The Hong Kong Children's Choir

(Last night, the Hong Kong Children's Choir performed at Star City Exhibition Hall. I'll be writing my experience of attending this show in two parts because I feel that I wouldn't be doing justice to the spectacular performance presented by them.)

The weeks before the performance of the Hong Kong Children's Choir, I got to know about their show here in Kota Kinabalu through the several banners hung around town. I had never heard of them before, but I supposed the fact that they were performing internationally at our shores meant that they were probably good enough.

I had no intention of attending the performance, but just last week my neighbour had been talking about it to my wife saying how her daughter had been wanting to go and watch the performance. At the same time, the organisers had been promoting the tickets for the show at my wife's school as well, and that sort of got my wife interested and she in turn got me interested. So, in the end we decided to go and brought along Adelle as well. Our neighbour's daughter came along as with us as well.

We arrived at the Star City Exhibition Hall just after 7 pm without having taken our dinner because we thought we were running late. We bought our tickets and proceeded to take our seats. We sat at the second row from the front so that we could have a pretty good view of the choir. But since there were no signs of the show starting yet, I took the opportunity to have a bite together with Adelle. My wife had packed some food for us to eat so Adelle and I looked for a suitable place to eat. By the time we finished about 15 minutes later, the show still hadn't started. In fact, it didn't start until it was 8 pm. That was a whole hour delay from the time printed on the tickets.

Despite the hiccup, when things started it was smooth sailing all the way. The emcee got things rolling with the usual reminders - silencing handphones, no flash photography, too keep to our seats during performance until intermission - and then invited several VIPs and their spouses to come up on stage to do a ribbon-cutting ceremony. With that out of the way, the choir came in followed by the conducting to enthusiastic applause and my surprise. The troupe is called the Hong Kong Children's Choir so I was expecting to see children. But, the first thing I noticed was that these people didn't look like children - more adolescent than primary schoolers. But it was a small matter - semantics one might say.

We were given a programme sheet for the evening's performance and it'd say we'd be treated to both English and Chinese songs with the intermission dividing the two. The first two songs were hymns and they were followed by several more secular songs. The song selection for the first part of the performance was a mixture of slow and upbeat songs which kept things interesting. But, what proved outstanding were the quality of their voices and the well-choreographed movements. No, they didn't just stand still while they sang, they were moving all parts of their bodies and at certain times, even walking about exchanging places and in what looked like utter chaos! It's a wonder they didn't bump into each other and fell onstage!

Here are some of the photos I took during the performance.

The host for the evening, a Rotarian.

The choir's opening act.

Noticed this girl crying - wonder why...

The group's largely made up of girls.

Singing and movement - perfectly synchronized.

Action during one of the more upbeat songs.

Sometimes, choir members would say something to introduce a piece or provide information about their group.

They dance as well!

Reminds me of a scene from the Sound of Music.

Awaiting their turn to come in - all eyes fixed on the conductor.

You get some really funny actions in some of the songs!

The crying girl becomes a happy, graceful girl.

Different parts of the choir would be doing different actions - all perfectly polished!

A spreading dark blot

Not bad.

One entry per month for the past couple of months. Well, at least that's something rather than nothing at all. But, being silent and being hardly here wasn't the push that motivated me to finally write down something. It was something else totally, something more serious.

The hottest issue in Malaysia right now has got to be about the use of the word "Allah". I hadn't realise how hot this whole matter was until a friend told me about the first attacks on several churches in West Malaysia a few days back: a church literally got burned, and two others were also in for the same treatment except that thankfully, the Molotov cocktails that were used didn't quite set off as expected. But, such attacks are still continuing. To date, eight churches around the country have already been targets of vandalism or attempted arson.

It just goes to show how shallow the minds of some in this country are, and the depths they have sunk to to even allow themselves to carry out such cowardly and despicable acts. It seems to me that, rather than moving towards acceptance , some are hell-bent on edging towards anarchy and chaos. Their reasoning seems to be, "as long as I (we) think what I'm doing is right, who cares about the sensitivities of other people". How else do you explain the latest happenings and the cow-head incident not too long ago to name just two? And all this amidst the government's grand vision of making a One Malaysia.

Yet, even in such saddening times, there are still things to be thankful for:
+ that the government seems earnest in stopping and preventing further attacks
+ that no one has been hurt
+ that, while terrible acts have been committed, there is still forgiveness
+ that God is still in control of everything

Stay safe.

A run in the sun: Sutera Harbour 7K Charity Run 2009

I wanted to blog about this yesterday but I was too pooped to do so. So, after a good night's sleep, I thought I'd write about it this morning before the details of yesterday's event became fuzzy.

We arrived at the Sutera Harbour for the run just before it started, and boy, the place was absolutely full of people. Many were wearing the official t-shirts, but quite a number as well were not. I suspect they joined the run just for the fun of it. The Sutera Harbour 7k Run is a yearly event, and I'd say it's almost like a big community event. It's basically a charity event: the recipients of the proceeds from the event being the Sabah Chapter of the Special Olympics and the Sabah Thalassemia Society. And while this is only my second time joining this, I think the turn-out every year is huge. This year, according to newpaper reports, more than 10,000 people showed up in support of the event!

The event has some interesting traditions in keeping with the number 7 theme. It starts at 5.07 pm, that's 1717 hours, and if you finish it in 77 minutes, you're eligibile for a lucky draw. I remember the first ever time it was held, and it was held on the 7th day of the 7th month in 2001.

Anyway, we brought Adelle along for the run and she was pretty excited about it as we had been telling her about it before this. But, surely you can't expect a two-and-a-half-year-old child to walk the whole seven kilometres would you? So, being the smart parents that we were, we brought along her stroller - for her to sit in (which she did most of the time any way). My wife did the pushing since I lagged behind trying to take some decent pictures of the event (which I didn't). I tried to catch up, mixing a brisk walk with the occasional short-distance trot. The funniest thing was, as I was making myself out of the hotel grounds, I already saw a number of people returning!

I was quite surprised by the weather. It had been raining the past two days in the evening with strong winds but the weather was just perfect yesterday: no sight of dark clouds, and not a single drop of rain. The sunset was quite beautiful and it wasn't very hot, so conditions were just about perfect. I finally caught up with my wife and Adelle just past the half way mark, and we walked together after that. All of us reached the finish line but I think it was past the 77-minute cut-off time, since there was no where to register ourselves for the lucky draw when we finally crossed it. Oh well, another time perhaps.

There was other programmes lined up for the evening: a concert by several local artistes, a lucky draw, foodstalls to buy food from, and others, but we didn't stay. We just helped ourselves to some of the free drinks that were available (Adelle has discovered the good taste of 100 plus!) and then left. Since I parked the car quite a distance from the starting line, I had to walk another kilometre or so to get it and pick-up my wife and Adelle.

It was a fun-family outing, and I'd highly recommend it for a healthy family do-together activity if you've never joined it before. For more photos, please visit my photoblog.

Adelle getting into the swing of things at the start of the run.

A talk with a stranger

I woke early this morning. Extremely early. It was even earlier than the time I'd wake up to go to school. And what would drive me to wake up at such an insane hour on a cool-sleep-inducing early Saturday morning? A photoshoot.

My cousin Alvin had asked me last week to help him out with a family photoshoot at Tanjung Aru this morning, and never having the experience of such a task, I gladly agreed. So, I got up when everyone else was still in dreamland and got ready and drove to Tanjung Aru. The shoot was at Shangri-la Tanjung Aru Resort and it was a blast. If you're interested you can check it out at my photoblog.

But, the reason I'm posting is that when we arrived, a lady was looking at the swallows which kept flying near the windows of the reception area. Then as we wanted to go to the garden grounds below, out of the blue she talked to me and said how amazing the birds were and how wonderful it was to be in Sabah. Not wanting to be rude, I said it was. Then she asked me if I was a guest and I answered that I was just visiting. I bid her farewell and thought nothing more of it.

After we were done with the shoot, we were leaving on our way up the stairs when we chanced upon the same lady again. Again she asked where we were from, and I guess she remembered because she blurted out the words 'KK'. Then, seeing that we were holding cameras she went on to ask questions about who we were and so on. And after talking about her life in British Columbia, Sandakan and Singapore (all in a span of 10 minutes!), my cousin and I found ourselves being persuaded about the benefits of becoming a yoga practitioner. By this time, all three of us were already sitting down. I guess my cousin and I were just being too polite. We actually wanted to go somewhere to review the pics we had taken, and so we 'endured' and made polite conversation with this lady. Towards the end, she gave me a photocopy of this supposed master, and asked me to read it. She even offered to possibly meet up in Canada if we ever headed over there.

We managed to excuse ourselves soon after and then went to Coffee Bean for some fake cool-air comfort and some ridiculously expensive drinks. That encounter with the woman got me thinking: she was basically hot-calling: strike up a conversation with anyone and introduce them to something that seems worthwhile. And she was doing it with all earnestness, too.

She's got guts.

Sabah Fest 2009 - A Night of Colours Part 2

Okay, finally I'm posting the follow up to my previous post about Sabah Fest 2009. It's been exactly a week ago since this event. But, it doesn't matter because I can still remember quite vividly what happened. Yes, I know. The show made such a strong positive impression on me! :)

Anyhow, after mulling about outside for quite some time, the show finally started at 8 pm. So everyone was ushered inside, and everyone was treated to the rather mysterious opening video about the Bobohizan (priestess) and their rituals concerning the rice spirit. The opening was excellently done, and that goes for the rest of the evening as well.

I was really impressed by the quality of all the presentations. The music, the lighting, the costumes, the dancing all made for a sharp performance. Various ethnic groups presented their traditional dance, but I thought the most eye-catching and interesting was the Rungus dance - the Mongigol Sumundai. It simply had me entranced!

I suppose many people would be more impressed with the now-really-famous Magunatip, but I guess I've seen it way too many times to be awed by it anymore. But, the Mongigol Sumundai, well, I was attracted to the movements and just the way the men, especially, were dancing - it was really unique. A man led a line of ladies in the dance, and they basically zig-zagged this way and that on stage. Apparently, the whole line is supposed to represent a dragon, with the man being the head, and the women the body of the dragon.

Interesting, eh?

It was a thoroughly enjoyable one-hour plus of performance. I guess what made it all the more better was that you could see that the performers were enjoying themselves as well. So, I guess that made us enjoy watching them as well. At the end of the whole thing, the floor was open to all in attendance to joing the performers in a dance, and I'd say many people really had a blast letting their hair down!

So, if you happen to be in Sabah around this time next year, make sure you catch this show! And if your haven't yet done so, what better excuse to visit Sabah!

Some more photos taken of the night. Hope you enjoy them.

Dusun women - part of the opening act for the night


The Suluk dance


A dance called the Pangalai Agung of the Suluk people


Song presentation using the gambus (a lute)


Rungus women performing their dance the Mongigol Sumundai


Raised-arm shot of the same women above


How can you not be enchanted when the performers smile like that?


The Magunatip of the Murut people


Children were also involved. This was the closing performance.


To wrap it all up, a photo of the beauties of the night in their wonderful costumes.

Freedom of Entry to the City

I wanted to write about this event the day it happened but some things prevented me from doing it which I'll tell you a bit later.

If memory serves me correctly, this would be the second year that this event took place, and since I didn't witness it last year, my wife and I thought why not this year. It was actually by accident as well that we attended this event. My wife wanted to buy some fish at the main market in town and so we had decided to go there early so that the fish were still quite fresh. The market was crowded as usual, so I double-parked somewhere and waited in the car with Adelle while my wife went about doing the shopping. She was to call me when she was done, and I'd go and pick her up.

So, I received the phone call and instead of just telling me to pick her up, she told me that the stretch of road in front of the main market (I was parked at the back) was closed, and she was wondering why. So I went to pick her up, reversed into one of the parking spaces on the empty street, and we all got out and walked ahead to see what was going on at the marquees that we saw had been put up. It was then that it occured me that it the day of the Freedom of Entry to the City. My wife enquired from one of the navy officers what the programme was like and he gave us a programme sheet, we looked at it and it sounded interesting. We decided to go home first to keep the fish in the freezer and also to get my camera. We still had time because the opening event, the parade, was only going to start at 10 am, and it only about 8.30 then.

So, went home, got ourselves ready, picked up a friend whom we called, and went to the event. I parked the car slightly further away just in case we'd have a hard time coming out of the place because of the crowd the whole event was going to generate. By the time we reached there, the parade was just about to start. The different contingents were already in line, waiting for the start. I, of course, started clicking away. Here are a few photos to share.

The Indian Navy doing their thang!

The US Navy strutting their stuff

Malaysia's very own Terminators in white!

The Indonesian Navy marching band - the most animated among all


A sharky member of the Indonesian band (you see the walrus in the background?)


The might of our fast attack ships


Head on collision! Not!

After the whole parade and some naval demonstrations, and numerous cups of free milo later, we boarded a free shuttle service to go on board a naval ship, the KD Kedah, which according to the guide on our ride, is the most advanced warship in the southeast asian region. The ship was quite impressive and the officers onboard were ever ready to explain the workings of the ship. We then went to visit the another ship next to the KD Kedah which belonged to the Brunei Navy, called the KDB Pejuang.

All hands on deck. Captain on the bridge!

The KD Kedah

There were other ships docked at the port but they were a bit far away, and we were quite tired then plus the weather was extremely hot and sunny. And it just happened that the coach back to the city came at that moment when we were done with our visitation of the two ships. So, back to town it was. And then to lunch, then then back home to the sweet comfort of the air-conditioning after a nice, cool shower.

But, that didn't help the sunburn that all of us got, especially Adelle and me. We had forgotten all about putting on sunscreen (probably due to the excitement of the whole thing). And this daddy fell sick yesterday, partly due to the heat as well.

Hence, this late entry. But, I've recovered...mostly.

p.s Oh, did I say that my wife and Adelle appeared in a local paper as part of photo coverage of the event? No, well they did!

Mr Fix-it

Well, I'm back.

Got two things fixed today. The first is the leaky tap in the kitchen. And I'm proud to say that I did it all by myself. You see, I'm not exactly a handyman when it comes to fixing things around the house. I remember the more than a few times when I actually tried to repair things I only made it worse. For example a dripping shower which I was faced with once. Easy right? Just take a wrench, tighten whatever nuts or bolts there are and you're done right?

Well, that didn't solve the problem. What was a steady dripping became a constant trickle. So much for fixing things. In the end, we called a plumber to get the job done. 

But, today, I was smarter. I researched first how to do it. And what better place to get knowledge than from the Internet. So, renewed once again with all the positivity that one gets from a clear sense of mission, I went to it - and actually fixed the drip. I didn't have to replace any parts as it turned out, that all it needed was a little cleaning.

That's the first. The second is my computer. My graphics card konked and that was the one that was causing all the trouble (and frustrations, I might add). But since it was still under warranty, ths shop people helped me claim it. But it's going to take some time - 3 months they say! So, today, I bought myself a new one in the interim period. So, all's rosy right now...except for the irritating high-pitched sound that seems to be emanating from the card. 

I'm probably going to have a look at it after this and see if I can do anything to get rid of the noise. If not, it's back to the shop and see if they can do anything. But, at least I can get some work done now.

Hope things are good with everyone. Cheerio!

A night out in town

Chinese New Year's just round the corner and that means several things:

1. My wife and I and will be giving out ang pows to my yet-to-marry cousins and nephews and nieces.
2. We'll be getting some ourselves (of course not us personally, but through Adelle, which we promise we'll save!)
3. We'll be doing our rounds meeting up with family members over the course of several days.
4. There'll be some shows being performed in town as a run-up to Chinese New Year.
5. There'll be that massive yearly pre-Chinese New Year open-air market which will be absolutely crowded with people.
6. Around now, town will be absolutely crowded with people (...and with that crowded with cars).

I won't lament point 5 although I was stuck in one just this afternoon since I think I've done enough complaining about it already previously. Neither will I talk about the Chinese New Year market in town (btw, just in case you didn't know it's on Saturday Jan. 24 starting as early as 1 pm and it'll last till 3 am the next morning!) since I went there last year and I don't plan to go there this year. Rather, I'm more interested in point 4, the shows.

My wife and I, with Adelle in tow, decided to check out the Chinese New Year variety shows that were being put up in town. It's been going on since last Sunday and tonight was the last night. We're not very keen on going to really crowded places because it can get quite hard to move around, but since we'd never been to the Chinese New Year shows, we thought we'd just go and have a look. We went there quite late, though. We arrived in town at about 8.15 and it was already quite crowded. But by sheer providence, we managed to get a parking very near to the event venue.

The event was well in full-swing by then but we managed to see some good performances from children. Wife was with Adelle while I took the chance to go nearer the stage to get some shots since there were no restrictions. I was particularly impressed with this primary school girl who could really dance and sing, and in tune as well. While her plastered smile didn't really melt any hearts (at least, not mine), her presentation was enjoyable enough.

After a few performances, I rejoined my wife and Adelle and decided to walk around the area since there was a night market there as well. There were hundreds of stalls and quite a number were selling Chinese New Year decorations. But a good number were also selling other things: knives, sunglasses, drinks, foodstuff, bags, shoes, cds, health tonics...it almost seemed like the usual Sunday Gaya Fair, only this time this was at night.

Anyhow, didn't buy anything so went back to the stage area to catch a few more performances before heading home.

I rather enjoyed the whole thing. Think I should go to more of these events in the future.

Below is a shot of one of the performances of the evening. I've got a few more pictures of the event here.