So, I first greet this old lady, and she asked me where I was heading. I told her that I was heading to Lahad Datu, and she started to tell me about her son, who's working as a guard in the town, and how he came back recently for to visit her. She also visited him recently, in town. Then, the van also stopped to pick this pregnant woman up. I saw that she had a lot to load onto the van, so I got off and helped her carry all her bananas and fruits that she had bought at the market. When she got off, I wanted to get off too, to help but this time … the driver got down and helped her. My, he must have felt guilty for not helping the first time round. Ehehe. No matter. She got help anyhow. There were also the other passengers in the van that looked at me funny.
Arriving at what I'd presume as the town center, I was directed to a bus ticket counter to purchase my ticket to Tawau. The fare's another RM15, and I'd have to wait for another hour before the bus arrives. Hungry, I set on foot around town, searching for food. Settled for a bowl of pan meen which wasn't anything to shout about at a coffee shop called "Pan Meen". I then repacked my bags, cause I was living off my laptop and sling bag in the jungle. Rested for a bit and headed back to the bus ticket counter to wait for my bus. Inevitably, the bus was late, and full of people! I was relegated to the 3rd row from the back, and hoping that the ride would be more forgiving I popped my MP3 player and dozed off to tunes of Parachute Band's latest album, All The Earth. Highly recommended.
I woke up to City Harvest Church's album, Cross. An hour into the journey, and I'm hungry already. Good thing I bought the packet of Chipsmore Chocolate Chip and Almond cookies to munch. There were a few kids on the row in front of me, so I decided to give them a piece each. They were very grateful, and so was their mother. Or so I think it was.
Even the express bus stops at anywhere you request them to. I was to stop at a Shell Station, just outside of Tawau town where my aunt would be waiting for me. I got off the bus, and immediately I hear a sharp cracky voice screaming, "Lehhbit CHAI!" Yup. That's me. And my LOUD 2nd Aunt. I'm glad the last part of travelling with public transport was over.
David[hmmm]
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