NOO not the BFG.

Just watched the " Redwood – Anatomy of a giant." by National Geographic.
Redwoods are these coastal trees that grow into 400ft giants. They take in moisture from the canopy instead of the roots..cuz obviously its too much work to carry the water up 40floors without a lift. Man its amazing. Even trees in our rain forest don't grow so big. Like all other beautiful things on earth..its depleting fast.

I was brought up by an incredibly spiritual & eccentric woman. If my homeopathic practitioner mother had thought marijuana could ease labor pains, I would’ve been a full fledged mini hippy while I was in her womb. Believe it or not, I’ve never had asprin till I met Anton, I never had anti-biotic till I moved away from home, When I fell, my mum would spit some saliva on my wound & make me believe it has magical powers. Fevers were a treat for me, Not only do i get to skip school, I also get to stuff my face in a freezing watermelon all day long! So, my mum was way cooler than Mary Poppins & her supercalifragilisticexpialidocious jibberish bull.

We grow up listening to Tibetan mantra & hear things like “to attach is to detach” & that’s how you attain nirvana alllllll the time. At that point I was thinking, fuk! If that’s how it works I'm gonna burn in hell for a long long time cuz I could’nt even sort out my Velcro shoe straps.

I was exposed & encouraged to explore the intangible energy & spirituality that nature provided. We were probably the original tree - hugger. After their divorce, she brought me to the park & ordered me to hug a tree because she believed we needed healing. At that point, I was one of those self – conscious teenagers dying to melt into the mainstream & secretly thought my mother was a mad woman. But as strange as it sounds, it was extremely comforting when I finally put my face against the stalwart tree. The security & spicy somewhat earthy notes from the tree bark obviously reminded me of the father figure I missed dearly. So that’s how I developed a certain fondness over big trees.

The scientific version is that there’s ions... cant remember if its +ion or –ion in the Jungle Canopy & Beaches that encourages the surge of happy vibe in us.. hymm quite similar to what chocolate does. My romantic theory is that we are all build with a soul that longs to be one with nature. So till we understand the true blessings that nature provides we won’t stop raping the forest & my guess is that we won’t. I’m glad I’m dying in 50yrs or so. My heart will absolutely break into pieces if I have to watch our planet deteriorate to an ugly state.

Oh Yea, my mum taught me about birds & bees with a beautifully made Karma Sutra docu-movie by Nat Geo too! & hey it worked, at a very young age I understood that sex was meant to be a beautiful exchange of energy… & reserved for a HOT, Keanu Reeves looking Indian man..yea, I find it hilarious too.

(Just in case you are wondering)
Till this day, Anton is still a lil bit freaked out by my mother.

No strings attached

HOOOT HOooooT guess who’s back!? Twinkle the barred eagle owl is back! 8days after the release! Yeeaaha our 3rd attempt & first return. Its so exciting, it was starving.. but in general healthy. We’re so happy for Lalaine. Our chef. Cuz she’s been taking care of it & she was really sad when it was time to release the dude.

He’s pearched himself on his “Fengshui Spot” ..well the usuall spot near Lalaine, behind the kitchen.. no strings attached!3rd day of return. He still spread his wings abit daily around the compound. Hopefully he can start catching some field mice.

Ney, STOP!

Puk Puk has always been a hit whenever we bring him to the retreat. Few weeks back he made friends with a little Dutch boy ,.who's been wearing that same Messi Football jersey for days.But he does look like a football star.

Puk's is usually a bunch of madness & but discovered that's because he doesn't speak Hakka/ English / Cantonese / Malay / Chinese. He speaks DUTCH! duh?! everytime "Messi" puts his hand out to say "Ney,Stop!" Puk's sits down calmly,watch & wait for his next command. as he stroke the chubby fuzz ball & speak ..in dutch to him explaining "Im just gonna pluck this giant pokey palm fruit for you". & So they happily played into the Sunset. or at least till Puk's got tired of eating palm nuts.

Looks like I'll need to take dutch classes soon.

WRONG!

Kopi Duit : Money for Coffee or Loose change that you give to people to buy yourself some convenience. ( Nowadays that loose change can get em Hummer with a Latte on the side. )

2009 is wearily coming to an end. I had a really hard time sleeping last night. Cuz this is the time I set tight deadlines, Hoping to cramp in as much as possible before the finish line. I really want make that New Years day Moet worth every bubble my RM350 can get me. I mean I don't want to look back & tell myself .. great! I've achieve nothing in 09'. & I'm just gonna go down the street & make another copy of my 06 'new years resolution.

But by lunch time today, I realize sometimes I get so caught up by the routines, that i think its wrong as a bunny shagging a duck to not want anything! Think about it, isint' wanting less the new wanting more? ( sorry, I write with annoying riddle sometimes after my double shot espresso )
Its amazing how during recession, the Asians stock up rice & instant noodles,while the Europeans take a holiday if they are fired. Most of them actually told us.. "well, its not as if I can find a job if I'd stayed back there in the cold grey weather." What is it that's in your milk that gave you people that incredible EQ??

most Malaysian enslaved themselves to the 9 - 5 job with a steady income, pay their "KOPI Duit" avoid paying the proper fine. & work double during recession. but most amazingly they've gone abroad to drink that same milk & not learned anything. . .all im saying our perspective is so fixed within the box. But then I guess to be fair,We just could not afford to be like you guys due to the weak Ringgit..Unless you want a sabbatical with the cannibals in Papua New Guinea. Ok now I know why i slog while you swing in the hammocks.

But in any case I've decided wanting less will be my new wanting more by say 2020 instead of 2010.....I've decided as much good as Oprah is doing, Sending some cute designer dude to "declutter" my life wont work..he's too cute not to be gay.Oh n that scary blonde woman who's telling you to sort out your finances??.Hello!!? Ms I'm so frugal I need a 500usd dollar spray tan to maintain that glow!..nice try Winfrey!

Time to let go

Twinkle* twinkle* little owl
hope you dont end up like a roast fowl.

We’ve decided its time to let go of Twinkle, the owl. Hopefully he doesn’t go back to Jun’s village. Lalaine’s really attached to him. But yup, the bird belongs to nobody, definitely not to us. So see you when I see you*

Flashback in a jiffy:

Jun’s got chicken,

Twinkle loves chicken,

Jun shot it

Jun say you take or I eat.

So we took.

The Babe Mobile

VW Combi Refurbishment Updates... The body work is done, we're ready to rock soon,Guest coming after September should be able to check out our pimped out ride !

All that chrome parts shopping & speaking mechanics language to some old chinese man. - I feel like Megan Fox from transformers for awhile "all anton said was - NOT!!

Btw I crashed his white 4wd truck.Yea, the truck that he tells you guys to wait for by the roadside.Its fixed now. Lost control in mile 8. Went into muddy ditches. crashed the bonnet & 1 head lamp. Anton is obses about how his belongings have to be in pristine conditions. I splurge on a Paul Smith wallet for him once..and its still..well PRISTINE cuz its still in the box. SO as you might have guessed, He went absolutely mental on me.

So im no Megan Fox. & I guess I wont be allowed to drive the combi too.

Crocodile Dundee

Compared to a normal size lizard.

Compared to Anton's Hand.


So we finally caught the lil guy who's been shitting all over our Dewan (The conference hall). but we didnt expect him to be this big. We knew it was lizard's doing cuz he keeps announcing his arrival proudly along with his trail of "Gold nuggets".But HECK! this guy is the size of a baby crickey! Ohhh mate, luk at dat beeeUuutiful creychah(If you havent' seen Steve Irvin before - Translation "baby crocodile,look at that beautiful creature ) Its stuck to our glue trap.so too bad. It's gonna die!muahahhah!

Been awhile

Hey folks its been awhile, I've been so lazy..These guys "USE TO" hold the longgest staying guest record. see that's how slow i've become. anyways all they did was played cards & chill off. - sounds like my kind of perfect holiday.

" crap, for a second i've forgotten how to upload pictures..."

I lub mama earth!

Lola : Linn's alter ego, a Wilhelmina at heart,loves rubbing you in the face the oh soo wrong way bitch & 10 complaining Singaporean aunties snatching over discounted apples all combined in 1. Yea I know! She scares me too.
(sorry aunties, I cant act like Im fond of you & your entourage of permed hair!)

Past week I feel like Spidey in his Venomous suit & Lola's been trying to break free. My body feels like a pressure cooker with double broiled sweet & sour Chinese pig trotters in me. Basically I was in a cranky mood. So we took a break & chilled out at the islands & boy was I glad we did that!

After whipping up some make shift Margaritas for the boys down at the island, They started sharing their often life threatening experience as Reef Guardians for SIMCA - These guys are serious bout walking their talk! Perhaps its the poisonous city air I grew up with,The cynic in me have thought me to spot & regretfully spat on people who don't walk their talk! It simply creeps me out when ppl join NGOs/Charity groups and claim that they are doing good when the ulterior motive really is for their own personal gain. Not sure if this practice is universal, But around this region. When you ask for donations..you are expected to give em recognition by putting their names on school buildings,on magazines,really i would think ... why not on my arse?

The Reef Guardians, do what they say they are..they protect their waters from fish bombing, cyanide fishing & achieve reef conservation works.They've had pirates shot at them, Fish dynamites thrown at them & lotsa tripping over red tapes..and it's just another day at work. One of the boys actually got recognized & threatened by a fisher man at the local markets.

Over the 2hr mental sparring sessions between Archier(she's in-charge) & her round table of conservationist. I was blasted with scientific terms, amazing cycle of growth & teased with lil sacrilegious jokes like how a diver's piss could damage the reef..& most of all confronted by myself - "What have I done to make a difference?"

Inspired by them,We started a Tree planting campaign at our Bar in town,duh off course its Anton's idea as usual..he's the thinker & im the do-er.So when you guys do drop by, Do plant a tree for merely RM20 & help us keep Sandakan the way it is for years to come.I'm not a self proclaim environmentalist nor am I ever gonna turn Raw food vegan flashie hippie blahh,But I'm definitely holding in my piss when I'm out at sea.


Thats all~
"devil wears diapers"


Inspired by them,We started a Tree planting campaign at our Bar in town,duh off course its Anton's idea as
Edited after 8 days! -

After watching the Environment Day 2009 Specials : HOME by Yann Barthus-Bertrand.We were Aw-spired to make change. Despite only gathering 50+ trees over the past 8 days, I'll like to think the project have changed my perspective of life on earth.Quite honestly I'm 1 stubborn mule,Not even the world most influential woman - Oprah & her multiple attempts to glamorize going green have made real impact that this video has. I'm ashamed to be part of the species that single handedly destroyed what was given to us. The statistics shocked me. I was so upset I felt bad about having some Haagen Daz while watching it...seriously.

The movie is 90mins long, loads of disturbing stats,but let me put things in a dead simple term where you can imagine life not too long from now ...

1) In 40yrs, there will be no more fish ...that means no sweet juicy fancy pancy sushi,no crispy fish & chips,no filet - 0 - fish with that tangy mouth watering tar tar sauce, no piping hot soya sauce steamed grouper, no sizzling pan seared salmon. NO FISH!!!

2) Then we'll need to install fart nozzles on cows to ration their farts cuz the methane they are releasing is causing even more damage than CO2..n why do we have so much cow farts.. cuz we're raring way too much cows at the same time to meet demands!..remember those times when you have to ration your fart in the lift .. yea.."hold on to that thought while I move on"

3)Every mouth full of food you have in yours is taken out of somebody else's. Can you live with that? Great Famine! & only those who can afford will have food.. ARRGH can you live with that,you monsterrrr?!

I did a small experiment on my MSN title :" Msg me if you want a better future!" and I've had way much more "beeps" than Christmas. wait till you tell em.. planting a tree today will give you a better future... ".........."XXX is now offline" It's not easy to do good these days,It seems every1 is a teenager fogged by the cigarettes mentality. "doing the wrong is way cooler than the right. I've had to consciously stop my eyes from rolling away at ppl who don't care less about their own town. At the end of the day, I realise very few people want to face the music. Nevertheless I also realise barking around with frustration is not the way to go. So start small today.. sow a seed now.

Fortune favours the brave ...& the good -
"if you don't make money at least you feel rich at heart...i guess... cuz a certain crouching tigress & hidden dragon drop by our bar...!"
*Gleeeeeeeeaaaaming out*

New webbie

Anton finally got the new website up, I love reading his fine print..I wish there was a function that checks grammar smt equivalent to spellcheck.Cuz i can never write as well as he does & he gives me crap for my bad english.

anyhoo have a go and let us know what you think
www.paganakandii.com

and here's a shout out to Lindsey & Sam,Sorry we'll be missing you guys! Roses will give you all her
carebear shine while we're gone..since we're in memory lane,I think they've absolutely over-design the transformer's face in the movie.

anyways.... autobattsss transform. %&^%&*^*^ - roll out~

From Trashy to Flashy ..Coming Soon

We reallly need a new vehicle..But instead of buying a spanking new van, We decided to re-work an old T2 Volkswagen from the 70s... Beware here we come.. n Puks can be our borneo version of scooby -d00.

our 3rd owl

We got another owl... same species..after almost 3 months we've manage to tame it.But unlike cheftain only Lalaine our chef gets to stroke it.Apparently it really puts him to sleep when she talks to him & stroke him gentlely.Once he fell so deeply asleep he fell off the pole where he was standing as soon as Lalaine let go.We are trying to let it out to the new spot more often without the leash & cage. But Bengkok keeps annoying the owl.

Sun Bird

The best time to catch good close up view of the birds are usually at around dusk. around 4.30 ish till 6.00. Or after a rain, When they come out to dry their wings. And the pavillion is a great spot to watch em swirl in & out of the big fig tree. If you are lucky, you even see wood peckers, hornbills & other endemic species of Borneo. Honestly I can go on & on describing how it magical it is in big detail fila fala vocab but, you've gotto come experience it yourself.

and when you do ...Be sure to grab a good book, make yourself a cuppa coffee or beer & make time to lay on the hammock all afternoon. You'll discover the show nature puts up daily, 24/7 is way way more happening than Hugh Jackman's abs in X-men origins...Haha who am I trying to kid''

Feline V.S Canine

We've never introduced "Bengkok" officially on the blog..so here it is... Bengkok - Crooked in Malay.
He's a got a broken tail since young..as a kitty he had some bad skin problem so nobody was giving him any love.. we got it off Uncle Jalil & brought it to a vet for a jab & now, he's blossom into a handsome jungle cat. With those maple eyes & really spoilt rotten attitude all he want is attention,attention attention!Its amazing to watch him catch birds that are flying by,then there's the not so amazing moments when he goes absolute mental with the field mice,squirrels,lizards,praying mantis n anything that moves. This cat rules our hills.

He had a close shave once. When we found him one morning with a huge gash on the belly & we couldn't believe our luck when one of our Portuguese guest was a veterinarian.She plop him on the table & stitch him back up like a Muppet. Too bad no camera around.

A came Puk puk, my 4ths old chubber. We brought him to the retreat a few times.Some days they get along some days they don't. & his close shave at the retreat was falling almost 10ft down the cliff concussed and passed out for a few seconds. Few seconds later he got up, shake it off & did a huge mount of poop - till this day I cant tell if there's any brain damage..cuz he acts like he's possessed by a kennel full of puppies all day long.

Orbituary

There's a funny little call "death". From my whimsical border-lining mentally ill point of view, I thought i'd manage to capture death in a uncannily beautiful way. It's as if the bird was playing dead like a dog would.The dramatic lighting, set up & cause of death are all natural. Technically no animals were harm in the making of this shoot.. since it was dead when I found it.

Oh and if your'e a first timer to this blog, I'm not always this morbid...sorry if I freaked you out today.

Happy Estate

I’m in a queer, uneasy, random & odd mood. Ant’s gone fishing while I’m left behind to man the fort. Usually the rantings comes with an easy flow as soon as I click open the blog. But for the past few weeks I feel this strange verbal & thought constipation.

I blame it on the work load. Whilst im trying my best to keep to deadlines , Im also consciously procrastinating a lot…& obviously I know the consequences. As if I’m waiting for shit to hit the fan, I manage to catch long breeezy afternoon naps on the hammock hanging in communal hall hehehe. – Hey gotto put myself in customer’s shoes once in awhile to provide better service eh

Anyhow we finally manage to move the old signpost from the original Happy Estate and transferred it to the Retreat. We thought it would make much better sense and amuse a lot more people at the retreat rather than the original location .. watching tractors move in and tear the whole plantation apart. Most of the recycle wood we used at the retreat is also from an old barn house from the original Happy Estate…scroll down to see how we almost burn the barn house down

Every time I drive by it, In my animated little world ,I would scream – “ YOU CAN TAKE MY BODY BUT YOU CAN’T TAKE MY SOUL!!’’ and think to myself Yeeessah the Happy Estate legacy will live on.

Village Head

"BAH" - The Sabahan version of "LAH"used by local & singaporean chinese.Used to exagerate or exclaimate a point being made earlier in the sentence.The pitch usually determine a spectrum voice tone - endearing,rude,condecending,CONFUSING LAH!

I had to man the fort while He's gone fishing.I must say its a pretty tough job. From driving people around to being under that humid jungly air all day. Apart from meeting really interesting folks,I guess its not that fun afterall. So,I've decided Anton deserves a "Tribute" entry in our blog. & for once let him take due credits.So here goes .....

I remember a friend of mine use to say "I dont work for ugly people!" & her boss, totally bought her over through & through..sign sealed delivered with a giant neon sign on her head blinking "chief slave". Or as we call em in Starbucks term, "A convinced partner".But today I finally understood what a great leader Ant is.

As I read through the fine prints of the new & improved webpg - Which took forever to finish!I was glad he took his time to think through & pen down his ideals for Paganakandii. Coming from a Dysfuntional, Money craze & mentally imbalance family,Nothing spells security more than a blanket full of cash!Some days the hippy in me just aint' sober enough to fight for my ideals & I get lost chasing the dough.

Apart from being a hardworking borderlining workaholic man, He's the only boss i've never called an idiot. Hey you know most emplyees thinks their bosses are idiots at one point or another but most employers thinks their employees are idiots most of the time.. so im glad im a boss now. HA! Working up there is back-breaking & armpit drowning.Cuz the humidity on a bad day is enough to suffocate your brains.

To spare everyone the nitty gritty details of the "Lewinskyness" ooozing out of me, bottom line is I wont mind being this guy's chief slave with 2 blinking neon lights for a bit..erm just for a bit BAAAHH!~

15hrs day

Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png">

Xien Ka Lin - Direct translation the dickhead fairy, used to describe people who know nuts and act as if they're connoisseurs of so n so. and i hate that my name actually means Dick in Hakka. there you go, thanks dad! He's Hakka too,perhaps he wanted a dick so badly after my sis was born he'd secretly hidden the riddle in mine.

I had a long day ... long looong loong loooongg day.Haven't been in the best of moods to write & I'm absolutely burnt.I'm working long and unproductive hours.But I recon my mind needs to wind down after that 15hrs of spinning in a million directions & getting nowhere.

With a blink of an eye, its been almost 6mths since we open.Not a single complaint nor moan of any short comings. & thats a record we've gotto be proud of. Nobody is complaining and acting like the typical Sandakanite "Xien Ka Lin". And the whole global family of globe trekkers is finally coming through. No complaints about hymm your tap beer taste too strong then too soft other days, Oh your Cabernet Sauv (KABOR - NET to them)..is not chilled - DUH! and the classic"kest" as in best"est" ever was your tuna/steak is under cooked. All in all I really understood why Anton have been so fired up cuz all he got was great comments & lots of referrals daily while I was toiling soil from the wrong side of the grass. - no, the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Some days god drops inspiring characters along the way to keep your fire burning. People who genuinely appreciate what we've done.Even though Im somewhat behind the scenes of Paganakandii. I try to suck in all that positive juices every time i flip our guestbook & remind myself this is why its worth having a 15hrs day. - I call it borrowing morale.

anyhow at the end of today i've decided I cant please everyone. we just gotto stick to our guns.If anyone ask me 1 more time why our lodge is not heavily drenched in lacquer, I'll tell em to go wrap their face in a cling film n lets see how long you'll preserve the beauty that was there all along! - nvm "Xien Ka Lins" prolly thinks with their "Lins"

SANDAKAN is on its own.

So no busses / or cars /bikes /bicycles or tricycle can come to sandakan by land. Wow the quality of roads we have here.. that only breaks apart by the chunk after a few days of heavy rain. GREAT ,,.no wonder we're enjoying "full house" every day!

Bye Bye Onasis

We've lost a limb ever since Onasis left to further his studies..Such a great kid.Huge shoes to fit! Sigh~ ...you just cant teach someone how to be warm & friendly. Either they have it or they dont. And he has it all & a pair of good hands on the guitar! We still miss you even tho you've broken every single soda glass at the lodge!

Oh .. n thats the ice -cream war aftermath they had on the farewell party.

Hari Raya

New fan reminded me why I need to keep this blog alive.

Grrr diggin thru the memmory capsule...Hari Raya. Quite honestly speaking I cant recall much about that day cept Lalaine our chef at the Retreat did a great job with the beef rendang!Everyone whom help build our place was there... To be honest,I probably felt abit indifferent about the reunion....Considering 110% of our lodge was built from pure manpower... - Now I feel bad for not taking time out to be thankfull~

The Taming of a Shrew

The blind dude Cpt Jack Sparrowl Left , The Owl from Outerspace, our first ever sighting.


This is the exact same look Anton gives me everytime i screw up.


Jees he cant get any cuter than this.

Ah Lian - A female Chinese gangster,known to stare people down & start vicious cat fights.they are your wikipedia to dialect profanity.

For some reason the news of Cheftan have spread so far & wide , Everyone seems to think we are in a hurry for another owl..The villages who have help build our retreat kept saying hey don't worry boss, I get 1 for you, I get 1 for you..!!..and true enough without us really wanting 1 that badly Jun,the guy who carved our sign board caught a black 1 for us... this 1 is a little smaller same breed as Cheftan but we suspect this is prolly a female - ( Anton's logic, Male birds always looks better than the female ala Peacock/Cockerel ) but she was a feisty 1..and she was a cross between McDonald's Hamburglar and a local "AH LIAN" with that " WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" shrew face.

Anyhow we had it for less than a week,before i can name her she'd bit her way to freedom. Which inspired us to write this posting of all the owls that have come and gone by the retreat.
Owls - such beautiful and intriguing creatures.

In Heart wrenched love(ing) Memory of Cheftan

Just two weeks back I was procrastinating about telling every1 the truth about Chieftain,.the origins and how we were obligated to keep him ...

FLASH BACK

We wanted to buy Capt. Jack Sparrowl thinking we should save the blind guy from absolute psycho kids in the village,deal didn't come through followed by a whole lot of misunderstanding. Uncle Jalil got us an baby owl thinking we really wanted a pet owl - we had to keep it on a leash for awhile since we cant lose the gift .I know - Asians never say no,we patronise and let the sense of obligation & discomfort slowly trickle away.Some days we even give ourselves fantastic excuses to rob the poor bird of its freedom."

Just last week,Blinded by our selfish needs for sacrilege amusement, We joked about how we would get a pretty good cut selling tix. Salamander (Giant lizard thing) V.S Owl! The lizard was prowling every night under the pavilion...before sneaking up on him,after a few failed attempts, The lizard made desperate attempts during the day as well..and our poor chieftain was so blind during the day he came to a few close call before finally perching itself on a much higher ground,Refuse to even come down for dinner.

Today Early morning , when both of us were still lazing under the soft sheets.Anton got a text msg from Roses. - saying the bird was gone. The really annoying part was how Anton delivered it to me when he got to the crime scene.His txt msg :"Hymm there's blood".Absolutely Indifferent! Where as I had burst into a stream of manic imagination.Instantly in 3D visuals ala CSI ,the murderous scene slowly played out in my head. The leash had gave way so its either 1) Salamander came,Snapped real hard and tug chieftain off the rope like how they would feed chickens to crocodiles. or 2) Chieftain in his desperate attempt while peeing in his pants (furry ass) bit himself loose. either way its bad and im sad. Chieftain was an ice breaker - total strangers would identify each other as blood bros over a short conversation about him.He would "crooo~" in a strange horny delight when we pet stroke his head gentle. He would turn around and stare into your lens shamelessly handsome (prolly cuz he's still trying to make out the fuzzy picture.) He would blink his long lashes and follow your every single movement in deep interest. Last but not least if you walk around him,He would turn his head almost 180 just to see if there's a treat for him. He was to become the face of Paganakandii. Anyhow bottomline is lets hope Jalil doesnt get us another bird.

Our Jungle Wedding

Our wedding was exactly the way we ( maybe just me ) wanted it. Friends,Family in the most genuine way share a joyous occasion together. My bridal march "Somewhere over the rainbow,Ukulele version. so turn it on while browsing the pix n u'll get a v clear pic of what happened that morning.

More than ever we wanted to show people the wonders of gods creation. We were all greeted by sweet kisses of morning breeze and as I watch the fabrics flutter away & birds chirpin lightly in the backgrounds I knew,.. it was a beautiful gift from him.

Paganakandii lost her virginity.

Paganakandii's First Guest


Its been a long long while.. too many new events.pass 2 mths have been the most exciting mths of my life..

Our First Guest ,our first group of skanky school kids, our first full house, our first visit from friends and family ever since we've moved here ..( yea it really feels like family reunion on survivor island) Our first dutch,aussie,american,brit,korean,bulgarian!,german,swedish,spaniards,swiss, and in the most bazaar way.. BOSNIAN... last but not n least Our very first day as a husband & wife. Official partner in dime.

On certain days you cant wait to share your baby with others,passing her around like a prized possesion,watching others amused by its every move.While you smirk away thinky yeaaa,.."yea that detail?...my idea. Oh yes yes that tooo.. was my brilliant brains..hymm what can i say!"

On other days ....you run around the houses and duplex picking on every signle piece that has been raped from its former pristine glory.,.. ARGHH! ...the tainted sheets,OOhhh!flattened pillows..and Yikes! somebody had corn cob last night!.and the perfect theme song runs in your head. - Madonna " Like a virgin!,touched for the very first time."..Its a strange cross fire of relations.i dont quite understand whats my point too.

ohh yea n somebody ask why do i use profanity on the blog...Well im sure a perfect worker ant from the perfect city of SingaPURE wont understand genuinity....We are who we are and what we are.. im not doing poncy 5star resort. In fact star ratings are absolutely irrelevant here .. how would they rate my sink which is encrusted not with 24K gold but with struck of genius. we're giving people our version of borneo n how we think people cauld best savour it - with fukin good food & blllarrdy sweeett coconuts!

Open House

MY LUCKY CHARMS

Just like all other Chinese businessmen,..We always have an "open house" event before the official opening.. To us it's like a kick start to the engine.You know~..get the Human "Chii" flowing,for prosperity sake and that whole load of chinky china man bull. What's not for 'prosperity' in the Chinese culture anyways?!

Anyhow,Anton threw a lil party to thank our suppliers + contractors. The Crew gave 110% to the finish line.Thank god for sending us good helpers like Roses even tho I still feel like strangling her sometimes. Despite the back breaking 3day of mad action,we all manage glee away like proud owners do.

So far comments about the place have been good..Off course,these guys prolly exaggerated a bit cuz I bet they've never seen such a hardworking man like Anton - Good Job Partner *Pats on the head*

Yup,the toast is crisp and the butter's spread.Cant wait to take a good bite and roll in some dough!

KARMA CAMELEON

KARMA KARMA KAAMEEELEEON.
you know why cameleons are sooo dam good at their job??..
try looking for it in this picture.

Saw this lil guy bobbin its head and enlarging his throat when i bum into it outside our conference room area.It can only mean a few things in the jungle world..1) He want to eat me 2) He's real turned on by me. Yup Sex and food fills 24/7 of their life.

OPENING IN 1 WEEK! Finally

Shittzeerr, I cant believe its been 4 months of slacking or otherwise burning my attention for Balin - our roof garden project. will be updating those soon too..

Anyways..Its a gloomy day out there,so much has gone by the past 4 months,we've got additions of mattresses,grass,generator,conference hall,bamboo,creepers,snakes,Eagle poop...yea how often u get to see that.He was well she was...well HE, was chillin on our freshly plopped grass patch while I struggled my way up hill.Made a loud squawk and flew off as soon as he noticed me.I think i might have traumatized the big bird cuz found wet poop patch right where he was landing...well' that's a party "pooper" - pun intended for those of you who had high hopes/respect for the majestic bird.Imagine *SSSQQQUUAAWWKK brrraaffttt*

Phew that feels better,Sorry guys, Im having a bad day needed smt to amuse myself the bird pooopin..welll it's "crap" talk haha literally.But the eagle drying its wings on our new grass is true.Ohh and the loud Squawwk.

On a lazy day like this,..image speaks a million more than usual...

to the god mother's of our baby,Farah & Nina.. thankyou guys again.
ltrs.

WEE!

Captain Jack Sparrowl

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROWL

First laid eyes on Captain Jack Sparrowl few months ago, We saw him perched on a tree branch at the sculptor's home.At first look I tot he was only sleeping.. but on a closer look, the SPCA"ness" in my blood cant help but cry for freedom for the poor bird.Story goes, Capt.been feasting on the sculptor's lil chicks,sculptor got angry,sculptor got catapault and catapault got Capt. eye,Capt fell from tree. And now what do we have?.. 1 one eyed + 1 Legged pirate bird. The kids just ruffle and play with like dog.We are still negotiating a price to buy the owl over,Keep at the retreat.He'll solve our field mice problems.I MUST SAVE CAPT.!

Freedom Fighter

We Finally manage to convince Uncle jalil to free his Storm Stalk..these guys move in the most perculiar way... like an evil bald headed man,They creep up behind you and start attacking your legs like a mad man.They enjoyed a brief moment of freedom flockin around Uncle Jalil's Ponds and fields before the wild life dept. came to pick em up..I bet they're on a programme with the animal shrink.

Next on the list,..the poor crocs.

Random Images

Incccy Winccccy Spiderrr Climbing Up the wall........

Picture updates

Yesssa,..the long awaited tanning deck is ready.Lubbin it! Though the weather was moody that day when we took these shots..but I bettcha on a sunny day,Getting yourselv fried till golden brown under the Borneon sun is an absolute understatement. You Italians probably dont stop till your skin is nicely carbonized.- Exactly the same way I like my porkchops!

All we need is some nice cushions and day beds,.Dang I'll have my piece of Ibiza glam.I mean who need beaches when you can sip your Mojitos by they rainforest canopy!If only Banana Boat sold SPF45 infused insect repellant.

The glitz n glam aside,today I've got that weird twitch.The kind you get when you see something wt great potential and worry it may flop..the same kind you get before gorgeous looking Ms Venezuela Trips and rolls down the steps.We're plannin the bbq menus and buying equipment as well..all the browsing at recipe makes me hungry.Grr im such carnivore, the deprevetion of juicy succulent ( i like mine not too bloody ) steak is driving me nuts! GRRRR WRRRr !!

Its going up today

Today is the day! While im typing this in my ohh soo cooling air-conditioned room,Anton and crew is digging in 30+degree hot sun to erect our first signage..if you squint your eyes enough..i think our hornbill aint that shabby!

Man all the painting we've been doing this past 2 weeks hav paid off,I lubb it!I've only got 1 more signage and 2 birds to finish. *Plopps head on the table like a basket ball.*

Here's the all new Lake house. I recconned it look less like a bus stop now.aint it? Ohh btw there's a resident baby python around 3ft long that loves hanging out under this shade,There's been 3 sightings already.Everytime we jab it awake,..it'll leap right into the water and u get a long trail of bubbles..blubb blub blub.. Im calling him/her Boostoot - after a stray dog in my ex company back in Singapore..just cause it bears the resemblance..a mix of whimsical annoyingness that dog had.Wookie cutesifying a snake aside,..lets hope mama dont come hissing about!

Such discoverries are actually the most exciting part of this project.When you start piecing together the entire food chain within this environment together..You get that same hi of a kid in science class again. Add A into B BOOOOMM! I've seen a dead fish on my hill top(I assume the eagle droped it as a welcome pressie.)mini white owl,a red breasted green bird that sings like the ambulance siren and Boostoot the snake.Not forgetting lotsa giant spiders with glowing legs. YESSA show me moree you sexxxy mother natuuaaaarreee thiingggy!

View From Watch Towers

I must admit, the climb up the towers was a lil precarious.We will probably add more structure reinforcement and ladder handles. But the view..OMG.the View!Initially I really didn't like the way these towers stuck out like sore thumbs..and Anton's idea duo level water collection points meant we need a really solid tower.But once I got on top of the towers,the view was absolutely louder than words. Im not in the mood for a lengthy entry.till next time folks!

So this is where they are hiding

We've also been working on our signage,Im not a die - hard craft lover..but i guess,like every designer,I like the mess once in awhile..its actually quite therapuethic.Gives u space to space out,know what i mean?At least this is alot more fun as compared to making 27lamp shades! So we printed out a template and got cracking so instead of getting hi on glue, this time round we both got stiffies! neck lah!

There are certain stigmas to the local foreign community..People always say the "local philipinos" has got the better skills but you'll find them tricky to handle, the Bugis people are bussiness minded but hasn't got the skills.But Chinese are the ones you gotto look out for,they will slit your throat n juice you dry if yer of any use..Im thinking every1 is just trying to find the shortest time and easiest way to make a decent buck. This past year, Anton with a lil help from Uncle Jalil,we've manage to snif out quite a few local hidden talents, From Carpenter to Wood craftsmen,Cement sculpter to Rattan/Bamboo Weaving.So,As a true yellow(blue) chinese,I gotto say I really love working to with these guys..Finding the source,not only help us save cost,We cauld probably build another using them.Gimme a E.X.P.L.O.I...u can fill in the blanks.Muahahaha! I wish!we're such softies we prolly give em the best rates in town!

Anyhow so this old craftman hidden deep within the woods does brilliant floral carvings ..So we tot,great lets get him to carve us a Hornbill,The body came out fine in the first attempt..But the head took 3 evolution before we cauld turn it from a crow to hornbill head.So im really hoping with all the mastik coating and flat single colors going on,..hope our Hornbill aint gonna look like - Heckyl & Jeckyl those friggin annoying talking magpies.

Wishfull Thinking & Hopefull Dreams

You know, Sometimes I really dont quite understand how our biological clock works when it comes to counting down the months. Its as if we're programmed to feel a certain way in a certain season.

"Febuary" is the unofficial "if somebody dont give me a box of chocalate,I'll dunk my head in a fondue pot." doomed to a bad start month.
"June" is the widely known gimme a break month,You want a break from your boss,you want to break up that "jees how did we last this long" expired Valentine's date.
October's the best,Its the only month the fashion police allow overkilled eye liners,you roam freely in Toy'rus believing its ok to be an oversized kid.
November lets you splurge as if you had a pay raise, Finally December Is the only time of the year when people young n old,big n small celebrate an occasion they cant' be bothered to spell correctly.

Ahhh n then at the struck at 12am,on the final day of every bitchy year,You miraculously gain an invincible surge of energy,hopes and drive for a bettter year ahead..NOT! cuz this January was the worst ever,,..Ali's team decided to throw a mutiny at us right after new year's day.In short,we paid Ali,But Ali didn't pay the rest,and the rest thinks he's kept the money for himself,but we think he's spend it on hookers and new handphones. Since they whole team lived in the same village,technically making them next door neighbours we thought he wouldnt' do something so stupid, but I guess we made the fundamental mistake of T.R.U.S.T. Frankly I dont think Ali is a bad/evil person,He just can't quite manage his finances and he thinks with his willy.

Anyhow luckily we cleared the air and Ali's debts,...as promised he's continued to work for us for more than 2 weeks to repay the debts,we've also got the team back to kickstart other bits,Hopefully we get to open by March for real this time. I feel for Anton,he's now the contractor,the foreman and the worker's head..but then again I've gotto handle exploding sewerage problems at then hotel all the time. Yup guess I'll save the pity points for myself.

2007,a pretty year.

I had to reflect 07' before jotting down my endless list and ever so far new year's resolution. Its been all tooo dam happening for my weak heart ( i can't watch ripley's,..yea its that bad)

Before I got bitten by the reality of life in Sandakan,I was full of hopes,ideals and dreams. Every bit of my pores were oozing with WORLD DOMINATION ARRRGHH!!! I never thought of myself as a big city girl,Im not a big clubber nor do I enjoy being heavily intoxicated by mindless drinking/mindless people and I would count myself an outdoorish person,loved big trees and white beaches.Besides I was getting tired of my jet setting job.As I slurp on my ice cold starbucks latte,I soon develop a serious infatuation with the idea of living in "The Nature City",Sandakan. ...Stones stroll to virgin forests...full of beautifully simple people blah blahh blahhh.NOTT!

First of all..people here are not simple ..and miles away from being beautiful..inside/out.This town is caught with a major identity crisis.Full of migrants,mostly illegal..Filipinos,Indonesians ..every1 here is looking for a better life,a quicker way out of poverty. Scheming to get more by doing less.The middle class have gone so numb with the middle name of cheap labour that they don't seem to react much anymore...even when somebody ram their cars into our walls(My hotel Staff)With the booming palm industry Sandakan is looming with uncultured overnight rags to riches plantation owners. Corruption issues in every single turn..esp in the you know departments.Even the smallest small fry official guy tries to rape its own ppl.And I never understood how the economics works itself out when living standards are 10% higher than the peninsula,but yet wages are 40% lower than given any other states in malaysia.

Heh,i think i conveniently leave out the fact that chinese hardware store owner would'nt even blink an eye when selling super glue to 9yr olds wearing a skin tone thats anything darker than yellow.When these sniffin kids grow up with half a brain left ( im being generous here.),Chinese shop owner like these would go on and on bout how stupid their staff ( now a grown up druggie ) are. Honestly I can't decide which is worst being a total racist,unethically money face or a hypocritical dumb ass?

It was untill while working with a few different contractors,When I saw 12yr old girl in the brick kiln,9 - 11yrs old boy loading up a truck that I saw the uncanny beauty of this rough lil town.Even though, many western societies would be appalled by these working conditions. But sometimes its just a way of life..a natural process for any nations to grow. Once upon a time living conditions in America was bad too.In fact much worse..Desperately in need for a kind delivery of a brutal fact..i decided to take things as it is.And work with what i've got and what I can... Except, life just ain't the same without my nonchalantly market ted ice-cold latte from starbucks. And Moral of the story is simple...

a.) Leave the Africans alone!
b.) Do not go child shopping in Vietnam like Ms Womb Raider!
c.) Dont be ripped off by fair trade labels.

To keep my new year's resolution short - 1) WORLD DOMINATION!

LINE EM UP!

Im hitting KL on thursday...arrghhh lights! lights! civilisation!!grr i feel like a bug flying towards the lights...oooohhhh aaahhh preeeddy lighttts~

anyhow before all that,here's whats happening... I've been dealing with bad town planning and major sewerage n flash flood problems in Sandakan town, honestly I cant' seem to bitch enough about how they should just stop resurfacing the roads and move on the sewage problems!.. Jees some people's livelihood actually depends on em! And to think that I'm at the expense such dodos is really not hot ,..not hott at all!

so,back to our bunch of joy, today I'll like to exhibit what we call "A MASS ORGIE OF LINEWORK"! ahhhh what gives the eye and mind great pleasure. Everywhere I turn,I see distinctive lines/patterns/joineries (is there sucha word?) and it was a great day to take some wicked snaps,.loada sun,loada shadow,loada contrast. Considering we are in an era where Man lil pea brain conveniently roll out from their ear,hence easily lead on by the Media whom is doing a great job promoting adrogynous stick-insect woman as sexy...I guess PD is ohh soo soo sexy too..

Knitting aint' only for grannies!

That's actually Ali's son slicing the bamboo.. he doesn't look too happy bout his job! Ha,.. anyways it was really interesting watching them knitting these bamboo thatch, I can't illustrate the full process cuz i wasn't there but I can assure you its honestly 100% hardwork..never as easy as they make it seem like. Wish I had taken more pix.

These mats will be put up as walls within each duplex. We'v tried out a few,and it looks ab fab!cept for the fact that you can actually peep thru the lil gaps into the bathroom..otherwise it's good to go hehe..will upload more pics this weekend.

2008 - "YII FATT" Cantonese tongue. yii - 2, fatt - 8. In a pretty force fed and purpposeful slang it literally translates to ( easy way to prosperity) sometimes some chinese cultures are just beyong pre-historic times. People keep asking if we had delibrately delayed the launching of this project so that we hit the YII FATT year..Even though, i guess it makes perfect sense to any other chinese bussiness man.It would prolly mean a strategic move to em. Dont get me wrong,I am excited about the new year,just dread the fact that we got thrown this far off our schedule.

Dont judge a log by its bark

I must say, Uncle Jalil is like a lil Jackal sometimes..A mix of crafty fox and dorkish mongrels.This time the scavenger sniffed out a huge dead tree lying in Rudy's foster parent's home.. he's very old look almost look like Bilbo Baggins from LOTR ,whoose got a very old alchoholic wife,legend has it she's the drunken flasher in the village..haah!

Many came,and many left, most decided this was a risk not worth taking.On the outside ,The log looked thoroughly raped (yes rape not wrap!) by the the strangling fig plant,completely overwhelmed and possesed the log. There was the burnt bits all along the log hence it was priced at a very cheap price as unidentifiable timber.

But anton and his eagle eye decided to take a plunge at the irrisistable offer,We got rudy to cut it up and true enough it was a beatifull pc of Selangan Batu under the fig and burn surface..just when we thought the celebration was too soon,The owner jacked the price to twice as much. It's really annoying that we live in a integrityless world...but we had to take the price cuz he cauld easily sell it to sm1else anyways.. we even bribed the old lady some TUAK ( locally made coconut liquor - taste nothin like malibu )

We thought all will be well till Rudy got beaten up by the owner's son for introducing us..Anton had to gather the A' team to meet the "negotiate'' with the owners again,..twe they got there'.. All that old woman wanted was some Guiness ..hahhaah so anyways we got some1 else to cut the stuff up and get the hell outta there as soon as possible just incase she decides to flash.

Random Rants

I've been day dreaming a lot at work,its that wretched absolutely fuked neck i've got lah..Can't sit still for more than 10mins.Jalil has got some new chicks (the cute fuzzy 1s not booties u fools)Unknowingly it set my mind on a long patient course...a long wait till the day when dad finally makes the effort to pop by. Yeah, bloody chickadees and the bitter-sweet moments.Pfftt!

Its Showoff Sundays

My quintessential Hari Raya

Last week was the long awaited Hari Raya Puasa Holidays,Guru and Mali invited us to their Kampung (Village) for some celebration grubb. Which consist of 18 wooden houses, 1 sawmill workshop and loada chickens/cats/dogs/veg. gardens. Modern day luxuries aside,I really admire their self sufficient capabilities. It is not uncommon to find the Bugis people combining their finances to buy small plots of land and help each other build homes to kick start their little community..In the commercially tainted world we live in where we call our era "the every man for himself age" It was humbling to have experienced their generosity.

Amidst the clutter,you could really tell how each head of the family and their character reflected on the houses/the small courtyard they build.Mali's home is nice,simple,comfortable,the locals chilling pad. In stark contrast Guru's home was flashy,cloaked in pink,quirky.he even rented the ground floor to the local pimp..hence its "chick's chillin pad",Anyways after 5 meals of chicken cooked in different curries that day,My A'hemm hole reaaly took a bashing even after I down loada papayas.

TIMBERRRR

Since the last trip to the not so happy..Happy Estate ,we've been drooling over this tree and some belian pillars that were littered around the estate. Seeing there's no way we can prevent powerful ppl from raping our land,We might as well grab whatever that's left before the mob comes in. I wasn't there to catch the excitement.According to Anton, what happened was Rudy (ex Lumberjack,Uncle Jalil's ex worker,current Goat shed guard and full time drinker)had a certain highly calculated technique to falling the tree.Before you know it,a loud crack leading to flock of escaping birds.. and TIMMBURRR the 90ft giant was down.

left Anton insisted i take this pic,right villagers scanvenging for birds

Judging from Anton's pose with his prized possesion, this exhilarating operation went well except for 1 slight freakky hiccup. While they were moving the wood to the transporting truck,the chain that was holding a good bundle of wood came loose and knocked 1 of the workers off from almost 9ft high.The poor guy suffered a heavy knock on the chest. Anton sent him to the hospital immediately,luckily after a few pain killers he seemed fine. Phew! what a close call,the falling timber cauld easily squaashed him. Sigh~ brutal reminder how life is cheap here.People put their lives in danger (knowingly or not) just to make ends meet.

Malaysia Boleh!

Initially i plan to post some of the '' Visit Malaysia 2007 Ads" - (for the benefit of some friends who dunno what to expect in Borneo)..even though I'm quite sure half the world have seen it being blasted on CNN/ Travel and Living ( HA! take that! Uniquely Singapore!)

but 2 clicks away,I stumbled across what could possibly be the national jewel , the equivalent of Panda to China.. a rare species of its own..Mr Sam Triggy.He's the guy who wanks his guitar like the Piano, its like watching the shabby Malaysian MAT ROCKER possessed by Steve Vai + Joe Satriani. do check it out!,..cuz this version of Poltergeist absolutely make my hair give an involuntary standing ovation! Wahh imagine cold beer,jungle breeze and live gig with this guy.

Mr Anton, never mind if you cant find Kinder Bueno Chocalate eggs with surprise toys or Burritos stuffed with scrumptious yum yum corn beef and guacamole in Sabah..I MUST HAVE SAM TRIGGY JUMPING OUT OF MY BIRTHDAY CAKE!!! you got 3 weeks, work on it! .. fine its negotiable - u got till the wedding!

Sam Triggy

Sam Triggy

Faux wood Nuggets

OMG! I found these online,little beanie bags in wood prints. Well these cute lil buggers are 16USD each..not so cute when I'm reminded of how much MYR is worth - PEANUTS.

The 'A' Team

Guess who's the bomoh? ( witch doctor .. "the good ones" )

"the pattern scraper maker thingy''

Sometimes Ant' can be quite a handy man,ehem' I find that quite cute.Well at least he's not engrossed in dressing up barbies! So this handy man of mine decided to customize his very own cement "pattern scraper maker thingy" as you can tell,I dont' know what is it call. But its basic function is to create a rainbow repeated pattern as you swipe the wet cement in a semi circular motion. Designed to add great design details and texture to the bathroom floors.

Days before the launch of "the pattern scraper maker thingy'', the guy who soon we will bestow him with this super tool made a few booboos..In view of the possible nightmares we might have to live with and against the architech chics ( cut us some slack lah Farah,and Nina..ain't got enough skilled workers here.) wishes,we had to go for tiles instead. So we found this tile that looks like peels of stone skin.It should look real good..cept it releases these iron oxide looking powder once in contact
with air.. so its 1 bad move after another.. (try taking a poop to this view!,pic on left)

It really is a learning process, even thou both of Anton and myself came from design background..where in the big cities,you get all the resources you need within the snaps of fingers.*snap snap,c'mon give the diva wat she wants!!* mann i miss doing that.Many a time i feel paralysed by the limitations that this lil orangutan town has to offer.I guess thats just the pessimistic and my tired perseverance talking.AHA! good excuse for whipp creamed cherry topped banana boat tonite..yummy!!

GRRR

Check out the grains on the flooring and the gorgeous bar top!

Its becoming increasingly annoying to blog these days,everynow and then when you feel like reading random picks. every 4clicks on "next blog" the heading pops up with hideous looking cows with gargantua moo cow tits with flashing headlines "find yourself a company in Kota Kinabalu"!..first of all,hello!! do i look like i need papayas to go with my morning coffee?..secondly if they had to stuff everybody's face with tits all the time .. can't they at least get decent looking slim models. !! Ppl come to Sabah to see monkeys,orang Utans..not COWS,get the stats rite!It is reaalllly freaaking annoying for porn peddlers to think every1's a nympho like themselves.

Anyhow here's more pix... im dying for a Burrito!

The reveal i've been waiting for

After loada day,mid day and sweet dreaming, and loada "pls pls pls can i go up there now?pls pls!" - On another routine site check,I finally made my way up to the 3rd level of the Communal Pavilion. It was really worth the wait.
As soon as i rest my feet upon the wide wooden floor,tracing along each grain,a light incense like flavour fills the air,Reminensce of saw dust afloat with the beat of each step.The space presented itself in a similar aura as the long houses, Generous,unassuming and peaceful. Nestled in the heart of nature,visions quickly filled my head with snap shots of activities and faces that will soon replace the emptiness.YOGA,massages,quite afternoon read,movie under the stars,barbecue dinners,long conversations,bashful smiles,thunderous laughs last but not least in the great company of rustling trees and singing bugs.

Yea,I'm a major dreamer,a romanticist.. In reality folks will probably be spraying themselves with insect repellents half the time and shoving hankies under their sweaty underarms. But
it is not everyday we can immerse our senses in such deep trance with the absence of drugs,and I'm glad I allow the sensitivity of each pore open up,cuz as soon as we open the place to public,I'd prolly be too busy Battling againt realities for ideals.

It kinda feels like this Kenzo Amour Ad..

Kenzo AMour

Owl and the entourage

Burung Hantu : Directly translates to Ghost Bird, or owl in the Malay language.

Few days back, Uncle Jalil caught a baby owl perching on his barn house near the retreat.It aint' exactly a cute lil cherub at all when we say its a baby. This would probably be one of the freakiest Owls I've ever seen,I bet if any UFOs ever catch it under its beaming human sucking lights,they be communicating in to it with their native tongue.In a blink of an eye,its slitty almond shaped eyes could transforms into a huge 20cent coin when its aggravated.

Seeing how his Magnificent storm stalks been reduced to bald headed looking vultures,we finally convinced him to release the stressed out bird. When we open the cage doors,all the owl did was squiggle itself to the opposite end,after a few nasty probe,the owl again dodged to another side.By then Uncle Jalil was getting a lil impatient,with one flip and a few shakes,the baby clumsily plopped onto the ground.Before the release, I painted a stere0typical romantic picture of freeing the bird,seeing it soar freely in my head... But i guess not with this lil guy. The highly amused Uncle Jalil commented,Day time Bird blind,that's why so dumdum!

Showing Off

Nothing much to talk about today,just showing

some pictures.

Our short hols

Sherwin and Ying pop by from Singapore last weekend for a holiday,We decided to do a 2D 1N Sukau cruise. We stayed at the Tommangong River Lodge,very lovely spot along the Kinabatangan river.

Day 1

On the first day,at around half past 4pm,we set out in search of some Pygmy Elephants and Monkeys,Unfortunately we got more than we bargained for. Seeing what a sunny afternoon it was,I slipped into my skimpy strappy top and shorts hoping to fix that bad tann.Then out of nowhere,the weather decided to throw a major ,...MAJOR bitch fit,very much like your girlfriends would - Totally out of context!down came the rain,beating against my naked flesh.To top that up mother nature threw in some really really close proximity lightnings just for the fun of it! For some reason,everyone was really amused by the heavy downpour,Every instance when the rain came harder we would laugh and giggle even harder. So yeap,no monkeys ..no elephants..just some cats and dogs.

Met a young italian geologist couple finished off the day with rounds of Oranjeboon ( "Duty Free" Beer) good food, good laughs definately great company!

Day2 ,

Once again we set out in search of some Proboscis Monkey,cruising down the river slightly after sunrise was amazing. You can almost feel the river banks and forest awakening from its sleep as the boat cruises its way down the Majestic brown river.As we enter the smaller riverbends,the water transformed into a dark almost black shade.and I was convinced,this must be how it feels like to be a Hobbit in MiddleEarth! The mystical bends gradually uncovers itself ,revealling folds after folds of vegetation and greens.Then,finally.. sightings of family lot Proboscis Monkeys,apparently the males have hard ons all day long!the call it the "red chili" and they luurrve flashing themselves hence a close friend of mine calls it the Promiscous Monkey! Maybe someday when the Chinese finally run out of black dog penis,horse penis and seahorse penis of which i didn;t know seahorses had penises,in their endless pursue of the most potent aphrodisiac, they would come to Borneo for the red chillis.Meanwhile,lets keep this as Sabah's best kept secrets.So hush,. well im only showing this post because Kinabatangan cruise is really a must see when any1 visits sandakan.

Above it all

Imagine the serenity you'll find,sitting above the trees,
above the foliage and above the it all.

I need to get Waxed.

completed Long House ( Almost...)


Few days back I met an australian traveller during lunch,within hours,I think i've pretty much heard his whole life story. He rare racing dogs,horses,build 3 houses,sold loada tiles,hates G.W you know which bad Bush..and some other lusciously lipped celebrity who goes global shopping for kids.Pretty much got the Aussieness oozing from his pores.To cut the whole thing short,Its amazing talking to such characters only catch is you gotto pick sm1 of similiar calibre..He just goes on like chooo choo train.

We were talking about all sorta timber finishings,it occur to me the actuall biggest challenge of building/renovating something in Sandakan is the lack of finishing options.We have close to 20 hardware shops,every single one of them have the exact same thing the door next door got but none of em sell anything matte! You ask for wax they'll give you the loook as if they just received one. "HUH?!!" with their eyes wide popped! The china man mentality at this point is really annoying me. Why would you offer the exact same thing as the shop next door?

I really hope we can keep the walls as they are for now...Anyhow,keeping it short today,not very inspired to write.

Worker's hostel

Was talking to Fuzzi that day,he's gonna pop by for an internship with us during winter. Finally I get squeeze every single drop off his ingenuity for free!!all I gotto do is feed him and give him a whole to sleep in.It's a pretty good deal considering he's only trying to get away from the floods of blonde dutch chicks and the face tearing winter "breeze".

Can't wait to the part where we start filling the hostels with staff,yelling DING''!NEXT! if they look like a Jabba the HUTT.Yup,My decision to hire some1 totally depends on looks. cuz sex sells,Everybody wants to be surrounded by beautiful people.Plus what are the chances you'll yell at some puppies.

Besides getting a really bad "invisible sleeves" tannlines, I'm begining to smell like the workers.You know that fat boy (I've got nothin against chubbyness)smell..like fermented sugar mixed with sweatty armpits. Sometimes amidst the mid day heat,I take a peep into my colar,and take a good sniff to recomfirm my disbelief.Yea,can you imagine! The Diva,me! smelling like a fat boy with a strange tint of Moo'ness to it. Even Anton is beginning to smell funky. It's reall hardwork,we haven't got the long pinky nails,the curly hair nor the yellow gum boots,But we sure d0 smell like contractors.

This is where we eat

This is where the reception/Dining area and bar is gonna be, Basement level have got a small extended deck cantilevered straight into the cliff,So great view is so gonna be PD's last name..Paganakandii Great View Sdn Bhd - see! it sounds so natural. hehe.So the Ground level, no mean literally, the ground level refers to the earthy bits on the right,That'll be the outdoor dining area,under a porch,which is not up yet. We'll build a second level for the communal / Tv room. where u can watch your news,play the X box,roll around the wooden floor..and the exciting list of actvities goes on.

Whilst entertaining the thought of painting the skeleton in Black,Check out this link,Im contemplating to switch my diet to raw fish,vinegered rice and tofu... cuz i reckoned thats what gave the Japs their strange but obviously very beautiful mind. Imagine seeing your yummy earwax on one of those black ear buds!they'll prolly look like theyr'e yelling HELLLO to u. Just talking about it makes me ears tingle in excitment. Haha by this point your'e prolly thinking im weird.... we'll that's cuz my grandfather is a Jappy.

http://pingmag.jp/2007/07/19/black/

Nipah Roof

Nipah Roof tiles

Honestly,..feeling kinda grogy tonite.Amuse yourselves with the pics till i get the bubble outta my head.
Oh 1 more thing... according to the Lonely Planet guide's funky comment; about how the Family hotel in town looked kNAKered had actually given us some decent attention..loada tourist actually find it intresting to stay at the NAK HOTEL..HA! TAKE THAT, LONELY PLANET!

Duplex Images

Tallest Duplex

Duplex with additional chilling space

Anton Moving Timber ..again~

Skylight in Living room

View from Bed side

Lake House Draft

Pondok : Small architecture to provide shade or housing.

Imagine,You got the ring in your pocket,you lead her amidst the foliage,along candle lit bridges, glistening lake waters,gentle breeze,rustling trees,cricket singing...peering through soft fluttering drapes,the private dinning deck above the lake.We got the dinner table set for 2, After a few drinks and lots *ehem kisses* you sit her down by the ledge,..toes dipping into the chilly moonlit waters,you pop the question! - NOW, tell me I gave you guys a sure win game plan!

Apart from such occasions,the private deck is the perfect location for friends to hold small partees as it fit up to 4pax,if your'e a buncha stick- insect supermodels perhaps 6 (I think Mars Bars and KFC are the greatest invention ever)..We're even contemplating to convert it into a private massage deck during the day.How sweet is that! getting a relaxing couple's massage amidst tall trees, easy breeze and glassy waters.

Building the deck was no easy task, even tho it was a reaally small house.With Uncle Jalil's cute litttle red boat,the crew wade their way out into the lake and jump straight off, Im quite sure they were probably wearing their loose & faded briefs ( thank god i wasn't there! ) According to Anton they litterally dive up and down to plant the pillars that holds the main structure...I was really amazed when they first told me how they plan to build this thing,... but now im more amused by their ability to hold their breath,carry a really heavy pillar,plant it in.. and live to tell the story. If u ever need pearl divers/abalone divers..

Whilst brainstorming how to fully utilise this exclusive location,The Crew had to make a huge blunder on the roof design!and now instead of a romantic private dinning deck or whatever we've got planned,I got a floating bus stop in the middle of the lake! They gotto fix it..sigh~

Then this really annoying looking black Pelican decide to chill in Jalil's lil red boat while the rest work their ass.unfortunately didn't manage to snap a pic of it. And the pic we have hear is miles away from ideal..we're workin it.

Hyperventitilating

Man behind the scenes : Far left Mali , Center Anton , Far Right Guru A.K.A Bomoh

Hyperventilate -verb to be afflicted with hyperventilation; breathe abnormally fast and deep

Titillating - verb ti-ti-lat·ing.
to excite or arouse agreeably: to titillate the fancy

I know,..I know.. been lil slack with the blog.Things are slowing down quite a bit,with materials and manpower shortages.Sorry guys,I know quite a few of you been planning to come down in August..good things are worth the wait aight..

10mins ago,I was talking to Miru...talking about her plans to come visit us soon.To my biggest horror, she sent me the link to one of our competitors and exclaimed excitedly " hey i found this pretty cool place,maybe i should stay there since you are not ready yet!" Crap, I was thrown into a real spin,imagine your head caught in between clashes of cymbals that's bigger than your mothers Chinese wok. Her comment had totally sent me into a tailspin of anxiety. Worst bit is, being the curious cat that I am,I did in fact click on that link.

As the butt ugly website distastefully flashes itself unto my dilated pupils, I simply couldn't resist clicking into d testimonial page...by now im heaving thru a brown paper bag,and was absolutely disgusted by the really great testimonials they've received,everything I would like our future guest to say about our retreat.* silent long pause* "PLOp du du du du dut..." like a baseball, my head was on the table.

It might sound like some great drama to you,the anxiety and stress is absolutely for real thou.But its more so because I simply couldn't wait to meet some folks from other ends of this world,Part of why i really enjoyed working in Starbucks getting paid shit during my college years, was meeting these ppl from all walks of life in all sorts of form. Sharing the utmost redundant meaningless conversation such as questioning the comforts of wearing red undies over spandex suit, "Superman sure is Hot!..But i really doubt the suffocated "lunchbox" set feels sexy in there..would i but anyhow~

Screening these lil magnified episodes of dramas on this blog,somehow really does keep me going. and checking out the competitors website still gives me the creeps and nauseating discomfort..nevertheless, it pushes us to think more deeply into creating differential points,and creative unique selling points.

SDK - JHB - SDK - WRLD??

Im actually dying to take a piss after me double tall latte in starbucks,but I really need to get this out of my system too...*legs tightly crossed*

Initially i was hoping my short trip back to Johor will give me the much needed breather..well,apparently not if your going back to mum's. Sometimes I really don't know if she's in her normally weird mode or if she's really acting weEEird. Its really complicated,I don't want to go there,..but bottom line is you know mothers,they really know where your Achilles Ankles are.Even thou they might not sound sane, they still have the ability to make you twitch... well it varies from a "twitch" to "bitch fit" or worst of all is when they total you with a deadly "stroke!".

Apart from getting the usual complaints of I'm too far away and your not ready to handle the oh so big big world,this time she gave me the "you're too emotional to be a leader"lecture

To cut the whole ordeal short,amidst the whirlwind of mess,loneliness, disillusionment and discourageousness( Ha! i don't even know if the word exist) I've decided to plunge my head,heart,soul,toes into creating more great holiday escapades .Which is way I've decided to post these private moments on the blog...u know.. just for the record kinda thing...just in case I chicken out again - NOT!



" Today we will do what we do everyday.."
"WE WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!!''
Quote Brain from Pinky and the Brain

The Axe Fairy

Now you see him............

Now you dont!

hehe,we're banking on the Axe fairy to help us catch the deadline.

Sweet beats of the forest

Few days ago,I visited the busy construction site.While busy figuring out how to use the bloody SLR camera - of course trying very hard not to drop Anton's expensive toy..,I got quite attuned to the beats and shuffles created by the busy workers..Wood Sawing,Hammers Beating,Trees rustling,Imagine a STOMP! act. For a split second,It just felt really gratifying. I mean dough aside..

It pretty much sounded like people working hard to piece your vision together. I guess that's the true value and magic of handmade products.Technically speaking Paganakandii is almost 100% handmade.With literally alot of real blood and sweat put into it. - erm and some dead fingers and toes ,tell u man,..its no fun when your nails break open from the impact of free falling timber.

Both of us are prolly what u call music junkies,who listen to all sort of shit,..except i hate the mornin radio.We're like the epitome of people who bob heads and snap fingers while drivin,well cuz we attempt to do the samba and hip snaps on the driving seat. * HA! bet u haven't done that before* I've always adore concept of great music outdoors,while checkin out youtube and entertaining the thought of having our own Rainforest Music fest .. these are some of the folks who'll go well on the greens.

Hello Saferide feat Firefox AK - Long Lost Penpal

Wicked Aura Batucada

Thirsty Merc - 20 Good Reasons - Piano Acoustic

Recycled Flooring

This is basically where most recycled wood from Happy estate is gonna get a second life.We're begining to appreaciate the material more each day,Its amazing how a little *CPR* - Chop,Plane,Revarnishing can bring em back to its former fully functional glory.

Rainforest Discovery Center - Part 1

I must admit, I've left this window open for the past 20min.. just to check out how Victoria Beckham carries her sassy new bob.Recently snipped my old curls and got myself a bad mop..*fine! bob.* the ordeal have been so disturbing that I kept having nightmares bout some guy behind me in the cinema seat going "dude,your mop is blocking my view !" .. sigh~

So back to this...The Rainforest Discover & Research Center had an open house last Saturday,We made a trip smack in the mid day heat,hoping we could get some tips on breeding glowing orchids and possibly even get some free seedlings.Hehe I know im oozing with "MakcikNESS" these days.

We saw lots of bugs,butterflies, trees,timber samples,fruit trees and weird traditional tribal herbs, I think Chinese herbs still top the list tho~If mum was here, she prolly go crazy and start blurting a long list of remedies using god knows what funky greens.

However there were these little tags that made my toes tingle...I do that when im annoyed.
it says *Armsghohgdo(Scientific name)* - to heal eyes and good for lung. - good for lung ...WHAT?!! Lung cancer?Lung Infection?Lung What? I hate it when people leave me on a disappointing high note.

Dr Arthur Chung,a family friend who works in the Entomology department. showed us his extensive collection of bugs.Apparently he got it from his dad.. If my boy showed interest in catching butterflies i'd be quite worried about his sexual orientation.But alls well,Arthur is as manly as any man can be - imagine spongebob and his jelly fishing gear and you get Arthur. The collection was really pretty,perhaps one day i'll use the patterns and colors as an inspiration for print making.He even gave us a peek at these Rafflesia ,The biggest,
ugliest,smelliest flower in the world.Unfortunately not so perky and happy in the preservation spirits.Then He went on to make sentences full of unpronounceable scientific terms about the process but all I could think about is "FWAAHH RAFFLESIA VODKA SHOTS" that must be DEE most potent stuff!

But the absolute bestest part was the wood library..This little room packed with thousands of cut specimens, .All the different local timbers most of them still wrap up in by the original tree bark like real booklets with a book cover! Unfortunately they were all tagged with scientific terms,and I only know Tectonis Grandis which is Teak. Emotionally you get the same calmness as shopping in a bookstore,Naturally running the fingers along the barks,the eyes tracing an enormous variety of textures and grains. Add all that with a distinctive mixed of earthy scent and dust and you get a nostalgicIsh romantic kinda thingy.

Moving along..In the seed collection and cultivation center.First i learnt whats Diptocarp - a group of trees that has got seeds that floats away from the mother tree.Then we found out how Belian seedlings look like,..its like a freaggin Avocado.Big seeds makes big trees.The RDC gives away seedlings to plantation owners for reforestation.she mentioned some highly valued seedlings can fetch up to 500USD per Kilogram..particularly this timber that's made into incense - which is banned for export.The cynist in me tried really hard to hide the wry smile in the corner of lips,I mean for all you know the govt. bodies are the real puppet master! But as of now all i gotto say bout this whole illegally logging & exporting scene is "quote Ms Farah Azizan,our Architect - STOP RAPING THE FOREST PEOPLE!"

Rainforest Discovery Center - part 2

Old mcdonald had an organic farm

Long House on the right and Mini me on the left Longhouse 2nd floor

Even thou I feel pretty indifferent about organic fruits and veggies,It only seems natural to offer our guest with good food.When you have fresh ingredients,you really dont need to do much with it. (hahah yes I do watch Jamie Oliver quite often) Like any true getaway or retreat,Fresh food,Fresh air will definately satisfy that fix your'e looking for.and and some Kampung "YEAYYYY i finally get my own herb garden,n somebodyelse is doing the dirty job for me!"

Hence we set out to look for that perfect spot of land that'l be big enough for

1) My herb garden

2) Mini Corn Feilds

3) Veggies,Aubergines,Tomatoes,Tapioca

4) Chickens..

5)Herree fishie fishie

Productive Procrastination

The duplex looks like mini meee long house

Im suppose to be doing something else, But I figured updating the blog is a pretty productive way to procrastinate..

The crew is slowing down a bit because we've ran out of materials only till recently, plus its been raining quite a bit.Nevertheless they've start cracking on the Duplexes while we crack our heads on sorting out the communal toilet.

Bidding Happiness Goodbye

"40years of History,and we are left starring at Nothingness."

Coming Soon

Coming Soon..

"Tales of the Guru

and his happy people

under the sun..."

Tongkat Ali

ALI AND HIS TONGKAT

Tongkat Ali : Eurycoma longifolia is a flowering plant in the family Simaroubaceae, native to Indonesia and Malaysia Popular for its testosterone-enhancing properties. Historically, it has been used by the folk medicine in its countries of origin as a libido enhancer and to treat various sexual dysfunctions.

Anton insist i post this pic.and name it Ali and his Tongkat. My Argument was that it really doesn't look all that funny,...nor does it look like Ali(guy wt the moustache) and his walking Cane(tongkat)..besides Ali dont look like he needs help with getting his buddy up~ anyhow u be the judge.!

Silly billy Jaga Api!

Jaga Api :" Watching fire in malay,..common term used by housewives when they need to stay home and watch over their boiling soup."

I dunno what made these silly billies so silly.Is it really the education level or a lack of common sense?First of all, somebody stub cigarette into a huge stack of papers that could possibly initiate a huge plantation fire, then when you tell them to put it off expecting the flame to be extinguished once and for all, just to find the people who created the mess were having a cosy afternoon nap on the second day!... blowing ever so "gently" into somebody Else's face!

The most outrageous part is when the guy in-charge wakes up and rubs his sleepy eyes he tells you that they've been "Watching" the fire all night, that's why they're resting now! ..sigh~ anyhow we finally manage to put it off after continuously dousing it with water for 2hrs.

Recycling an old barn

Happy Estate : An old family palm plantation.its Not so happy these days as the government is trying to reclaim this land to turn it into a University.Under some serious negotiation currently.

The old barn you see here was build in probably the 60s-70s.When the Malayan palm industry was in its expansion era.By late 50s,the govt have acknowledged rubber crop gave a lower profit margin as compared to Palm oil,Hence launched many half /full conversion of rubber estate into palm estate.Till this day you'll notice some estates have the 2 distinctively different crops sharing the same alignment.

I'm not too sure bout the history of this particular land,but according to Ant,..we have had Cocoa, Coffee,Rubber and some other agricultural thingy before it was converted into a full Palm plantation. Reminisce of the yesteryears still lingers in the barn..I found some old chinaware,retro pvc mats,govt newsletters dated in 59-60s,even company receipts dated in the 70s!Apart from processing palm fruit,the 2 story building was probably a poultry barn for awhile,smells kinda funky..but it really felt like a walk down memory lane

anyhow,Its been unused for quite awhile.And we had the wickedness idea to rip it apart and recycle as much wood as much it can.I mean ..as sentimental as it gets, the govt would destroy everything if it lands on their hands..Besides not only do we get to save cost + play our teeeeenny weeny part in conserving natural resources,we also get to take a part of the glorious days into the new project..

so look out for aged beams,old gazette wallpapers,fancy partitions.
www.flickr.com/photos/linnshoots/

The Skeleton

Skeleton : Anatomy, Zoology. the bones of a human or an animal considered as a whole, together forming the framework of the body.

So the full frame work of the long house is up,We just bot the scalp (Zinc roof). And did a brief calculation of how much hair (nipah/dried palm leaves that covers zinc) we need. Even tho market rate is around 70-80cents per feet.It would still add up to a 5digit cost. Unfortunately we can't leave this handsome building "botak" nor would I be impressed if there was bald patches on his head..(yes,.. everything i own is male) we would have to fork out quite a bit to give it that early 90s Aaron Kwok, lush center parting hair.

The Dismantling of the old barn in Happy estate has also gone full on,will be capturing some of its "last days"~ sob sob..

More pics on http://www.flickr.com/photos/linnshoots/page2/

Yoda says:"
build we must,
till the
break of day."

Rumah PanjangNYAA

click to enlarge

Rumah Panjang : Roo-maah Pan- Jaah-Ng

Long House, A long wooden housing unit Traditional found within villages of indigenous tribes in Borneo, Such as the Ibans and Rungus.Usually house up to 3generations under the same roof.

Like all passionate relationships,you discover many traits to fall in love with .This project is very much as such to me. With every visit,every new idea conceived and every attempt to perfect the final delivery,the little voice in your head goes : "hey,i lyyykke that!" well,.. even tho technically speaking i've only got half a foot in,dipping the shallow waters,I really can't wait to work on the detailed touches and interior designs.cuz thats like the cosmetics on a woman's face..the stuff that'll finally make her GLOW!

Being the extremist scorpio that I am,I must say im about the die in this heart-throbing romance.

PS: Actually it sounds more like this "Oh oh i know,.. we can do this!,.. we can do that!.. hey oh no wait thats better,.WoW thats great,.oh yeah thats a yummy idea,.OOohh my thats hot 2!!!."

Plant it.

After rounds of meticulous measuring,aligning and re-aligning,screaming,bearing embarrassing T-shirt tan-lines,suffering from heat stroke and dizzy spells,we finally took the plunge and planted the seeds.

In barely two weeks, Anton manage to drive his 12men crew into laying majority of foundation works.The supporting timber pillars were fixed just 1meter from the Cliff edge!Like a kid with her bag of candies, I couldn't wait to see more! Even tho I must say, with great plans for the sky high living habitats comes sky rocketing blood pressure too! While waiting for the cement to set,The unwelcoming rain decided to gatecrash our building party, We were all soaked in anxiety on those few stormy nights.Fortunately the beams remained erected in the puddle of mud.. which almost feels like cheesecake to walk on~

Keeping it short tonight so check out some pics,..more on http://www.flickr.com/photos/linnshoots/page2/

Tales of our forefathers

fine he's anton's popsie not mine!,But this great man left a great legacy in Sandakan,.he's got palm,timber,developement,cinema,hotel and a nice school to finish things off..YUYUAN SCHOOL is the only independent school in Sandakan,Mr Ngui Ah Kui founded it based on a very simple pricipal - everybody should be given a 2nd chance!..before the existence of this school,Kids who fail their final exams would have no where to go..and YUYUAN would offer them a second go at education. Till date it has expanded much and become the only school that provides private education. they're ripping away the old wooden building from the 60s,to make way for a much bigger one. Best part is - we get to recycle the wood ..hooohoo

PS: ppl stop diggin the roads in town!!!! they are fine as it is!!!

a freaky trivia : Mr Ngui and his Wife and his Mum, where once upon a time buried within the school compound!Brrr

Monstaah!

Before After


Siin Xiu : God's Hand in Hakka tongue/ MonstAAH Crane!

My,my.. what a glorious invention~Nice and flat in no time,.No worries thou,we be doing lotsa planting once the accomadations are up.It will be nice and shaded again.
It must be quite fun to operate a crane,..but I shan't try since i'm still struggling with the 4 wheeled car.

Btw way, found a dead fish on the hill top.Uncle Jalil said maybe a birds accidentally droped it after catching it from the lake down hill. But im convince its a sign,..According to the bible,5 loaves and 12 basket full of fish can feed 5,000,hymm 1 fish up in the hills..must be him saying hi!Yessa !!we will prosper and flourish!

other funky Hakka words
Diao Ungh : Fishing
Ungh Pian : Fish Slices
Ungh Waat : Flat Fish Cakes
Ungh : FISH!

I just find the Hakka tongue Hilarious hahahaha.

BELIAN,the Red Ridding WHood

"Secretly duped with Tongkat Ali,.here's Anton exerting some super crotch power!"

Belian: Eusideroxylon zwageri of the family Lauraceae, More commonly known as The Iron Wood.

After another set of hasty breaths,I finally manage to huff my way through the cobble stone *soon to be driveway.* The long awaited ,250 pcs of Belian timber set before my eyes. There's something about seeing wood logs that drives my adrelin into perculiar paths,Cuz somehow it leads to the bladder instead?!yea, I got so excited it made me wanna pee..

Well thats before we discover the supplier had stocked rotten timber amidst the bundle..Anton and I had to sort them out and place it aside before we can get the crane in.we had to tumble the 150kg +/- load along a 3m stretch. Anton cauldn't stop ranting about how the Iron wood had splinters like Iron nails, Being the wiser partner,I decided to adapt an alternate strategy through this potentially back breaking (i'm serious) chore!...focus on the breathing..one...huffff.. two ..puff.. one huff... two puff...

It seems you can't trust the loggies these days.Since Belian timber is considered a top notch tropical wood,We'd paid pretty aching sum for it. A good log should have a nice handsome red blush,sm what spicy hint when you smell it. Due to its great weather proof properties,its commonly known to hold Jetties and Bridges for a good decade or 2. We'll be using these as main support pillars for the Longhouses,Duplexes and the oh so fabulously designed 3 Tier Communal Pavillion.

After rolling some 20 logs,My errmm "maiden hands" was badly violated by the splintter,I took awhile to straighten my back then ..Heck,! I was seeing stars!

The Maths

I gasp in awe as we trek around Uncle Jalil's hill~

Well honestly speaking I can't quite tell the whether I gasped in awe or was I simply gasping for air since it was a terribly hot day.
We finally found a perfect footing on 2 naturally formed plateau which is believed to be the arms of a valley. Nicely tucked away up in the hills, the total build up is half an acre. Encircled by huge steadfast palm trees and lush secondary forest. We soon discovered the many great look out points to build watch towers and hammock stations. One of which, almost seem like a parallel view of the Labuk Nature Reserve across the road. Nearly peeping through its canopy, Just 200m away!If you've got a bad left brain, or you can't imagine ,try lining up 6 Broccolis an arm's length away, thats probably a fraction of what I saw.

The reserve is one of the few Virgin Rainforest left in Sandakan.(by virgin we mean its untouched by evil filthy illegal logger's hands~) 10mins drive away, there's another big ass Nature reserve and thats where the "Sepilok Orang Utan Rehab" is. Legend has it that the top canopy sweat at the beat of sunrise, creating a mystical mist that probably last not more than 5 - 10mins. should be quite a scene, Fingers crossed, hopefully I manage to take some wicked pictures of these sweating broccolis soon.

Meanwhile, folks we should all take good care of our bladder!

In The Begining

Old friends, future friends and dear family,

This blog was created to keep us close to you. Even thou technically speaking Sabah is still part of Malaysia, it sure does almost feels like another world! Nevertheless i'm well fed with great seafood and all psyched about our humble little Tropical Retreat. PaganakanDii. http://www.paganakandii.com/

"Amidst the Foliage" journals through the process of building this project from scratch. Reporting in detail, the birth and growth of a little community full of people whose green thumbs are so huge they can no longer contain it in their teeny weeny backyard. So stick around, I promise you there will be full off intriguing characters and great laughs and lots off pictures. On the other hand if we have yet to meet you in person, do drop by soon! after the launch in July 2007.

Important notes to help you make sense If I go too fast :

Eco Tourism : To travel around the world to learn and preserve kinky flora & fauna, weird animals in the forest, tall mountains, deep seas, fast rivers, great waterfalls or simply kicking it in the great outdoors.

Sabah : Commonly known as Land below the wind ( don’t ask me why! ) www.malaysia.travel/consumer/destinations/state.asp?state=sabah

Sandakan : the town that we're in, well known for Prawns so huge and juicy it taste like chicken. Scuba Diver's pit stop before heading to one of the greatest dive sites and islands of Malaysia such as Sipadan, Pulau Lankayan, Kapalai.

Anton Ngui : Brainchild and slave driver of this project.

Uncle Jalil : Comical chatterbox man with a big heart, long hands and really big palms.

Linn : ME!