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