Dabong In My Heart

Dabong. Sounds weird to you readers? Well, it was for me when I first heard it. "Where the heck is that place?" I asked a colleague. "Oh, it is in Kelantan, somewhere near Kuala Krai and Gua Musang," she responded to me.

Oooookkaaaaaaaaaaayy. "Interesting," I nodded to her with a big smile while my heart was beating harder and my head was processing all the questions speedily about this 'unknown' place. That happened in the middle of May this year.

If I have posted about my work project on Financial Inclusion (FI) in Kota Marudu, Sabah before this, well this time I would like to share my personal experience in this special place called Dabong. Actually, this project had taken place in the month of June (before I launched this blog). However, the feelings that I've experienced from this journey have never faded. It is still fresh in my mind and warm in my heart every time I think of it.

Dabong is located in the state of Kelantan, which is at the east coast side of Peninsular Malaysia. I had been to Kelantan few times before this but not Dabong for sure. Alien as it was, I however was convinced that Dabong would be the right place for the project to take place. It matched the purpose of FI itself, which is to provide linkage and financial access to rural and suburban communities.

The team and I reached Kelantan and stayed overnight at Kota Bharu, the capital state. We were told that the journey to Dabong from Kota Bharu would take approximately 3 hours. So the next morning, we adjourned to Dabong and reached there before noon. We met the local Kelantan-based team at a restaurant nearby Dabong for early lunch before the event started. One thing about Kelantan, the people's hospitality and graciousness have never failed me! And the food too! They really treat their guests well. In fact, extremely well I dare say. Not that locals at other states aren't great, of course they are great in their own way but Kelantanese are just a little bit different. I guess the combination of their food, accent, geniality and warmth made it special. At least, that's how I felt.

So I had a very good chat with the locals and I must say, I learnt interesting facts from them. "Kalau nak tau, orang Kelantan ni dulu-dulu suka try cakap orang putih. Kalau orang lain cakap, dia pun nak cakap jugak," admitted one of my acquaintance. Kelantanese are actually fond of using English words and they try their best to speak the language. "Pernah dengar perkataan 'bekwoh'?" she asked me if I have heard the word before. "Hmm...macam pernah dengar tapi tak sure sangat. Apa tu?" I asked her curiously the meaning of it. "Orang Kelantan dulu kalau nak buat kenduri ke majlis ke, mesti cerita ada 'big work'. Tapi lama-lama bila sebut jadi 'bekwoh'. So sekarang ni jadi la kenduri bekwoh! Maknanya kenduri besar la tu," she finally revealed the meaning of it. "Oh ye ker! Itu rupanya makna dia," the rest of us laughed when we found out the meaning behind it. From the phrase 'big work' to describe preparation of a big wedding or celebration, it is localised to become 'bekwoh' instead. Kreatif sungguh.

My observation of Dabong is that it is actually a pretty green area. It has not lost its 'virginity' to rapid development. There were some development work going on but I think they probably want to preserve the overall area for the next reason. I bet most of you readers will not know this fact. Do you know where is the tallest waterfall in South East Asia located at? It is at Stong of Dabong! Yes, believe it or not, it is there. My acquaintance proudly showed me the waterfall from the main road when we passed by. It is a hidden gem indeed. I think the ones who knew about this are the Kelantanese and foreign tourists. This was proven true when we saw some 'mat salleh' nearby the waterfall. A quick one on the word 'Stong'. It came from the word 'stone hill' initially (the waterfall is on a stony hill) as explained by my acquaintance. See, what is there not to admire about Kelantan. Ada orang putih touch tau. That somehow answered my curiosity on the name. Some pictures of the waterfall:

The Stong waterfall from the main road. You can really see it from far! Image taken from waterfallsofmalaysia.com

Closer view of the waterfall. It is said to be 270 metres tall and yes, it is 'stong' indeed! Image taken from waterfallsofmalaysia.com

After lunch, we headed to the event venue which was at one of the local villages, located 5 km from the restaurant. True enough, this is a very strategic location for FI. The place really needs it because the nearest bank branches are very much far away from here. This particular event project was special since we have a mobile bus, which is designed and customised as a moving customer service counter when we have FI events. The bus had parked at its allocated spot and I met another colleague who was in-charge of the bus. 

"Hey kau tau tak, tadi ada problem nak park bas ni. Jalan kat sini sempit," my colleague explained to me that earlier, the mobile bus could hardly get in and park at the spot due to the narrow road. "Tapi kau tau, orang-orang kat sini memang sporting. Diorang tengok bas tu ada problem, tak boleh masuk, diorang terus berkerumun datang dekat bas. Bagi moral support kat abang driver tu sampai bas tu boleh lepas jalan sempit tu and park kat sini. Bila dah settle and bas tu dapat park, semua orang terus sorak happy and tepuk tangan," described my colleague about the whole bus parking incident. She explained that the village community, especially the children were very supportive that they crowded the bus to give moral support to the driver when the bus had problem to get in and park. When all settled, they were so happy that they cheered and clapped. Awwww so sweet! Super sweet that it touched my heart when I heard about it. Kalau kat tempat lain, melantak la kau bas. Pandai-pandai la kau pusing sendiri sampai boleh masuk. 

So the event finally hit off and I was thrilled to see the response. More people came later and it looked as if the whole village community was there. Some of the photos during the event:

Before the event started. The community members took their seats.

The traditional musical instruments played to liven up the atmosphere

The 'silat' performance, a Malaysian martial art. The traditional music accompanied this special performance, which made it more intense and interesting to watch.

A touch of West in the middle of Dabong! English choral speaking performance by secondary students from the school nearby. Really, I didn't expect this from them. They were really good! I heard some cynical remarks like "Alaa, tu performance je. Cuba dengar diorang cakap nanti. Sure terabur!" Well hey, it is not for us to judge and I would say this is a good effort for a start. Plus, they are all girls. I'm so proud of you ladies! And trust me, the local communities were even prouder to see their children are able to speak English, the language that would link them to greater opportunities and better life

After the performance, the speeches and launch took place. The local communities then had the opportunity to listen to financial talks and registered for basic savings account. We were then introduced to the FI agent for the area. This was continued with community events by our collaborators and the local council to further strengthen the corporate-community ties.

We left Dabong to Kota Bharu when the event was over. Overall, I was just too delighted to see the positive response, excitement and happy faces of the people in Dabong. The event was definitely not a success if the people in Dabong had not given their support from the beginning. Thank you Dabong people!

Truthfully, deep inside my heart, I was really humbled by this whole experience. It was just different, and it is a good different. It gave me a fresher perspective on how I view life in total. 

For this, you will always have a special place in my heart, Dabong. 

First Time Landed In Sabah, Bah! - Part 2

Welcome to the second part of the story :) In the first part, I travelled to Kota Marudu for my work project. It ended very well and I was extremely pleased with the outcome. So I headed back to Kota Kinabalu (KK) and spent the time left there before going back to Kuala Lumpur (KL) the next day.

Before I forget, I was not alone from KL. I came with another two lady colleagues for the work project. When you have two ladies around you and all work done, what do you do? Shopping la! The three of us were in excitement and the images of pearls were playing in my mind (Sabah is famous for its pearls). "Can't wait! Can't wait!" my heart was pumping with joy.

In the meantime, we had a quick drive through in KK city. The uncle who drove us to Kota Marudu was kind enough to drive us around KK when we reached back to the city. He brought us to the top of a hill, which he said would enable us to have an overall view of the city.

From the top, I could see that KK is a rapidly-growing city with more skyscrapers, but yet at the same time, preserved its nature very well. I remembered when the air plane almost landed on the runway, I could see the beautiful dark blue ocean with fishes swimming around. That exactly reminded me of the ocean at the South Island of New Zealand. It may not be as beautiful as New Zealand, but it was still breathtaking! It was pretty awesome to be at the top of the hill and have an overall view of KK. It worked for me at least because it was a short trip and that was a 'short cut' to discovering the city.

The three of us met again for dinner and right after that, we walked to Kampung Air Night Market - where the ladies' night begins. There was nothing else in my mind at that time except for pearls, pearls and pearls! I've been longing to go to Sabah to buy pearl necklaces and accessories, and finally I was there to fulfil my desire.

We reached Kampung Air Night Market within minutes since the place was very near to the hotel we stayed. Before coming to KK, I was told to go to the famous Filipino market but when I arrived KK, the locals told me to go to Kampung Air Night Market instead because the price is cheaper, even for original pearls. So we heed their advice and poof! Kampung Air Night Market was right in front of us. Some photos of the market:

At the entrance of the market from main road

Bargaining time at one of the pearl stalls.  It was just pearls everywhere!

Honestly, there were many stalls selling pearls at the night market. The three of us had our eyes rolling. You know when you have more choices, it becomes even more difficult for you to choose. So we had a good three round of walks at the market and then only started bargaining.

I was at one of my favourite stalls and was browsing through the pearl accessories. I was holding a hair band and tried it on. The sales guy at the stall was smart enough that he quickly pointed out, "Haa cantik kak, nampak macam 'princess'!"  Pandai sungguh dia bodek. Princess la sangat kan. He was buttering me up with the princess-look compliment. I thought "Why didn't he say that I looked like Miss Universe too?". I smirked at his remark but oh well, it kinda worked. I bought that hair band in the end! We made our final purchases and then headed back to the hotel to sleep.

The pearl accessories that have become mine

The multi purpose hair band which can also turn you to a Princess or Miss Universe, if you know how to rock it. Or even as a bride, if you like. 

I woke up super early the next day and was out walking to the city at 6.10 am. Trust me, I have never been this crazy to do such thing. However, since I was told that I could see 'interesting things' when the sun rises, I braved myself to do so. In East Malaysia, the sun rises as early as 6.00 am or slightly earlier before that. "Nanti pergi la tengok ikan-ikan colourful yang dekat jeti tu, cantik tau!" a local resident told me. She said I could find different kind of fishes in Sabah, compared to Peninsular Malaysia and she mentioned that 6.00 am would be the best time to go to the seaside.

So there I was, walking around and looking for fishmongers nearby the jetty but I got lost eventually. I couldn't find those people and I could have probably missed them. I walked further and ended up at a morning market, with the fish market next to it! "I could probably find the fishes here," I thought to myself.

KK at 6.30 am. Felt like it was 9.30 am!

I entered the fish market and the moment I set my foot in, I realised that I was like an alien to these traders and sellers. With a camera at hand and a Burberry handbag on my shoulder, I could read their facial expression, "Jakun mana tak pernah masuk pasar ni!". Hmm yes uncles and aunties, I probably have entered a few times only to wet market in life, but that does not mean I have never entered into one ok.

I looked around and ahaa! I found the unique fishes that my acquaintance told me. Some photos of it:

Idontknowthenameofthefishespartone

Idontknowthenameofthefishesparttwo

Fish slayer at work! And the lady on the left, I think she just said "No fish, no business!"

Fresh seaweed from the sea

Some of the fishes caught my attention as I have never seen them before. I was even amazed to see how fresh seaweed look like. However, I didn't stay too long at the fish market since the smell got stronger. I seriously think the market needs a good floor-scrubbing. The comfy flat shoes that I wore? Well, I can say goodbye to it now since the smell is still there, although I have washed it! Nevertheless, the experience was purr-re-ciouss!

I walked further and discovered a night market lot. It was partially closed because they only open at night but there were few stalls open selling dried food and local snacks. I stopped at one of the stalls and browsed through the selection.

I asked the lady who managed the stall and she explained to me all the local and unique snacks that were available. She even let me tasted some of it, which was really nice. I, however, was attracted more to this:

Colourful dried seaweed

Dried seaweed! It came in three colours - dark green, dark maroon and off-white. The three types have different health properties, and I ended up buying the off-white one and the dark green one. The off-white seaweed is for skin health and the dark green seaweed is for healthier overall being. I couldn't remember what was the dark maroon seaweed for. 

After buying the snacks and seaweed, I walked back to the hotel since I had to prepare flying back to KL before noon. That concluded my adventure in KK. Overall, the experience I had at KK was wonderful, although it was only for a short while. I have promised myself that I will make a holiday plan here since I received many recommendations for places to visit in KK and other places in Sabah. That would be more satisfying and enjoyable.

Above all, I'm glad that I made new discoveries and new bunch of friends when I was in Sabah. That added to the delightfulness of this trip. Totally awesome.

Till we meet again, Sabah. And I can feel that it is going to be soon :)

First Time Landed In Sabah, Bah! - Part 1

I recently went to Sabah for the very first time, sweet! However, it was not for a holiday, it was for work. So I just had a quick walk through around the capital, Kota Kinabalu (KK) and also Kota Marudu within the 3 days and 2 nights stay.

Actually, this was not supposed to be my first visit. I should have visited Sabah 3, 4 years ago when I bought the AirAsia promotional tickets. But as you know, buying cheap tickets 6 months earlier does not guarantee that you will fly on that date, and that happened to me. As the date drew nearer, I had to attend to another important matter, and hence, I had to cancel my flight. Same thing happened to my Sarawak trip as well. Too bad, my tickets got 'burnt'! I had been to all states in Malaysia (Peninsular) except for Sabah and Sarawak. So I was very pleased that I had finally landed in Sabah, although for a short trip.

Anyway, I didn't start right away with KK when I arrived. I had to travel to Kota Marudu, which is 3 hours away from KK for my work - a Financial Inclusion project. Financial Inclusion has always been one of the priorities in the country, which would enable local communities at suburban and rural areas to make basic banking transactions at their convenience, without travelling far from home (far as like more than 50 km). To support this initiative, post outlets, convenient stores and qualified sundry shops are appointed to become the agents to provide the basic services on behalf of the bank. Of course, they had to go through thorough assessment and evaluation to qualify them to become an agent. Mana boleh main tibai buat je kan :)

I travelled to Kota Marudu by a shuttle van. Some of the photos during the trip to Kota Marudu:

The peak of Mount Kinabalu from far, surrounded by clouds. View from the nearest area to Kota Marudu. I snapped this photo from inside the shuttle while it was moving!

The kampung (village) houses, with paddy field lying ahead of it and the beautiful Mount Kinabalu as the background

We finally reached to Kota Marudu for the Financial Inclusion awareness event. The Kota Marudu community was lovely! They were really supportive and were present at the event. Some of the photos at the event:

Traditional dance by a group of students at the opening of the event. Very graceful and talented.

A young Sabahan reading interestingly on financial education and management. Way to go!

Kota Marudu community listening attentively on Financial Inclusion matters and Financial Education. Lovely people!

After the event, I happened to sit down with the community leaders for lunch and refreshment. They were extremely pleasant and I can see that they care deeply for their community. They had my respect when they told me that they are responsible for their community in ensuring security and welfare. They are always on their toes when there are issues and concerns, especially when it comes to banking and finance. They are the people that the community trust to channel their feedback and seek for advice on how best to solve the matter. R.E.S.P.E.C.T!

During the lunch and refreshment, two things caught my eyes - purple drink and corn! I was curious so I asked Encik (Mr) Mat, one of the community leaders, what was that purple drink? "Oh, itu air keladi bandung," he replied. "Hmm..jagung ni pulak?" I asked him further. "Dekat sini, jagung hasil tanaman paling banyak sekali, so selalunya kita serve jagung rebus kalau ada event kat sini," he explained more. 

The purple drink was a combination of yam and milk, and it tasted so good! I just loved it! I've never liked sirap bandung (rose syrup with milk) but the yam drink was just different. It suited my taste bud. Serving corn is a norm at Kota Marudu when they have events because corn is one of their main agriculture outputs. 

Encik Mat and the others were friendly and I knew how passionate they are when I heard the way they talked. Out of interest, I just asked what does the people in Kota Marudu and nearest area do for living. Encik Mat shared the interesting fact that 30% of the people are involved in fishery, 30% in agriculture and another 30% works in the office. It is quite a balanced division of percentage I thought, and Encik Mat concurred with me. 

The programme finally ended and I was pleased that this event had achieved its objective, thanks to Kota Marudu people! 

On my way back to Kota Kinabalu, I observed that on the left and right side of the road, it was full with more trees rather than development. I love trees and I love green for sure, but I believe Kota Marudu and other places in Sabah have great potential to be developed plus benefit its people in so many ways.

I finally bid my goodbye to Kota Marudu. I certainly hope to come back here again, and this time to see more development. 

Stay tuned for the more adventurous part in First Time Landed In Sabah, Bah! - Part 2 :)