KING LING COLLEGE

Date:11-14April2014

Class: 5D

Destination: Sabah

S5D Group 1 Grand Tour Report

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Content

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2

Reflection: Day 1 ................................................................................................................... 3

Reflection: Day 2 ................................................................................................................... 7

Reflection: Day 3 ................................................................................................................. 13

Reflection: Day 4 ................................................................................................................. 16

Group Member List ............................................................................................................. 20

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Introduction During 11 to 14 April 2014, we went to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, destination of our grand tour. The reason for the study trip is very obvious, we want to quench our thirst of knowledge which is not on the text book. As we know it is better to gain more knowledge by frequent traveling instead of reading a number of books. Most importantly, we experienced a cultural exchange, which widened our horizons.

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Reflection: Day 1

Spots description: On the first day, we went to the night market in Kota Kinabalu, which is one of the most famous food courts in all South East Asia. There were dozens of food stores in an open area, sour and spicy smell, and salty taste from the sea nearby that we could smell in the air, hot steam was flooding . Besides the food stores, there were scores of booths in the market selling fresh fruits, condiments and drinks, etc. The night market was crowded as a continual bustle of locals and tourists flowing inward and outward, it seems like the night life of Sabah will never end. Reflection : On the first night, we felt excited and hyper during the night market visit, but then we found that there were fewer choices in the market, all booths were selling the same types of products such as seafood, chicken, condiments and seasonal fruits. Looking back to Hong Kong, the international city, varieties goods from all the countries around the world we are able to choose, but it seems like we are losing our own distinguish features. From the products selling in the market, we can see that the people in Sabah believe in Mohammedanism as they do not eat pork, and we can know that mangoes, watermelons, pineapples and durians are abound in April in Sabah. We could find a lot of Sabah culture from their specialty and products. What made us enjoyable of visiting the night market was that no one would force you to buy something, instead, they just gave us a warm smile. They were so proud of their products as they looked confident and content while introducing their own products. Their honesty and simplicity worth us to admire. Moreover, the locals in Sabah have wonderful night life. At night, some of the locals love to spend time with friends or lovers when they have spare time, maybe having a walk nearby the waterfront or having delicacy in the night market. The night market is such a place for people to relax, to meet friends and take a rest.

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Photos

Spots description: We went to night market near our hotel, it offered a wide range of Southeast Asian foods such as fresh seafood and fried foods. It was a pen-air food stall and downtown streets. It was opened from late afternoon (5:30) until the last paying customer was ready to leave. The price was reasonable and the food was delicious, it was the reason why it attracted so many customers to dine here.

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Reflection: Although the environment sanitation was worse than the high-level restaurants in Hong Kong, the bustling atmosphere fascinated us and reminded us the lunch with our family at cooked food stall. The people was nice and full of enthusiasm. It was a part of the collective memories of Hong Kong people. Yet, the cooked food stall has now been replaced by new restaurants and the characteristics of Hong Kong is disappearing. In addition, we saw some young children working in the night market, we remembered the young kid who helped cut the chickens into pieces. Child labour is illegal in Hong Kong, we think the Kota Kinabalu government should set up laws to protect the rights of children. Moreover, we think that the children need their own leisure time to do what they like, the parents should not exploit their time for work. Most importantly, the children can spend more time on studying if they don't need to work. Besides, there are many dangers amid the night market, parents should be on their guard for bad guys and take good care of the children. Night market is a place full of crowds and this may be a chance for the strangers to kidnap the child , Furthermore, the children could get hurt easily during their work. We think the parents should give a good memory for the childhood of their children and give them freedom to play , not to work.

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Photos

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Reflection: Day 2 Spots description: It was the second day of the tour. After a long journey on bus we arrived at Kinabalu Park, the highest mountain in Malaysia. There were full of trees and plants of different varieties, the soothing atmosphere unwound us. Inside the museum of the park, there were exhibitions showing us the environment and wildlife of Kinabalu, for example various types of plant, animals and insects, geography, etc. Afterward, we walked through a part of the forest through the 40-meter-high bridge. Reflection: During the visiting of Mount Kinabalu, it broadened our horizons. Kota Kinabalu was simply a fusion of wide range and special wildlife. We could see different types of wildlife animals which seldom existed in Hong Kong. Kota Kinabalu kept its natural environment well and presented them to the world. While developing the tourism, the natural environment could also be kept away from destruction. Hong Kong should learn from Kota Kinabalu in the development of cultural tourism.

After the visit in Kinabalu Park, we dined in a local restaurant, we realized that the cultural in Kota Kinabalu was quite different from Hong Kong. We could seldom eat pork in Kota Kinabalu. It was because of religious limitation.

Apart from the differences in culture and environment, we could feel the local conditions and customs when we roamed about the market or souvenirs shops, the locals talked to us enthusiastically regardless of the language barrier. Generally speaking, it was an enjoyable , comfortable and pleasurable grand tour.

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Photos

Spots description: Our class arrived at the Kinabalu Park and took a lot of photos. After visiting the museum of Sabah, our class started hiking to Mount Kinabalu. After lunch, we arrived at canopy walkway, which is situated more than 20 meters above the ground. The walkway is composed of a series of 5 meter aluminium ladders bolted together and suspended horizontally from cables, therefore it was so exciting and adventurous.

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Reflection: It was a meaningful trip for us as we had broken through our limit. One of us had acrophobia but after a walk on the canopy walkway, he was not afraid of walking on high places anymore. We believed that bravery is the only key to our goal. No matter study or problem-solving, we should keep our courage. Also, tourists need to buy a ticket for photo shooting inside the canopy walkway. It shows that the Sabah government values its forests very much. In Hong Kong, tourists don't need to pay for shooting photos. It showed the difference between Sabah and Hong Kong. Besides, Kinabalu Park was established as Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO, the government needs to afford a large amount of money to protect the wild life and environment in exchange for the reputation. We wish Hong Kong government could treasure our only forest and wildlife too. The tour guide in Kinabalu Park treated us so nice and we had a precious memory with him. The attitude of locals were very nice and polite.

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Photos

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Reflection: Day 3 Spots description: This day, we had visited Mari-Mari Cultural Village and mangroves. In the village, we came across different characters : the cowboy and sea gypsey Bajau, and the notorious headhunting tribe Murut. Also, the visit of mangrove forest allowed us to see the wildlife animals, such as monkeys and the stunning fireflies. Although we did not have enough sleep in the previous day, we still did not regret waking up so early in the morning. There was a lot of interest stuffs in the Sunday market. For instance, a bracelets made up of colorful stones, some desserts which were delicious. Reflection: The cultural village was absolutely a unique place that we can know more about the living and livelihood of people in the past. What’s more, there were a lot of difference comparing Hong Kong with Sabah. The locals were hospitable that they served their food and drinks to us. Looking back to Hong Kong, we think if hongkongers see emergency cases, they will just take out their mobile phones immediately and spare no helping hands. But in the village, we felt their unity and hospitality . This is the spirit what hongkongers lack of and they should learn from them. Moreover, when we saw their outfits, it reminded us the disappearing of the unique cultures in Hong Kong, and nobody ever cares about it. It is a pity that Hong Kong, my homeland , is losing its special traditional characteristic. Compared the gorgeous view we saw in the mangroves with the polluted sky and concrete jungles in Hong Kong, these differences are really pathetic. In conclusion, although Hong Kong has advanced technology and better living conditions, we think the atmosphere in MARI-MARI Cultural Village is better than that in Hong Kong because of the passion of the locals and the stunning natural views. The Hongkongers should learn their spirit and protect our remaining natural environment .

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Photos

Spots description: In Day three, we went to the Sunday Market which includes a hundred of market stalls. After having breakfast in hotel, Mari-Mari Culture Village is our next destination. The local guide showed us around the traditional architecture and special activities in there. The clansmen also prepared an amazing dancing performance for the tourists. After that, our guide, Desmond, arranged two cabin cruisers to sightsee the mangrove. We could observe a variety of wild animals, such as proboscis monkeys, egrets etc. The highlight of our trip was to enjoy the sight of fireflies on the boats at night.

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Reflection: In this trip, Mari-Mari Culture Village is a great place to show Sabah’s traditional culture. Not only could we know more about the lives of the clansmen in the past, but we could also admire the architecture in Sabah. The clansman cut down the tree trunks and utilized it to build houses uniformly. Although the houses are made by tree trunks, it is firm and solid that you are willing to sleep on it. What’s memorable was the scene of one of the young clansman drilling wood for fire. That shows great wisdom of the clans. We could embody the culture and customs there. In the mangrove, the trip was an eco-tourism. The wild animals live leisurely and carefree. Not only is the mangrove, but town centre in Sabah is also surrounded by trees. They promote sense of green life and eco-friendly. Personally, wethink nature conservation in Sabah is better than that in Hong Kong. However, it is not hard to find out that the development of Sabah falls behind many countries. That’s why the environment in Sabah is different from that in Hong Kong. During the grand tour, we can feel the hospitality of the locals. Many shopkeepers gave cautions and tips for shopping to us because of the insecurity in the markets. We are glad to have a safe and meaningful trip as well as learning cultural, history and architecture in Sabah. Photos

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Reflection: Day 4 Spots description: On the last day of our Sabah grand tour, we went to the La Salle Secondary School which is a government subsidied school for boys and girls ( mainly for boys, only a few girls in grade 11). Then, we moved on to visit the famous spots in Sabah like Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the second main mosque in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Foundation Building, which is the second tall building in the island Borneo with height of 122m, and Puh Toh Tze Temple, bulit in Chinese style. Reflection: During the visit in La Salle Secondary School, wefound that there were a few differences in education system between Hong Kong and Sabah. Generally, we go to school from Monday to Friday with a fixed time period from 8.00am to 4.00pm while La Salle Secondary School has a quite special timetable, they have the most lessons on Monday. However, they have to start their lesson in the early morning, 6.00am while we have just woken up! Another important point is that the boys in La Salle are really hospitable and enthusiastic. We especially appreciate the confidence of the boys in La Salle as they performed traditional dancing in front of all guests and invited us to join them. We have become friends at the end of the visiting. Those

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unforgettable memories will be in our mind forever. At the end of this trip, we also got to know more about Muslim. It was interesting that there is a symbol of green arrow on the ceiling of the hotel room. After consulting our tour guide, we know that it is the direction that the Muslim pay respect to their god. What a wonderful trip in Sabah! If we have time, we will come to Sabah one more time as we was addicted to the fabulous scenery in Sabah and their enthusiasm. Photos

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Spots description: On the last day of the grand tour in Sabah, we visited a local secondary school, La Salle Secondary School.

When we just arrived the La Salle Secondary School, we were amazed by the Welcome Ceremony performance. The students in the La Salle Secondary School were so talented that they used varies musical instruments which are full of local cultural elements, such as gongs and drums to perform the overwhelming and powerful music to us. Besides musical performance, they also integrated the Chinese lion dance into their performance. We were honored and glad to see their fabulous performance!

After visiting the La Salle Secondary School, our routine mainly focused on shopping and visiting temples, including Putuo Temple and mosque. Reflection: During the half-day trip in the La Salle Secondary School, not only had we met more Malaysian friends, but we had also found out a lot of difference in culture and education system between Malaysia and Hong Kong. After chatting with the local students, we knew that their school was separated into lower secondary school and upper secondary school, what really took us by surprise was that they only have to use 2 years to finish their upper secondary curriculum, so their total secondary school year is 5 years, 1 year less than us. What’s more, their school buildings are at most 3 levels high which is quite unusual in Hong Kong. From our point of view, a lower level school building is more convenient for students as they don’t have to use much efforts to get upstairs and downstairs. What impressed us the most was their synthetic lawn surrounding the campus, it promoted sense of environmentally friendly in campus and aroused the awareness of environmental protection of students. We even entered their classroom, it didn’t take us long to realize that our attitude towards learning was too passive. Comparing Hong Kong students with La Salle students, the former was too quiet and simply lack of interactions in the classroom. The most remarkable place in the La Salle Secondary School was definitely the library, their library was so unique that they can even play different games inside. The

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La Salle students introduced some food, musical instruments and popular games in their country to us, we can learn their culture through getting the first-hand. Photos

Conclusion After travelling to Sabah, it is worth for us to appreciate the unique culture and nature conservation in Sabah. Nowadays, global warming becomes a serious problem in the world, so we should learn the sense of green life and environmental consciousness from Malaysians. Interacting with the local students is a great way to realize the weakness of ourselves. Lastly, all of us enjoyed the grand tour and were addicted to the local people’s enthusiasm and glorious sight. We hope that our school could keep on launching these tours for our schoolmates.

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Group Member List 5D (1) Chan Man Fei 5D (2) Chau Ching Wai 5D (3) Choi Cheuk Yiu 5D (4) Chow Tsz Ting 5D (5) Hung Yu Ting 5D (21) Yiu Hoi Sin 5D (22) Chan Wai Chau 5D (23) Chan Wing Kuen 5D (24) Cheung Hin Yuk 5D (25) Chiu Chung Fat