Saturday, August 9, 2008

St. Anne Church, Bukit Mertajam


On 26th July 2008, troggers attended a religious event in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, St Anne Feast.

What is St. Anne feast?

Feast. St. Anne  feast is an annual event, which will be held at the end of July. Catholics and also non believers from all over Malaysia  and even Thailand would come here every year for the feast.  For those who  doesn't know who is St. Anne. She  is the mother of St Mary. The picture below shows Holy Grandmother St. Anne and her daughter St. Mary.  

Above: the old St. Anne Church 

"The church started in 1846. The main church was opened in 1888. It is now called the St. Anne's Shrine. It is the main church for the Feast Of St. Anne every year. In 1958, the parish opened another church. These church was called 'new church' for 48 years. It is now a centre. On 2002, the new church was opened. This church could fit 1,200 people. Work on the new St. Anne's Church started on 2000 and was completed on 2002. It was opened by the then Apostlic Delegate To Malaysia. Not only a new St. Anne's Church was constructed, the Dataran St. Anne was installed in front of the church. Domus St. Anne was also installed to accommodate pilgrims who intend to stay over. A parish office, parish community centre and canteen were also installed. On 2006, the church installed the 'Statues Of Passion'. These statues cost RM 600,000 all together. It shows the station of the cross. Currently, the parish priest for the church is Msgr. Stephen Liew." cited from wikipedia

The new Church


one of the costly 'Statues Of Passion' 


the road was closed for the ceremony. but i think it was more like a pasar malam..hehe


People from all over Malaysia and even Thailand came here for the feast. of course not everyone there was believer. Perhaps some are believers but not official believers

Reaching the top: Just beside the old church, there is a staircase to places-i-dunno-what-they- call-them, i think it is called Grotto. 

the first Grotto 

Grotto at the top..



People climbed up the stairs to pray to Holy Grandmother St. Anne. See the sign on the right hand corner.. no candles. a fire broke out here before. since then no candles are allowed but the 2 places where there are people who supervise the places

the hill was crowded  with people, queuing along the staircase

At the top:

A group of people in a big circle, singing song and pray.. where? just right in front of the cross


St. Anne's Water



St. Anne Church at night. 

the furthest i could zoom with a tripod. that's the altar. The open air mass at night. thousands of people attented the mass and the organising committee deserved a big round of applause for the event. everything during the mass was so organized.

No kidding.. crowded

for more information about the church, visit the website here or you can wikipedia it

there you can obtain more information about St Anne Church including the history of the church and also the events throughout the year. 

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Sabah, birds eye view.

Mt Kinabalu.
Flying across Sabah from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan..





Sutera Harbour Resort, Golf and Country Club.
It is well known as one of the most luxurious hotels in Sabah. Only 5minutes drive away from KK City or KK International Airport, this resort offers every need of anyone wanting a holiday away from their own busy and hectic lives. It has also the only 36 hole golf course that offers night golfing in Sabah.


Kota Kinabalu!




Kinabatangan River, the longest in Sabah. Home to crocodiles and many other human eating animals. Elephants are also known to be found there, seasonally. Usually during September.


Saturday, August 2, 2008

Mt Trus Madi, Sabah


There you are, Mt Trus Madi, right in the middle of Sabah!

This mountain may not be well known by Sabahans, what more Malaysians. I am one of the proud Malaysians to know our geography well enough to know the existance of Mt Trusmadi.

Anyway, to climb this mountain, you need 2 days from Tambunan or 4 days from Keningau. From Tambunan to the base camp is an hour of off-road drive through Kampung Kaingaran.

On the way there, we saw…

Bukit Kaingaran

Mt Kinabalu

Mt Trusmadi

And Grace banging her head against the window. Ouch!! The road was damn so bad. Left right, up down, top bottom also shaking.

Check this out.

the toilet at the base point. Freaking dumb right? Tree bark konon. Did not bother to go in and have a look.

So, we started our journey. While climbing, this is what I do while waiting other snails to catch up.

I eat banana to replenish some potassium in my body. Seriously, its good to prevent muscle cramps.

Then, I arrange it on the track to sabotage the other guys before they come.

I then totally forgotten about it and slipped over it. Sheesh... Bad idea after all.

One of the snails has arrived. Hehe..


at night, at the cabin. approx 10 degrees celcius.

Our stove. I bet most of you guys didn't know we can cook rice like that!

We ate plain rice with braised fish n beans! I tell you, it was one of the most heavenly delicious meal we've ate before. Every thing's nice when you're hungry you know...


Our battery went flat early at 6p.m. and all of us fell asleep. Besides Pat, because...

Look at her, braving the cold in only a sarong! Hebat... Look like ah mah.



nepenthes lowii



The view at the peak. Cloudy, but still breathtaking...

Mt Kinabalu shying away behind the thick clouds.

bonsai trees. 1600 Million Rupiah. Anyone?

On the way back. Once again we encountered the muddy paths

and slippery mossy paths, which looks kind of nice..

More beautiful scenery...

And this concludes our descent.

Facts I found out myself, only at troggers!

  1. It is easier to climb that Mt Kinabalu. The 9km trail is not as strainous as it goes up and down a few hills before reaching the peak. Besides, there is a cabin located at the campsite 1 km away from the peak. The cabin can fit about 8 climbers comfortably and you can get a free flowing of water at campsite.
  2. It is the second highest mountain in Malaysia, at 8669 feet.
  3. It is also the home to many different species of pitcher plants. Nepenthes Trusmadiensis is only found in the forest of Mt Trus Madi.

Expenditures for this trip: RM 250 – RM 400, depending on budget and size of group

Days required: 2 days

How do I make bookings: Contact Sabah Forestry Department, located 10km before Tambunan Town. Or, contact TVRC at +6087774076, or email at borneohv@streamyx.com.