Dear Readers,

This year Christmas is a little quite here in Kota Kinabalu.. maybe because I spend more time at home then outside in the street. Every year there is a Christmas event in Gaya Street. Unlike last year, this year I never had the chance to visit Gaya Street and experience the Christmas evetn there.

In the shopping center or shopping mall Christmas carols can be heard. on the 23rd Of December I was suppose to have plan to attend my uncles event held at the City Mall shopping center his event was the last event before Christmas eve.

The plan was to attend my younger sister's father in law 69th Birthday celebration later proceed to the event at City Mall. We usually have small family gathering  of 10 in any of the local restaurant. usually start at about 7pm and lasted until 0830pm, but that day my sister did not mention anything about huge family gathering of 10 tables each table is for 10 pax. imagine instead of 1 table fit for family of 10 pax, that day about 100 invited guest attended the function. luckily I decided to wear my Jeans, normally with small gathering I would just go for a shorts Khakis. only thing is, on that day every body was wearing shoes, and I am the only one with "slippers". imagine that for a dinner function.

Anyway the dinner started at about 0830pm and lasted for about 2 hours. I left early somewhere around 10:21pm and missed attending my relative stage show at City Mall.

So this post is actually about Christmas, how streets were light in the night and decoration being prepared for this festive season.

I found this over the internet, and thought that I should share this to everyone. and hope 1 day I may have a chance to visit any of these place and spend the Christmas there with my lovely wife..

Christmas lights illuminate Vienna's city centre Am Graben. Source: Reuters ~ Lisi Neisner

A house is decorated with Christmas lights in a street in the village of Calle, near the northern German town of Bremen. The sign reads: Merry Christmas. Source: Reuters ~ Morris MacMatzen

Lit up entrance gate reading "Christmas Story" is seen at a country house estate in the village of Grabovnica near Cazma, central Croatia. The seven-hectare estate owned by the Salaj family is lit with 1.2 million Christmas lights and turns into a winter wonderland every December, attracting thousands of visitors. Source: Reutres ~ Nikola Solic

The Governing Mayor of Oslo Mr Stian Berger Rosland and his wife Mrs Marit Berger Rosland turn on the Christmas tree lights in Trafalgar Square, central London. The city of Oslo has donated a Christmas tree to Londoners every year since 1947. Source: Reuters ~ Olivia Harris

A decorated Christmas tree is lighted up at a Christmas market on its opening day in Dortmund, Germany. The Christmas tree of Dortmund is the largest in the world and is built with a scaffold, covered with 1,700 Norway spruces, 40,000 lights and is 45m (148 ft) high. Source: Reuters ~ Ina Fassbender

Installations of Christmas lights in the colours of the Italian flag are seen in downtown Rome, Italy.                      Source: Reuters  ~ Alessandro Bianchi

Woman takes picture in front of a Christmas tree during a lighting ceremony in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria.               Source: Reuter ~ Stoyan Nenov

People walk past bridges illuminated with Christmas lights in Ljubljana's old city in Slovenia.                                                  Source:Reuters ~ Srdjan Zuvulovic

People walk past bridges illuminated with Christmas lights in Ljubljana's old city in Slovenia.
Source: Reuters / Srdjan Zivulovi 

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is seen during its lighting ceremony in New York City. The event is the 79th lighting of the tree, which measures 74 feet (23 meters) tall and 46 feet (14 meters) wide and weights 10 tons. It is a 75 year-old Norway Spruce adorned with approximately 30,000 Christmas lights. Source: Reuters~ Andrew Burton 

Fireworks light up the night sky near a giant Christmas Tree display along a bay walk in Puerto Princesa, Palawan city, west of Manila. The Philippines, a mainly Roman Catholic country in Southeast Asia, celebrates one of the longest Christmas holiday in the world, playing Christmas carols in shopping malls as early as in September and putting up lantern and fireworks displays early in December. Source: Reuter/Romeo Ronoco

Fireworks explode around a Christmas tree during its lighting ceremony at Rodrigo de Freitas Lake in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Reuters/Andrew Wong.

Christmas lights in the shape of the Eiffel Tower shine near the Eiffel Tower (in the background) on the Rue Saint Charles in Paris, France. Source: Reuters ~ Mal Langsdon

Christmas lights illuminate Serrano street on the day they were turned on marking the start of the Christmas season in the Spanish capital. Source: Reuters / Sunana Vera

A tourist looks at a reindeer display lit-up in preparation for Christmas celebrations in front of the skyline of the   financial district in Singapore. Source: Reuters~Joel Boh

People walk in front of a lit Christmas tree at the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia.  Source: Reuters ~ David Mdzinarishvili