I was standing outside my house when I saw this


Indeed, Sabah has a lot to offer in terms of weather variation


I'm gonna be amazed at this for a few days
It is indeed a rain - bow..hehe sabahan rainbow

This is the picture of muddy rice field I managed to catch
Farmers are now completed the planting of paddy. Sabah has many rice fields, most of them are in the interior division and the West Coast division.



I took these pictures from Tambunan and I hope this will promote Tambunan to tourists

I noticed this after a late afternoon sleep




Sabah is divided into interior parts and coastal parts. I will rarely have the chance to see sunset like this.



The sky is purplish and a bit eerie



But this does not mean I am afraid



Glad to have the opportunity to snap pictures like these.

Hope you enjoy seeing.

After my short visit in Papar, I decided to take some pictures from the roadside along to Papar-Kota Kinabalu Way



Huh..I guess this is a resort



yeah, a resort indeed. "Paradise" eh...



A route to another tourists spot



This is  ...I dont know why I took this picture



Ahh.. another resort in Sabah.. Most of the beautiful resorts in Sabah are located here anyway...



I really like the blue sky



 a tree by the roadside



Island in the middle



notice the brownish grass...



See the two guys over there..having a discussing time..
 


Almost Kota Kinabalu



Passing swiftly



Almost there


Yeah..I'll be in KK for about 2 minutes

But...I did not take the pictures of the urban location in KK, coz i think it wont be a surprise anymore..haha



This is after the Kota Kinabalu City heading to Jalan UMS, 10 minutes to University Malaysia Sabah



Notice the tall, round building..thats the Sabah Foundation Building..UMS will follow after That..am really have a good time!

See for yourself..come here..come to Sabah!

I got a chance to go to Papar via the new Kimanis road in Western Sabah. I started my journey early in the morning. And it was worth it. Low traffic, smooth journey, though quite a challenging one.



thought it is always a wonderful thing to see beautiful scenery



I almost want to jump and flying straight to the sea



Ahh..Papar at last..yeah still in sabah though I've crossed the famous crocker range





Papar, Sabah, Malaysia
Sorry guys..I was too busy to take shoots of the town :) Too much traffic!
Till then...I'm  gonna post about my journey from Papar to Kota Kinabalu...soon..

Before I went to Sabah Agricultural Park

I managed to drop by at the small and quite hidden 'Tenom Crocodile Park'.

This is not actually a park but just a small "crocodile cage' I would say. This is owned by a family. It is located just nearby the main road a few kilometres before Tenom Town.

I do not have a full body picture of the crocodile because, as I said earlier, "its caged' so these are the best pictures I can give u



the story of how the crocodile is like this, the owner of the house went fishing on a nearby river with a fishing net.



They accidentally caught this crocs and brought it back home. After some time, they took pity on the crocs and return it into the river.


To their surprise, one day the crocs return to the house, you see as the house is nearby a paddy field, the crocs found its way all through from the river when there was a small flood.


So, till then on, the family decided to keep it as a family pet. It is estimated that the age of the crocs are almost equal to its master - an old chinese lady who was in the house at the time of our visit - that must be about 60 years or so!



Besides that there are also some 'miniature creatures' like these



Civet cat?



I bet this one is a poor caged tortoise



till then catch up with you soon!

If you go to this website

They will greet you with this message :

Welcome to Taman Pertanian Sabah ( Sabah Agriculture Park ) Website. You have reached one of the most exciting parks found in Borneo.

Have you ever dreamt of being in nature’s paradise? Taman Pertanian Sabah is a visitor friendly park which offers you more than just any other parks. With its affinity to nature, the park is set against a background of truly natural landscape with lush greenery of the Crocker Range (the longest range in the country) which creates a picture of a beautiful natural park all around. This park is knowledge oriented and recreational. The park also provides an ideal environment for nature-based activities that makes this park a worthy holiday destination. This is an excellent base to expand your knowledge on the taxonomy of plants that fits your taste and needs as well as the perfect escape from urban noise and pollution.

In and around the park are places worth checking out notably:

• Native Orchid Centre
  
• Living Crop Museum
  
• Bee Centre
  
• Germplasm Collection
  
• Ornamental Garden
  
• Hoya Garden
  
• Evolution Garden
  
• Agro-forestry
  
• Lake Sapong
  
• Lake Rundum
  
• Animal Park
  
• Jungle Trekking
  

You can explore many stretches of well laid trails, elaborate display of gardens with great landscaping work, magnificent collection of plants/ flowers, stunning insects and wild birds that will fascinate you to your heart’s content. To get the real excitement and emotional touch of this beautiful park as well as a life-enriching experience to the interior, visit us and rest assured that it will thrill and fascinate you at no end.

Indeed, the place is breathtaking and a must for every visitors who visit Sabah.
My trip, short as it is, was a very enticing one.

I would rather post my original pics rather than just copy paste from the internet. I will post pics throughout my journey from Tenom town right down to the park.



notice the Jalan Lagud Seberang? That's where we gonna go..



Tenom Town Field



the colonial railway still fully utilized but being upgraded



Padas river joined by Pegalan river.It is said that during full moon, crocodiles will gather up at the riverbanks. I have not seen this with my own eyes but perhaps this may be true.







Banana Plantation




Palm Oil Plantation



That's actually paddy field and it should be awesome to look at..sorry guys..i have to take it in a hurry



Cocoa Plantation

Just a few more minutes to go to TPS (taman pertanian sabah) aka Sabah Agricultural Park

So Be Patient

Its May again!

And everyone is in the festive season..
the "Kaamatan" has come again.

"Kaamatan" is also known as the "harvest festival", where all sabahans
Regardless of Race, Ethnicity or Religion unite as one to Celebrate this long-awaited Fest!

This Festival is Celebrated in all areas of the state..where District level celebration is held first before the State-Level is celebrated.

It is a two-day holiday for all sabahans..and the date is fixed 30-31st May annually!

Many Activities are held, including the exhibitions, dances, singing competition, and the Much awaited Beauty Pageant or "Unduk Ngadau"..

Here are several pics I managed to get for Last year's State Celebration, Hope You enjoy it!



Papar Dance



Maybe Kudat....



Youngsters Drinking tapai



Dances



more dances



the beauties going into the hall



nice smile



Last Year's Winner is among them..can you spot which one?

have a nice festive season!

It has been raining for a few weeks, until today..the sky is blue and I hope this fair condition and weather will continue.

This decides me to post a few flower pictures..though not indigenous to sabah, it still makes sabah a bit more colourful. I may not know all the names (sorry about that) maybe you can suggest what is the name.

 this is allamanda cathartica sp.

 this is bunga balung ayam (scientific name not known)


bunga butang

 cosmos caudatus sp.

 dahlia pinata sp.


 helianthus sp.

 heliconia psittacorum sp.

 hibiscus rosa sinensis

 I dont know this flower



don't be surprised, this is  a type of caterpillar who eats on periwinkle plant, it will eat the stem, the leaves and even the flowers (it is called "tokidi" in kadazandusun language)



Impatiens balsamina sp.

 the small pinkish rose

 I dont know this one..but its quite cheerful

This is what i managed to capture after a busy week with my work..

This is the First Election I voted for..and therefore it was a history for me...at least when people ask me Have you ever voted? My answer definitely would be YES!

yet..I cannot cover many places..I just could snap a few shots in Tambunan-Keningau Area..anyway I hope its worth to post it!



i think you can recognize who is the candidate even though its not clear



where is this?



A wet election day





A contrasting scenario





and the man in the poster won..

Last Chinese New year Holiday, I happened to get a chance to travel with some of my pals...

My first time to poring even though I am a Sabahan...

About 15-20 minutes from Ranau Town..Poring is indeed a place to go to relax..particularly for those who have just climb mount kinabalu..

You can take a bus or taxi from Ranau town or Directly from Kota Kinabalu..

The entrance is different from the Hot Spring Area and you have to walk about 2-3 minutes to get to the actual area..

Poring or Bamboo if directly translated from the local Kadazandusun Language has many bamboo plants growing around its vicinity..the moment I entered the place through a bridge...Something says to me that something awaits me..



Which can be depicted in this picture..Its so beautiful and is personally captured by me..(not flattering), mind you though, the water is unsafe to drink as it contains traces of harmful minerals...remember Mt.kinabalu used to be an active volcano...
 The tubs are divided into 4 chambers each...See the tubs with the blue tiles? Yes..thats it...and as you can see many people are waiting at that time because it was a public holiday..so its best to go there when its not public holiday..or even weekends..

This is the statement taken from tripadvisor.com about poring

....the hot tubs are built slightly below the actual source of the hot water. The hot water is piped (as at the source it is hot enough to hard boil eggs) and presented at the tubs along side a cold water tap. Due to reasons of hygene, the tubs are drained after each use, but they are also fairly large and thus sometimes take some time to fill. There are several other sized tubs scattered about nearby, which are not tiled and communal. Hot water flows freely through these and are always at the ready.

There are also two or three indoor tubs for private use. The better of the ones is the Raffelsia, which is quite new, spacious and nice and clean. The other tubs are fairly basic, almost like what you would find at home, but do feature two big tubs side by side. The facilities are also basic, but clean.

The other pools in the part of the facility are cold-water pools. There is a freely accessable rock pool, as well as the paid-access slide pool, which is a series of 4 cascading pools, the upper 3 of which are margined by a water-slide. The water in these pools are fed by a river and are thus constantly replenished. This part of the facility is quite popular amongst tourist and locals alike, especially during weekends and public- and school holidays.

Which is really true because during that day (a Public Holiday for Sabahan)..ALL TUBS and POOLS ARE OCCUPIED...I managed to spend a few minutes in the tubs..but its so distressing to see others waiting in line to have a taste of the Hot Spring..so I just spend a little time there..Gonna be back again soon...

There are also several pools out there..but if you want to rest or relax then tubs is the best choice...there is a CANOPY WALK..and BUTTERFLY SANCTUARY if you want at extra few costs...I didn't have the chance to go there as I was busy spending my time in the cold water pool and hot tubs..

There is a Jungle Restaurant which is pretty unique and cool because most of the building materials are mainly taken from jungle and nature..




With that bye-bye poring...But my journey that day has not end yet..I have a short-incidental Visit to Kundasang still...and I would like to share a few more pictures with you..

Kundasang is a small town before ranau, famous for its vegetable, cool air n spectacular views...

there is also the Kundasang World War II Memorial to commemorate the 24,000 Allied soldiers killed during World War II. Established in 1962, this was one of the first memorials to commemorate the brave Australian and British Prisoners of War who died in Sandakan and during the infamous death marches to Ranau during World War II. The memorial also remembers the people of North Borneo who risked their lives to help the POWs. (http://www.kinabaluweb.com/kundasangmemorial.html) - I have been  there but the explanations and pictures require a whole new post..I will post it once I get there again and be able to take decent pictures..

And besides the road from Kundasang to Kota Kinabalu..there is a few rows of markets selling vegetables, local fruits
and local titbits..Fried spinach anyone?..which proves to be as famous as the rest of the public attractions among tourists..and locals alike...

  honey..anyone??


 flowers on sale...its as fresh as it can be..

And my journey to ranau is ended by a shot of Mount Kinabalu view taken originally by me..

During my stay in Kg. Papar in Tambunan, I managed to spare some time to catch the progression of the paddy season in pictures.

I am immensely fascinated by how the cycle of the season progressed throughout the year.

Here are the pictures



The above picture was taken in january 2007, the weather's so cold and fresh!
It marked the end of the reaping season and the paddy field was fully harvested.




The harvesting season was over, after remained for a few months, the field was ploughed by machine and more water was irrigated into the field



This is when the paddy seeds had been planted and grew for about 1 month over. (sorry, i missed the moment when the farmers were planting the paddy seeds)
Greenery swept across the field, which is pleasing to the eye of the beholder...
(sejuk mata memandang)




And the last season has come, taken in december, this paddy had richly grown and matured into golden grains, people were rushing to harvest it so that they can celebrate their christmas with ease of mind.

The Harvest marked the blessings and prosperity of the year, which is carried forward to next year. This year's harvest paid their sweat and toils yet celebration in Sabah won't arrived until May the following year! So Save up for the party!

Adieu to 2007, the season shall start again.

Last christmas i managed to go to Kota Marudu for a short break..
For me Kota Marudu is an average place..Well the township has much room for improvement..and i think it is a great mix of people live there..just like in many parts of sabah..



this is the paddy field picture along the road to the town from taginambur..



and approaching the bridge..



the township building of kota marudu








masih pekan kota marudu, sabah





Bye-Bye Kota Marudu

TUGU PERINGATAN MAT SALLEH

A trip to tugu peringatan Mat Salleh in Tambunan recently, revealed that the hero's history is still being appreciated and immortalised by the local people.

If you're from KK drive along the road that goes to toboh by using the conventional road (not the shortcut at the kg kinabaan).You will see the Sign Board on your right-hand side..at kg. Tibabar you have to go inside the kampung and the tugu is at the end of the road.

Needless to say, pictures say a thousand words.












there are also a small exhibition room...which potrays a lot of artifacts of mat salleh's rebbelion during the British period









The declaration of independence in year 1963...When Sabah is still on its own..




And to think that all of Mat Salleh's rebellion happened at this very place...AMAZING!

Perhaps you may think that Kota Kinabalu is just a place for commercial and business

A walk along the seaside part proved me wrong...



I started my journey from Wawasan Plaza..





The MAA Building


The Spectacular Promenade Hotel



And Found My Way beside the sea....



Pulau Gaya Nun Jauh Disana



I Could almost see fishes



Tropicana Kota Kinabalu



I saw 3 ships



Will be full of food in the evening



And That's the end of my journey in KK...A friend of mine said to me after this "No Wonder People Like to Come to Sabah" well..that wraps up everything