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MC3 club @ Travillion, Kuching

MC3 is the latest club that opened up in Kuching in the new Travillion mall at Padungan. It's located above Zen and it seems to be the most popular place to go clubbing in Kuching. I went to MC3 three nights in a row (it's named MC 3, after all). ;)

The place has a nice decor and a great sound system (love the bass) with more lasers and other light displays than you can shake a stick at. The place had a great turnout on Friday night and it was absolutely packed on Saturday night.

The Halloween Party last night (Sunday night) was mostly comprised of regulars coz it's a Sunday night after all. I can't believe I went there three nights in a row, I was actually pretty fucked by the second night (due to the comedown) but I went again the next night and last night. Jesus...

MC3 club plays a variety of dance music but I love the hard trance they were putting on for the Halloween Party last night. The bass was so strong; I could feel the air inside balloons reverberating to the beat, which I found to be highly entertaining and novel for some reason.

I just did a cerebral systems diagnostics and it told me that I will not be able to continue writing in a lucid manner, so here's the long weekend at MC3 club, Kuching in photos:

Ericka and me (she brought me to MC3 three nights in a row, that's how hardcore she is).

This is me and Lucas doing several depth charges with beer and a shot of Chivas in a row on a Friday night (I work Saturdays) while May Kee looks on. I know you threw up first Lucas. ;)

This is Sebastian and Ericka on Saturday night. Sebastian is a model - bit of trivia here.

Here's a photo of me molesting John [blogspot.com], my favorite Scorpio guy, on Saturday night.

This is Valerie, which I'm sure you're all acquainted with in one of the previous posts on sixthseal.com - I bumped into her there on Friday night and again on Sunday night (that's last night).

Happy Halloween!

Download: MC3 club dance floor video [sixthseal.com]

MC3 is a great place for clubbing in Kuching - it's not as pretentious as some other clubs and there's a chill out place downstairs - Zen, which is operated by the same management.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:50 PM Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBack

I lost my bra!

I feel like shit today...I think two days straight of hard clubbing will do that to you. ;)

I'm scattered as fuck right now, so I can't make any coherent posts today. I can't even think straight.

Oh, and I think I lost my bra...

No shit.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 04:14 PM Permalink | Comments (35) | TrackBack

Ketamine experience report and video

Ketamine is a drug that I've used on numerous occasions but never have really written a trip report about since I consider it a "regular use" drug. However, I do have various trip reports (personal) and videos shot while I was snorting or injecting ketamine and I decided it was high time (no pun intended) to put up the latest one. ;)

I have obtained 2 grams of ketamine crystals earlier this week and decided to go for an introspective k-hole trip by insufflating the entire packet of ketamine (which cost me RM 450 - k is not cheap over here). This is the best batch of ketamine (in powder form) I've ever had the pleasure of sampling, though I've had access to liquid pharmaceutical ketamine for IM injections before.

The majority of ketamine users insufflate (snort) the crystals instead of using a syringe to IM the liquid form of ketamine and despite certain preconceptions, it IS possible to k-hole by insufflating ketamine crystals of suitable purity if it's done in excessive amounts over a very short period of time (Extreme Ketamine ;)).

It is not as intense as the K-hole achieved through IM injections but it is comparable (and it's all too easy to give yourself a line dose while injecting ketamine as I once did, which rendered me effectively anesthetized). The ketamine I obtained this week was sourced from JB and the purity of the ketamine crystals are one of the best I've seen in Malaysia (and even Australia, to be honest).

Download: Video of me snorting ketamine [sixthseal.com]

My cell phone went off while I was insufflating ketamine with a RM 50 dollar bill, and I muttered something about it being the perfect time to call. ;)

The ketamine experience:

The ketamine experience can be summed up in one word - confusing. I personally like to call it konfusing as in "k is konfusing" but it's a great experience. Ketamine is an NMDA antagonist, which makes it different from other drugs. PCP (Angel's Dust) and DXM are two other drugs that belong to this exclusive group of NMDA antagonists.

NMDA antagonists are similar to psychedelic drugs (e.g. LSD, magic mushrooms) in a sense, though purists would argue with this. Practically, these are REAL mind-altering drugs with hallucinogenic potential unlike methamphetamine or heroin which just changes the state of mind e.g. accelerated thought processes in the former and comfortable dopamine release in the latter.

It's more similar to what a non drug user would think "drugs" are - ketamine and the likes are mind-altering drugs instead of mind-state change drugs. Ketamine, like all NMDA antagonists has "plateaus" which gives different experiences according to the dosage - a low dosage would give CNS inebriating effects while a large dose will give full blown hallucinations and profound out of body experiences.

The amount of ketamine I snorted (2 grams of relatively pure ketamine crystals) was sufficient to bring me into a k-hole, a term ketamine users use to describe an intense trip characteristic of ketamine. It's an amazing mind altering experience where sense of time, temporal space, and all other "reality grips" are TOTALLY lost.

Ketamine Trip Report:

One recurring "trip theme" I have when I take large doses on ketamine is existentialism or more accurately, human consciousness. I insufflated about 2 grams of ketamine and I found myself in a profoundly altered state - everything slows down and familiar shapes become unfamiliar. I could not talk or move much - I tried standing up, and promptly sat down again.

The thought processes goes into a completely unfamiliar loop which can be frightening for first time ketamine users (or those who haven't experienced a k-hole). The vision starts to become tunnel-like, walls and other textures flows and occasionally RGB colors gets infused into the wall. Closed eye hallucinations are extremely strong and hard to ignore, as is open eye hallucinations at this point.

I felt like a long, long time has past and I started thinking about the meaning of life, and one recurring theme is that someone (a divine being) starts to reveal the secrets of the universe to me - that "reality", as we know it, DOES NOT EXIST and even I (as a person, and my consciousness) does not exist and ketamine is the substance that "broke me free" from the illusion of "reality" (or life) as we know it.

I start to see the world as it really was - that we're just an insignificant part of a larger life form (divine being?) e.g. I am just one of the stomach elements in a large being and my job is just to push the food as it comes through to the next "person" (which is the next stomach segment) and that's all I do (reflecting the world's monotonous work life).

I can aspire to "break free" of my current "existence" while I'm tripping on ketamine (always in the same ketamine trip theme) by sheer force of will. I can go through a scary, hair-raising "transformation" into one of the Superior Beings (where existence as we know it is only a part of their bodily function) and become a deity, a God, if you will.

The scariest part about this "transformation" (and I always opt to do it) is that I will have to die in this life in order to make the leap to become a Superior Being. I start thinking (vaguely) about my life, my loved ones, and overcome the feelings of fear of death (I would have no qualms taking my own life at this point, and I frequently think about doing that if it can expedite my transformation into the "real world" if I end my life in our current reality time-space).

...and there is always a repetitive ringing, reverberating sound as I make my "transformation" to break free from "reality" as we know it and I start to become one deity in a great chain of deities and my transformation will continue for all eternity by aspiring to become a Greater Deity (either by going through a scary out of body, death-like extreme ketamine trip) or some other greater methods in that spiritual realm.

There's a vivid sense of "spiralling" into this new world and I do not "exist" in this realm, as in I do NOT have a physical body, but my consciousness is there, and everything that exists in this realm i.e. "the real world" is just spritual beings and I am one of them and I can communicate with the others, not through words, but some form of telepathy. I have a "world" that's mine, a space where only I exist and I can see the other lower "worlds" (or realms) and even the higher ones.

I usually can just see the next higher realm above me in great detail (the even higher realms after that are fuzzy) and that's where I will travel. I am able to occasionally "float up" from my current realm and look from a God-like perspective into the other realms. I glimpse through the "worlds" (it's all in a long, long chain) and I see that the "realm chain" is eternal - it's infinate.

It's a long way to go after "breaking free" in this world and joining the enlightened spiritual realm and the neverending trip to work my way up to become greater and greater deities and I am exposed to great vistas and wonders that are never available in this world though hallucinations (the hallucinations on ketamine are vivid, you actually experience it in every sense - tactile, sound, sight) in each transformation I go through in the process to reach Nirvana.

It's a long journey, and it's a scary one, but I do it every time.

...and then the trip ends. Ketamine lasts 1-2 hours in the intense k-hole trip and then tapers off to sobriety at about the 4 hour point.

It's a great drug. I love ketamine - every trip is always enlightening. It's very intense and can be scary during the k-hole, but if you overcome your fear of death, it will be a great teacher to you.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:47 PM Permalink | Comments (62) | TrackBack

Guinness Stout Shake / Float Recipe (Stout with ice cream concoction)

The Guinness (or any other brand of stout) Shake (or Float) is a delicious concoction made with stout (the dark beer) and ice cream. It's preferable to use vanilla ice-cream in this recipe as a flavored ice cream adds an undesirable taste to the resulting drink, though experimentation is encouraged.

There are various recipes for making a Guinness Stout Shake and this one is a quick and dirty method of banging out a fast one within minutes with ingredients that are readily available in your kitchen (that is, if you keep beer in your fridge). ;)

1. Stout (the dark beer)

Guinness Stout is my preferred stout of choice but Panther Superior Strength Extra Super Stout is a hyperbolic, but acceptable substitute as well. It's cheaper than Guinness and I love the brewery's name - Bali Hai. Heh!

2. Ice cream (vanilla)

It's always a good idea to use premium ice cream (with an appropriately high fat content and a correlating rich texture) instead of quasi ice cream, but sometimes, we just have to improvise. ;) This is Wall's Paddle Pop "ice cream". I just used the vanilla portion of the dual flavor ice cream in the container instead of the chocolate side.

3. Mug (or a suitable receptacle)

Purists would want to utilize the traditional glass used to serve a perfect pint of Guinness Stout, but I think mugs are more practical for this concoction. Since I don't have either, I used a saucepan instead. Improvise! ;)

This receptacle is where you put in the ice cream.

The next step is to open up the can of stout and pour the liquid slowly into the receptacle with the ice cream in it. The stout will start to foam as soon as it comes into contact with the ice cream. It takes about a minute or so for the ice cream to fully dissolve and an optional step at this point is to agitate the mixture to expedite the catalyst.

Once the Guinness Stout Shake / Float is ready, pour the mixture into a suitable drinking receptacle or just drink it straight from the saucepan. It has a dark roasted coffee stout flavor tempered by the sweet vanilla ice cream which creates wonderfully complex taste textures complemented with a great aftertaste.

Enjoy! :)

Note: It is important to put in the ice cream BEFORE the stout to control the catalyst of fizzing and foaming during the mixing of the Guinness Stout float. It would be unwise to put ice cream INTO a stout beverage, unless you want uncontrollable foaming to occur.

Technically, this means that it's a Guinness Stout shake and not a Guinness Stout float, but that's arguing semantics. :p

Posted in Ethanol and tobacco by Huai Bin at 01:37 PM Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBack

Adidas Ultimate Frisbee Regulation Disc 175 g

I noticed a Frisbee shaped product in the adidas store last time I went in and was intrigued by the packaging. It's an Ultimate Frisbee regulation disc (175 grams) and it retails for RM 19.90.

I don't play Ultimate Frisbee, though I've heard of it, but long time readers of sixthseal.com would know that I'm an easy sell, especially when it comes with nifty packaging, so I got one (though for what purpose, I couldn't ascertain at the time of purchase). ;)

The Ultimate Frisbee regulation disc weighs 175 grams and comes enclosed in a black adidas cardboard enclosure. It's a relatively light flying disc that has matte black coating and the adidas logo prominently displayed on the front of the disc.

There are printed rules and regulations about the Ultimate Frisbee game ("rumored to be a non-contact sport") and it sounds interesting enough, but considering I don't play Ultimate Frisbee and don't even know why I got it in the first place - a (timely) revelation came to me last night and I put it to good use:

Ultimate Ketamine! ;)

It's an extreme form of ketamine insufflation (works with any white powder actually e.g. coke, ketamine, insert your favorite sinus delivery drug) where the matte black disc surface is used as a platform for snorting ketamine instead of the usual mirror since the contrast pretty much works the same. Heh!

More on Ultimate Ketamine soon - I'm totally bushed today, I just got off work at 9 pm...

Posted in by Huai Bin at 11:01 PM Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack

Colgate Propolis toothpaste

Colgate just came out with a new line of toothpaste called Colgate Propolis. The packaging comes with imagery of bees and pollen. Propolis is the term used to describe "bees wax" - the resin building block used by bees to reinforce their distinctive comb textured hives.

The tube that comes out of the Colgate Propolis toothpaste box looks like regular Colgate, except with the new Propolis ingredients. The toothpaste is promoted as a golden gel and it doesn't come with any literature suggesting benefits to the teeth and gums (if any).

The Colgate Propolis toothpaste is actually a golden gel colored substance! It doesn't foam much when used to brush the teeth and it leaves a distinctive honey like aftertaste, which I found weird in the beginning, but it kinda grows on you, really...

It's a change from my regular toothpaste anyway. ;)

Posted in by Huai Bin at 04:46 PM Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack

Purple Yam

This vivid purple yam is a tuber plant has a rough and dark colored exterior and a purple interior. It's requires proper cooking (like most wild yams) to detoxify the plant and make it edible, but other than that macabre bit of information, it tastes really good - fibrous and starchy texture, with a slightly sweet aftertaste.

I'm told that people used to eat this to supplement their diet during the famine but personally, it tastes alright to me. :)

Posted in Food by Huai Bin at 04:02 PM Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBack

Louisa's 24th @ Country Cafe, Sibu

Country Cafe Music Restaurant is an old high school hangout that will always have a place in my heart. I used to go there with my buddies when I was in Form Five and just hang out and try the ever-changing huge menu that they had. It was nostalgic...

I brought my girlfriend there last night and the familiar interior greeted me, bringing back a rush of high school memories. Unfortunately, although the interior looks pretty much the same (with some renovations) the menu wasn't...the place has undergone new management and the menu that has us spoilt for choice has been trimmed down into less than a couple of items...

I ordered a wine cooler (had another one later during the meal to toast the old memories of Country Cafe where the emphasis was on food instead of a football (soccer) hangout) and my gf opted for 7-Up.

This is what I had for dinner - its beef chop. There really isn't much choice on the menu, unlike the previous management where sashimi, tempura, cold noodles etc were introduced weekly.

My girlfriend had the chicken chop. To be fair, the food wasn't that bad. It's apparently outsourced to another eatery and not the "New Country Cafe" coz we had two different bills - one for food and the other for drinks. The egg on top of the chicken and beef goes well with the meat, but I was disappointed at the limited choice.

Happy Birthday Louisa!

Love always,
HB

Posted in Sibu by Huai Bin at 02:24 PM Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBack

Sheraton Restaurant

My mother-in-law to be had her birthday dinner at Sheraton Restaurant in Sibu on Saturday night. Sheraton Restaurant is an eatery that's been around Sibu in one form or another - they recently moved into their own building due to the high customer demand.

The birthday dinner was a family event with about 10 people for a dinner gathering. Sheraton has a nice and subtle interior (which is a nice change from their previous occupancy). The restaurant is almost always packed - it's famous for their fish head curry. This is what we had for dinner:

The cup overfloweth (with cucumber juice)

This is a Foochow tradition where whole eggs are boiled and then deep fried before being cooked in chicken soup. It's a must have for birthdays (for Foochows anyway).

There was also a thin noodle dish (not quite rice vermicelli) that's served at the same time as the egg dish.

Here's a closer look at the deep-fried boiled eggs soup dish and the noodles dish.

The next course is deep fried Chinese pancakes filled with savory meat.

It's very nice - crispy and filling, best to eat while it's still hot.

One of the house specialties was served after that - its pork cooked Chinese style over a simmering steel bowl perched precariously on top of a flame served straight to the table.

The next dish was vegetables (think it was asparagus) dipped in hot water and served straight.

The mandatory fish dish came straight after that - the fish was evenly sliced in half and the pieces cut into bite-sized manageable bits arranged around it like a whole fish. Decorative slices of orange peels were arranged around the dish - these are edible as well.

Happy Birthday!

Posted in Sibu by Huai Bin at 01:46 PM Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack

MAS airlines and their fondness for retiming

I booked a ticket to come back to Sibu for the weekend (arriving Saturday night, leaving early tomorrow morning - Monday) just to attend to two birthday celebrations. The flight I was due to be on was 2:50 pm from Kuching to Sibu...and close to the departure time, the dreaded R-word came over the PA - it has been retimed.

The ground crew distributed refreshment vouchers (which entitles you to a meal and a drink) at the airport restaurant (canteen would be a better description). It seems that the airport restaurant has new management and most of the major reconstruction at Kuching airport has forced it into a little nook by the side of the second floor.

I wanted a sandwich but the sandwiches were all sold out so I settled for some fried rice and a 100 Plus drink (it's an isotonic rehydration drink that's very popular amongst drug users in Malaysia). The flight has been retimed to 4 pm and then to 4:40 pm and I feared that this would be a repeat of my previous business trip to KL (where it was retimed for more than 8 hours).

The announcement came that our flight has been retimed AGAIN to 5:30 pm and then again to 5:35 pm. It's a good thing that the drinks come with those "Cool You Down" messages coz I was really not amused by this tardiness that MAS seems to exhibit lately, especially as I have a birthday dinner to go to that night.

I had to stare at an abandoned and broken down basketball entertainment machine that's been left aside by the construction work and took a healthy dose of codeine to wait it out. The flight finally departed at 5:40 pm yesterday evening. I just arrived yesterday and was barely in time to attend the birthday dinner and I have to depart again tomorrow at 7:25 am.

Jesus Christ...this "retiming" shit has gotta go.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 11:23 PM Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Cock and Bull in bed

bed is the latest clubbing district in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It is located at the waterfront and shares its block with other illustrious clubs and pubs like Nam Kwai Fong (a Cantopop feng tau joint) and Cock and Bull (a pub with draft beer that has a high expatriate and traveler audience).

The flagship of this new nightlife neighborhood is the recently built bed club. The bright neon sign of this simple, yet elegant name is emblazoned across the building which houses the club. bed is a large club with multiple floors and areas and it impressed me that KK has this sort of facility.

We went to bed (the club, not the act) on Saturday night to cap off our Kota Kinabalu trip with a visit to the entertainment facilities that the place has to offer. The bouncer at the door opened the door for us and we were instantly greeted by a huge dance floor located in the middle of the club. bed has state of the art sound systems and light displays.

The VIP room is appropriately named the "bed room". I had guessed that before we had even stepped into the club. ;)

There is also a long bar and seating arrangements for people who're not into the dance floor or wants to chill out.

Download: bed club video [sixthseal.com]

The next destination we headed to is Cock & Bull (after dropping into Nam Kwai Fong for a while). This is a pub with a live band and draft beer and all sorts of amenities that you would expect a pub to have. It's located right after bed and Nam Kwai Fong and probably is meant as an after party destination after the two clubs close.

It was about 1 am when we arrived at Cock and Bull and we stayed there till about 3 am. There are two kinds of draft beer on tap (Tiger Beer and Guinness Stout) and we ordered a jug of Tiger Beer.

I also had their signature cocktail - Cock and Bull (RM 38). It's a blue hued cocktail with a slice of lemon and has a pretty high alcoholic content. It tastes great!

Cock & Bull also has a pool table where you can practice your inebriated pool shooting skills...

Talk with one of the friendly Cock and Bull waitresses...

Listen to the resident live band perform cover songs...

Watch low alcohol tolerance people puke and moan while slumped on one of the outside tables...

Put on your beer goggles for a bit...

...and maybe order another round of drinks.

It's a great place to wind down for the night. :)

Posted in by Huai Bin at 02:12 PM Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Eating frogs and eels in Sabah

There is a popular seafood center in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah which serves a lot of live seafood. It's notable due to the way the live seafood offerings is presented - the customer is presented with a huge array of see-through aquariums that hosts a variety of (still alive) marine life from green lobsters to huge oysters and a lot of swimming fish in the middle.

We decided to go for something a little unorthodox - frogs. It tickled me to no end to see large frogs jumping around a container for the benefit of the customer. I choose three large frogs to be cooked. Poor frogs. ;)

The proprietor of the stall also recommended their eel. The eels were swimming around lazily in their aquarium and the eels are rather long, sinewy characters which looks rather like snakes with water as their habitat instead of land.

I also chose an eel for our consumption. Poor eel. ;)

There were also local oysters on display, which were flat, solid looking objects. I also choose a couple for our table but the proprietor accidentally served it to another table, and that other table unknowingly accepted, so we forgot about it, since it would take a long time to prepare another batch.

Here's a closer look at the eel dish. This was cooked Japanese style in BBQ sauce with a touch of hot chilli (Sabah style) and it tastes great! The eel came out hot and oily and it does get a little cloying to eat too much eel, so small portions are the key.

This is a close up shot of the eel. The (poor) eel has been sliced into bite-sized pieces - the dish bears a distinctive resemblance to the live eels, except that it's been chopped up. ;) The colorization and shape (round) of the eel is still visible though.

The frog dish was prepared with the WHOLE frog, which is great for presentation purposes. This dish was cooked in a very bland sauce, allowing the natural sweet frog meat taste to shine though.

The Chinese call frogs tien chi which translates to "sweet chicken". It's an euphemism for frog. The frog dish has parts of the frog still visible - there's the much lauded frog legs, a little frog thigh here and there, the body of the frog. It's frog.

This is the best part of the meal - the frog was wonderfully prepared, leaving the sweet, tender and juicy frog meat to shine through. Hop on, frog! ;)

Posted in Local food by Huai Bin at 11:41 AM Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack

Gardenia Cola vending machine

Gardenia Cola seems to be the leading coke (the drink) manufacturer in Sabah. This is interesting coz the other states seem to be dominated by the #1 cola based drink producer - Coca Cola. Gardenia Cola dominates the carbonated drinks shelves of hypermarkets and convenience stores like 7-11.

I even saw several vending machines dispending Gardenia Cola and other Gardenia flavored canned beverages. Gardenia is best known for its bakery products and is a major producer of bread related goods in Peninsula Malaysia. Gardenia Cola is made by Gardenia Beverages in Kota Kinabalu, Sahab. Coca-cola (coke) is still the major brand of cola drinks in Malaysia though, except in Sabah.

I could not resist addressing this cultural glitch and inserted RM 1.30 in coins into the Gardenia vending machine and purchased a Gardenia Cola drink. The distinctive red can of Gardenia cola dropped down into the holding cell of the vending machine, still cold from the internal cooling system.

Here's a closer look at the Gardenia Coke can - it has the Gardenia logo on it and "Cola carbonated drink by Gardenia" printed on top of the 325 ml can.

It tastes remarkably like a cross between Coke C2 and Coke Light (Diet Coke for non-Malaysians). The cola drink is not excessively carbonated or sweet and leaves a nice, but unusual aftertaste on the tongue.

Posted in Food by Huai Bin at 05:28 PM Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Fried Ice Cream

Fried Ice Cream or Ais Krim Goreng is a popular "mall food" that's been around in one iteration or another for the best part of the past decade. It's basically ice cream that's been dipped in batter, which is then freezed until the customer orders one.

The fried ice cream is then taken out from the freezer and then quickly dipped into a very high temperature oil mixture for a short amount of time. This produces a delicious snack that's hot and crispy on the outside with wonderfully cold ice cream on the inside.

Posted in Snacks by Huai Bin at 04:59 PM Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Kedai Kopi Wan Wan

Kedai Kopi Wan Wan is an auspiciously named eating establishment in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The eatery specializes in fish noodles (as in noodles made of fish puree) and fish pieces (also made from the same puree). It came highly recommended from a KK resident who claimed that seafood and the fish noodles here are the only noteworthy specialties in Sabah.

It seems that a lot of KK residents agree, as the place was packed during lunch and even well after lunch hour. Kedai Kopi Wan Wan spans two large shop houses and is neatly compartmentalized into indoor and outdoor (the term al fresco should never be used to describe the Malaysian dining experience) spaces. The tables were filled with people eating the much lauded fish noodles and a side dish of fish slices in soup.

The three of us and the couple residing in KK that we met up with recommended eating the dish like the locals do - having a personal dry noodles dish and a shared fish noodles and fish slices in broth community bowl. The fish slices/noodles (or a combination) is cooked with the soup of your choice and the interesting bit about this establishment is that the soup is refillable at no cost, much like a steamboat.

This is fish slices in Assam Tom Yam soup. It tastes like tom yam soup with a dash of the sour assam tang. The fish slices in this dish are made from real fish cuts. Fresh fish is cheap and plentiful in KK due to its proximity to the sea.

Here's a closer look at the fish slices in the orange looking Assam Tom Yam soup. The soup is hot and spicy and the fish tastes good when paired with the dry noodle dish.

This dish is based on plain broth (cin tan in Mandarin) and is a combination of fish slices and the famous fish noodles. It tastes better in this implementation as the soup is bland and does not overpower the taste of the fish.

The fish slices are made from fish flesh which has been grinded up and shaped into rough, uneven slices. It's a little like a flat fishball. The fish noodles are thick, flat noodles made of the same processed fish.

The main fish soup dishes are meant to be eaten with this dry noodle dish, in lieu of rice. This dry noodle dish is also called kon lo mee (dry tossed noodles) like its Kuching counterpart, except that it's eaten with fish instead of meat, presumably due to the relative abundance of the former in KK.

Our hosts were kind enough to order another popular variant of this - kon lo fish noodles. It's like the dry noodle dish, except that it's made with fish noodles instead of flour noodles. It's tossed and served dry, and it's interesting to eat a noodle dish made entirely of fish flesh.

It's surprisingly good...

Posted in Local food by Huai Bin at 04:06 PM Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack

Snorkeling at Manukan Island, Sabah

Manukan Island or Pulau Manukan is a 20 minute boat ride from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It's one of the more popular islands in Sabah due to the attraction of its white sandy beaches and rich hued waters teeming with marine life. The abundance of corals and availability of water sports makes this a premier destination for island hopping in Sabah.

Manukan Island is part of the chain of islands that makes up Tunku Abdul Rahman Park in Sabah, Malaysia. The island can be reached by the jetty at Kota Kinabalu city. The boat ride costs RM 15 and can accommodate 10 people, so if you're in a group that's less than the quorum, be prepared to wait a while until 10 people sign up.

The boat that takes you to the island is a modern speed boat and it easily navigates through the clear waters towards the island of your choice. The boat had a mixture of travelers from all over the world and the early morning skies were perfect as we headed towards Pulau Manukan. Snorkels can be rented from the boat operator at RM 10.

The boats that are allowed to dock at Pulau Manukan has to be registered with Sabah Parks and it's required to meet safety requirements e.g. life jackets must be worn during the journey. The waterfront of Kota Kinabalu zips by as the boat departs and there is a constant wind from the speed of the boat billowing at you. The boat occasionally runs into waves so splashes of water into the boat are pretty common.

The lush green island soon comes into view as the boat slows down to dock at the Pulau Manukan island. The natural beauty of the island is apparent - calm, green waters with a diverse amount of fishes swimming around and white, sandy beaches at the fringe with deep green lush trees lining the island.

The rich marine life on Manukan Island is apparent as we disembarked from the boat - the high tide submerges the lower part of the jetty and people can be seen feeding the fishes with pieces of bread. The island is a protected zone so no fishing or harming of the marine life is permitted. This makes the fish breed with abundance and they're quite friendly and unafraid of human contact.

Pulau Manukan has chalets for overnight stays but most people come here just to relax and enjoy the natural offerings of the island on a day trip. The red buoys bobbing around the perimeter extending 100 meters out from the beach are designated swimming areas. There is a lot of boat traffic outside that demarcation and the speed boats carrying island visitors frequently passes very close to the line so it's a good idea to keep inside the perimeter.

The Manukan Island pier is a wooden catwalk hovering over the vibrant green waters and the natural tranquility of the island is palpable as you walk towards the beach...

There is a "Welcome to Pulau Manukan" sign at the end of the pier and a RM 3 conservation fee is to be paid at the booth before entry to the beach is permitted.

The chalets nested in lush greenery greet you as you first step on the beach. The polished wood chalets look perfectly in place on the island, due to the matching theme and decor of the architecture.

I did not waste any time in hitting the beach as the warm sands and appealing shade of water looks too tempting to resist. I donned my snorkels and started to float and swim around, appreciating the wonderful diverse and unique marine life in the waters.

This is me in the snorkels. The water on Pulau Manukan is incredibly calm and hosts a wide variety of fishes. I wish I had an underwater disposable camera to show the readers of sixthseal.com the incredible scenes that I saw while snorkeling:

There was friendly little swordfish swimming at the top of the water, skimming over my snorkel masks every now and then.

There were many different multicolored fishes which come over and take bites out of pieces of bread that you offer then, occasionally nipping at your fingers.

There were sea cucumbers of all sizes, lining the seabed...

There were starfish and corals of mind-boggling variety and complexity.

Since I didn't have an underwater camera, I had to snorkel out into the waters to retrieve select pieces of marine life so I can take photos of them:

This is a starfish taken from about 30 meters out to sea. It's an unusual blue color with a brown underside.

OMG! My thing fell off! ;)

This is a piece of the ubiquitous dead corals that wash out onto the beach. I couldn't very well lug one from the seabed, so this would have to do.

There are lifeguard posts located at the beach for drowning swimmers (though most non-swimmers I saw were wearing life vests).

The beach at Manukan Island is beautiful - the scenic islands surrounding it are easily visible from the shore.

The tranquil waters of Pulau Manukan...perfect for snorkeling...

Reading a good book by the shade of a tree on the beach...

These are two travelers that I met while I was on Manukan Island - very friendly people, they were snorkeling as well.

This is a WWII memorial at Pulau Manukan...there were bombs and shells on display by the beach, which were presumably recovered on the beach after the war.

The fishes in the water are clearly visible through the calm, green waters...

...and all too soon, it was time to depart the island.

Pulau Manukan in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah is a great place to relax and unwind. It's a great island...

Posted in Best of sixthseal.com , Travel by Huai Bin at 04:29 PM Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBack

Mount Kinabalu summit - Climbing Lows Peak

Mt. Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Borneo. The majestic mountain is also a feature of the Sahah flag and the highest peak is called Low's Peak, clocking in at an elevation of 4102 meters. The height of the summit changes from time to time though, and it's currently listed as 4095.2 meters.

The climb up began at 0230 hours from the rest house at 3,320 meters above sea level. We had already scaled the first part of the mountain earlier and the summit attempt was made after 4 hours of sleep. I was the only one to reach the top amongst my buddies - one didn't want to go and the other gave up half way.

The mandatory guide that was assigned to us woke us up at 2 am in the morning and I had a quick snack of Pringles and brought along a 1.5 liter bottle of water and several energy bars. The altitude at the start of the summit climb made the ambient temperature very cold, with an extremely icy wind chill factor.

I suited up in climbing gear and grabbed a torchlight before following the guide up the summit at 2:30 am. It is important to wear gloves as you will need the grip to scramble up the mountain using a rope and as protection from the rugged granite terrain. The altitude also makes scaling the mountain difficult and it is important to take breaths to get used to the thinner atmosphere as you climb up the peak.

The first part of the summit attempt is through rocky terrain and there are some dangerous areas where the path is narrow and there's only a rope separating you from a long fall down the cliff. This isn't visible when you climb it as its dark - but watch your step, as some of the ground is slippery.

I made good pace and reached the 7 km point with relative ease, so I told my guide to stay with my friend as he's moving slower. There were other groups climbing so I decided to embed myself with the faster moving groups. It started to get difficult after 30 minutes of climbing - the weather was extremely cold and my windbreaker couldn't seem to keep the cold out. The temperature drops below 0 degrees Celsius at night and ice forms, though there's no snow up there.

I started to get altitude sickness again after the first hour and had to stop frequently to catch my breath. I practically sprawled at the ground and as I got higher and higher, the more exhausted I got, and I was close to giving up...except I wasn't going to give up, so I just soldiered on and at one point was practically clawing my way up the jagged rocks by sheer willpower alone.

I finally reached the Sayat Sayat checkpoint (where you register your summit attempt) and had to take a 10 minute break there just trying to catch my breath. I don't usually exercise and that, compounded by the unfriendly climate and the previous day's exhaustion made my summit attempt very difficult. My heart was jack hammering and I was breathing raggedly, but I was just as determined to reach the top. :)

I could barely feel my fingers due to the cold, when I reached the 8 km point, despite the gloves. I met Connie, a Hash House Harrier from Kuching who asked me if I was alright when she saw me trying to get warm in a gully. The wind chill factor is a serious concern at this altitude - I couldn't ever shield my face from the wind. I decided to climb steadily without stopping despite my exhaustion and timed my pace to Connie's, who's more experienced.

The next few hours passed with a blur and all I remember is the sharp rock face and the sporadic flash of light from a torchlight as the climbers scaled up the mountain. It got to a point where I was so exhausted, my mind went blank and I just forced myself to keep my hands and legs moving in the general direction of the summit.

It got better as dawn started to break and I could see the peaks of Mount Kinabalu. That gave me a burst of adrenaline and I started to climb with more vigor. I didn't feel exhausted anymore at this point (probably coz of the endorphins) and marveled at the beautiful face of Mt. Kinabalu that is starting to reveal itself.

I soon reached the ridge at the bottom of Low's Peak (the highest peak in Mt. Kinabalu) and started scaling up the face of the peak. There is a rope to guide you through the large limestone and granite peak - it has a very steep inclination and the final 15 meters requires unassisted climbing, so rock climbing skills would come in useful here.

I managed to pull myself up the steep face of the peak and finally got to the peak of Mt. Kinabalu just before sunrise. The dawn was breaking over the mountain and it's truly a sight to behold...I was glad I made it to the top. :)

Here are some photos from the summit:

Dawn breaks on the summit of Mt. Kinabalu

Breathtaking views of Mt. Kinabalu from Low's Peak

The clouds below the summit - on the top of the world!

Victoria's Peak taken from the summit at Low's Peak

Lows Peak - reaching the summit of Mt. Kinabalu

Connie Wu, also from Kuching

Connie and me, taken at the summit

Low's Peak - wire to prevent a fall down the peak

Films of ice forming at water pools at the summit

The beautiful peaks of Mt. Kinabalu as seen from the summit

Descending Mt. Kinabalu - the mountain has been conquered!

Download: Mt. Kinabalu summit video [sixthseal.com]

Mt. Kinabalu is an impressive granite and limestone mountain and is a sight to behold in itself. The scenic view at the summit of the highest mountain in Borneo is breathtaking! I highly recommend scaling the mountain to anyone who's visiting Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Posted in Best of sixthseal.com , Travel by Huai Bin at 02:48 PM Permalink | Comments (44) | TrackBack