An Escapade to Kota Kinabalu

On the 2^nd of April 2016, my parents and I were up with the lark to catch the morning flight to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Our aircraft, an old-fashioned Boeing B737-800, had no multimedia screen and no in-flight magazine. So we spent most of the time reading and taking power naps. Eventually, we touched down at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport. We then took a cab from the airport to our hotel, The Magellan Sutera Resort. We had a little bit of spare time before the check-in time at 2pm. So, we took another cab ride to the nearby Imago Mall, where we had a sumptuous lunch. We did a quick bout of grocery shopping at the supermarket before spending the rest of the day chilling out in the hotel room. The highlight of the day came in the evening, when we had dinner with my Year 1 teacher, Ms. Helen in a highly rated restaurant called Little Italy. The food was extremely delectable and we had a very satisfying feast.

The next morning after a hearty breakfast, we were picked up by a minivan from the Mari Mari Cultural Village. The journey took slightly more than half an hour because the village is located deep in the countryside away from the city. Upon arriving at the cultural village, we were greeted by our amiable tour guide. According to him, there are 32 tribal civilisations in Sabah but the cultural village only features the five major ethnic tribes. They are Kadazan (a.k.a. Dusun), Rungus, Lundayeh, Bajau, and the feared head-hunting Murut.  

Our tour kicked off with crossing a very rickety rope bridge that was swaying over a brook criss-crossed with boulders. Then, we headed to the Dusun longhouse. The guide showed us a hollow pit called tangkob and asked us to guess what its purpose is. Nearly everybody in the group said it was a well, but I gave the correct answer when I said it was a storage for their main crop - rice. When I entered their abode, I discovered another secret of the Dusun - making rice wine. The procedure is rather simple: firstly, they soak rice in water and leave it overnight. Then, they add yeast to the rice, pour it into a tiny container, and grind the mixture until it was no more than a paste. 


After that, they add flavouring to counteract any flat taste. If they wanted it bitter, they would add tobacco. Everyone, except me and a few other boys who were on the tour, sampled the rice wine. An American, named Calvin, loved the beverage so much he requested for a second serving. The guide told us that females would sleep on the top deck while males would sleep at the bottom. This was a precaution to prevent attacks from enemies who might try to abduct the girls, who were less defensive than the boys. After exiting the longhouse, we had the opportunity to taste some bamboo cooking delights by the Dusun. It was unexpectedly delicious and it gave me a totally new impression about Sabahan cuisine. 

Our next stop was the Rungus longhouse. Before entry, we got to sip some freshly-harvested honey by the Rungus. The most annoying thing was that black bees were hovering around and I was trying to swat them away. The honey, though, was utterly delectable. It seems like nature won over processed again, after all! Jokes aside, we entered into the longhouse. Unlike the Dusun longhouse, it was constructed on lower ground, and their staircase had only one tiny step. Once inside the longhouse, we were given a demonstration of fire-starting by two young Rungus men. It wasn’t rocket science at all - it only took the aid of 2 twigs and lots of friction. When the twigs were rigorously rubbed against each other, the friction converts into heat energy and eventually, there would be so much energy that the twigs would go ablaze. It is a Rungus custom that a woman could not be married until she knew how to start a fire, as fire was an important aspect of life for many tribes.

After the Rungus came the next tribe - the Lundayeh. When I read the brochure about this village, I only heard a sordid, grim history about the Lundayeh being excessive burak (rice wine) consumers causing them to suffer many diseases leading to their population declining dramatically from a flourishing 20,000 to a mere 3,000. Little did I know that, when I actually went to explore their habitat, it gave me a new impression of them. The Lundayeh’s name actually means “upriver people” in Malay. In fact, our guide said they actually resided near the riverbanks. One female Lundayeh and one male Lundayeh gave us a demonstration of rope and vest making. I can’t remember the instructions, but the American man tried on the garments and they fitted him like a glove. 

When we entered the longhouse of the upriver people, the first thing that greeted my eyes was a platter of food and a fire burning. Our guide revealed the most bewildering secret of the Lundayeh, they had a traditional ‘air-conditioner’. All of us were dumbfounded. Tribes weren’t supposed to have any modern features hanging about in their abodes! Our guide explained that if anybody in the house needed a breather from the tropical weather, they would open up the roof so that a cooling breeze could stream in. Lifting up the heavy roof was rather cumbersome, so it served as a good workout as well.  Like the Murut, the Lundayeh were also head-hunters but they weren’t as ferocious. After exiting the house, I was awestruck. Behind a wooden bench was a crocodile silhouette made out of grass! The Lundayeh people actually used the crocodile as a symbol of ferocity and it was a sign that they were invincible and defensive. It was necessary for them to trim their grass into the shape of a crocodile. If they didn’t, rivalling attackers would think they were puny and defeat them hollow. 

After the Lundayeh were the Bajau. Prior to entry, we were treated to a flaky dessert called kuih jala and some pandan juice served in tiny cones, which were prepared by two Bajau women. I didn’t try the pandan juice but I tasted the kuih jala and it was delicious! It looked like thin sugary strands tied together like a spider’s web to make a delectable Bajau delight. After enjoying ourselves, we entered into the longhouse. Upon entering, I saw a capacious room which was almost empty. Then, we moved into a lively and multi-coloured room where a majestic platform garlanded with assorted coloured carpets stood in a corner. The decorations were meant for weddings. Bajau’s wedding was very unique, the newlyweds were prohibited from kissing, hugging or touching. How strange!

The last tribe was the savage headhunters of Sabah - the Murut. On entry to the grounds of the Murut, one tribal man shrieked out loudly. Seeing him made me break out in goose bumps and cold sweat. What would they do to me when I entered? Thankfully, I only got touched lightly on my palm with a hair ruffle before being allowed entry onto the Murut’s soil. Phew! We got to try our hand at using a blowpipe with an arrow to shoot at a coconut shell before entry. Nearly all the men made it, but one lady picked up the blowpipe and surprisingly hit the coconut! What a sharpshooter! On entering the residence of the Murut, we found out one of their traditional pastimes. It was bouncing on a rattan trampoline that was constructed inside their house. At the top was a colourful figure that the men would try to hit by bouncing as high as possible to touch it. It beats me how they could do it without suffering muscular pains, but these men were fit as a fiddle. 

Before lunch, we were treated to a cultural show. Drums, gongs and chimes tinkled, banged and bonged at the start. Then, a troupe of Lundayeh women began to do a slightly sedate dance before a group of Murut men, armed with long, sharp spears, began to recreate a traditional dance with bold movements. Finally, two pairs of Lundayeh women laid sticks of bamboo on the stage. The Murut chief began dancing between each bamboo at an awesome speed. After the performance, audience were invited to join the bamboo dance, but at a much slower speed. Throughout the show, we were served lime juice from a tiny stall inside the amphitheatre. I have learnt so much about the culture and lifestyle of how these indigenous people of Sabah.

The following day, we headed off to Jesselton Point. My parents and I were going to embark on the 10.30 boat ride to Gaya Island. Since we had arrived well before departure time, we headed to an air-conditioned room that is for those sailing to Gayana Eco Resort. We were ushered down a metal ramp to our boat, Gayana 2. The boat simply chugged down at medium speed down the sea. A veritable experience for me since it was my first time on a boat on sea. Eventually, we docked at Gaya Island. We alighted from the boat and headed towards the Marine Ecology Research Centre (MERC). On the way, I stopped at intervals to take pictures of the crystal clear water with little fishes. 

 At one point I even saw monkeys frolicking and leaping nimbly on the netting! We passed by some chalets and a small swimming pool before arriving at MERC. A young lady named Vanessa greeted us and ushered us to the auditorium to watch two videos on marine conservation.

Then, we went to another hall where Vanessa told us about the process of coral bleaching and many other things about the ocean. Seven of the world’s eight species of Giant Clams are bred in MERC.

They are the tiny Boring Clam, the Smooth Giant Clam, the China or Porcelain Clam, the Elongated Clam, the Horse Hoof Clam or Strawberry Clam and the Scaly or Fluted Clam. According to Vanessa, the giant clams were under constant threat because of their limited defence skills. I learnt that the Boring Clam wasn’t called ‘boring’ because it was uninteresting and as dull as ditchwater, but because it could bore, which meant to drill holes.

After that was the Coral Tank. Vanessa told us that coral could be divided into two groups - hard corals and soft corals. The hard corals have shells made out of tough calcium carbonate and they have polyp tentacles in multiples of 6 while soft coral shells made out of a flexible protein called gorgonin and have polyp tentacles in the multiples of eight, hence giving them the name ‘octocorals’. Next we were briefed on the bleaching of corals. The corals have a symbiotic relationship with a type of algae called zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae colours the coral and makes them attractive. When the global warming effect causes the zooxanthellae to seep out, the coral loses its colour and turns white. Any reef or ocean with coral is susceptible to such a phenomenon - even the Great Barrier Reef is succumbing to this effect.

The highlight of the visit was the Touch Tank, where I was allowed to touch and feel starfishes, sea cucumber, snails and crabs. I started off with touching a horseshoe crab. It was squirming around a bit, so I put it down quickly. Next, I moved on to the sea cucumbers. Their soft and slimy texture felt unappealing to me at first, but as I felt more of them, I slowly got used to it. Finally, I managed to feel a Chocolate Chip Starfish. It was bright red with brown bumps dotted all over it, giving it the name “chocolate chip”. The last attraction was the baby crabs. One was the miniscule Tridacna maxima at 16 months, and the slightly bigger Tridacna gerada at 24 months.

On the third morning, we headed to the airport and left Kota Kinabalu with a heavy heart. To some extent, I was glad to fly home because of the worsening haze in Kota Kinabalu. Some schools were closed for two days.  

Written by:
Koh Chee Yuan

Madagascar Penguins: The Disastrous Christmas Meal

19/12/2015

It was morning in Kuala Lumpur and the Madagascar Penguins had arranged a Christmas buffet at the Shangri-La Hotel. They had boarded the 3.50am plane on Air Penguin, which was one of King Julien’s modified Lockheed Electras. It was airborne for about sixteen hours and had arrived at about 6am (KL time). As the plane was descending, the feeling of aching in their ears due the turbulence started to grow astute.

“Errrgh, I don’t like the jiggly wiggly feeling in my ears. Private, open aft stow hatch.” Skipper commanded. “Oh, and make sure it’s got the number D42251960322 on it. It has all our snacks and condiments,” he added. So, Private took a commando leap onto the handle. His flipper fumbled uneasily before it actually swung open. Rico had propped up a ladder under the door so that it wouldn’t swing in and squash Private to pulp.

“Carson’s Super Jelly Creamies, Zippitoon Citrus Squeeze Pulp Sweets, ah ha! Alfie’s Super Ear Care Turbulence Ache Balls: Pop One Kernel into Your Mouth and Gargle with Cold Water for 50 seconds,” Private mumbled, scanning the snack pack. He got four out, tossed them to his mates, and poured a large glass beaker of water down their gaping beats. The sounds of gargling ran through the cockpit. The colour of scarlet macaws, peacocks, pheasants and cockatoos, it emitted a putrid scent that wafted through the aircraft atmosphere. Eventually, the plane found its wheels at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Skipper swiftly maneuvered in the left direction before turning onto the correct runway and landing with a jerk at the main terminal. After exiting, they went to the message board.

“The Concorde with Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman from Heathrow is arriving at 8.30 am. Then, the Airbus A380 carrying Marlene, Phil, Mason, King Julien, Maurice and Mort is going to be delayed for two hours due to a minor airplane malfunction. It’s got to perform an emergency stop at Abu Dhabi International Airport, go to Dubai to get more fuel and continue the journey in another Airbus A380 to Kuala Lumpur. It’s possibly only arriving at 9.30am or so, but it wouldn’t arrive late as the plane departed at 12am and they don’t have to dump much fuel.” Skipper remarked.

“Have you booked any hotel for us to stay for two nights?” asked Kowalski. “Yeah, we need accommodation.” Private said. “I’ve booked a bed-and-breakfast at Putrajaya. It’s economical, and extremely well-equipped. It’s a kampong-style house on stilts that located on a farm. According to HHR 9.0.2, the new software for HHR, the renowned hotel, hostel and resort booking application, the architect has combined traditional Malay culture with high-tech objects to create a wonderful feeling resort. I built a special car, but it’s on the Airbus A340-300E Malaysia Transport Liner airplane. It’s transiting at Dubai to refuel,” Skipper comforted.

A few hours later, the car had arrived and everybody was at the terminal. Skipper honked the horns. Slowly, very slowly, the vehicle drove out of the terminal. It was actually a Mercedes S350 designed to look very trendy and luxurious, and was “too classic to be cliché”. It scored a lot of attention as it headed for the bed-and-breakfast.

“You know, Alex, I’m rather anxious to know where our accommodation is.” Gloria stated. “Perhaps it could be a hotel themed on all types of meat in the world, with succulent gravy-cooked steak every night for dinner,” Alex thought. “Crack-a-lackin’ly impossible. It must be a city-central convenience area, just one hundred and fifty yards away from any famous landmark and with department stores, train stations and office buildings here, there and everywhere,” Marty interrupted. “Or maybe it could be a medical-themed hotel, with treatments for my neck. I’d better get a vaccination- I think I have chicken pox. Or maybe measles. Or maybe rashes. Or maybe eczema. Or maybe allergies,” Melman said.

“You’ve had five vaccinations this year. I wish it could be a posh island paradise hotel where I can sip a glass of chilled something, frolic in the something sea, sunbathe on the something sand, and have somebody call me up to the something when some meal is ready,” Gloria remarked. “If that’s the case, I’ll ask Skipper for posh resorts around Kuala Lumpur,” Alex said. So, Alex went to the front and called on Skipper. “Excuse me, can you activate your map to search for posh resorts around Kuala Lumpur?” he asked. “It’s not economical. Besides, we have made reservations for everybody with 55% discount. Our treats,” Skipper replied.

As Alex trudged back to his seat, Marty asked for results. “What did Skipper say?” he asked. “Bad news, the penguins have already made reservations,” Alex, who was sulking, admitted. “Chin up, Alex. What if they had booked us somewhere good?” Gloria questioned, surprisingly still cheerful. Just then, the multimedia system sent a notification that they were approaching their destination. “We’re going to find out now,” Alex said.

As the animals entered their room, Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria weren’t so high-spirited anymore. “Maybe you were…right,” Marty faltered. “This doesn’t live up to any of our expectations,” Gloria commented. Just then, the penguins had set up a tripod and an elaborate video camera. “Shall I press the recording button and let the shutter release?” Kowalski asked. “Go ahead! Let the lens jump into the world of Skipper Skips,” Skipper answered. So, Kowalski clicked the shutter button.

“Hello, and welcome to Skipper’s Hotel Feud! Today, we are in a bed-and-breakfast themed on the traditional Malay kampung. Let us tour the hotel room. On the right corner we find a four-poster bed with a white shawl draped over the top. Very chic! We have two more futons: one close to the four-poster bed and one adjacent to the other futon. Simple and easy communication guaranteed. Bookshelves line the walls, choking with excessive amounts of traditional Malay novels. Here I am, holding “Sang Kancil dan Buaya”. Ha ha! Very good, designers. We have the lavatory and tap hidden behind this shawl. It doesn’t look very sanitary and hygienic, but we’ll make efforts to clean up. Lastly, down these steps we have the shower cubicles, each with a water heater and dustbin. But cubicle 492 isn’t a shower room, it’s a workroom! It’s rather useful but probably the worst part here as you have to install a computer and desk on your own. The workroom in this hotel room isn’t very frequently used, assuming from the dust and the omnipresent mosquitoes. Now, Skipper’s Hotel Feud shall take a break,” Skipper said. And so, Kowalski clicked the STOP button and the shutter stopped recording. He went to detach the camera from the tripod, fold it up, pack it in, and take a leisurely nap in one of the futons. Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria slept on the ground with everybody else except for King Julien, Maurice and Mort, who occupied all the space on the four-poster bed. 

Right now, we shall fast-forward to the day the vacationers went to the Shangri-La hotel to have their leisurely lunch, deemed as “High Tea” which Skipper made the booking. King Julien, Maurice and Mort had left earlier than everybody else, as they had their own vehicle which they called the “Lemurliner I”. It was like the car in the show “Minions” that was driven by the spy Gru, but it didn’t have rocket blasters sticking like satellite aerials from the top, so it wasn’t a speed vehicle. But it was going at about 34 km an hour, and King Julien was enjoying it thoroughly.

“Maurice, I am having a whale of a time! Full speed ahead!” he commanded, bouncing on the round bench he was sitting on. The bench was propped up against a bouquet of numerous flowers with streamers. “I’m trying, Your Majesty, but there has been bad rain this morning and I can’t see what’s on the mirror,” Maurice complained. “Try using the weather ultra-clear goggle-lenses. I bet on you by two thousand ringgit, it won’t disappoint,” King Julien suggested. So, Maurice unmeasured his hand from the steering wheel, and went to the glove compartment to get the goggles. Unfortunately, he didn’t take control of the steering wheel, so Mort had hopped on and did some really silly things. He rammed the monstrosity into two thousand, six hundred and twenty-four cars and the number was gaining by the minute. “Maurice, don’t you love going slap-bam into every single vehicle going in your way?” asked King Julien. “As a rule, no, and this event is particularly distressing with Mort hanging onto the steering wheel. I’m going to fetch a crowbar,” Maurice sighed, opening up the ceiling toolbox that was stowed away in the roof. Mort was contented to be left alone to ram into cars to his heart’s content.

A few minutes later, Maurice came back, swinging the crowbar to and fro. The crowbar that Maurice and King Julien made was actually called a “mortbar”, and was for grabbing Mort off the steering wheel. Maurice hooked the mini cherry plucker (or the cherry-berry plucker-mc’sucker, as King Julien loved to call it) onto Mort’s bushy tail. Then he tugged and accidentally tore the skin shaft off Mort’s tail. Thankfully, King Julien had applied two antiseptics (or antimortspectaclemaptics, as he loved to call it) onto Mort’s tail shaft. One was named Vinyl Antiseptic. It reads ‘To prevent shaft sickness, bushy bronchitis and tailpain on Mouse Lemur tails. Hold 1-3 centimetres away from tail and apply with ring finger. King Julien didn’t have the foggiest idea what ring finger was. But every time he applied the antiseptic, it did Mort a power of good. The next antiseptic was simply called Aerosol Mouse Lemur. It allowed the tail shaft to grow back after being pulled off a mouse lemur’s tail. The tail shaft started to grow back instantly, and in half an hour the procedure was complete.

Back at the bed-and-breakfast, everybody had left in the Mercedes to Kuala Lumpur. They were so cheerful that little did they know they were halfway there to Shangri-La Hotel. “I hope we get served raw sirloins served with a few bits of mutton shavings and venison,” Alex said. “I hope what we get served is hay cooked in the New Yorker style. Crack-a-lackin’ly delectable!” Marty added. “I hope all we get served is one hundred tablets to help me shake off the stupid neck pox,” Melman said. Marty and Alex shrugged. “All your ideas are too cliché. I’ll take the trendy route with moist grass served with lashings of watercress,” Gloria remarked, in a trendy way. “We’re going to find out,” Alex said.

At 11.30am, the Lemurliner had arrived at Shangri-La Hotel. There was first a short pause. Then a row of Italian leather seats, each with a steering wheel and controls provided on a table upfront with a footrest for King Julien, rolled out from a hatch that was just one door away from the trunk. It went into the lift and was ferried up to Level 1. When it arrived, King Julien, Maurice and Mort took some time to marvel the Christmas decoration at the hotel lobby. King Julien found a bunch of bouquets and just lay back to watch Maurice leap from the goliath fountain and Mort hop from level to level and revel around the Christmas tree. Just then, King Julien cocked an ear to the hotel atmosphere. The sense that the penguins and everybody else were approaching protruded his senses. He notified his mates. Then they got into their chairs and sped away to the Farmers Market. “Full speed ahead, Maurice!” ordered King Julien. “I’m trying, Your Majesty, but 59 miles an hour is about as fast as we can go!” complained Maurice. “We need more power. Time to get Mort to fire up the “nucuspeedolar” reactor,” King Julien ordered. “Is it something like a nuclear reactor that makes your car go on a speed faster than a lightning bolt?” Maurice asked. “Not as fast as a lightning bolt, but it does make your car go speedy. Bear with me, it takes about forty seconds to fire it up and get the punch and muscle in the fuselage,” King Julien answered. “What can I do to make the nucuspeedolar reactor ignite the spark at a quicker pace?” Maurice questioned. “Nothing you can do to make the reactor go faster, but I suppose you could speed it up. Also, try to calibrate the movement of the Livestock Net,” King Julien replied.

Meanwhile, the penguins and everybody else had arrived. “You know what, Kowalski, I think we should detour and break in through the roof,” Skipper suggested. “Funnily enough, Skipper, I’d knew you’d suggest that. So I sketched a blueprint to help us. I call it: “The Consequences and Methods Of Various Penguiner Commando Philosophies Of Breaking Through Concrete Surfaces And Roofs,” Kowalski announced. “Lovely title. Scroll them out,” Skipper ordered. “Alright. Rule one: chimney trouble. In tropical nations, chimneys are as rare as hen’s teeth. So, we construct our own chimney. Rule Two: the gap. Gaps are critical when breaking in through a roof. Rule Three: leanness and meanness. You don’t necessarily need to be mean when breaking through a chimney, but leanness is critical. So, in that case, I shall break in first. All animals that aren’t lean, please take the elevator. And haul us up if we get stuck, though I think consequences of getting stuck are rare as we’re building a wide-hole chimney,” Kowalski instructed. “Do you have bricks?” Skipper asked. “I have a thousand of them. I stole them from Julien’s Lemurliner I,” Kowalski answered. “Alright, we shall take the elevator in pairs. Alex and Marty, Gloria and Melman. Melman, make sure you crouch down when entering to prevent smashing the wires. And Gloria, if you get stuck, it is Melman’s responsibility to hold the lift door open and get you into the lift,” Skipper commanded. “Agreed, captain!” saluted Gloria and Melman.

Ten minutes later, there was an unknown sound of screaming in the chimney. Then, Kowalski, who was the slimmest of penguins, dropped out of the chimney like a twig dropping down a dead tree. Next came Rico. Then Skipper, Private, Phil, Mason, Marlene, Mort, King Julien. And the last animal down the chute was King Julien’s trustworthy aye-aye Maurice. The animals found themselves tangled about awkwardly. They slowly rose like a flower blossoming in early spring to their feet. When all the elevators carrying Alex, Melman, Marty and Gloria arrived, they got to the restaurant, except King Julien, who was waiting for the porter to send his vehicle in. Finally, the transporter yanked King Julien inside. Maurice drove him and Mort to the restaurant. At the reception area, King Julien beckoned to the lady in a feminine manner. “Bonjour! I shall pledge my friendship to introduce that I am, King Julien VII of Madagascar. My sole ruling area is Lemur Beach, off the coast of Antanarivo. Shall I just come in and enjoy a hearty lunch?” asked King Julien. “Uh, what is your table number?” asked the lady, looking sternly. “Thirty-fourteen, sixteen, and three-eleven,” King Julien answered. “Uh, OK, enjoy your lunch,” the lady answered. So, King Julien went for a cruise-around the restaurant area. Just then, the penguins came to his chair.

“King Julien, try to improve your modesty.” Skipper told him. “Modesty? Well, I am the king, and for generations and generations, no king in any dynasty, era or Madagascar empire has ever been modest. I am one of the kings of the Lolo dynasty, who are one of the most arrogant dynasties. So, I inhibit modesty, and have rights to tell people anything about my personal life,” King Julien protested. “If you truly inhibit modesty, I shall press this button,” Skipper warned.

“Wait, no! That’s the nucuspeedolar reactor button!” King Julien shrieked, in horror. But it was too late. The elite commando force leader had hit flipper on the button. The vehicle’s back opened up, and a large airplane engine developed, hanging on a curved wire. Then, it opened up, and about five or six smaller ones came up. Then, a large Roman Candle appeared, with a grenade on the wick. A countdown was displayed before the fuse exploded. When it did, the two-way ignition zither malfunctioned temporarily, and the vehicle was zooming off at top speed. The flames were blazing yellow, and Skipper referred this new colour as “Roast Human”.

“Do the effects wear off?” hollered Kowalski. “Yes they dooooooo!” shrieked King Julien. His vehicle flew off into the koi fish pond as if the exhaust had been catapulted by a red-hot poker clogged in its system. It smashed the doors and splashed into the koi pond. King Julien was starting to rant curses at the flourishing Skipper. “Now that we’ve finished Operation: Julienboot, who wants to have some seafood?” asked Skipper. All the penguins raised up their flippers. “Help yourself!” cheered Skipper. So, the penguins grabbed plates and started loading them up with oysters, crayfish, octopus and sushi.

Meanwhile, in King Julien’s chair vehicle, the fuselage was half full with water and King Julien was up to his neck in water. He was bobbing up and down like a cork helplessly. “Maurice! Get me some packed lunch!” he ranted, at the top of his lungs. “I’m sorry, the lunch barrels are right underneath the pond. I detest going underwater, and I am seriously not going to retrieve it for you,” Maurice answered, clinging on like dead grief to a chair headrest. “Oh, fine! Since the fuselage is half full, I shall dive down and unclog it. Get me the manual!” King Julien ordered. “The manual is underwater,” Maurice hollered. “Then I shall just dive down, get the manual, unclog the fuselage and have lunch. Maurice, you talk Mort through the whole process,” King Julien remarked. “Agreed, Your Majesty.” Maurice saluted.

In the main restaurant building, Alex had got a quarter of a roast turkey with almond stuffing. Gloria took a large plate of basil vinaigrette salad, Melman had tried some Indian curry masala and Marty had consumed some satay. “I’m on a strict diet,” Gloria stated, crunching on some red cabbage in her basil vinaigrette salad. “I’ve decided to break out and eat the crack-a-lackin extremes!” exclaimed Marty. “Wonder how King Julien’s doing outside. Also wonder what the penguins are doing,” Alex said.

Meanwhile, the penguins were using Skipper’s crazy Seafooder to separate oyster meat from the shell using its multi-ladle, crack crayfish shell using its robust hammer, chop octopus using its quick-cut knife and unravel seaweed from sushi using its “unraveller”. “Meals couldn’t be much better, huh?” Skipper asked. “Is this gizmo a perpetual machine?” asked Kowalski. “Most likely, I’ll say it runs for about 23 and a half hours before it needs to be charged, so no, it is not a perpetual motion machine,” Skipper answered.

At the koi pond, King Julien had dived down to unclog the fuselage. When he had found it, he opened the main shell. A gush of water spewed out from the microscopic hole. “I found the main water source!” he cheered. “Where was it? The water’s draining!” Maurice exclaimed. “In the main shell. It opened when we crashed in the pond and sucked in this mini tempest of water,” King Julien answered. And he was right. The chairs, within only fifteen to twenty seconds, had drained two feet down. The koi pond was surprisingly deep because of the constant monsoons. Just then, a downpour came into full swing. “Uh oh. Check if the main shell has opened,” Maurice ordered. “I’m sure I closed and latched the main shell opening, but both the propellers are short circuit and the main power chair line is destroyed. I’ll have to reconnect to a new power source and repair the propellers,” King Julien said. Then, he stared at the downpour droplets. “Which will take a while,” he added, before diving back in again.

Back inside, the penguins and Marlene had finished eating. They went to tidy up before heading out to the garden where the koi pond was located. There, just right in the middle, was the stranded bundle of chairs. “Where is King Julien?” asked Marlene. “He’s committing suicide!” blurted Mort. “Shut up, Mort, he is not committing suicide. He dived down to repair the propellers and change the main power source,” Maurice snapped. But just as he had said it, there was a catastrophe. An explosion occurred in the power source. The multimedia screen went into a blackout, and wires and all sorts of debris. Then, the vehicle started to sink. King Julien soon went onto safe ground again. He was, fortunately, not badly injured but his fur was scarred and had turned rough. As rough as sandpaper, in fact. The chair was sinking deeply. King Julien decided to just stand on the seat and let the water turn his feathers as soft as silk. “OK, now he really is committing suicide,” Mort remarked. “And now I concur with you, Mort,” Maurice stated. “I’m using traditional water therapy to un-scar my fur. It is going to change to a lovely velvet hue and turn as soft as a Shih-Tzu’s fur if I just soak myself for longer!” King Julien stated.

Meanwhile, the penguins were inside the building. “Oh no, I think we had better set up a rescue mission,” said Skipper. “OK. I suggest let’s commit our lives to rescuing the King of Madagascar Lemurs!” Alex suggested. “I’ve got rope, armbands, a first aid kit, a mobile phone, food and water, and a handyman’s kit. Perfecto!” Kowalski remarked. “OK, let’s set off!” Skipper commanded.

At the garden, Skipper called Kowalski for rope. He unravelled it and, with armbands on (being a semi-pro swimmer, he didn’t need armbands but Kowalski still insisted him to wear them), he attached it to the tow hole. Then, he ordered everybody else to tug on the rope. With everybody tugging each other, it seemed like the scene in The Old Man and The Turnip where everybody was pulling and shoving to yank the giant turnip out of its roots. Skipper didn’t come up to land to guide them, he stayed underwater. But the water was highly transparent, so Skipper’s reflection illuminated through the crystal clear liquid. Finally, the vehicle was yanked inside with King Julien as well. When it was on dry land, Skipper asked Maurice some questions. “Is the vehicle still OK?” he questioned. “I’m afraid not, it’s become totally useless since the power line exploded. You’ll have to get some sort of vehicle, jump-start the chairs and pull us back,” Maurice sighed.

“Hakuna matata, Maurice, because my rescue kit can turn into a fully-functional tow truck!” Kowalski exclaimed. “No way!” Maurice cried, with excitement. A few minutes later, Kowalski had turned the kit into a vehicle. He pulled all the kit up, just in case he needed it later. Cautiously, very cautiously, he cruised the chairs out of the garden and into the car park where the Lemurliner I waited. He closed up the kit compartment and reversed the vehicle into the Lemurliner I. Then, he transformed the kit back into its normal size, and got into the Mercedes. The Lemurliner I cruised slowly away.

The next morning, on the 7.30 am Lockheed Electra back to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, the penguins were talking about the hectic experience the day before. “Whew, I’m so stressed out,” Private remarked. “Nevertheless, I think this is still a memorable experience,” Skipper stated, reclining back in his comfy seat.

The end.   

Written by Koh Chee Yuan

The Old Folks

(A poem written in December 2015)

The old folks struggled through the desert thirstily,
Gasping for the emerald blue water of an oasis dreamily,
They saw an emerald blue, scampering to the location ecstatically,
And siphoned off every single bit of water pleasurably.

The old folks struggled through the Amazon unhappily,
They were swatting every insect desperately,
Then one shouted, “I’ve got it” excitedly,
Hitting all of them powerfully to store in one big bowl.

The old folks struggled through the island, being stranded sadly,
They were muttering about hunger and thirst glumly,
Then one caught a net-full of fish successfully,
And all three enjoyed their supper joyfully.

Written by:
Koh Chee Yuan

A Fabulous Trip to Perth

On the 29th of August 2014, I was up with the lark to get ready to go to KLIA. My flight to Perth departed at 9.30am and arrived on time in Perth at 3.25pm. At the Perth International Airport, we had to queue to go through the immigration. We collected our baggage and proceeded to the taxi stand. It started to drizzle when we left the airport. The taxi took us to Duxton Hotel to meet my mummy. Then the holiday began.

We had our simple dinner in the hotel room because it was raining cats and dogs. After dinner, I watched television. There were numerous channels on the television that I could not decide what to watch.

Next day, we checked out from Duxton Hotel and moved to Fraser Suites which is an apartment hotel. It was too early for us to check in, so we left our baggage and went for sightseeing. We boarded a Central Area Transit (CAT) to Harbour Town where factor outlets are located. We wanted to walk to the Science Centre but the lady at the information centre told us that it was not within walking distance. Then we took the CAT bus to the Western Australian Museum. First we went to learn about animals living in mangroves, rivers and oceans. I saw models of birds and other mangrove creatures including the ruddy turnstone, which is a bird. It was temporarily removed.  When I first saw its name I thought it is a tiny animal that looks like a little speck of dust.

Western Australian Museum at Perth

Then we proceeded to the mammal section where we saw some preserved Australian animals, including the koala, wallaby, tree kangaroo, golden pygmy marmoset, echidna and armadillo. After that, we skipped ahead to the bird section. We saw barn owls, fairy penguins and gentoo penguins. The next section we visited was on butterflies from over the world. No matter what size they were, big or small they were all displayed in cupboards. Last but not least, we then proceeded to the discovery centre. We saw a few insects including cockroaches, crickets, dragonflies, greenflies, spiders and tarantulas. An amazing fact that I learnt was that green frogs could live up to 25 to 30 years.

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Swans at Queen Garden near to hotel

The following day was a Sunday. When we arrived the bus stand, we realised that the CAT bus only starts at 9.45a. Since we have some time we went to the nearby Queen Garden. It is a beautiful garden with ponds and different types of flowers and trees. I was lost for words when I saw two black swans with their cygnets. This was the first time I have seen cygnets. Their appearance were different from their parents because they have grey soft down (fur).

After a short walk at the garden, we took a CAT bus to the Perth Underground. We wanted to take the blue CAT bus but it was temporarily out of service due to the 2014 City to surf marathon. We got trapped in a array of people who participated in the marathon. We found our way to the jetty where we boarded the Trans Perth ferry to get to Mends St Jetty. From the jetty we walked five minutes following a yellow sign saying Perth zoo on it. On the way, I met a friendly boy named Charlie who was with his sister, Emma and his grandparents.

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Sit on the Giant Tortoise

First, we saw the little blue penguin. It was very reluctant to take photos with us according to the message in Phillip Island. Whenever we took the camera out, it turned its body away. Then we went to see echidnas. Echidnas are monostremes, which mean they are mammals, which lay eggs. They have quills that are very sharp. Whenever it sees a predator, it will roll into a big, spiky ball that resembles a stinky durian. After that we went to see tired-looking kangaroos dozing in the sun with their eyes closed. Coming up was the vicious carnivore – the Tasmanian devil. Sadly there was only one in the zoo. Later we went to see an animal that is very strangely named – the quokka. It is a marsupial, herbivorous and it is a nocturnal animal. You will never ever see the quokka in any other parts of Australia except in western Australia where Perth is located. We also saw other Australian animals such as cockatoos, wombats, numbats and wallabies.

Next we went to see animals from the Asian Rainforest. The first was the sunbear that could stand on its hind legs like a human. Next sightseeing animal was Raja, Perth Zoo's komodo dragon. It seemed that Perth Zoo was taking good care of this carnivorous creature, as there are two tanks for Raja. Afterwards we saw the red panda. Like the quokka, the red panda's status is vulnerable. Red panda can only be found in China. The next animal is the white-cheeked gibbon which looks very unique.

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Spectacular view of Perth from Kings Park

The next section was the African Savannah where we saw African Painted Dogs, baboons, rhinoceroses, lions, giraffes, cheetahs, hyenas, meerkats, and Galapagos tortoise. There was also a small cave containing nocturnal animals. It was very dark inside but we managed to see the ghost bats and quokka. I had a whale of a time at the Perth Zoo.

On the third day, I went to the Queens Garden again to check on the black swans and their cygnets. There was no sign of them when we first came but after a few minutes they waddled to the river. After that we took three CATs and finally stopped at Havelock Street, where Kings Park was located. This park was breathtaking with so many tropical plants all around. The park overlooks the Swan River with magnificent view. We were lucky that the weather was sunny with cooling breezes. The park even has a gorgeous water garden with a lovely water fountain. People loved to sit there and have picnics and mallards adored going into the water and dabble for pondweeds. However, those cheeky mallards loved to snatch sandwiches or any other basket- stored food people brought for their picnics.

The park even had a botanical garden with plants like granite bottlebrush and snakebushes. We did one daring act - walking above a high bridge. Imagine bungee jumping from the top – injury is certain unless you have the right equipment. After two and a half hours of walk, we went for lunch at Hay Street. After lunch I had a whale of a time chasing seagulls at a street with no traffic.

On the last day, I went for a last visit to the Queens Garden to say goodbye to the black swan family. I also had my last chance of chasing seagulls at Hay Street before going to the airport. We had a very relaxing, enjoyable and memorable holiday in Perth. I vow to visit Perth again in future.

Written by:
Koh Chee Yuan

My Wonderful Trip to Johor Babru

19~22 July 2014

We woke up at six in the morning and got ready for our journey to Johor Bahru. At the hotel, we checked in and went down a narrow corridor to look for our room. After dinner, we took a shower, watched television and had a snooze waiting for the next day.

On the second day we went to the Little Big Club where I saw my favourite cartoon characters such as Pingu, Barney, Bob the Builder and Thomas The Train. First, my mother coaxed me to go for bumpy car ride. I only drove for a few hundred metres then stopped the car. I decided to try other rides instead. We went to the crane drop ride. Enthusiastically, I got an empty seat. The ride went up and down that caused my heart to make a thumping noise. After our wobbly legs got down, I went to try Harold the Helicopter ride. Instead of going up, the helicopter spun round and round and jerked to a stop at certain times. After that, I tried the Bertie the Bus ride. Similar to the crane drop ride, we were also going up and down. Then the Thomas the train ride took us through dark tunnels and crossed crooked tracks. After all these rides, we went to the playground which is above the train ride. I clambered through bridges, crawled through tunnels and climbed down hatches. I had a whale of a time climbing and crawling at the playground. Next, we went downstairs for the Meet and Greet event. The first character I wanted to meet was Pingu. I greeted the huge penguin in Pingu costume with a quick “hello” and stood beside him for my mummy to snap a picture. After saying “goodbye” to Pingu, I went to greet Bob the Builder. I shook hand with him and then stood in front of him for a photo to be taken. After that, I visited Barney’s house where my mummy took another photo of me.

The following day, we went to Legoland which is not too far from the Traders Hotel where we stayed. We were there early and there were not many people queuing at the ticket place. My dad snapped a photo of me in front of the entrance. The first ride we went to was the driving school. There were so many children waiting for their turns to drive a car. When I was waiting for my turn, I had butterflies in my stomach. I felt much better after watching a video on how to drive the Legoland car. However, I became nervous again when I got into the car. I should not have worried so much because I did not bump into anything at all. After my driving experience, we took a ride on the Legoland Express. When the train travelled round the Miniland, I could see many famous buildings from different countries constructed in miniatures with Lego bricks. After the train ride, we went to the Miniland to have closer look of those spectacular miniatures buildings.

Next, we went to watch a 4-D movie called Racers. It was my first experience watching a 4-D movie and I did not know what to expect. My dad asked me to put on the goggle given to us at the entrance. I was really fascinated because the image moved towards us and I could feel water dripping on me. Now I know why it is called a 4-D movie. After the movie, we went to the street mall for a quick lunch. We went to the imagination area after our lunch. My favourite attraction was the musical fountain with many different musical instruments such as trumpet and violin. Oh, I forgot to say that most of the things we see in Legoland are built with Lego bricks. It was truly amazing. I wish I could do that.Then came my first experience with a roller-coaster ride at the Dragon. At first, I was not nervous at all. But when we got into the seat and the ride started, I soon found out how fast the roller-coaster travels. Besides the speed, the roller-coaster tilted at certain times that made the ride even more exhilarating. I found it quite hard to get the image out of my mind, even when we tried other rides.

Under the scorching sun, we had to drink a lot of water in order to prevent dehydration. When the weather became too hot to stay outdoor we went inside the Lego Academy. My dad and I built some tall structures using Lego bricks to test whether they can withstand vibrations. It is called the Build and Test. My first attempt failed because my huge building collapsed. I worked hard to get the building up again. Unfortunately, a few little boys destroyed it. That made me furious that I nearly blew my top off. I finally cooled down when the boys’ mother helped me to construct another tall building.

Then, we took a ride up in the Observation Tower. When we were high up in the tower, the view was breathtaking. We had a bird’s eye view of the whole theme pack. The rides looked small and the people looked like tiny ants. Next, we went the Technic Twister and Aquazone Wave Racers. I liked the twister rider but it took us a lot of strength to spin the wheel. The Wave Racers ride got us drenched because there was water splashing at us. My mummy dried my shirt using the hand dryer in the washroom. Then, we went to the Lost Kingdom Adventure that looks like an Egyptian building. When the ride took us inside the building, we had to use guns to hit red eyes, bats and other creatures. It was quite fun. My favourite rides were the Royal Joust and Beetle Bounce. The Royal Joust is a ride on a wooden horse that travelled through some woods. The Beetle Bounce is a ride where we went up and down. I also tried the helicopter ride that is quite similar to the one at the Little Big Club. We were fortunate that we did not have to queue long for most of the rides. Before we called it a day, we went for a boat ride. We said “goodbye” to the theme park at 5pm. We were so tired and went back to the hotel for a nice shower before our dinner. I had a wonderful day at the Legoland. I hope to have an opportunity to go back again.

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Written by:
Koh Chee Yuan