Sabah! Yes, it's Sabah!
Finally my little dream since primary came true! *yay* I wished to explore Borneo. Though not all, but I had set foot on the lands! Last year was Sarawak, now Sabah. East Malaysia : check. =)
It was a last minute plan. I decided to follow friends of SW to Sabah for my second SBE. We had a total of 3-week holiday including the week of SBE, so we went few days earlier before SBE started. SW had to travel from KL because Pahang had no airport, so I went one day earlier to KL so we could travel together.
- 14 Aug 2013 -
Morning Flight to KL. FireFly plane was soooooo cute! :3
It's my first time boarding such mini plane. During my previous domestic flights, the planes were bigger in size. Although it's just a 45-minute flight, they provided a muffin, a packet of peanut, soya and orange juice. Hmm, better than I thought.
Got too wasted for the past one week. I thought 3 assignments were all I had and they could only be done during SBE. Well, I thought. It turned out be four assignments and a quiz comprising 30% of finals. Great. I have 24 hours from now to settle BIG assignment or my SBE week will be more hectic than it'd be.
(tired-looking, having to wake up so early)
Time seemed to fly faster as FireFly got hurled through the air. Jay's concert was a months-long anticipation but now the happening was 10 days ago. Now, SBE is just round the corner and I'm flying to Sabah in less than 24 hours.
Had Sushi Tei for lunch with daddy!
Then took airport taxi to IPBA. RM30, reasonable.
Sitting alone in Coffee Bean struggling with BIG while fighting back somnolence. Ugh, August, the most hectic month yet the most memorable one. Well, good things come from hard work and persistence. Don't give up! *determined look*
I'm bringing my JiHyo cap - MAKI. Getting vain the night before :D
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~ Day 1 ~ (15/8/13)
A lil chaos before boarding the plane. Okay, quite chaotic. We moved at 10am but chose a taxi instead of 7-buck bus fare from KL Sentral because of uncertainty.(Can you imagine how far the airport is from Lembah Pantai?) We thought it's changed to KLIA without knowing that LCCT now is known as KLIA2. == Well, taxi fare......RM85. Ouch. *sigh* 算了吧，人生里总有用钱买教训的时候。
After everything was settled, our backs are soaked with sweat. So, every Borneo trip starts with shades in plane. Lol.
The journey was kinda torturing. A guy in mid-40 sitting beside me kept chanting scriptures. Uncle ar, you're in an ambiance similar to that of a library. You are not exactly being polite to other passengers. Then, something I hate the most happened. Children. They kept talking loudly and laughing hysterically the whole journey! I know, they're kids, they don't understand, so forgiven.
Fortunately, the horrible 2-hour journey was alleviated by a cute Thai-looking steward. He looks like SiWon from SuperJunior! I took a glance at his name tag when he walked by, couldn't catch the name but I'm guessing Iban.
A rainbow accompanying me to Sabah! =D
Soon, we landed in Kota Kinabalu Airport. Hi, Sabah!! Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
First stop after landing : Tanjung Alu Kopitiam. Met up with Fei Qing, MeiYi, WanWei, her bro and AnnYi. =) Ordered Teh C Special (it's actually normal 3-layer tea but well, it's Borneo, you must have a taste at the famous local folk drink) :D
Song of the day : 温岚 - 夏天的风
We crashed at WW's a few days before going Tenom, where our SBE would take place. WW's mom was a wonderful cook. Our first dinner in Sabah : pork, prawns, broccoli and the highlight, 黄酒鸡汤！(Chicken soup cooked with rice wine)
(It looks diluted and all but wait till you try it. Oishii~)
(too eager to eat until I forgot to snap a photo. Hence, the leftover vege)
Aunty's generosity can be felt through portion of rice wine poured into the soup. One bowl down. Mmm mmmm goooooood~ *licking lips* SW got.....not drunk, but extreme redness and burning sensation in her chest. Haha.
To those alcoholic out there or tuak lovers, it's like the sweetest tuak I've ever drunk. Compared to Sarawak's tuaks, this is women tuak x100000 times mild and sweeter. Probably because some of it has been diluted in soup but it's very thick tho. *yum yum*
Night activity : The Absinthe Pub / 唱歌餐厅. The itineraries were nicely planned by SW's friends so we just tagged along. Its my first time going to pub but it's more like a karaoke place where people sit around small tables with high stools(like those normally seen in pub) and sing publicly and drink.
Yay, my hubby's song!
After friends from other IPGs arrived, we ordered a bucket of Carlsberg and a bucket of Budwieser(the kind of teachers' gathering? haha). All of us drink, except SW. She's still trying to recover from the burning sensation she got from the soup. First time trying bottoms up, hmm, not good for stomach. I prefer drinking it sip by sip and enjoy the changing taste. (Shhh. My mom almost never read my blog. xD)
p/s: I'm not alcoholic ok.
p/s: I'm not alcoholic ok.
The structure was simple but it's lit with purplish pink light, dim. Kinda romantic. You can't see it through the photo because we used flash.
(look at her face LOL)
Then, we went for supper at New Mui Vui Kopitiam.
We tried two types of SuiKao / 锅贴, the famous local dish
and Tuaran Mee(like Penang's Sam Mee but not dried and without gravy)
It's only our first day meeting but we had fun. Squeezing in about 10 people in an Avanza, passing by police cars was totally thrilling. Haha. The coming days were crazy as well :)
(FeiQing, Fang, SiewWen)
As Cinderella leaves the castle before the clock strikes twelve, we head home as well, marking the end of Day 1.
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~ Day 2 ~ (16/8/13)
Kuih muih breakfast at home, don't know what it's called
then second round in 路阳兴旺角酒楼, damn luxurious. I like the famous 流沙包, something which is quite rare in Penang. Yummy!
Attraction introduction : Kaya Street, where they hold pasar pagi every Sunday. Tourists' main attraction.
Watched a movie (激战 Unbeatable) in Suria Sabah, then lunch at UpperStar Cafe and Bar. I ordered Cheesy Carozza and Ice Lemon Tea. Got flustered for being scammed but well, 商业手段, illustrations are always for so-called reference only, should have known.
How it looked like in the menu.
I was served this.
(I thought it's waffle and the cheese is almost invisible :/)
Wanted to try their signature beverage, named UpperStar but there's liqour in it, nobody wanted to share it with me. How could I finish it alone? It comes in a big portion and costs RM16++ Ended up missing the opportunity. =(
跟戴智健SMS会pekchek。都说人在Kota Kinabalu咯，介绍什么Pouring Hot Spring, Pasar Filipina 离KK超远的地方，还叫我去爬Gunung Kinabalu......我炸到。不过很感激努力介绍食物和地点啦，再次致谢。=) 至于ulat sagu, darab, barakas, bambangan...我会努力找 ='(
Forget about the deceitful lunch, we're off to Pulau Sapi!!!! *wheeeeeee* The must-go place in my list : seaaaaaaaaaa! 바닷가아아아아아아!
Clear blue sky, sapphire blue and emerald green water, soft white sand! The scenery is so picturesque like Maldives! I used to think Maldives pictures are edited because I've never been there but now seeing Pulau Sapi, I believe those images you found in Google are just how they are witnessed with naked eyes.
See for yourself!
For those perverts out there, No, the angmo was no naked. Look closer.(I got this question a lot.)
There was a sign stated 'Beware of Stingray'(or jellyfish I forgot).
I was like (@o@) thinking, "Stingrays?! How long will their tails be? How sharp is it gonna be?" Then I turn around, Woooooo, FlyFish!!! Let's go!!!! *jump in excitement*
**Bummer : I have so many pics to upload but my hard drive keep crashing after I transfer all the photos from my memory card. The following days will be plain text without pictures. ='( I will update the minute I got my hard drive repaired. Sorry.
It's RM70 I think, including life jacket and goggle? Not sure, we paid all together with ticket and boat renting and all. A total of RM120 IF I'm not mistaken. First time trying FlyFish and it was so So SO much more stimulating than banana boat! You feel exactly like a flying fish! Thrusting on the surface of water, strong wind accompanied with splashing water landed hard on face and occasional off-gravity lift. One word : AWESOME! Too bad SW didn't get into the boat so no photo of it. =(
Met a bodily-fit, out-going uncle from local and took picture with him. He's radiating summer! He said he go to Pulau Sapi often for scuba diving. I assume he's a professional photographer or something because he's holding a huge paw-like camera, like the one on Doctor Octopus in Harry Potter. He told me to add him in Facebook, Joe Chong(see, uncle, I still remember) but couldn't tell which one is him. There's so many Joe Chong! I love the pic we took together :)
[reserved for pic]
Bak Kut Teh for dinner at umm...somewhere(forgot). It belongs to FQ relatives so we got to eat for free. @-@ As opposed to KL and Penang Bak Kut Teh where we usually share a big bowl of soup, we got a small bowl of soup each, no free flow. The dinner was a pork feast.
Since breakfast, we have been eating every two hours. *burp* *walking slower carrying heavy belly* We were too full to go elsewhere plus Pulau Sapi drained much of our strength away so we headed home.
Played with WW's cute puppy(forgot his name). Magically, if you sing, it will sit down and listen quietly. It won't obey if you command 'sit!'. Unique. Hahaha.
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~ Day 3 ~ (17/8/13)
- forgot to write down what happened this day -
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~ Day 4 ~ (18/8/13)
Had avocado as entrée for breakfast. First time eating it raw mixed with condensed milk. Main course would be 鱼杂(I don't know what they call in English). It's like ABC soup + different styles of cooked fish/清汤+鱼肉+鱼丸+腐鱼+炸腐皮. Sounds geli but it's like the kind of dimsum we love, brown and fried, dipped with mayo, except this is eaten with chili. *muack* Yummy!
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~ Day 4 ~ (18/8/13)
Had avocado as entrée for breakfast. First time eating it raw mixed with condensed milk. Main course would be 鱼杂(I don't know what they call in English). It's like ABC soup + different styles of cooked fish/清汤+鱼肉+鱼丸+腐鱼+炸腐皮. Sounds geli but it's like the kind of dimsum we love, brown and fried, dipped with mayo, except this is eaten with chili. *muack* Yummy!
Had a quick walk in Gaya Street, bought souvenirs and yay, a tee for myself! Then rushes to board Malaysia Express to Tenom. PeiChing and Samson treated us durian puff and WW's mom bought us buns, how thoughtful! Her mom is like Datin Dr. Raja Mazuin, you can easily strike a conversation with her. =) 3-hour journey it will be, so goodnight. zzzZZZ
The bus moved exactly at 12pm and arrived in Tenom at 3pm sharp. Hmm, efficient and reliable. *like* Met MeiJing(their dajie) and her family after showing us around her house. Outskirts of town, exactly like what I thought. It's like the bigger version of Gopeng, Kedah.
(The rainbow followed me all the way to Tenom! :D)
A news shocked me when MJ said we won't be having any ceiling fan or air condition in our bedroom except a small table fan. @.@ That was OMG to me, I sweat a lot. I'm more afraid of heat than chill. Well, that night, I slept like a pig with blanket covered up to my chin.
Here in Tenom, besides the sky that gets totally dark early, pitch black around 7pm(which is why their markets close around 5pm), the weather is surprisingly chilly at nights. You will not believe how cold it is until you walked into the room. Four mattresses and a small table fan, that's it. Yet, it's even cooler than chalet in Cameron. I even turned on the air conditioner when staying in Cameron chalet. No wonder their electricity bill is RM60+ only despite the big house. So, go live in Tenom if you want to save electricity and money! XP
Something white is flickering outside the window. It's neither lightning nor camera flash. *shrug* Ahhhhh, I like the weather! It's like experiencing autumn weather in Malaysia. Wheeee! Goodnight.
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~ Day 5 ~ (19/8/13)
First day of SBE. Woke up around 5.45am and it's already bright. Bathed with freezing cold stream water(thanks to IPBA I've got the stamina to resist cold shower), we headed to SJK (C) Chung Hwa Tenom.
Assembly, met with the headmistress and attended briefing together with other teachers. Then, we set foot to our temporary 'office', the library. There's a charming Canadian MBMMBI teacher in his late 30 I guess sitting opposite, exuding a strong western ambiance. He came to school by cycling and threw a smiling face when he passed by. SBE is always boring, so I slept the whole morning in the library. Not a good teacher. Tsk tsk.
Rojak and soto for lunch after school before heading back to MJ's. Her mom baked vanilla cake and we all got excited. She cooked luxurious food for us(everyday)! We were really really touched, aunty, and your cooking is totally awesome.
8 of us in total sit around in the living room watching China drama, 花非花雾非雾, which got me addicted to it for the next few weeks. It plays 3 episodes a day and it soon becomes a norm for us to watch and laugh together everyday after dinner. The atmosphere was rather warm, like a big family living together. :3 Later, we went upstairs to our freezing cold 'chalet' and snored.
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~Day 6 ~ (20/8/13)
Spent half the morning sleeping again. Went into Johnny's class, year 4. Their proficiency level is rather mixed, quite extreme on each edge I would say. The smart are really independent, they would take the initiative to finish the workbook. While the slow learner struggled to follow every word the teacher uttered. Johnny used mother tongues(Malay, Mandarin) as a medium to teach English. One of the boys which I handled was eager to learn but he picked up things slow, which hampered his learning. The class had to move on somehow. When I talked to Johnny, he said they had tried streaming but it made their performance worse. Then, I talked to David, whose class I'd enter on Thursday.
Sigh, no coverage for U Mobile in Sabah. Missing Facebook. Tech-dependent generation, tsk tsk.
It's a peaceful afternoon, wrote a few hundred words, had dinner, shouted and had fun with everyone. Watched another 3 episodes of drama, then continue watching Korean drama with Xin(MJ's 19-y-o bro). He said I look familiar......T_T 有那么大众脸吗？ Oh well, goodnight.
I'm really glad that I chose to come Sabah and I'm sincerely thankful that God bless me with such wonderful families to say with. I feel blissful and at home even tho I'm far from west. Thank you, aunties and my new friends. =)
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~ Day 7 ~ (21/8/13)
The coming days are more or less the same. Like working at a phone desk waiting for it to ring and be called to duty. This day, I slept through the morning in library, again.
We eat out together during lunch with new friends from other IPG and went back to school. We had co-curriculum activity that afternoon. The students are exposed to many different sports which I think is (y). Opted for basketball team but we trainees were pretty much useless and the teachers didn't take any initiatives either so we walked around taking pictures.
We eat out together during lunch with new friends from other IPG and went back to school. We had co-curriculum activity that afternoon. The students are exposed to many different sports which I think is (y). Opted for basketball team but we trainees were pretty much useless and the teachers didn't take any initiatives either so we walked around taking pictures.
We interviewed the headmistress for our assignment then head to a far-off Water Dam. She was so kind. She even offerd to bring us to uhhh forgot the name, a place where tourists would usually visit but the plan was called off because not many want to go :/
Watched 3-eps drama again then, end of Day 6. We would finish off our dinner quickly so we can done washing all the dishes before the drama started. It's become an addiction to all of us. Haha.
Watched 3-eps drama again then, end of Day 6. We would finish off our dinner quickly so we can done washing all the dishes before the drama started. It's become an addiction to all of us. Haha.
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~ Day 8 ~ (22/8/13)
Everyone wore baju kurung on this day for photoshoot session together with headmistress. Went into David's class again. During recess, we had a treat from headmistress.
[pics]
At night, we went to pasar malam nearby MJ sister's working place and bought murtabak sayur, green kuih melayu(that's what they call it). Then walk back to MJ house which was quite a distance away but it was fun! Took lots of silly pictures.
[pics]
I greeted back a stranger who yelled 'Hi Amoi!' in a car then was quickly shunned away and told off by MJ and her sister. :( They said it's dangerous and I should ignore them. It was courtesy to reply when people greet you, no?
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~ Day 9 ~ (23/8/13)
We went to watch FQ teaching Year One, Ms Rozaini's class. They were absolutely adorable and surprisingly obedient. I remembered they once gathered around me and asked about my braces.
I was surrounded by group of children at a corner while their teacher was just standing in front.
Student A : Teacher, can I ask you a question?
Me : Yes, sure.
Student A : Why your teeth blue colour one?
Student B : Teacher, got grey colour!
Student C : Teacher, that thing on your teeth...somok lai de?
Student D : *hearing the havoc, ran to join in* Teacher, say eeeeeeee!
Student E : where where teacher, I want to see.
Student F : I also want to see!!
Me : *giggles*
Looking at those adorable innocent faces, I told myself once again that since I have figured things out I'm not going to do it just because I can anymore. I'm going to strive hard in this profession and make myself proud of the path I chose to venture. I may not have a dream in this aspect, but I'm going to do my best in what I can, with I have. =)
It's the last day of SBE and we're not going to see each other anymore. We took photos and bid farewell with huggies. On the way back home, we bought a birthday cake and surprised aunty. After saying goodbye to aunty and families, we took bus back to Kota Kinabalu.
There was heavy jam, SW wasn't feeling well. Rest stop at an unknown place where crocodile, wild boar, 鳖(fresh water soft-shell turtle), monkeys and cock locked in cage. The croc had no tail and it had only limited space to move, suffocating. So cruel.
Due to heavy jam, WW's mom waited for almost an hour. >< We had dinner together at New Mui Vui Cafe. Uncle ordered 40 锅贴, 10 水饺, Tuaran Mee, Wantan Ho, and salted fish fried rice. @_@ Their salted fish was extremely crispy and extremely salty.
Midnight, aunty surprised us with darab. Finally, darab! Yayy!!!! Thank you aunty! It looks like smaller version of cempedak, smells like nangka and taste like cempedak but with smoother and rather elastic texture. Yummy!! The skin is not that hard and it looks like corals when you pressed it.
[video]
[pics]
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~ Day 10 ~ (24/8/13)
Had 流沙包, icy darab(we stored leftovers in the refrigerator last night) kolok mee and barli(I like it better with fucuk). Sam and WW dropped AY and us off at airport. Listened to radio together before getting off.
It's about a prank call from DJ acting as an officer telling a person he lost his parcel(a minion figurine he bided online). Damn hilarious!
The plane is now in the sky, I always fail to count how many layers of cloud has the plane got through(it should be three right?) because I would pull down the binder due to scorching sunlight. Next time, I'll try to remember counting.
Sayonara, Sabah. Thanks for the tolerance, heart-felt warmth, generosity, lessons and wonderful memories. May God bless y'all abundantly! Byeeeee! ;)
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Conclusions from my trip :
- Sabahans have big hearts
- Sabah fruits are hairy and cheap(and seedless : guava)
- Sabah weather is wonderful(Tenom at night)
p/s: Dear Tawau/Siapadan, if I don't get to go Maldives I'll come for you. Don't get too polluted by then k? =)
See ya!
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