Sembulan River Park - Part I

The first phase of the beautification project along Sembulan River consists of Parcel 1, Parcel 2 and Parcel 3 stretching from Petronas HQ and Wisma Muis to UMNO building near the Cosatal Highway.

This pictures are taken from the completed Parcel 1 and part of Parcel 3. The park spans from the bridge near Accurate Weight to the compound of Oceania Hotel in Sadong Jaya and the Indonesian Council building across the river.


The river prior to the beautification project. It was badly polluted and rubbish were strewn everywhere. I 'photoshopped' it to remove the unsightly floats.



Aerial view of the park at its near completion in March 2012


Sembulan River Park was officially opened by Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Hj Aman in June 2012.





Track for walking and jogging



Riverside facing Kg Sembulan



Plenty of vegetation and trees to shade you from the scorching sun



Great Egret resting on the tree. Be careful, they are quite generous with their droppings






Beverly Hotel is just nearby, although not directly connected to this riverside walk.



Quite a number of them flying around, so, you can try panning your camera





Enjoy your walk.

Mount Kinabalu seen from places

Mount Kinabalu is one of the highest peaks in Southeast Asia. It is visible from almost everywhere in the West Coast of Sabah.

Depending on the location you are looking at it from, you will be able to see the south and north peaks, with the southern face being the most commonly captured on camera by visitors.


Mengkabong, Sulaman Road near Tuaran coast.



Taman Austral Kepayan, Kota Kinabalu



Kampung Tambatuon, Kota Belud



Bukit Kokol, Menggatal



Pekan Nabalu (border of Tuaran, Kota Belud and Ranau districs)



Donggongon town, Penampang



Kundasang, Ranau. You can drop by here to buy vegetables, plenty of them.



For the love of wide-angle-view, I'll share this one, taken infront of a fisherman village near Mengkabong Bridge, Tuaran.


Please share your Mt Kinabalu shots (from anywhere) by appending your links in the comment box.

Nature versus smoke

This view was taken at a not-so-environmentally-friendly human activity not too far into the interior. It was green all over, beautiful sky and good road connectivity although it is far from the city. But the smoky emission ruins whatever view that nature has to offer.


I wouldn't want to be living nearby here.



Thick and intense! Smoke or dust?

I suppose you'll now be able to guess what sort of activity is going on in there.

Flowers from backyard garden

While not really a 'garden' in a proper manner, the flowers that grow at our backyard proved to produce beautiful petals. With proper care and applying the right technique, I think everyone can do plant flowers just like those at nursery.

Here are some from the backyard:


























These were taken at my mom's and mom-in-law's backyards. Camera: Sony T-500. Type: Compact, point-and-shot. I think the T-500 did well in rendering the true colours of the flowers.

Happy gardening! And keep the backyard green and alive!

Photowalks in Shanghai city

Some interesting pictures during out recent Shanghai trip. Also, check out what I found not-so-glamorous but interesting street view of Shanghai here.

Welcome to Shanghai!

Beside The Bund

Busy street in Xu Jiahui

Across the street from Jianghuo. Nothing much but good enough for family photo-taking.

Beautiful sculpture seen from the Nanpu Bridge. Take the city-touring bus called Big Bus Tour for RMB100 and you get a 24-hour pass to all the buses.

Solar-powered photo kiosk at The Bund. Get your pictures taken with Oriental Pearl Tower on the background and print them here.

Oriental Pearl Tower viewed from The Bund

Close-up view from the foot of the tower

 Sight seeing with boat touring the Huangpu River

Just Glass. Interesting structure covered with glass panels

The up-coming Shanghai Tower (partly covered by cloud) is the world's 2nd tallest building after Burj Khalifa. It was still under construction at the time of visit.

 The Bund

'Floating' traditional house at Yu Garden

Hope to visit this place again in the near future. It's a modern city and you won't have too much trouble communicating even if you don't speak Chinese.

Harvest Festival and Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan Penampang 2013

It's nearly the end of June now but I guess the Harvest Festival celebration is not yet over. Some districts in Sabah are just preparing to hold such festivals at their level - village, district, etc.

Here is a revisit of the one for Penampang District, back in May 2013, mainly focused on the final day where Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan pageant was held.

 Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok 'harvested' the first bunch of paddy to officiate the event.

 The Sumazau do by the VIP

 Winners of the Penampang District Sugandoi 2013 (A singing competition in mother tongue)

Let the Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan 2013 competition begin..!  (16 contestants).

Smile for the cam! This year's panel of judges include Mandy Nandu (middle)

 Introducing themselves.

 

 Sanggulan hebat! This is the gong-hairstyle.

 Heavily laced with live flowers, this one.

 The Penampang costume looks simple and neat.

All smiles!

Dedie Phang is Penampang Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan 2013.

Congratulations to everyone!