it's all about chemistry

you and me, we have the chemistry. the thing that i miss the most is having an eye to eye conversation with you. we can talk about everything. we have mutual understanding. we support each others' ideas. we don't just talk to each other, we listen too. we never have to pretend, we just be ourselves and trust each other. we share our insights, and our deep secrets, no matter dark or white. having that kind of trust, interaction, and communication with you, is liberating. being with you, it's like getting a full dose of confidence. with you, i feel beautiful. you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and i cherish our memories together. i am ever so thankful that we met, my friend.

merdeka di tawau

Normally on every August 31st, I would be glued to the TV for almost the whole morning, watching the live telecast of the Merdeka Day parade in KL. It's a must because it's a very important day in the country's history and I looove parades. Last year, I made it to Dataran Merdeka on the day itself for my first time experience of the live event (and I've blogged about it in here). This year, I just stayed home in my base and decided to see how the Tawauians celebrate this M-Day.

The Dataran MPT

Unfortunately I arrived an hour late, and the parade has just finished  :( . So I stayed on to see what was in store for the rest. The location, the square in front of Majlis Perbandaran Tawau, where in any other day is just a big parking space. I wondered why they didn't do this in the big Tawau Sports Complex.

As in any M-Day celebration, there are always .....

the flag bearers ....

the marching band ....

the VIPs ...

and the Merdeka oath ...

uniformed and security agencies ...

the people ...

Another thing I enjoyed other than parades and marches is military tattoo. The following photos are some of the silent march tattoo from the navy youngsters. It was a small scale one but still entertaining.

Ok, that's it for my M-Day report from Tawau. Wondering where will I be next year, in shaa Allah if I am still around .... Perhaps I should see in other places. Till then. To my country I wish you Happy 56th year of independence.

my postcard moments in Mabul part 3 (end)

Location: Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia ...

my postcard moments in Mabul part 2

Location: Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia ...

my postcard moments in Mabul part 1

Location: around Semporna and Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia ...

Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park

Location : Tasek Merimbun, Tutong District, Brunei.

Date of visit : 12 Januari 2013.

Brief description :

Tasek Merimbun is part of a geological formation that was uplifted from a shallow sea about 7 million years ago. Home to many species of flora and fauna, it is a kind of low depression surrounded by swamps as opposed to being a typical lake. The water is black due to the presence of peat i.e. fermentation of plant vegetative materials that feed into the lake through the peat swamp. Tasek Merimbun was declared as Brunei's National Heritage Park in 1967 and later on declared as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 1984. This park is under the management of Brunei Museums Department.

Visit on a Sunday and you can cross the bridge.

The exhibition hall inside the heritage park complex.

Nice view of the lake from the complex. 

Inside the exhibition hall.

Location : Taman Kulimambang (Butterfly Garden), inside the Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park Complex.

Visiting hours : Saturday - Thursday, 9.30am - 3.30pm

Brief description:

Established in July 2012, this little garden is said to accommodate about 100 species of butterflies, and there's a myriad of other insect species too. We arrived at this garden exactly 15 minutes before the closing time so we only had little time inside but it's enough.The garden is pretty and nice although quite small. 

Some of the residents.

Nice garden.

This place is a nice place to visit if you like nature. There's a 650km trail called the Banunih Trail where you can track along in about 45 minutes inside the forest and observe tree species, orchids and frogs, among other things. Since we didn't have a lot of time to spent so we didn't cover this trail.