Monday, August 14, 2023

Updates in 2023

So what happened?

Covid happened. My heart got broken. Twice. My beloved daddy passed away. Two of my furry babies were given away and am missing them always. I downgraded my phone. And after moving to two states in the span of two years, am finally based in my state town which is Sabah. That's a lot to handle, both financially and mentally,  but am still here, right? 

I persevered, I survived. 

I'm grateful.

Physically, I gained a lot of weight  throughout the years and have long retired from any outdoor activities in which I once was so passionate about. Post-covid, and after getting covid twice, my memories are always foggy and it has caused me great difficulties in trying to remember things. 

Or maybe I'm just getting old. :)

I never had a liking to coffee before covid but maybe with all the extreme changes in my work and life-style, I'm now very fond of coffee especially ones bought from Starbucks. An unhealthy life-style choice, I know but it's made me Marie-Condo sparks of joy,  happy. Until I checked the mirror, and saw the extent of what the coffee loving habit has caused to my teeth. It yellowed horrendously. 

I am trying, still, to minimize drinking coffee. And failing in the process. At least I am not on drugs, aye? 

Oh, hell, my grammar has gone astray. I may have to start blogging again as a linguistic practice necessity or I might forget the language altogether. 

Currently had this need to post a blogpost after stumbling upon this old post about my blog. 

https://segubang.blogspot.com/2015/01/malaysia-best-blogs.html?m=1

Awww.. thankyou!

PS: Since covid, I've picked up the habit of reading fantasy novels and collecting rare editions of hardback books. A very expensive hobby that won't go way any time soon. As it helped me to cope and have a sense of escapism from life from time to time. Till next post, maybe, bye. 

Naumul Hj. Mulud, a Father and Fighter

Naumul was born on the 3rd of February, 1957 to Hajah Nurah Jadal and Hj. Mulud Ganding in a wooden house on stilts in a rural area called Kampung Linau, Kota Belud. He was born at home and is the second youngest son among 9 siblings of 5 boys and 4 girls. It was a big family who depended economically on the harvest of their land, be it paddy or various vegetations. They also kept a chicken coop to gather eggs and slaughter chickens for trade or to feed themselves. 

It was a simple life. But Naumul wanted to be more. 

As he grow up, he was extremely close to his two brothers, one younger, Amiran and another older, Edul. With they are similar in age, they would always play and fight together. Sometimes competing for the same girl they liked! But his youngest brother was the one he was fondest. While his relationship with his elder brother Edul was strained to frequent outbursts and fighting almost everytime. There was also a time when Edul would fart in front of Naumul's face only to have feces accidentally squinted out! Naumul had quite the anger and would grab anything in the house to beat up Edul. This led to Edul running away from home and stayed away for almost two weeks! Edul has always become Naumul's mortal nemesis but  matured and got closer as they grew older. 

His education background started as a primary student at Sekolah Rendah Tempasuk II and later continued his studies at Arshad Middle School Kota Belud until Form 3. After that he went to a vocational school majoring in electronics and radio as he was more interested in practical courses instead of theory. This later qualified him to be hired for odd jobs such as a wiring guy or laborer for construction contracts, welding workshops and so on. His big breakthrough in life came when he landed a government job at Lembaga Letrik Sabah as an electrician or technician specializing in electricity at Kepayan. 

During this time he got married to a Kadazan Dusun belle from Papar named Olivia Kojuna. They met while renting at different rooms at the same building in Kota Kinabalu. Olivia was staying with her over protective elder brother while Naumul was living with his friend and was seen as an eligible bachelor. Dashing, confident young man in his twenties with a stable job to boot. It was not long before Olivia caught his wandering eyes and they courted before tying the knot in 1982. 

The first child, a baby girl was born on the 6th of January 1983. A second child, this time a boy was born on the 30th of July 1984 when Naumul was an area supervisor in Kota Marudu. With a growing family in the horizon, Naumul decided to further his studies to improve his earnings and move upward in life. Luckily, he was chosen among many eager candidates to receive a full scholarship to continue his bachelor engineering program in the United States of America. 

Enjoying four seasons in USA.

Naumul spent 7 years between 1986 and 1992 attending Mammoth College for his 1 1/2 years foundation program and  later on four years at Tri-State University of Angola, Indiana to finally obtain the Electrical Science Engineering degree. His two young children were able to be schooled in the USA education system from kindergarten until the 4th grade for the eldest daughter and 3rd grade for the young son, before continuing their education in Malaysia. Couples, Naumul and Olivia eventually had two more additions to the family which is a pair of son and daughter. Both born in Angola, Indiana with two years apart.

Now with four children in tow and a degree, Naumul's family eventually moved back to Malaysia and reunited with his family in Sabah. He was promoted to an engineer post in Lembaga Letrik Sabah at Semporna, Sabah and continued working there for four years before being transferred to Melawa, Kota Kinabalu,  and then to Kota Belud. His last position was in SESB Tuaran where he finally resign due to illness at the age of 55 years old. 

All through his senior years, he spent being active in politics for the UMNO party and later for the Warison until his death. He is celebrated among his peers as a hard working and dedicated man who never misses any political function and shows extreme loyalty to his political views. Rain or shine, he never fails to attend and show his dedication. 


As a loving father to 6 children and always striving for the best, his children later grew up to be successfully in their own right. With or without a degree.

He passed away peacefully at  11:37am, 29 Mac 2021 at KPJ Hospital surrounded by his family due to long illness. He now lays in peace in a marked grave, situated at Kampung Gunding and will always be remembered and loved. Al-fatihah.

Sunday, April 11, 2021

5 Top Things To Do In Singapore, Post-Covid

Lately I've been thinking alot about which country to go to after this pandemic is controlled. To say that this pandemic will ever be over is an overstatement cause it won't miraculously go away. But it being controlled is a possibility to happen not so far in the future. Fingers crossed! :)

Malaysia is now in the first phase of  administering vaccines to the community. I, myself have registered on the MySejahtera apps and hope you have done so too. So back to the title, where to travel next once am allowed to do so? My almost forgotten passport has expired June 2020 and have never been renewed. Now it needs to be renewed and am dreaming of traveling again! 

But where to?

Somewhere near, 

somewhere affordable 

and somewhere safe.

The first country that came to mind was Singapore. Once vaccinated I can easily take a train there or maybe just take a flight? The prices of any hotel should be affordable now since the tourism sector is trying to pick up momentum and should give competitive prices. Right? Singapore may have been the most expensive city in the world, but it has many other superlatives: safe, cleanest, argumentative best food and definitely most entertaining, all packed in a compact, well planned development of an island!

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay 

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

4 Top Hostels in Kuta and Seminyak, Bali

Currently I have grown a liking to Bali, Indonesia and have been there 5 times in the past. Bali has the whole package for any type of traveler. From the beach goers to the culinary hunters and the nature lovers such as myself. And like my hometown Sabah, Bali also have the most beautiful sunsets around and fresh yet cheap seafood (if you know where to find 'em).

Besides that, with millions of tourists coming to Bali each year, you will never be short of accommodations in any part of Bali. Here are 4 hostels I would highly recommend  depending on my purposes for staying there. All of my recommendations have an average of 8.9 score on Booking.com and here are the main options I seek when choosing a hostel :-


  • provides an all female dorm
  • free breakfast included with price
  • closeness to certain places (eateries, fav stores, beaches etc)
And here's my list!

1. KOSTA HOSTEL - Jalan Dewi Saraswati III No. 77, 80361 Seminyak, Indonesia


The only hostel in this list located in Seminyak. I chose this place because of its close proximity to my favorite Indonesian flagship store on Sunset Rd which is the famous EIGER store. It takes only a 7 minutes walk the store from the hostel. Good place to stare so that you can make several trips to the store for a shopping spree. Hehe.  And the hostel is very comfortable with very big beds. My room was a three person female dorm as seen in the picture below. I loved the decor so much. The negative part - no breakfast is included with the price. Sold separately.

Kosta Hostel - Beautifully decorated with a boutique-likeness hotel. With dorms!