Sir Christopher Lee (1922 - 2015)

Whenever I think of Christopher Lee, two characters invariably come to mind: Count Dracula and Saruman. His portrayal of villains somehow is so much more impactful than his acting as good guys.

I remember the one and only Dracula movie I had ever watched - "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" way back in 1968 when I was just a Form 4 school boy. A school friend of mine invited me to watch this black and white movie in the Capital Cinema. Since we could not make it for the first show, we decided to watch the second show which was to start at 9.00 pm. By the time it ended, it was 11.00 pm. In those days, the last public bus that traversed the road leading to my home was at 7.00 pm. Taxi was almost non-existent then. Even if there was, it was way beyond our means to charter one. The only way was to walk on foot from the cinema back to my home along Harrington Road, now renamed Jalan Istana. Walking alone along an unlit road and without seeing or meeting anybody or a vehicle was nerve wrecking. This was made worse by the scenes of the eerie castle and the bloodsucking vampire kept replaying in the mind.

 

There was one particular spot along the road where a man had previously committed suicide by hanging himself in a tree not far from the road side. By the time his body was discovered due to the strong stench, his remain was practically bones and pieces of rotten flesh. You can just imagine the fear and horror the imagination of vampire combined with walking skeleton could cause in a young boy's mind! That was truly one most frightful walk of my life. Because of this, I could never forget Christopher Lee!

 

One of the qualities of Christopher was his lack of marital scandal which is sadly so prevalent in Hollywood nowadays. His marriage to his wife Birgit Kronke Lee lasted more than 54 years from 17 March 1961 till he died on 7 June 2015.

Christopher Lee as Saruman in the "Lord of the Ring"

Christopher Lee was not only a good actor, he was also known for his singing ability. This I discovered much later (view here).

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Capital Cinema then.

Capital Cinema, the yellow-roof building was a prominent landmark and a favorite place for hang-out and watching movies in those days. The seafront at Kampong Air where Asia City, KK Hilton Hotel and Plaza Shell are now sited had yet to be reclaimed.

Sabah is Forever Changed after 5 June 2015 Earthquake

The Psyche of the people of Sabah was forever changed after 5 June 2015. At 7.15am that morning, an earthquake measuring 6.0 magnitude on the Richter Scale struck Ranau and its tremor was felt throughout Sabah. Many aftershocks followed, one of which hit 5.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale.

At that precise moment, I was standing next to the dining table getting ready for my breakfast. Having suffered vertigo before, my first thought was - "Wow, what a major vertigo attack so early in the morning!". But then, the sensation was not in the head, I felt my legs swaying left and right in tandem with the swaying of the floor. The next immediate thought - "What kind of heavy machinery is passing outside our house so early in the morning to cause such massive vibration!". I rushed out to the front door together with my wife. There was no major machinery outside but we did see our neighbours all rushing out of the main doors. We knew then, an earthquake has struck. Little did we knew then that earthquake which lasted  barely 30 seconds have claimed 18 lives.

Since no major damage was found in the house, we proceeded with our driving trip to the Tip of Borneo in Kudat to attend the Sunset Music Fest scheduled at 5.00pm that evening. This had been planned quite a few days ago.

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Out of this tragedy, we saw villains, heroes, victims and heart-broken parents and individuals. There were tears of sorrow as well as tears of joy when injured were saved and when parents were reunited with their children. But to many, it was a freak natural disaster that has forever changed their lives. That earthquake has chiseled off part of their hearts leaving irreparable void.

The foreign hikers who may have thought it's fun to pose naked on top of Mt. Kinabalu probably never meant to cause offence to the people of Sabah. Some did learn a hard lesson and were found guilty of "committing an obscene act in a public area". They were duly punished. To the indigenous people, it was their disrespectful acts toward the local culture that was deemed  most abhorrent.

I have always been proud of this land which we Sabahans proudly proclaim to the world - "Land Below the Wind" or land free from natural disaster.  But with the tragedy caused by the 5th June earthquake, there is no doubt that this claim would no longer be true.

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I have climbed Mt. Kinabalu twice. The first time was in May 1972, the year after I finished my  A Levels. That was more than 43 years ago. At that time, climbing the mountain was no easy feat and it was so much more challenging.

Immediately after reaching the summit and on the way down, one of the girls injured her foot. She first tried to drag herself down with the assistance of an impromptu walking stick plucked from a little tree trunk. After repeated strenuous effort, it proved to be too difficult in the steep and rocky terrain.  In the end, some of the nine boys had to take turn to assist her to move down the mountain slowly one step at a time.  It was one experience that I find it hard to forget. That climb made me realize that friends are so crucial in time of crisis!

At the summit.

Donkey Ears in 1972.

The earthquake in 5 June 2015 was so powerful that part of one of the Donkey Ears was dislodged.

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In March 1987, I did the second climb with my wife together with a group of teachers from Sabah College.

I am squatting at right. My wife is standing 4th from right.

A short break to watch the sun rise just before our final push to the summit.

At the summit.

Sunset Music Fest 2015 at The Tip of Borneo

The Sunset Musical Fest held at the Tip of Borneo would be remembered with a mixture of happiness and sadness. It was held on 5 June 2015, the day Ranau in Sabah was struck with the most catastrophic natural disaster it has ever faced – the 6.0 magnitude earthquake on Richter Scale.

Soon after we felt the aftershock tremors in the morning of 5 June 2015, we did not think much of its severity and decided to proceed with our driving to our destination, Kudat to attend this Concert which was planned quite some time ago.

 

In fact, while we were on our way to Kudat, our friends in Sarawak and West Malaysia had been trying to contact us via the Whatsapp Chat to check whether we were affected by the earthquake. However, I was not aware of it because I was busy on the wheel concentrating on my driving. We were finally contacted through a phone call from a friend in Sarawak when we were about to check into the Resort in Kudat. We wasted no time to keep our friends informed that we were alright.

 

Sunset Music Fest held annually at the Tip of Borneo is Sabah’s biggest open air concert. Since its launch some nine years ago, it has allowed music lovers to be serenaded with classical music, songs and contemporary tunes. This concert used to feature both foreign and local artistes. But for the concert we attended, all performers are locals.

 

As the concert name implies, the stage is set in such a way to allow audience to enjoy simultaneously the music as well as the panoramic sunset view of the northern most point of Borneo where the Sulu Sea meets the South China Sea.

 

The artistes are all well known local singers. But since we are not great fans and followers of local singers, they were all newbies to us. They sang a great variety of songs in English, Malay, Kadazan and even Chinese. As far as I am concerned, the most impactful among them is a group of young men who called themselves "The La Cantabile". They did well when they performed “The Phantom of the Opera”.

Photo's from Sabah Tourism Board - What it is liked to be a spectator of the Concert.

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Waiting for the concert to commence.

We last visited the Tip of Borneo in 2006 (Read here). There was hardly any noticeable change in the area. But the fact is, we have changed because we are definitely much older after a lapse of nine years!

 

In Kudat, we stayed in a new little beach resort called North Borneo Biostation Resort which is owned and run by a Russian. This Resort is situated at quite a distance from Kudat town centre. Unless one has a car, it would be quite inconvenient to stay there. We chose this place when we browsed through Agoda.com for a place to stay a night after the Sunset Music Fest. This location is quite ideal as it is only about 13 Km southeast of the Tip of Borneo.

 

Even with our faithful Garmin, we still had some difficulty in locating this place. This Resort is tucked inside a coconut plantation and is built on a beach front at an elevated platform some 30 feet above the sea. This hide-away place is ideal for people who want to totally get away from the city and spend a couple of day in “isolation” to enjoy nature and the sea. However, people who hate hot weather and high humidity may find this quite unpleasant and even annoying.

 

The restaurant is huge probably because the owner expected all guests to eat-in rather than travel great distance to look for food outside. I found the food reasonably good and charged at very reasonable price.

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Unusual rock formation at the adjacent Bak-Bak Beach

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After the Concert, we had our dinner at a place called the “Howard’s Place” which is just about one Km from the Tip of Borneo. This outlet is also operated by a Caucasian whom I believe loves sunshine and the tropical sea. I believe he chose this strategic location because of its proximity to the famed Tip of Borneo and the equally famed Beach of Pantai Kalampunian which is also not very far from the rear of his restaurant.