KAMPUNG KIULU and DURIANS

Yesterday, we spent half a day with my nephew's family in kampung Kiulu. The Kiulu river was at it's best providing a cool environment in the afternoon heat.

We were not really interested in the river but the fruits of the kampung. Rambutans were in abundance and ready for harvest. 

"Rambutan"  

It was my lucky day when I stumbled upon a durian that just fell off the tree.

A whole basket of durians were picked up for the afternoon snack.  

  Everybody was happy and ready for the feast !

 

Very creamy "kampung durian"

These exotic "kampung" durians were of the smaller size but their flesh were creamy, sweet with a bit of bitterness. I prefer them to those of the Thai or the popular Malaysian D24.

It was a good afternoon of fun and the wonderful "durians". "Thank you" to the in-laws of my nephew!   

A DAY OF ORCHIDS, FOOD, CATTLE FARM and A TOW TRUCK RIDE

On the second day of Chinese New Year, we took the road to Kundasang near Mt.Kinabalu for a break in a convoy of 4 cars. It was a day of Orchids, food, cattle farm and a "Tow truck" ride home. 

A stopover at the "Hybrid orchid" farm was worthwhile.

Tempted for a picture.

According to the owner of this place,  he has at least a hundred species of hybrid orchids.  

 Next stop was at Fairy Garden Resort for lunch.

 Fried fresh vegetables with garlic.

 Deer meat with spring onions and young gingers.  

 Stewed local shitake (mushroom) with seafood.

 Lamb in special sauce.

 Home made bean curd (tofu) with minced meat.

Fairly Garden special - Fried chicken with mango and chili sauce. 

After a delicious meal, we moved on to Desa Cattle Farm. Unfortunately, it was raining with heavy mist.

 A picture to remember.  

 We did not stay long as the place was jammed with visitors and cars.

  A coffee break before returning to the city at a roadside cafe.

It should have been a perfect outing if not for the rain. The worst thing that happened was when my old Pajero suffered a stroke (overheating) as a hose connecting the engine and the radiator burst.   

I have to "escort" the Pajero home.

My first time riding in a tow-truck , arriving home safely just after dusk - ending otherwise a good day !

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 2012

Wishing everyone a very HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR !

 May the year of the "Dragon" bring us a Happy and Prosperous Year !   

A decorated corner in our home.

Last night, both the LIDO and FOH SANG night markets came alive with the crowd doing their  last minute shopping.

 The popular "Nian Gao " glutinous rice cakes were readily available.

 The Pomelos were another favourite for the Chinese New Year.  

"GONG XI, GONG XI, GONG XI FA CAI" ! 

HAMBURGER WITH MANGO

On the second day in Fukuoka, we stopped at the Freshness Burger shop in Nishijin-Machi for a bite. This was where I discovered something new. 

This shop had the imagination of producing a unique burger which was different from other burger shops.

A fantastic piece of combination -  beef burger with the usual fresh onion and lettuce + a huge  slice of mango: hmm .. so juicy and delicious.

This special burger was selling at 600 Japanese or RM24.00 per piece. For a set meal of burger + American coffee, it would be 850 yen or RM34. What do you think of the price?  Expensive kah? (Malaysian slang)..Not so lah !!!

MALAYSIA AIRLINES TODAY - ANOTHER BLOW TO SABAH

I am saddened by the ridiculous decision to suspend all the direct flights from Kota Kinabalu to Kansai,  Haneda in Japan, Perth, Australia  and Seoul, Korea starting from January 2012.

 The B737-800 which has been flying the 4 destinations.

The decision of pulling out Kota Kinabalu as a hub in the East Malaysia States by the new CEO who has no airlines experience was just not right. His decision has no logic. The halting of Firefly was already a mistake.

This is already history - no longer in service.

It just does not make sense, why decided to suspend all flights by giving so short a notice. The CEO could have reduced the frequency instead of making a total cut. Alternately, he could have made use of Firefly to fly to these destinations. This should be the strategy of the CEO. Perhaps, as a newcomer in the airlines industry, he failed to see that the present travel trend which is heading for budget travel. I believed such a scenario will continue into the future.

Even Singapore Airlines, the world’s second-largest carrier by market value has their vision on the low cost lucrative market. They have launched a budget carrier called "Scoot" in November last year and should take to the sky by mid-2012. I believed that their forecast can not be wrong!

The image of Scoot's B777-200.

The people of Sabah are the main losers. If Malaysia Airlines is not doing anything for them, the Sabah State government should buy over Firefly to continue the services.   It is also strange that the Sabah Tourism Ministry is not making any serious complaints over all the suspension.  

Looking at the situation, the CEO of Malaysia Airlines may not be the decision maker as  the people behind these changes have their own agenda. The forces driven by Air Asia’s  are so strong after the share swap. These people are just greedy. Many people believed that they are the ones who have been tailoring the changes so that Air Asia could take over all the routes suspended by Malaysia Airlines.

I hope the CEO of Malaysia Airlines will stand up against all odds and review the operations to make the right decision.

May God help the staff of Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and the people of Sabah.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

WISHING EVERYBODY A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

    Mt.kinabalu - New year day

Good luck, good health and happiness throughout 2012!