SHANNON - MANGO EATER

Shannon has been with us when she was a puppy in 1999. She loves mangoes. Every mango season, we have share the fruits with her. Shannon knows when a ripe mango would drop from the tree and nearly always beat us to it.Here she was ..waiting for the mango to drop!

She got one and enjoying it!

SEPILOK JUNGLE - SANDAKAN DAY TRIP

I normally do not get up early but made an effort to get out of bed the other day at 06:00 to catch the first MH flight to Sandakan departing at 07:30. By 08:10, I was walking out of the Sandakan airport. This was my first trip to Sandakan after two years.
After a good local breakfast with my friend from Sandakan, we headed for the famous Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and arriving there just in time for a video presentation. Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation centre with rain forest at the back ground.

Walkway into the Sepilok jungle

Crowd waiting near the feeding platform

I caught the picture of the first 2 orangutan swinging-in from the jungle at about 10:30

This naughty one was showing off its acrobatic skill

An orangutan was "escorted" back to the jungle by a warden after it joined the crowd (unexpectedly).
Orangutan enjoying their bananas on the platform

The cafeteria in Sepiloik

After Lunch, we visited the biggest Chinese Temple in Sandakan.

The view of Sandakan from the temple

The new Sandakan Central market situated in the town center has almost everything from local product to imported ones.

The Observation Pavilion over looking Sandakan town

I took the opportunity to check out the Japanese cemetery near the observation pavilion.

My final stop was this water village before taking the 18:30 MH flight to Kota Kinabalu.

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN MARINE PARK KOTA KINABALU

Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park consisits of 5 islands, a short distance by boat from Kota Kinabalu city. GAYA Island is the largest island of the Park followed by MANUKAN, SAPI, SULUG and MAMUTIK. Gaya island with Sapi on its left From right to left - Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug. Shangri-la Tanjung Aru resort and Kampung Air (water village) on the main land. All the islands are about 15-20 minutes ride by speed boat from any of the city jetties. My favourate island is Manukan which has the longest stretch of beach amongst the rest of the islands.The surrounding water is ideal for snorkeling, diving and swimming. There are 20 unit chalets, a clubhouse, restaurant, souvenirs and diving centres and recreational facilities. Manukan's Chalets are partly visible from the jetty. The Manukan jettyIt is total relaxation on the lovely beach of Manukan and one may choose to enjoy some water sport activities : Banana boat, parasailing and jet skiing. Visitors can opt for a BBQ lunch which is the most popular.
Enjoying the BBQ lunch under shady trees.
Most visitors normally return to the city in the late afternoon.

MEMKABUT AND BONGAWAN TRIP

Two weeks ago, we attended the wedding of our nephew at a kampung (village) in Membakut. Wedding celebration in a kampung is normally a whole day affair with a good supply of food, drinks,snack and music.

There were two bands in attendance providing modern and traditional music.

Sumazau time!"Makan" time (feast time)

Some of the home cooked "kampung" cuisine.

The Jack fruit tree is a common sight in the "kampung". I spotted one at the back yard of the house.

Another common tree - the Sago After the feast, it's time to go home.

On the way back, we drove to Bongawan, a small town near Membakut and stopped by to see the old wooden shops which were built just after world war II. It was really amazing to see that all the old buildings were still in good shape after all these years.