Thursday, September 19, 2013

A Road too Far

A memorable journey
By AV Latinggam

Kampung Sonsogon Magandai Kota Marudu
Kampung Sonsogon Magandai is sited 30 kilometres away from Kota Marudu Township. It is a remote village that is made more remote by the road condition to that place. It not too far considering kilometres, but the road situation makes it feel like one is travelling so far and long into the village. Beauty in nature surrounding it may be a plus for visitors,  but for the people there the road condition is their grief and their grievance.
For those who are driving and their passengers, they will be rolled, rattled and trundled through rough terrain. The road is really bad, its screams ‘bad’.
On a recent journey there on an assignment, a group of people and I were stuck in mud seven times and had to be dug up and pulled by an accompanying truck; raced through 15 very deep muddy patch of road, slide down muddy road and  zigzagged crazily up and down the muddy path. As if that’s not enough we crossed a river! We travelled five hours to reach the village and another four out.
No wonder the villagers are grumbling.
Village headman Majan Sampun, 69, says he and his fellow villagers have longed for a good road for a long time.

Beauty in the forest
He recalls a better road there when timber was still in abundance. It was never sealed but at least the road was accessible, they could walk out to town or maybe get a lift from lorries or four wheel drive driving back and forth the village.
“And then the road was left unattended for years. The log bridge over the river broke and then we cannot walk across anymore. We waded through the river on a shallow part. If we had lifts from four wheel drives, we may be able to cross over in comfort.”
“After that we will walk until we get too tired and then we will rest. We usually make it to town in two days if we walked. If we are lucky we can get lifts and get there in a day.”
He shares that he did not mind walking if he really had to, but not everyone wanted to do that.
“The sick cannot make it to town, the vehicle bumping and trundling will make them worse. We have brought a few sick villagers on the road, some died on the way. We had to turn back half way to town,” he shares.
According to him, the village does receive flying doctor service  every month, but at times they would not be able to do so, especially when it’s windy and rainy.
Stuck in the mud!
We've only just begun!
“Sick people can’t pick a fair-weather day to be ill. If bad weather continues for a week, he would either be too sick to care about getting well by then or he would be dead,” he shares.
“We need a clinic here, with at least a nurse in attendance. There may be only 81 houses here with 312 people, but we are also entitled to basic health facilities. I hope the relevant authorities can build us a clinic, and accord us a nurse to attend to us.  There are mothers who need medical facilities to give birth, children sick and the elderly too,” the father of five children shares.
On the economy, he says they are all sustenance farmers. They plant yam and tapioca for food, while some have paddy fields.  Others plant vegetables for their own consumption.
“It would be good if we can market some of our goods in Kota Marudu, so we can earn some money. We need money for our children’s schooling and for our salt and other type of food that we cannot grow on our own.”
A Friendly Hand...Pull!!

The River Crossing

“If we have a good road, we can market our wares. As it is now, if we carried our produce on our back for 30 kilometres and with a very bad road, at that, it will not be worth our while. By the time we reach town, our vegetable will have been mushed and the price we acquire from our yams and tapioca will not even be able to cover our fare back, if someone is good enough to ferry us back to the village.”
According to him, there are also rubber tappers among them who need access to buyers to sell their ware.
“Therefore I stress once again, please do something about our road. I hope that the relevant authorities will hear our plea. Don’t allow our suffering to continue for the next five years.”
Basil Imal, 41, echoed Majan saying that he is very sad about the lack of clinic and communications in the village.
He shares that they needed more than just periodic visits by flying doctors and government representatives.
“We need a good road, we need electricity, we need communications facilities like telephone and other media. We are so left behind in development. I hope the relevant authorities will listen to us and hear our plea,” he shares.
The authority should look into this problem.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Home is Where the Heart Is

The Mountains and Valleys
By AV Latinggam

A conversation with HEL made me think of Home and what it means. Wiki says "home is a place of residence or refuge" and it is quite right. For me personally Home is where we go to and will not be turned away. Home is where the heart is. No matter which country we are in, we are under the same blue sky and standing on the same Earth. Thus where we are is home, as long as we want it to be.
In Sabah, we have places to stay that will always feel like home for many, due to its beautiful valleys and rivers and mountains with the blue sky overhead. 
A Lake in Balung Tawau
HEL in the Forest of Sepilok Sandakan

Mount Kinabalu seen from Pekan Nabalu Tamparuli


A Valley in Sonsogon Magandai Kota Marudu

The Road to the Village Kota Marudu
The River at Mahua Tambunan

Monday, September 2, 2013

Manila: an Ocean Visit

My all Time Favorite
By AV Latinggam

The Manila Ocean Park is an oceanarium owned by China Oceanis Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of China Oceanis Inc., a Singaporean-registered firm. It is located behind the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park. It opened on March 1, 2008. It boasts floor space of  8,000 square metres and features a 25-metre underwater acrylic tunnel. This is its official introduction. It’s a beautiful place to visit. My favourite may well be the Dancing Fairy…actually a lot of Jellyfish in tanks, with lights.  When they move around, they look like graceful ballerinas. I still think I should have bought that stuffed seal there. I watched a seal perform earlier…performing seals, hmmm, cute. During our stay there I think this is one of the nicest place to be besides the Greenbelt Shopping centre and the Asia Mall. These places are places to shop and feast the eye, but the Ocean park is a place for the heart. To me at least, the freedom of the sea seen without having to don a snorkel or scuba




Briefly in Manila: Pictorial 2

The Sunday Market
By AV Latinggam

The Legazpi Sunday Market at  Salcedo Street, Legazpi Village Makati
is an interesting place to go if you want to sample all sorts of food. The array of food available is mind boggling to say the least. There are meat of all sorts, cooked in various ways. And fish too. There are also a fair variety of drinks too. They can be worth sampling actually.
Handicrafts stall are available, but since we too have Filipino made handicrafts here in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, I did not make any purchases. HEL had a great time browsing but the heat was not too kind, so we left after a while. A place worth visiting though, if only for the food.





Monday, August 26, 2013

Briefly in Manila: Pictorial

When in Manila...
By AV Latinggam

Manila, The Philippines is a place where everything is familiar.  A week stay there recently was enjoyed, which hopefully will result in other visits. HEL had a wonderful time there with a few laughs, especially during a visit to the Greenbelt Shopping centre. I enjoyed it for the shopping!
Meandering in Manila.

Walking towards The Greenbelt
Beautiful deco

Where Dreams are Fulfilled

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Flowers: a Pictorial

Flowers by AV Latinggam











A Park in Sabah

A Visit to the Park
By AV Latinggam
The Lagud Seberang Agricultural Park is within 500 acres of the 1,500 acres of the Research Station, administered by the Agriculture Department Sabah. This Park consists of the Agriculture Research Station; seed Production Centre for Cash Crop, Farmers Training Centre and Taman Pertanian Sabah itself. One of the main attractions of the park is its huge collection of native Orchids of Borneo rescued from the forests, especially those that could have perished in logged areas. There are about 300 wild orchids with the most fascinating being the Elephant Ears and lady’s Slipper orchids. There is also the Hybrid Orchid Garden, sited within four acres of land and boasts 400 species of Orchid. The colourful hybrids are a sight to behold but are they merely for show as they don’t sell cuttings unless it is during the Flower Fest. Within the Park, there are also many other plants including food plants used by the people in the past. The next must-visit site is the Evolution Garden, where it shows the changes in the heritable traits of a population (flora and fauna) over successive generations. The continuous frequencies of genes over time may result in the evolution of the certain species or development of new species from existing ones. The display of the formation of the earth; from dusts to moss to grasses and trees to dinosaurs are shown within this garden and interested individual may see the interesting transition from one type of vegetation to another.
Within this garden are the huge water lilies which are featured in brochures and photos of this park. They are as big as trays and have been known to grow bigger than that. There are other gardens available nearby for photo opportunities as well as a showcase of how typical gardens in homes look like. Those in a quandary about landscapes and gardens can go and look at these examples. The gardens are actually planned spaces, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The gardens incorporate both natural and man-made materials. Other interesting sights include the various fruit trees that are available within the vicinity. During the fruit seasons, guests and visitors usually walk through that area as they can eat as much fruit as they want. For those who want to stay overnight the park offer limited lodging and food upon request. Tenom is located about four hours’ drive by road from Kota Kinabalu city. Buses and hired taxis are available at the bus terminal near KK’s Merdeka Field.