The Golden Jubilee Reunion gathering was held in Sandakan from 28-31 May, 2011. Amongst those who attended, one ex-member (and his wife) flew in all the way from Vancouver, Canada. Other participants not normally Sabah-based included one each from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. More than 20 participants (members and their spouses) took part in the various activities organised for the period.
Flash back to the early gatherings:
1962: Group Photo of members at the house of Mr. Kan for the 1st Anniversary Celebration in Sandakan.
Those who turned up 49 years later for the Golden Jubilee Reunion are circled in this pix.
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1963: Picnic and Outing at M5 Swimming Pool
This activity was organised soon after lady members were admitted into the club.
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2011: Group Photo of Participants taken at the back of Sabah Hotel
REUNION ACTIVITIES
28 May: Welcoming Dinner at Fisherman's Village, Tanah Merah
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This sea food restaurant is one of our regular venues for gathering in Sandakan. Unfortunately, it did not live up to its reputation and the services were bad this time. The restaurant ran out of chillies, limes....and even crabs! That's not a good sign for a restaurant serving "sea foods".
David Chan serving the fish...
Stella, Rosita, Sai Ming and Peter
James serving...
Leonard re-establishing contacts with "sa bak"
James, Elizabeth and Catherine
Dorothy is not worried about cholesterol...
29 May: Sandakan Harbour Cruise
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***Breakfast Session
This is the entrance way to our breafast venue at Fisherman's Village, Tanah Merah, Sandakan. The run-down conditions of the surrounding looked unconducive for holding a breakfast outing. But the good sea foods offered compensated for the negativeness of the atmosphere.
A few shots of some water village scenes while breakfast is being served....
...Breakfast being served
***All Aboard!
Three Sea Dogs
A Little Diversion
***Stopping by a Fish Farm
It was a good day for cruising. The sea was calm, and there was a light, pleasant breeze. The atmosphere was a bit hazy, which presented a slight disadvantage to those intending to take pictures of distant landscapes. After traversing for an hour and half we arrived at a fish farm in the proximity of Pulau Bai. There was a sign which read "Singga P" -- perhaps, that's the name for this farm. Because the boat operators had close business connections with the farm's owner, we could step aboard their floating networks of planks for a closer look at the caged fish. We were also accorded special privilege to acquire 2 live, cross-breed 'kerapu' for our lunch later on.
Approaching the "Singga P" Fish Farm
Under the watchful eyes of a real sea-dog
The Spurs have landed
Everyone, face the camera now!
OK, let's go
There...there's a huge one...
Ready to jump in...
..Line dancing?
I'll say it again...let's go!
Wait for me!
This one joins us for (as)lunch!
***Miscellaneous Landscapes/Seascapes
(...Click images to enlarge)
***Lunch At Sandakan Yacht Club
The harbour cruise had taken a bit longer than planned, despite putting forward the disembarkation time by an hour. But it was time well worth spending. Most of us have probably not taken such a leisurely cruise round the Sandakan Harbour for a while. For some, this was even their first experience.
We were lucky that the cook at the Sandakan Yacht Club had accommodated our late arrival (at 1:35 pm). He had also meticulously prepared and steamed our 2 live garouper fish to perfection.
***Main Dinner
This function was held at the Happy Restaurant located ON the first floor of the Sandakan Recreation Club (SRC). It was an apt choice, since the SRC Was the centre of the football scenes in the pre-Malaysian days. The Town Padang, where practically all the important football and other sporting activities took place in those days is located a short distance from the SRC. Many of us developed our affinity to and skill for football because our families lived in the proximity of the SRC and the Town Padang in the 1950's.
The main dinner function was a relatively low-key fellowship session, with participants mainly engaging in casual chats, cheerfully reminiscing on their many youthful exploits half an century ago.
30 May: Kinabatangan River Rides
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***Breakfast at Restaurant 88, Grand View
It would be a long day today as we would be taking a drive to Sukau to visit the Kinabatangan Jungle Camp (Resort). As such, we needed a hearty breakfast to charge up our "batteries". It was quite thoughtful of our organizers to come up with a "dimsum" breakfast.
***Kinabatangan Jungle Camp
For first-time travellers, it is not easy to locate Kampong Bilit to take the boat to this Jungle Camp Resort. There are very few strategically located sign boards guiding visitors to Bilit.
Like most visitors, we missed the road junction leading to Bilit and had to retrace our steps back.
....At last, we arrive at Kg. Bilit
....First thing first...the loo
....Boarding the speed boats to the Resort
....away we go!
[Despite the boats in these 2 pix pointing in the opposite directions, both were in fact heading downstream towards the Jungle Camp. Yours truly was shooting alternately from each side of the boat.]
***welcoming Address by the Camp "Commandant"
We were received by the manager of the Jungle Camp Mr. Robert Chong, who gave us a briefing on the back ground to the Jungle Camp Resort. Somehow, Mr. Chong's image reflected a tinge of recognition...must be one of my small scouts many years ago? It turned out, he was one of my wolfcubs half a century ago! He should be well qualified to run a camp!
...Flash back, Robert as a wolfcub
***Luncheon
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After lunch, we had to wait for an hour or so before we could participate in the next activity - the River Cruise. The main intention was to watch some of the wild lives in the region and we could have a better chance of glimpsing the animals as evening approached. In the mean time, some whiled away the hours by playing cards (above). Others preferred to sit down and chat (below).
***A Stroll Round the Resort Grounds
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***River Cruise & Wildlife Sighting
The ideal time to embark on this boat ride is late afternoon when wild animals will start their hunting activities. This is also the time the pygmy elephants will gather at the river banks for their daily splash.
Since we had a dinner function at Indah scheduled for 7 pm, we had to start the cruise at 3:00 pm.
***Dinner, Day 2
After a tiring drive from Sukau, participants arrived back at Sandakan at around 6:30 pm. We ended our activities for Day 2 with a dinner cum fellowship session at the Keranamu Restaurant in the Taman Indah area. Incidentally, this restaurant was located in the proximity of the former private swimming pool where we had our first major outing back in 1963 (see photo at the beginning of this Reunion 2011 blog.)
31 May: Time to say Goodbye
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Traditionally, we end the reunion with a breakfast gathering. The venue chosen this time was the Wei Chow Coffee Shop at Mile 2, Leila Road. The late owner, who went by the nick name of "Ham Yee Tau" (Salted Fish Head) was a renown noodles vendor as well as a traditional herbal 'doctor' in the 50's. The shop is now run by his daughter/grandchildren.
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