Mabul Island

Mabul is a small island off the south-eastern coast of Sabah in Malaysia. The island has been a fishing village since 1970s. Then in 1990s, it first became popular to divers due to its proximity to Sipadan island.

Located 15 km from Sipadan, this 20-hectare piece of land surfaces 2–3 meters above sea level, consists mostly flat grounds and aerial view is oval-shaped. Surrounding it are sandy beaches, perched on the northwest corner of a larger two square kilometer reef. Mabul island is administered by Semporna, Tawau district.

There are 2 main villages on the island i.e. "Kampung Mabul" and "Kampung Musu". From 1999 census, it was recorded that there are approximately 2000 villagers living in Mabul, half of them children below 14 years old. The majority are immigrants from relatively nearby clusters of islands of the southern Philippines. They are mainly Bajau Laut and Suluk Muslims who live a nomadic lifestyle.

Basic amenities include a mosque, schools, community and fishermen hall. The main transportation mode from one point to another is by boat.

Mainly fishermen, the village source of income depends on sea products such as squids and fish. Traditional fishing methods are called "Payau" and "Sangkaliya". Mabul fishermen prefers catches close to the Malaysia-Philippines borders, perhaps due to its abundance. An average fishing trip will take 3–5 days out in the sea. When the men return, their catches are being sold in the mainland, Semporna.

It was said that Mabul was owned by a man from Menampilik island. Back in 1970s, he and the villagers then used to plant coconuts on the island, apart from fishing. Later in 1992, Sipadan Mabul Resort (SMART) purchased a part of land on the east of Mabul intended for tourism.

It is more correctly recognised now that the reason for the quality of the MUCK Diving is simply a result of overfishing uses of cyanide and dynamite by the local people of this area.

The reef is on the edge of the continental shelf and the seabed surrounding the reef slopes out to 25 to 30 m deep. There are several dive resorts operating on Mabul island.

Mabul is arguably one of the richest single destinations for exotic small marine life anywhere in the world. Flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, mimic octopus and bobtail squids are just a few of the numerous types of cephalopods to be found on Mabul's reef.

Many types of gobies can be found including the spike-fin goby, black sail-fin goby and metallic shrimp goby. Frogfish are everywhere -giant, painted and clown frogfish are regularly seen along with almost the whole scorpion fish family.^[1]

There are six resorts here, which provides accommodation for scuba divers - most located on the island or on stilts over the water, while one is on a converted oil platform about 500 meters from the beach. There are also several homestay & backpacker accommodations which also arrange diving. All of the resorts/homestays can arrange a day trip to the nearby island of Pulau Sipadan. Be warned that there is a permit system for Sipadan and all permits may be booked months in advance. Diving is good around Mabul itself there is a good wall at Panglima and the best muck diving sites are called Paradise. There is good diving at Kapalai especially the house reef.

Thank you ShereenTan for this pretty card.

Kitzingen on the River Main

Kitzingen is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer in Bavaria. It is said to be Franconia's wine trade centre.

According to legend, Kitzingen was founded when the Countess of Schwanberg lost her jeweled scarf while standing on the ramparts of her castle. The castle was located high above the fertile section of the Main River Valley where Kitzingen now lies. The Countess promised to build a cloister on the spot where the scarf was found. When it was found by a shepherd named Kitz, she kept her word and built a cloister which she called Kitzingen. That Benedictine cloister, founded in the 8th century on the site of the present town of Kitzingen, defended the ford across the Main River.

The city's main landmark is the Leaning Tower, built during the 13th century. It is distinctive for its crooked roof. According to town legend, the tower was being built during a drought, and workers used wine instead of water to make the mortar causing the top of the tower to lean. Today the tower holds a carnival museum.

A local legend is that the golden ball atop the crooked tower contains the heart of Vlad Dracula of Romania. If you follow the path of the crooked tower, the golden ball leans directly toward a grave in the Kitzingen Old Cemetery located across the street from the tower that is called the Grave of Dracula. Another local U.S. army legend is the upside down crosses that make up the small windows on the tower, appear right side up when light casts towards the grave yard to ward off vampires. The crosses alternate such that every other one is upside down. Some, however, believe that the grave that is called "Dracula's Grave" is not actually where Vlad Dracula is buried, but rather a heavily decorated grave of a very rich family that resided in Kitzingen.

Thank you Annette for this nice card.

Greetings from Munster

Christine sends her season’s greetings from Münster, which is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of theWestphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland. Münster was the location of the Anabaptist rebellion during theProtestant Reformation and the site of the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648. Today it is known as the bicycle capital of Germany.

Münster gained the status of a Großstadt (major city) with more than 100,000 inhabitants in 1915. Currently there are around 270,000 people living in the city, with about 48,500 students, only some of whom are recorded in the official population statistics as having their primary residence in Münster.

Chatterbox - a godsend for the Enemy

Kostya and Maya sent me this card from Russia which shows an old Soviet poster informing the public in general about the dangers from spies listening to their loose and careless talk. The card announces this with the words - Chatterbox - a godsend for the Enemy

The American Drama Group Europe performed “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens in a Münich Theater recently. Sophia from the South of Germany sent me this lovely card. 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - simply to say this simple phrase brings a smile to most people's face and why not? It might be the best short story ever written, or the best loved, or the best known or the most enjoyable, it certainly has to be performed as Dickens himself knew. It's December and we must have our pudding, our parsnips and our Christmas Carol. The story actually created our modern idea of Christmas, it influences Christmas, it is part of Christmas and it reminds us that there is more to Christmas than a shopping and eating festival. 

The story is enormous fun but it is also surprisingly serious. Dickens warns that unless despair and poverty are banished from London the City will burn in flames. 

Scrooge is frightened half to death and Marley is forever damned. Any director or dramatist who turns their hand to this most famous story will soon have to confront this problem: how to do justice to Dickens rather serious themes and still provide the Christmas feast of laughter and joy that the public want, even demand! All we can do is take you down the alleys that Dickens travelled, through a London that defined modern life because it was the first megalopolis, an urban nightmare where the very air was unfit to breathe. (The famous London fog was simply smoke). The wealthiest city in the world was the city with the most poor in the world. This was a contrast that Dickens dedicated much of his life and work to exposing. Today the truly poor have been banished to the Third World, London and its like are more comfortable places in which to live but we would do well to remember the message of A CHRISTMAS CAROL: that the Christmas Spirit is joyful because it shares its joy and its feast with others, especially the poor. The play is for them and for you. 

Polish uszka, also known as "little ears"

Further to my post on 22nd October 2013, when I talked about Borcht, Elzbieta sent me this card from Poland. This card shows a Traditional Polish borscht with dumplings called "Uszka". 

Polish uszka, also known as "little ears" because of their shape, are one of the three main Polish filled dumplings/crepes along with pierogi and nalesniki. They are typically made with savory fillings and boiled in broth. Mushroom-filled uszka served in beetbarszcz are a favorite for Christmas Eve wigilia dinner.

Thank you Elzbieta for afixing such beautiful stamps on the card. What pretty roses!

Northern Lights in March

Anu sent me this card from Finland. The painting is titled "Northern Lights in March".