LIKAS FLORA: Visualizing your garden BEFORE it exist!

What is unique about LIKAS FLORA is that you can have a concept of how your garden or house looks like before you even have to buy all the landscaping materials to enhance your property! How is it done? SIMPLE. By taking pictures of your property, Nicky Peter, the owner of this Company, will then download them into the computer and beautify the surrounding in the pictures with his concept of landscaping features based on the plants the nursery have.

Nicky will then produced few samples from the design he created and show them to his customers. If they are happy, and after the customers accepted the quotations, he then can proceed to landscape the garden based on the concept that had been approved by the client.

Founded in 1979 at that time called Green Cottage, LIKAS FLORA now have three main nursery; at Likas, Signal Hill and also Gayang in Tuaran. It also has an associated nursery in Labuan which is still call Green Cottage Landscape.

To contact see Facebook Page LIKAS FLORA or pay a visit to Likas Flora at Kampong Likas

Call Nicky: 016-8308114

Office: 088-424532

Fax: 088-426209

The first English romance-thriller from Borneo
Available at WH SMITH KK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Karambunai Golf Resort: Some say here lies Heaven!

Monkeys seeking food from golfers

"Some Say Here Lies Heaven!" says the billboard when you enter Karambunai Resort. I don't doubt a bit. The Karambunai Golf Resort is sandwiched by the beautiful white beach of the South China Sea in the west and on the east are the hills that is covered with thick primary tropical jungle. Golfers or tourists can watch the macaque monkeys foraging foods as well as playing and chasing each other. Sometime the braver ones will come and beg for food from the golfers. At this moment, these monkeys doesn't look aggressive probably because it is the smaller species found here at Karambunai. However, I am sad that the Karambunai Golf management try their very best to "banish" these creatures from here. They told me the monkeys are nuisance. Once an i-phone tablet was "stolen" from the buggy as tourist golfer was putting and taken deep into the jungle! It was never found. But I still believe this animal and the golfers still can co-exist. All the management has to do is to advise players to keep their valuables properly. This monkey does make the course unique. Karambunai is also home to the monitor lizard or "dragons" as the American call it. It is a common sight to see these dragons battling each other for the limited spaces. When these dragons fight, they stood up and cuddled each other! A person not familiar with this reptile tend to think this creature are courting! (See my Facebook Page TRAVEL LEISURE AND GOLF IN BORNEO. I have included two videos of these dragons).

Karambunai Golf Resort was design by Ronald Fream. It is an 18 hole course Par 72. For a high handicappers, Karambunai is a very difficult course because of the numerous ponds, bunkers and the hazard at the jungle boundaries. A beginners will find this course nightmarish because they have to lose dozens of balls before they could finish the course. But for the single or the pro, this course is a piece of cake. The fairways are wide, and the greens are not that long. Good players usually reach the Par 5 in two. So no problem about birdies!

First English romance-thriller from North Borneo
PLEASE CLICK AMAZON or BARNES & NOBLE

Also available at WH Smith (Kota Kinabalu International Airport) 

THE KINABALU GUERILLAS: Petagas War Memorial

Every year, on January 21, the people of North Borneo will commemorate the fallen heroes who fought against the Japanese during The Second World War. Following the fall of Southeast Asia to the Japanese Imperial Army, a patriotic youth name Albert Kwok organized an underground forces of more than 300 young men from various communities to fight against the Japanese. The uprising erupted on October 10, 1943. Sometime the Kinabalu Uprising is also known as the Double Ten. Among them was my grandfather, Charles Peter, at that time the Superintendent of Police since the British time. However, the ill-equipped guerillas were quickly defeated by the superior Japanese forces which was reinforced from Kuching, Sarawak. On January 21, 1944 a total of 176 men from the guerillas and their sympathizers were rounded up and transported by railway cargo wagon to Petagas. 

The commemoration was organized by Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) City Hall inviting government dignitaries as well as family members of those who were massacred by the Japanese at this site in Petagas, few miles from the City Center. City Hall organizer hope there would be more people, locals and tourists that can come and attend this yearly event.

At this commemoration, I happened to bump into an elderly English gentleman, who had stayed in Borneo for the past 30 years never failing to attend this ceremony yearly. He told me an interesting story. There was one young Chinese boy age 16 who help to distribute pamphlets to encourage the uprising which started on October 10, 1943. When the guerillas were defeated, that boy was also sent for execution. However, some of the Japanese soldiers, seeing him as only a boy, helped him to escape and advised him to stay away from urban areas. This boy grew up and died only a few years ago.

We pray for the souls of these brave warriors, THAT THESE MEN LAY DOWN THEIR LIFE FOR THEIR COUNTRY.

ALSO LOG ON TO MY WEBSITE
TRAVEL LEISURE & BORNEO

LIKAS FLORA: The Garden in the Kampong

Likas Flora, a landscape and horticulture company started as Green Cottage in 1979. It was started by my mother, Misbah Abdul Hamid as a hobby, because she loves planting and tendering flowers and plants. From a humble beginning, Likas Flora grew to become a landscaping company. Nowadays, Likas Flora is involved in rental of potted plants, supply and planting of ornamental grass, supply of indoor and outdoor plants and also maintenance of garden compound.

Landscaping is refer to activities that involve modification of land features with living elements integrated with the structural environment. It is crudely call gardening. As for Likas Flora, it is integrating the tropical flora with roads and buildings. Landscaping is important because it enhance the environment, create sosio-behavorial and aesthetic outcome. A wonderful landscaping in our own backyard can sooth our stress and calm our anxiety.

Ornamental decoration for the office table

To contact see Facebook Page for LIKAS FLORA (please like) or see their website or e-mail at likasflora@yahoo.com or pay a visit to Likas Flora at Kampong Likas 5 miles from town

Likas Flora Sdn Bhd

No.18 Jalan Kuala Laut

Kg Likas, 88100 KOTA KINABALU

Call Nicky: 016-8308114

Office: 088-424532

Fax: 088-426209

MANTANANI ISLAND: The Common Birds

Asian Glossy Starling

Mantanani is indeed a bird paradise. There are so many on this island. Multiple varieties. This Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis) is one of them. It is found all over Southeast Asia including Bangladesh and India. I think it is related to the crow, and believed me, it seems intelligent. Why I said this is because it is quite wary when you stare at it. It knows you are watching them! It is also the noisiest bird on the island.

Pink-neck Green Dove

The Pink-neck Green Dove (Treron vernans) or in Malay called Burung Punai Daun is also common all over Southeast Asia. Any species of Punai is a protected species in Borneo but many people here just find it enjoyable to hunt them. They say Punai is tasty; but what difference are these birds compared to pigeons? It is very hard to comprehend men! They still go after the wild ones when the same meat is available domestically.

Blue Rock Thrush?

I think this is a female Blue Rock Thrush. Males are colorful. When this bird sing, she appears bigger and fluffier. She is quite unfriendly to her own kind. There is a mirror hanging outside our kitchen and this bird spent all night "fighting" with her intruder. She never gave up. The pecking of the mirror is so noisy and at night it is very difficult to sleep as she keep on pecking without getting tired. Finally, we have to turn the mirror and the battle stopped.

Whimbrel

I believe this one is a Coastal Whimbrel (numenius phaeopus) which is found all over the world; Asia, Africa, Europe and Americas.

Frankly speaking I am not a birdwatcher. But being on this island, I find the time to appreciate what God had created. I start remembering how I observe this common birds behavior when I was a kid especially the Glossy Starling. It's red eyes, it's glossy black feather and also their favorite food; colorful fruits! If you have ripe papaya at your backyard, then you will never have chance to eat them. This bird love them.

MANTANANI ISLAND: In Search of the Philippines Megapode

The Philippines Megapode Bird (picture by The Sabah Society)

The real reason why we were on this island was because of this bird (above picture). THE SABAH SOCIETY who are responsible for protecting and preserving the natural, cultural and historical aspects of North Borneo sent us to this island to search, identify and peg the Megapode bird nests found all over the island using GPS coordinate. I wish to thank The Sabah Society for getting me involved in this project.

The Megapode nests (two pictures above)

Mantanani is the home to the Philippines Megapode birds. Megapode means "large foot" in Greek. It is also known as the Tabon Scrubfowl. It belongs to the Megapodiidae Family. Its natural habitats are the tropical or subtropical dry or lowland forests. Mantanani is quite dry and almost all flat. So the Megapode should be able to thrive here. The Megapode are also known as incubator bird or sometimes call the mount builders.

This bird is slightly bigger than chicken. It is considered solitary but do comes in pair to build their nest. The bird is considered an inefficient flyer and spent time foraging on the ground like most big birds. The bird build huge massive mount of either decaying vegetation or sand to cover its single egg because it doesn't use its body heat to incubate the egg. Instead, the rotting vegetation or the sand which is heated by the sun does the work for them. When I look at the mount, I wonder why does the Philippines Megapode take all the trouble to build their very big nest just to cover one egg. Once hatch, the chick are left to defend itself.

The Sabah Society undertake this project so that they can get a map of the nesting sites and to know the exact areas where the birds are. There are more than 300 of these mounts on this small island. As I say before in my previous posting, the island lack natural predators and thus this island became a paradise for birds including the Philippines Megapode. However, the threat comes not from the natural predators but from men themselves. The village elder told me that the locals will take the trouble to dig the nest just to get one of this egg! He told me he also don't understand why people likes to eat this egg because it taste so horrible!

A villager looking for the egg warily looking at us

The first English romance-thriller from Borneo
AVAILABLE AT AMAZON OR BARNES & NOBLE
Search also THE EURASIANS by Don Peter ebook

MANTANANI ISLAND: Paradise in Peril

Eastern part of Mantanani Besar, best location to see the sunrise

Mantanani has the most beautiful white sandy beach with crystal clear water, nice village and villagers and the most wonderful jungle home to the Megapode; an almost flightless bird, and other bird species common on this islands, all packaged together by the Almighty Creator.

The island facing the north

And this one facing the South China Sea in the southwest

Mantanani are a small group of three islands northwest of Sabah (North Borneo). The largest island is the Mantanani Besar, where all the local Ubian people live. The other islands are Mantanani Kecil and the smallest one is Lungisan. Both are uninhabited. Since the story of the Dugong became famous, thousands of tourists from all over the world came here hoping to see this magnificent creatures. Mantanani is famous also for its recreational diving where many of the corals are still intact and there is also a dive wreck from World War Two.

Even though the jungle is small, it still display impressive flora

Just imagine! Nearby is the white sandy beach, and a minute walk into its hinterland, Mantanani does have a thick jungle; sort of. Walking around could take hours and occasionally we could get lost.... but don't worry! No matter which direction you go, civilization is not far away! There is no wild boars in this island and that is one reason why this place is a birdwatchers paradise. In fact this island lack the terrestrial predators which otherwise could have wiped out the birds. Beside the Megapode bird, Mantanani is also home to the Scops Owl.

But Mantanani Islands is threatened by over-fishing, especially fish-bombing, piling up garbage and waste and also the threat from development itself. Fish bombing is the major contributor to the destruction of corals on this islands. At this moment, nothing much is done to solve this critical problems. Thus, Mantanani Islands are Paradise in Peril!

The first English romance-thriller from Borneo
AVAILABLE AT AMAZON OR BARNES & NOBLE  
Search also THE EURASIANS by Don Peter ebook