Introducing Jaminin Pining, a pineapple plantation entrepeneur whose farm is now in a very encouraging stage of development.  Planting pineapples is his full time job. His hard work and sweat were not in vain as the fruits have become his main source of income and been giving him handsome return all these years.

Most of his buyers are local people. “I have regular customers and most of them are small business holders, in the food business and others,” he says when asked about who make up his buyers.

Jaminin’s pineapple plantation sits in Kg. Nadau, Pekan Nabalu, Ranau Road. Apart from himself, there are other pineapple farmers in Pekan Nabalu as well.

It is no wonder that pineapples sell well in the market because they are regularly consumed by people and a frequently used ingredient in any food joints. Most restaurants would use the fruits in a sweet and sour recipe and many others. Pineapples are also popularly made into jams. “Pineapples are being sold everyday, however the bulk harvesting season begins in May up till July.So whoever wishes to buy pineapples, do visit Pekan Nabalu,” says Jaminin.

The price of the fruit is not fixed as they move according to market changes.

Jaminin has been in this field for seven years now.”There are certainly some challenges in pineapple farming but every difficulty can be overcome by practicing the virtue of patience and a positive mind,” replied Jaminin when asked about the challenges that he faces in planting pineapples on a commercial scale.

Here’s wishing a big congratulation to Wencesleus & Lily (fondly called Takanak) on their recent wedding day sometime in November 2008. The happy occassion took place in Kg. Malangkap Tomis, Kota Belud Sabah, about three hours from the State capital. From the town of Kota Belud, you go deeper into the interior whereby in less than an hour, the sealed road stops and the gravel bumps begin. Finally, you reach the village, nestled quietly and peacefully at the foot of the majectic Mount Kinabalu. Once in a while, the quietness is broken and this is one of such occassions when it happens. The couple currently resides in the state capital but have returned to their roots to formally seal up their tie as man and wife…

Their hearts are racing like never before… the wedding vows are about to be pronounced.

Exchanging vows done, it is time to put their ties down in black and white, a record sealed for time and eternity

Let the party begin and what is more appropriate than an opening dance by the newlyweds themselves

The gongs are the traditional music that are often played during a wedding celebration of the locals, in fact it is a must

Guests help themselves on the wedding feast spread

Working together to get the cooking done has long been a culture in the kampung or village. Here, the menfolk are looking hard at work. In another area not seen in this picture, the women toil equally hard

The serving of rice wine, Tapai, is ever present in a wedding celebration to get more into the mood of the celebration and to lubricate friendship

Aramaiti tii! This is so merry!

The band boys are getting their musical instruments ready to add more zing to the wedding celebration

A day before the big day - breakfast in Pekan Nabalu en route to Kg. Nadau where we went to get a whole buffalo

Lo and behold… the slaughter is in progress

Here’s me and some youths from Kg. Nadau that came to give a hand

Downing a few drops of the local vodka, the montoku, after a hard day of catching and cutting the buffalo

Lunch time in Kg Nadau after all work’s been done…

Kopisanangan… Welcome to my real world. This is Serinsim, or usually pronounced as So-rin-sim. This is the place where I was born and grew up in. This is my very place of origin of which the name of this website is taken after. It’s a little haven tucked away and hidden in a remote corner of Kota Marudu, about 32 km uphill and downhill ride from Kota Marudu town and around an hour fifteen minutes drive. When I was a child, this place was virtually unknown. Who would dream of making the harsh journey 27 years back just to reach here. The was no road! All travelling was done by foot and on top of a water buffalo. Even the nearest village to ours, Kg. Marak-Parak, takes ages to reach because in our way, stood beautiful virgin forests and tall, big kayu balak (timber wood). Even near my humble bamboo kampung house then was surrounded by these mighty trees. How I greatly miss those days. It was always cool and misty and you could film the next sequel of “Lord of the Rings” there if only the forest and trees were still there. It could have been the perfect natural set-up. Timber companies came and made cuts after cuts and now Kg. Marak-Parak can be reached in mere seven minutes by car. That is how clear the landscape has become. My family was the first settlers in Kg. Serinsim. It wasn’t a village then, just another land to settle on. It was declared a village only as recent as 1985. Thank God because amidst the mindless felling of trees, some things survived… we, the villagers, and some precious pieces of nature…

Is the signboard familiar? That’s the standard look for signboards put up by the Sabah National Park. But why is it in my kampung? Because it was beautiful enough to be gazetted as national park and that means it is now under the protection of the Park. Yup, we live within a National Park! I knew all along that this place was worth protecting because we have always enjoyed the beauty of our kampung which made us happy all the time. Our virtually unknown hideaway is now beginning to be opened up to the world. It is no more exclusively ours, we have to share it with others.

This is Mount Nembuyukung, the third highest in the state after the mighty Nabalu in Ranau and Trusmadi in Tambunan. Nembuyukung is  part of the reasons our kampung was turned into a national park. The journey up there begins right here in my kampung. I took this picture just outside my father’s house. Mountain guides are available and a must if you want to make the climb and they are all under the Park. On a fast pace, you should reach the top in about 3 1/2 hours’ time. If you are not that fit, then you’ll take perhaps the whole day.

There’s a bat cave about a little more than three hour’s walk from the kampung. Around the cave’s area, you sometimes can spot rafflesia flowers.

There’s a piece of history here too. Once, there was a local warrior called Sobunting, more widely known as Sigunting. He was a British resistant during the reign of the Brits in Sabah. You could see a large banner picture of him hanging in the state museum. And he is, my great-great-great grandfather. His tomb is right here in Serinsim, just about one hours’ walk from the kampung.

So you see, there’s quite a bit to see and do in my kampung.

Sungai Serinsim, a dream river. Cool, clear and friendly.

That’s the forked junction of the river. The left side is warm and the right side is cold. Magical and awe-inspiring.

This looks so inviting I feel like going home right now…

A quite and peaceful spot of the river

The great rush

Two local tourists (no, kidding. They’re my friends) lured by the call of Serinsim.

Relaxing within the compound of the National Park before the big hump into the river.

That’s Dad, getting some woods for cooking by the river. This part of the river is within the park’s compound’s.

Time to eat, simple food but so yummy when you are in the great outdoors.

Peek-a-boo. That’s me looking at you.

This is jacuzzi made by Mother Nature and this part of the river is just a stone’s throw away from behind my father’s house. Look at my friends, they go gaga over it. It’s FoC for as many sessions as you want. Just promise to help us take care of it kio…

Fun and games…

A child of nature…

On top of Tarzan!

More family members

This is yet another part of the river that is not too deep so most people can dip into it without fear. The kampung folks took with them a pail of “rice juice” to enjoy by and in the river. Can’t overdo it and not to be taken alone just in case you got too much juice and the current sweeps you away and there’s no one around to fish you out.

Home time… But can go back anytime because the park and river is just in our backyard…

Look carefully what’s clinging on to my forearm… A fast glance and you might think they are blades of grass… It all began the night before I took this photograph which leads me to the encounter with this slimy creature… That night, I went to visit my adoptive family in Kg. Lapai, Tenghilan, after three years of absence! My adoptive brother, David Pinus, had a house warming party in his new home atop a small hill and that stood next to his father’s. We had a celebration as David threw a feast and naturally, ’spirit’ was in the air and I meant the tapai that we drank and our heads started to spin and funny stories began to roll out one after the other. My indulgence that night is not something that I’m proud of. I was offered a bed to sleep on but I had refused and instead I chose to sleep outside the house…

The next day, I woke up with a head-splitting headache. To regret was useless and pointless, I had gotten myself into this voluntarily; I had asked for it. The best thing to do now was to relax and let the almost-crippling hangover wears off on its own. Then… Walla! A very special remedy presented itself right before my very eyes but not for the faint-hearted! The master of the creatures, Mr. David Pinus himself, posed a challenge to me to let the leeches suck out all the toxins! David led me down the slopes right to his tanks that contain the squiggly swimmer. I was so excited at the thought of getting in contact with the leeches. But suddenly, I had my doubts and qualms. Didn’t those thing repulsed me a lot whenever I saw them out in the wild when I was a little kampung kid? Do I want to dare it now? My pounding head says, “Go for it!.” And so I did…

David placed one on me first and I almost screamed! The thing was sinking its small pricky teeth right into my flesh. Help! Then come another one… David stop it! Enough! Then something hits me. This thing was actually helping me draining out dirty blood and toxins away from my body and I am feeding it with its staple food, blood. It’s a win-win situation. So I let it suck and suck and suck… The feel of biting of teeth into my flesh was actually becoming quite addictive. I became used to it in no time and I actually began to like it!

This picture sure tells that I had become more daring than I thought I could. I asked David to put on more and he carefully placed them on the proper points, just like acupuncture needles need to be placed on the right points. See this leech, it was getting fat with my blood, and so near to my ear’s entrance too! But at this point, it didn’t bother me anymore.

This feet actually belong to a friend of mine. He had asked for the leech to be placed on top on his wound. We let the leeches on our skin for a good fifteen minutes before pulling them off, and then discard them for they should not be re-used since they contain the bad stuff by now. And you know what? My friend and I bled for 1/2 hour at each leech wound. Blood could not stop flowing out. But we weren’t scared because those are bad blood that need to come out and we knew we would not die of bleeding even though the amount of blood that seeps out seemed a real lot. Just keep wiping those blood away. Without realising it, my head had lightened up, my hangover was cured by like 80%!

These leeches are great, I tell you. They heal many types of ailments. Look it up on the internet and you’ll find lots of info. Try it soon!

Those longish stuff looks like snakes but they are actually a fish called lindung. They had been placed inside the tanks for the leeches to suck on its blood. The leeches need to grow up too in order to reach its full potential as a nature’s healer.

So, they you are. A healer from nature whose forces are to be reckoned with. Indeed, it’s the leech of life and they have been known to give people a new lease of life by sucking away their illnesses. My friend and I look forward to another leech-therapy session in the near future. That means, running off to meet our dear Mr. David Pinus!

Derry and Tommy, Wilma and Reza are all smiles on their wedding day on 25/10/08 which took place in Kg. Paginatan, Ranau. Derry and Wilma are sisters. Junis of www.serinsim.com has the pleasure of capturing the pictures of the brides and grooms and also the ambience of this delightful day and also designed the outlook of the pictures taken. Junis wishes to extend congrats to Tommy & Derry as well as Reza & Wilma on their wedding day and may happiness and victory prevail above all things throughout their lives.

Young kids, our future, took on the gong-beatings as natural as the adults can. Way to go, kids!

May I present to you the newlyweds - Derry & Tommy, Wilma & Reza

Junis presenting his gifts to Rezza

Good friends, Winnie & Derry

Winnie sandwiched in between the two couples

Great smiles - one for the record

Feast time on the wide range of food served to guests

Andrew, Derry and Wilma’s younger brother and Junis

The Kinomulok Mundok (tapioca wine), a local brew in a luping or ceramic jar which is to be sipped using bamboo straw. The mundok is tapioca which is first boiled, then cooled and finally mixed with sasad or yeast and leave to  ferment for at least two weeks before it is ready for drinking. However, the longer the ferment, the better the drink would be.

Junis enjoys the gulp of the tapioca wine. Careful Junis, logot-logot, take it easy or one wrong step could see you leaking out the juice from your mouth!

Andrew is now having his long-awaited turn on the tapioca wine. Take it all you want, Andrew!

Wah, just posing ah! No drinking meh! Never mind, not everyone is game but can try sikit-sikit lah.