Teh Tarik Travels - Lupang Family Reunion! Part 1

Due to unforseen pre-Christmas catch up with work, I do realize there has been a little lack of attention to the olde blogsite but hopefully things would improve by this week. As mentioned in my previous post, made my way to the Borneo side of Malaysia to have what is billed as a "long overdue reunion" of my family back in Sabah!

[Sabah FTW!]

As many would have already guessed by now, I hail from the Land Beneath the Wind itself and for my entire family to actually gather for a family reunion is truly a feat that should not be underestimated. Reason being? We have a large family. A really really really really really large family...

Where my family come from is actually from a teeny tiny little town called Keningau which is about 1 to 3 hours drive, depending on how which road you actually take. Due to the fact that my family's hometown is slightly within the inner region of Sabah, most people would have to cross over the Crocker Range in order to get to the town from Kota Kinabalu.

[Jiggly Figurines to make you forget about the creaking sound the taxi makes...]

So for most people, the best mode of transportation to Keningau would always be the old taxi services, for which can still serve their purpose despite the condition or look of the taxi itself! Fact of the matter is because of the condition of the hills that taxis need to pass to, some would really doubt whether the cars can actually make it to the top. Some of the inclination of the roads are those that I have never seen before in anywhere within Peninsula Malaysia. It wasn't helpful either to have the taxi driver constantly telling and pointing at places where people lost control of their cars and crashing to their deaths. True story.

[Oh crap...]

However the best thing about going through a very au natural country road is the sights that you get to see while on the way. One of the best things the Crocker Range has to offer is the fauna view of the country side which obviously I didn't miss out on taking pictures!

[A two storey waterfall!]

[splish splash!]

Despite the tiring 3 hours journey, reaching my hometown for the reunion was expected to be a tiring one, on the simple reason that every one of my cousins would be gearing up for the reunion itself. Everybody has a part to play for the reunion, be it organizing the event, head count and for myself and the rest of TeamTehTarik, would be performance and pictures!

[TeamTehTarik in reunion!]

For each of us we were already pre-assigned for a job to do for the reunion, Safriz covering the pictures for the night and ShazK and myself would be doing the performance for my family. Wonder how they got that idea...

As mentioned earlier, I really do have a large family and gatherings like this is the true testament to that number. Family members from all around the world would actually come for this event and one interesting point to make is that these people are not distant cousins or anything like that. I am actually close to all of them.

[With my cousin Christine and niece Amanda!]

[Candid moment with the boss!]

One of the best thing about my family reunion is that we would never be short of entertainment. Even though I am contributing to some of the performance that night, so many of my other cousins and nieces are putting their effort into showcasing something for the family.

[One of my young nieces putting out a ballet recital for the night's performance]

[Me and ShazK belting out a number]

[end of the night Poco Poco]

For all of you out there that has no clue whatsoever on Poco Poco (pronounced phor-chor phor-chor) it is a group dance that almost every Sabahan family reunion would actually pull out at the end of the night. Kinda like a end of the night group participation performance. Problem was that yours truly have no idea how the steps are for this dance so it is kinda depressing when your 64 year old auntie has better dance moves than you in this music.

Eventually, the night turned out to be a great success and for the long 5 year wait for a reunion like this, the outcome has been absolutely worth it. Truly it is true what people would always say, you can always have a good time with your friends but no one does it better than your own family. Perhaps for me it is a gentle reminder to myself of the family that I have here on the other side of Malaysia and for me it is worth the effort for really recognizing myself as part of the Lupang family.

TOMORROW: The Many Talents of the Lupang Cousins!

Nang this post if you like it guys! Thanks!

Follow the TehTarik way!