Kudat Field Trips Part II

Hello everyone, I'm just back from Kudat.
Ahhh...what an experiences I had way back from that place....tired yet so many sweet and great memories I'd gain from the trip fields and it's all with my fellow classmate. Cheers to all memories!

Okay on the way to our first destination, well you know how everybody was really excited about it.... some of my classmate even bought a guitar and play it along the journey. Well actually I never thought she was good in playing the guitar. Yup SHE. Who can resist good music from your friends and fall asleep? The journey to our firt destination takes about 2 hour from Kota Kinabalu. Thats a really long journey you know. As far as I remember, there's like three bus for this trip and of course DTM and DHM must stick together, right?

Okay back to topics, first destination was the Gombizou Honeybee Farm located in Matunggong, Kudat. You can read about this place in Sabah Tourism webpage. Sorry no picture for but I promise I'll include some picture later. We've some research by interviewing the people who manage the honeybee farm...the thing makes me itchy about this place was all the bees surrounding the lady who demonstrate about the honey-making...Ha I shoot some picture and run away from that place. Same goes to my sister too, we really hate bugs and all that stuff since we're little kid.
There's also honey that already been process and sold around....I think the big bottle was RM100, medium sized bottle was RM32 and the small one was RM14. After the honeybee, we went to the house where they present us their traditional dance called "Mogigol dance". And guest what I got the chance dancing with them. Although its a little embarassing, but hey let just think this way, the next time go there you won't be to dance with them because all the dancer ...in their golden age. So its worth it.

Next, we went to our second destination which are the great Gong Makaing Factory which was the place for the Rungus people makes it muscial instrument which played durinf festivities and even weddings. According to the villagers, the place has been part of World Record which I think really amazing. Such a cultural and tradition that still exist till today and still continuing the great living tradition from the past.
This place located not far from the Gombizou Honeybee Farm where it only takes about 5 minutes from there.Before we leave, they present us with 2 traditional dances which are the " Manaradan" and "Mogigol" at the Sumangkap Village community Hall. Same with the previous one but just a bit different actually. Then we went to another house where Ms Rohana demonstrate on how to make the gong. She brief us all about 15 minutes on how to measure the surface before you actually can knock it, how many inches for the center ( its 3 inches for sure..). She said that it takes about 3 days to get the goong-making done. So its kinda a lot of work you know. All the goong are label acccording to numbers. We also went to the biggest goong (20 feet high) and its was really awsome.
We take a lot of picture with friends plus the goong itself. So great that the big goong will never fall down when there's strong wind blowing it.( except for apocolypse I think) Fun moment!

Next destination, we went to the Bavanggazoo(Rungus Longhouse), a very long house made of natural material such as bamboo and some straw. Funny things happen here, when we first arrive at the place we found the right longhouse, but somebody I don't know who,Shout from the back of our group and told us we get the wrong longhouse, we supposed to climb the hill 10 minutes away from that place to get to the right place. So we all climb the hill but I run.... You should look at my face....tired but fun too.
At the longhouse, I take some picture of the Rungus people selling some cultural bracelet and stuff. GORGEOUS
The door if you pay a visit to the place, you'll notice that the doors or the rooms names are labels according to birds name. I was attracted to this traditional puzzle for the Rungus but I don't even remember the name the people told that once this game was take serious for the women ONLY in the village where if they cannot solve the puzzle, they won't be able to get married. Hmmm....interesting. But my future doesn't depend on that thing for god sake!
And yes, they present with similar dance and some my friends are dancing too but one thing for sure attract when the old lady present a song by playing the flutes using her nose. Yes, her NOSE!!! She played graceful and delicated. I was like amaze by that, well some my friend are asleep (silly pig... ).
We can't get to Tamu Kudatbecause we're running out off time. Ngeh...

Next stop, Our resting place...its not some fancy hotel or something but good enough for us to sleep in. This what people said " back to basic" hehehehe . Okay I was group with my sister and two friends ( Micheal L. and Marilyn K.)which I think really great because their really nice people. 3 hour rest fine with me but I don't know the other including my sister. We then at 7.30p.m played a game ( passing puzzle )which was so....okay so lame but quite fun if you played with all total 70 plus of student in one night!
There few student incharge in this game where a cup of glass full of water was passing around in a circle of student with some music playing. And if the music stop or the water from the glass splash when you trying passing it, you'll get some punishment that totally embarrasing you. Ha ~~ I've once get the punishment by shuffling in front of everybody. But not for this trip! No way!
Funny thing was there's a girl were been punish by counting all the star and you know what she kept counting it. Hello ~~ just say crazy things like its has 8 billion star or something but she kept counting, counting and counting. Good luck with that! I'm really hungry at the time so I was just going with the flow.

After activity has ended, some student went into their room and some stil hanging around or having late night snack or something. Micheal went to dinner with Ah Tee and Vincent and my sister are just went straight back to our room. As for me, I went to department store with my friend Marilyn K. I bought food some cup instant noodles for me and my sister and for the dessert, just cocoa pie are enough good enough for your hungry little tummy!
Same goes to Marilyn K.
15 minutes after we came back to our room, we eat and done some talk in our room. Girls talk! Then Micheal and the boys went to the room which makes me quite suprised! Dull moment arose so us girl put make up to those 2 boys. Well the boys look so funny when their in make up especially Vincent whose face really looks like a girl!! All I can says was he's face looks pretty ugly but cute.
Surely I had lot of fun that night....in a good way of course!
It was fun and tiring, so I slept early eventhought I actually can't sleep over there....


 
To be Continue in Part III

The day before the trip Part I

Hello readers! Well just an update for today.... I mean the day before our MS study trip to Kudat( Tip of Borneo). Well this is might be the last trip for me with the rest of the classmate of DTM/DHM 05/09 but I will reminisces every single great moment of it. Or maybe not...


My sister is sick so she can't go to college for today...so today it's only me alone .....Okay,tomorrow field trip, long day and ha...guest what everybody, I've already packs all necessary things for the trip too! Since this will a 2 days and 1 night trip only, I've decided to bring just a few clothes and notes for our research later. Of course not just clothes but other small things too ( you what I mean).Hopes its not going to rain because I'll have my handmade Teru Teru Bozu with me....


Well we all had been given a brief about this trip twice...yup TWICE to make sure that everything will be going smooothly during the entire field trip. On the 2nd meeting, we've been given a schedule for the trip with I think it was really rushing though.

Here's the schedule of our trip
Saturday ( November 13th)
7.30-8.00     Gathering at Padang Merdeka
8.00-10.00   Depart from Kota Kinabalu to our main destination, Kudat
10.00-10.30 Rest at Langkon,the junction between Kota Merudu & Kudat
10.30-11.30 Visit the Gombizu Honey Bee farm at Matunggong Town
11.30-1.30   Visit the Sumangkap Gong Factory, also located in Matunggong T.
1.30-2.30     Bavanggazo ( the Rungus Longhouse)
2.30-3.30     Visit the Tinanggol Manik-manik factory
3.30-4.30     Visit the Tamu Kudat
4.30-7.30     Go to our Hotel(probably an inn or something)& rest
7.30-10.30   Group activity ( passing puzzle....ngehhh)
11.00            Sleeping time!!

Sunday (November 14th)
7.30-8.30     Breakfast for the children
9.00-10.30   Visit to the Tip of Borneo, Tanjung Simpang Mengayau
10.30-11.30 Rest at Kg.Tiga Papan ( it mean 3 wood village for sure..)
11.30-12.30 Free time & last minute shopping at Langkon ( back where we came from
12.30-2.30   Depart from Kudat back to Kota Kinabalu ( Goodbye Kudat!!)


Okay there's a few thing that I don't like this trip is the group activity where we all had to play passing puzzle just for the entire night...freakyyy ~~

Oh.. don't get me wrong... it just this kind of activity I've once been humiliated in front of the whole students ....they told to dance shuffle in front of them ....yes I can dance really ..IN MY ROOM. I've done something has been really embarrasing in my life....DARN!!
Second thing is....limited time to enjoy yourself overthere. As you can from the schedule above, most of the timing you get in each place is one hour ONLY. Seriously ?!?!

Anyway, before that I had to finish my work in PPM so I don't get headache when coming back from the field trip...no no no way!

Hmm... I wonder what we will eat during our stay? All the student had to pay for their own meal but I had to save my very own budjet for sure. God bless us all...hope everything went well tomorrow

Wait, I heard that some of the place we'll visit is quite haunted. Really?
Nahh....can't be


is it?

Travel Alert: It's Safer Abroad

Latin America is diverse, though, and in today’s Southern Cone, political violence is almost unheard of, even if intemperate language between (and even within) opposing political factions is often the rule rather than the exception. It doesn’t help, though, when locals themselves, spurred by sensationalist coverage of gruesome but atypical crimes, exaggerate the issue of “insecurity” even if, statistically speaking, their chances of being a victim are miniscule.



Every city and country, of course, has bad neighborhoods, such as Buenos Aires’s so-called Fuerte Apache (actually just outside the city limits). Still, foreign visitors are unlikely to even see those neighborhoods except at a distance - they’ll be visiting tourist-friendly barrios such as Palermo, Recoleta and San Telmo instead. In remote areas such as Patagonia, serious crime is nearly non-existent.

As Steves implies, though, Southern Cone inhabitants might have more to worry about in visiting the United States. If 35-year-old Adolfo Ignacio Celedón of Santiago (his hometown's placid Parque Metropolitano is pictured above) had not traveled to this country, he would not have been shot to death by yet unknown assailants last September 18th in Berkeley, California - only a couple miles from my own home in Oakland - in the presence of his American fiancée. In the aftermath, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Henry K. Lee found himself inundated with requests from the Chilean media for information about the senseless killing, and the story made the front page in the Santiago daily La Nación.

One commentator on the article recalled another instance in which a “hateful racist” killed two vacationing Chileans and wounded three others in Florida in 2009. Another reader, charitably enough, countered that “assaults, robberies and other crimes take place everywhere, in every country.” Still, this provides some perspective on the often mistaken notion that staying home is safer than traveling.

Source:
Europe Travel

Out of the closet and into the wine cellar?

Anyone who’s been to Buenos Aires since the political and economic meltdown of 2002 is aware that the city has become the top gay travel destination in all of South America, and one of the most important in the world. This week’s Economist provides a good summary of BA’s gay appeal, with its vigorous nightlife which include a gay milonga or tango dance club, Latin America’s most liberal domestic partnership laws, even the five – star “Hetero – Friendly” Axel Hotel on the edge of San Telmo.

Another of Argentina’s attractions, for all sexual orientations’ is the country’s wine. As far as I know, though Buenos Aires is the only city in the world with an openly Gay Wine Store, near Plaza San Martin in the upscale barrio of Retiro

Khoomii: Mongolian throat Singing

Dancing and throat singing are big part of Mongolian Culture

Throat singing is Mongolia's invaluable contribution to world. Although this type of unique singing developed in Mongolia in its classical form, it is also performed in India, Bashkir, and Tuva. But what exactly is throat singing? It is a special sound made in unison with the tongue, teeth, larynx and palate. To put it simply, it is a replacement of musical instruments with all aspects of vocal organs. To hear it for the first time is a wonder. It is said that there is no other nation in the world that can combine such human physical capacity in place of musical instruments, than the felt walled nation* The famous Russian Scientist, P. Chukot measured throat singing with sensitive sound equipment and discovered that it was formed from converging tunes of different scale octaves between lower tone (which incidentally makes up the primary tone) and a combination of high peaks. Click on the picture to hear this unique style of singing.

The technique of throat singing may be easy to write about- but it is almost impossible to actually try to perform. To perform the higher tune, the singer should bend (or fold) the tongue, and tap skilled sounds with the tongue point and whisper through the front teeth. At the same time the converged melody is made by making lips conical. As the basic tune resonates, a melodic buzzing sound also reverberates.

Because of the unique skills needed to master this type of venerated singing is rigorous, there are not very many throat singers. The mother land of throat singing is considered to be in Khovd aimag, (in western Mongolia,). It is said that almost everyone there can throat sing. But although almost everyone can throat sing, very few actually can perform it professionally. It is estimated that only one out of two hundred children eventually master this demanding skill. Mr. Zulsar is one such gifted vocalist. He has traveled with the National Folk Song and Dance Ensemble to roughly fifty countries presenting the wonders of throat singing. Mr. Zulsar firmly believes in order to be a throat singer, one must not only have a capacious throat, but more importantly- the ability to refine through hard work and demonstrate a real patience for the continuous development of it.

“It is difficult to pinpoint the period when throat singing actually started, but as an art it started to develop during the 19th century. Khoomii is not studied well. Shorter forms of Khoomii were sung. In 1954 Tsedee, a singer from Chamdmani soum, Khovd aimag sang, Eulogy of Altai Kaan (long song about Altai Mountain) in the throat singing form during the Khovd aimags Arts Days in Ulaanbaatar- That song was a revolution in the Khoomii art!" Zulsar asserts.

Black Forest, Germany

The Black Forest region ('Schwarzwald') is essentially known for three distinctive features: its highlands, scenery and woods, the typical Black Forest Gateau ('Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte') whose success is based on tasty cherry schnapps and the traditional cuckoo-clock.

The name black forest was quite accurate in earlier times, when the forest was impenetrable though profitable - wood, silver and ore were the foundations of the Black Forest's inhabitants comparable wealth. When the wood trade began to falter clock-making stepped in and has been a successful industry for the Black Forest ever since the 17th century.

Another famous feature of the Black Forest region are the traditional hats with their enormous pompoms called 'Bollenhut'. They are particularly distinctive among Germany's traditional costumes. The hat is famous all over the world even though it was originally worn in only three parishes of the Black Forest region and on special occasions only.

The Black Forest region is blessed with a particularly rich mythological landscape. It is said to be haunted by werewolves, sorcerers, witches and the devil in differing guises. Helpful dwarves try to balance the scales.

Berchtesgaden - Nature Paradise

Berchtesgaden mountains provide to trekkers, mountaineers and mountain bikers unlimited options to pursue their favorite activities. Ambitious climbers can try their luck on the Watzmann-Ostwand, the highest face in the Eastern Alps but there are also several destinations for tourists with lower ambitions in sports.

Leaving the Autobahn A8 from Munich means the beginning of your vacation with destination National Park Berchtesgaden in the south-east corner of Germany.
You drive the German Alpine Road that winds through the spectacular scenery of the Bavarian Alps and gives you the real holiday feeling - fertile valleys, dreaming farming villages, cows and horses in front of incredible mountain ranges.

The idyllic setting of Berchtesgaden National Park is dominated by Germany's second highest mountain the Watzman (2713m), which towers above the emerald-green lake Königssee.
Framed by steep mountain walls the lake lies like a fjord 5km south of Berchtesgaden and can only be discovered by boat. In 1978 that nature paradies became Berchtesgaden National Park and some years later it even got the title of Biosphere Reserve by Unesco

It's impressing to see how people in the Berchtesgaden area harmonize with nature and preserve their culture and old traditions. Typically is the alpine farming - herds spend the summer on the meadows and in September a major event is celebrated when the cattle is driven down into the valley carrying rich decorations and bells. What makes this region of Berchtesgaden National Park so appealing to tourists is that you feel the value of tradition almost everywhere. Many people wear traditional clothes like leather trousers, felt jacket and ”Gamsbart” on the hat in every day life, love Ooompah music and hold up to handcraft as they have been doing that for hundreds of years.

Source
www.germanplaces.com

7 things to do in Hokkaido, Japan

Hokkaido, Japan is the northernmost island of Japan. It was the last to be developed by the mainland Japanese. Most people who go to Japan usually only go to Tokyo or Kyoto and sometimes Osaka. The island of Hokkaido has a lot of interesting things to offer.

1. Watch some glass-blowing and see some canals in Otaru.

Think that Venice is the only city with canals? This small city a 25 minute drive from Sapporo is considered one of the most picturesque Japanese cities. It is also famous for it’s glass industry. See workers make glass objects the old-fashioned way, by heating and blowing blobs of glass into beautiful art. Shop at the many glass-art stores and buy pretty souveniers

2. Ride a swan boat on lake Shikotsu.

This beautiful lake within driving distance of Sapporo was formed from the crater of a volcano. Rent out a swan-shaped paddle boat or visit the historical centre for a Free English DVD for tourists. This lake is one of the only places in the world where you can find a creature called a marimo. Marimo are small spheres of moss that grow on the bottom of certain lakes.

3. Eat Jingisu Kan (Gengis Khan).

Jingisu Kan, a dish named after Gengis Khan, is a delicacy unique to Hokkaido. If you order Jingisu Kan, you will receive a plate of raw lamb meat and vegetables. Don’t worry, though the Japanese have a certain fondness for raw fish, it does not extend to lamb as well. In the middle of the table will be a cast iron barbeque. You cook the lamb meat and vegetables on this. If you have ever had the desire to barbeque indoors, here is your chance.

4. Drink Sapporo beer in Sapporo.

The worldwide headquarters of the Sapporo Beer Brewing Company. You can go to the Sapporo Beer Museum. Even if you don’t like museums, you get beer at the end of this one.

5. Eat Ramen.

Hokkaido is famous for its quality ramen noodles. These are not to be confused with the instant cups of noodles available in the west. These are big bowls of steaming noodles, topped with things like pork, vegetables or even seafood.

6. Play around in Moerenuma Park.

Located in Sapporo, this park was designed to be as much a work of sculpture as it was a functional outdoor space. High points include the Tetra Mound, a giant stainless steel pyramid, a man-made mountain with a spectacular view of the surrounding area, and a giant fountain.

7. Visit the Gods at Hokkaido Temple.

No trip to Japan would be complete without visiting at least one temple. Hokkaido Temple is one of the largest and oldest on Hokkaido. Buy a wooden plate, write your wish on it and hang it on a frame for your wish to come true. Make an offering to the gods or buy a charm to ward against evil. If you’re not worried about evil, buy one for safety in travel.




source
http://factoidz.com/experts-in/japan/