The Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year occurred the week of February 14th this year. It is a time when most of Asia takes a few days to celebrate and spend time with family.
GSIS also takes a week off during this time and many families at the school take this opportunity to travel, usually somewhere warm. This year the Wendling Family decided to travel to Kota Kinabalu which is located in Malaysia. Malaysia definately fits into the warm category - with days averaging 30+ degrees plus humidity; it can definitely be a place to relax, swim and tan.
The Wendling's stayed at the Pacific Suetera Resort. The hotel, as seen above, was a marvelous place along the South China Sea with a small beach, swimming pools and lots of activities. Truly a good place to relax and enjoy time with the family.
This area of Malaysia is on the tip of what is known as Boreno - which contains Tropical rain forests complete with monkeys, snakes, crocodiles and many other forms of wildlife. Pictured above is an oran gutan seen by the family on a nature reserve. This little guy was saved by workers on a Palm Plantation and is currently trying to be re-implemented into the wild. The nature reserve currently has 6 oran gutans which they are working with - the ultimate goal would have them living in the wild.
After a day of activity the Wendling's had the opportunity to play on the beach, as shown above, or swim in the many pools at the hotel.
On the second day of the trip, the family decided to venture around Mount Kota Kinabalu . This was some serious rain forest. Unlike the forests in Canada where we mainly have confierious and decidious trees - the rain forest was extremely thick with various trees, vines, weeds, etc. As well the Rain Forests are very humid so walking through them is very much like a sauna - with bugs and snakes and plants - oh my.
The trees often form a canopy and so sunlight does not consistently get through. However, it allows for different kinds of plant growth and a habitat for different animals. Pictured below is a Burma Bridge which was part of a canopy walk the family took part in. This bridge was 400 meters above the ground and gave the viewer a perception of what the rain forest looks like from above.
Don't let the calm smiling faces fool you. These girls are a little scared as they ventured across the bridge - as was their mom. We couldn't help but think of mon oncle Paul on the Burma bridge and how he might not have made the treak because of his fear of heights. That's right mon oncle Paul - le poulet. :)
No this is not Tarzan and Jane, but Rosanne and Kevin are able to show that the vines found in a Tropical Rain Forest can definitely support the weight of a person.
In all, Mount Kota Kinabalu was quite beautiful and is the highest mountain in all of South-East Asia. Due to the heat, the height of the mountain and the wind it was amazing to watch the clouds rise and fall in and around the mountain. At one point we could not see the mountain due to the thick clouds that rolled in.
That night the Wendling's enjoyed a BBQ dinner by the pool. It was a great evening and time to relax and enjoy some great food in a great atmosphere. The people of Malaysia and the staff at the hotel were extremely hospitable and made our trip enjoyable.
The following day the Wendling family decided to experience Malaysian culture. The headed outside of Kota Kinabalu where they meet a boat, pictured above. This boat proceeded to take them to a Mala Longhouse where they would experience more about the host culture.
While there they were able to paint in a traditional Mala style. As Mia is demonstrating, the process involves stretching out the painting canvas which contains a picture outlined in candle wax. Then the painter drops paint into the area they want covered by a colour. Because of the wax the "paint" does not leave the area you want to paint. For someone like Kevin, who can barely spell artist let alone pretend to be one, it was a great opportunity to show his limited talents.
After they had finished painting the family was able to try out the activity of blow darts. Justine is demonstrating below how to use a blow dart gun. First you take a dart, which is carved out of wood and finished with twine or thin rope, and insert it into the end of the blow stick. Then you blow into the stick. The dart is propelled into the air and can hit a target at least 5 meters or more away with some force. Everyone had a great time trying this activity.
Finally, the girls we are able to watch how traditional Mala bread and curry was made. The bread was very thin and similar to Indian Naan, while the curry, though spicy, was not very thick as it was based in coconut milk. Although the girls are somewhat picky in their eating habits, they thoroughly enjoyed both dishes and in fact Kyara was looking for the Mala bread at breakfast the following morning.
In the end, the Wendling's enjoyed their time in Malaysia. We learned about the country, the Rain Forests and about another part of world which is different from both Canada and Korea. Once again we learned that there are many connections between the peoples of many different countries.
These connections include: family, beauty of the world, understanding of global issues and the ability to express yourself through music, dance and beliefs. The world is a big place - however, the people in our world are very similar - if only we could take the time to discover this in more detail.
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