Christmas Season Is Here

Christmas season is being celebrated in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, one of the states in Malaysia. Many people in Sabah are Christians and we usually have a Christmas program organised by the Council of Churches. This year it fell to the Methodist church to organise the festivities.

At the beginning of Gaya Street, the main street in the city, there were Christmas trees decked out with lights and pretty ornaments.  Many people flocked to this street in the evening to check out the activities and to take photographs.  We were no exception and braved the traffic jam to get there. It was worth the hassle of sitting in the jam and inching our way forward.

 

There was also a nativity shed with a display of Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus in the manger.

Next to this was a pen with two live goats.

There was also a stage where the choirs from different churches sang on different evenings and there were also dance performances. People of all ethnic origins and visiting tourists thronged the area to enjoy these events.

Many stalls lining the street enjoyed brisk business as crowds thronged the area, enjoying the festive mood.

This is an annual event held over four days just before Christmas so that folks can come out to share the joy and message of peace and goodwill.

The North Borneo Railway Steam Train

This morning my grandchildren and I boarded the North Borneo Railway steam train from the Tg Aru train station in Kota Kinabalu to Papar, a town 38.5 kilometers away.

When they were toddlers, aged 3 and 4, we would follow, in my car, the train from Tg Aru station up to Putatan every Saturday because they loved watching the train puffing its cloud of steam and its whistle as it neared level crossings.

Now that they are in their early teens, I thought it would be great if we all take the train to Papar. 

 Along the way they would be able to see the small towns en route as well as rural scenes.
Indeed, they got to see mangrove swamps,

padi ( rice ) fields, two Buddhist temples

and best of all, how the steam engine turned around on the turntable so that it could pull the carriages back on its return journey to Kota Kinabalu.

 Continental breakfast was served on board just as the train chuffed out of the Tg Aru station.  Our cabin attendants were very friendly and cheerful. We had a small basket of croissants and Danish pastries served with honey, jam and butter and the local black coffee was very aromatic.

Lunch ( local food ) was served in tiffin carriers just before we left Papar en route back to Kota Kinabalu.  This was a quaint touch.

  It reminded me of the days during the fifties when tiffin carriers were commonly used to hold food and transported to customers either in their work place or homes. We also used tiffin carriers to buy cooked food from shops, either for lunch or dinner.  We never used plastic or Styrofoam in those days.  If we didn’t use a tiffin carrier, the food, if it were fried, then it would be placed on a banana leaf and wrapped up in paper.

What was inside our tiffin carriers?

 Mixed local fresh fruit

Nasi briyani, mixed vegetables and 2 gravy covered satay sticks and a piece of fried mackeral. The children had a chicken drumstick each.

Except for the hot weather and intense noonday heat, the outing was an enjoyable one, a good experience for my grandchildren.

Super Dare Devils

One of the nicest shows that we have seen was in Guilin. It was mainly an acrobatic show with some dances.  However there was a presentation that demanded a lot of skill and courage. This presentation opened with a dramatic bang of thunder and lightning. The light effects were astounding.

 Then the smoke screen cleared to reveal a huge wire globe with a ramp leading to its door.

 As we were wondering what surprise was in store, a large motorbike roared on stage and two men quickly opened the door and he shot into the globe.  The door closed behind him and he began to circle inside the globe going faster and faster.

 A couple of minutes later another rider roared on stage and zipped into the globe.  I was on tenterhooks. How do they keep their distance?  The globe wasn’t that big and there were two riders inside zooming round and round.

 As I was wondering, two more riders came on and rushed into the globe soon followed by another. Now there were five riders inside!!  At first they were chasing one another. Then they were criss-crossing each other, from the side and from the top and bottom.

It was a nail-biting experience, watching them speeding inside, going round and round, up and down, side to side. After a short while, they came out of the globe and took their bows.

 These were really dare-devils, risking their lives and limbs each day in this small spherical space.

What astonished me was one of them was a woman!! Who says a woman can’t do what a man can??
She’s truly courageous and very daring.

Pole Dancing

It looks deceptively simple but one lady pole dancer says it isn’t. There is a lot of hard work and sweat and you need to put in lots of  time to practice the moves. You can also get bruises in the beginning.

 However, once you get the hang of it, it looks simple and sensual as your body glides up and down the pole and you strike different poses.

It was a marvelous sight to behold the young ladies doing their routines on the poles.