Weddings Galore - Part 4

The third wedding I attended this month was yesterday, when a friend of my wife got married.

The wedding service was held at The Skyline Church ...

... which was (slightly unusually) situated inside the Sutera Magellan Hotel in Kota Kinabalu.

The hotel is part of the complex including the Sutera Harbour Golf Club, Marina, another hotel (Pacific Sutera), a condominium, high-priced housing estate, and very high-priced bungalow lots.

That seemed to be "all" the decoration for Chinese New Year 2011! Every year the effort to decorate gets less and less.

The very happy bride walking down the aisle ...

... the wedding service conducted by one of the church's pastor ...

... there was a very symbolic lighting of the main single candle by the two individual candles held by the bride and groom; signifying their union.

The wedding reception was held last night at the Hyatt Hotel. This hotel was situated in the middle of Kota Kinabalu and was suitable for smaller functions (no Grand Ballroom plus the usual parking limitations).

The scallop-shaped curtains on the back wall and the UFO-shaped lighting fixture caught my eye.

Weddings Galore - Part 3

Tonight I attended the wedding reception for my cousin at Pacific Sutera Ballroom.

This was the same venue as the wedding reception I attended yesterday night (see previous posting).

It looked better with a bit of creative panning with a long exposure.

The ballroom had been re-done in pink ...

... and there was a cocktail reception (wine and liquor lah ...)

... the guests getting seated ...

... with the table decorated with candles ...

... then the starring couple made their Grand Entrance performing a song ...

... their theme for the night was a tribute to Michael Jackson (so the white glove and a dance routine) ...

... then it was mentioned that at the church wedding ceremony yesterday, the priest had forgotten to say "You may kiss the bride" after the Groom had lifted the veil. So he got to "kiss the bride" officially tonight.

My Congratulations and Very Best Wishes for the Future to the two wedded couples featured in the postings these two days.

Weddings Galore - Part 2

The second wedding (reception) I attended this evening was the happy event for the son of a friend.

It was held at The Pacific Sutera Ballroom.

The place was decorated to suit the theme for a Malay Wedding ...

... the welcome gong band ...


... the seats on stage for the starring couple ...


... the Happy Couple ...


... the non-alcoholic sparkling grape drink.

As my cousin's wedding reception will be held at this same venue tomorrow night, we'll see how different the place looks then for a typical chinese wedding reception.

Stations of The Cross - Sacred Heart Cathedral

The Stations of The Cross (Via Crucis) are the depictions of the scenes of Christ's suffering leading to his crucifixion. The symbolic pilgrimages are done on fridays during Lent (especially Good Friday).

The set of 14 Stations at Sacred Heart Cathedral is of the Traditional Form. The more scriptural-related set (new) was introduced in 1991 by Pope John Paul II and approved by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.

First Station - Jesus is condemned to death (New Set - Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane).

Second Station - Jesus caries his cross (New Set - Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested).

Third Station - Jesus falls the first time (New Set - Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin).

Fourth Station - Jesus meets his mother (New Set - Jesus is denied by Peter).

Fifth Station - Simon helps Jesus to carry the cross (New Set - Jesus is judged by Pilate).

Sixth Station - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus (New Set - Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns).

Seventh Station - Jesus falls the second time (New Set - Jesus takes up His cross).

Eighth Station - The women of Jerusalem weep over Jesus (New Set - Jesus is helped by Simon to carry his cross).

Ninth Station - Jesus falls the third time (New Set - Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem).

Tenth Station - Jesus is stripped of his garments (New Set - Jesus is crucified).

Eleventh Station - Jesus is nailed to the cross (New Set - Jesus promises His kingdom to the repentant thief).

Twelfth Station - Jesus is raised upon the cross (New Set - Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other).

Thirteenth Station - Jesus is taken down from the cross (New Set - Jesus dies on the cross).

Fourteenth Station - Jesus is laid in the sepulchre (New Set - Jesus is laid in the tomb).

I was informed by a member of the congregation that the Stations were constructed only a few years ago.

Weddings Galore - Part 1

This weekend, I will be attending two wedding functions. This morning was the church wedding ceremony for my cousin's wedding. She married a Japanese she met at her university.

The service was held at The Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral. The cathedral was bult in 1980/81, replacing the one that I remembered when I was a primary school student at The Sacred Heart Primary School in the 60s.

The old school still looked the same ...

... we started on the ground floor and reached Primary Six on the top floor(on the right if I remember correctly)!

The cathedral had a distinctive bell-tower.

The Main Entrance to the Cathedral.

A panorama of the interior. The murals and other interior designs were done by a Mexican Artist.

It was a good ceremony, with the priest giving some marriage advice together with the blessing.

The happy couple.

The energy and enthusiasm of the young!

Beside the Parish Hall, I could see the Stations of The Cross (see the next blog posting).

The official wedding reception will be tomorrow night (23 January 2011).

Kota Kinabalu Waterfront Boardwalk - City Square

Kota Kinabalu is one of those cities, where the "new" land for development was reclaimed from the sea. We had been inching closer to the offshore islands for the past half century. This stretch (the left end is the main part of Kota Kinabalu) consisted of the Marina Court condominiums (pink buildings on the left), Promenade Hotel, Ocean Seafood Restaurant, and Wawasan Plaza (on the right).

Across the road was the latest reclamation project (City Waterfront) bringing us another 100 feet closer to Pulau Gaya.

The project progress so far.

On the left of that project site was the "newly launched" (on 31 December 2010) City Square and The Waterfront Boardwalk.

The words "newly launched" were in quotes as there seemed to be no visitors today and even the car parks were cordoned off!

This looked like one of those ...

... not yet completed project, but the launching date had arrived!

The partly completed decking on the Boardwalk (cordoned off - for safety reasons I supposed).

A closer look at the "planks". They seemed to be from manufactured wood? Will they stand up to the elements?

They did have solar-powered street lamps.

There seemed to be quite a lot of work yet to be completed (towards the right) ...

... and even more to be done on the left side.

Of course there will be the usual food stalls, presumably with the tables and chairs in front of them ...

... and between the stalls.

It said "Kota Kinabalu City Waterfront - The Place To Be" ... But I guess I was quite a few months early! Who said the early bird gets the worms?

There was a roundabout nearby, but what that central feature was ... I have no idea?

Some of the front pillars had nice intricately carved wooden inserts.

There was a bus-stop out front, with 2 small structures behind it ...

... with very narrow passage-ways ...

... rain shelters?

A good Boardwalk would be nice for viewing the sea, the islands, the sunsets, the big bungalows with private jetties (each house lot - just the land - was RM2 million) , ...

... the colourful fishing boats, like this one ...

... and that one.

I was once told that the big lights were to attract the sotong (squids).

A closer view of one of the jars around the City Square.