The Sarongutan Blog with Hugh Mann

Thanks!

2008-11-24T21:58:00.003+08:00

Hi guys!! Just wanted to say a big 'Thank You' to all of you for continuing to support Sarongutan. In light of the global financial crisis, or credit crunch - or coconut crunch, as we say here on the beach - a lot of us have had to tighten our sarongs and be very careful with our spending.

Anyway, Christmas is coming and I didn't want Christmas to be celebrated in such a mood so I've decided to help in any little way that I can by reducing prices on sarongutan.com. This way it's affordable for everyone and we can all greet Santa in our beautiful sarongs. It just ain't Christmas without sarongs!

Keep chillin',
Hugh 'Da' Mann

Ten Reasons Why A Sarongutan Would Be Good On Project Runway

2008-08-14T01:53:00.002+08:00

Auf Wiedersehen means 'wear nothing but a sarong' in some languages.

This season Suede talks in the third person. Hugh also knows how to talk in the third person. If Hugh was given the chance to appear on Project Runway, Hugh would ‘rock’ the show with Hugh’s talent.
If there was another challenge like the ‘clothes on your back’ challenge I could just use some of my orange fur as material.
If there was another challenge where you’d have to design for the other designers I would do well because I don’t think it’s easy for anyone to design something for a sarongutan like me. What would look good on a sarongutan?
Heidi Klum likes Seal. Heidi Klum likes animals. Heidi Klum likes me. Make sense?
I can sew with my feet and my hands, thus ensuring the time limit is not a problem for me.
I can climb up the fabric shelves at Mood to get the hard to get fabrics hidden at the top.
Tim Gunn and I could exchange catchphrases. He could say “Make it work” and “Carry on” and I would reply with “Rakeech!” and “Arrruuu!”
Project Runway introduced the world to quirky characters like Jay McCarroll, Santino Rice and Christian Siriano. I would be a great addition! Hello! What is more quirky than an orangutan in a sarong with a name like Hugh Mann?
Uli Herzner, the runner-up in season 3 liked to use colorful prints and flowy fabrics. I like to use colorful prints and flowy fabrics on my sarongs!
It’s about time a straight mammal won the competition...

Minnesota - Another SarongUtan Memory

2008-08-09T12:00:00.001+08:00

A few years ago, I spent some time in Minnesota. I loved that place. For its magical winter, majestic lakes, swingin' summers and rather surprisingly, for some of the best parties I've ever been to. As a tropical kind of person perhaps my best memory there is waking up in the morning and seeing a white blanket of snow out the window. I had never seen snow before in my life except for that one time when I had dandruff all over my fur.

The feeling I experienced of seeing snow for the first time can't be explained. As I got out of bed I quickly put on my sweater and jeans (although I'd rather much prefer to be in my sarong) and got ready to run down to touch and feel the soft, powdery flakes. This is what every kid dreams of playing with. Every kid wants to throw snowballs and build snowmen. Every kid wants to make snow angels. Every kid wants to make yellow snow. I opened the door and something magical happened - it was totally silent. Serene. There were people outside and everyone was smiling but no one was saying a thing. There were kids playing in the snow and their faces lit up brighter than the white backdrop. This feeling can be summed in one word: magical (Oh, waddayaknow? I guess you can explain the feeling of seeing snow for the first time). You know, when fresh snow falls, it's never as cold as you remember it the night before.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to see this part of the world. I'm no Shaun White, but I'll talk about my snowboarding and sledding experience soon. See ya!

Ben's Catch 08

2008-08-06T00:52:00.005+08:00

Phwooaarrr! That looks yummy! And so does the fish...

Ben, from Wisconsin, who is into fishing, sent us this photo of him with his catch of the day. I’ve tried fishing a couple of times before but I’ve never been any good at it. I even went to one of those places with artificial pools where they put fish in there and charge you by the hour to fish and you’re guaranteed to catch a fish because they’ve got nowhere to run, but I somehow still managed to catch nothing. You know that children's toy where the plastic toy fishes open and close their mouths and you have to catch them with your miniature toy fishing rod? Yeah, one of the toy fishes got away with my rod.

Anyway, Ben looks like he’s living life and enjoying himself with his fishing outings. Good on you, buddy! Some of your catches look amazing (and yummy) and some of the spots you’ve been to look good too. If I ever pick up fishing again I’m sure credit goes to you for inspiring me. Keep on fishin!

Grand Canyon - Another SarongUtan Memory

2008-07-29T12:33:00.006+08:00

Where's Hughie?

Cliché as it may be, the Grand Canyon is something you must see with your own eyes to truly appreciate its amazing beauty. The walk under the summer sun to different view points was an experience to remember, but not the most memorable for me. If you guys ever get a chance, try to go night camping at the park. Don't worry if you don't have any camping experience, because I didn't either.

About 5 years back when I was there, the designated campground was fully occupied even though we had already planned this months before. The lodge was available but we refused to sleep in a lodge. Besides, we had already bought our sleeping bags. So we decided to pick a spot nearby and camped illegally (and quietly - I stuffed my mouth with my underpants to prevent myself from snoring). It turned out to be the perfect spot. Thousands of stars lit up the sky above us while we lay in our sleeping bags and chatted the night away. I have to say the company of my buddies is a big reason this is one of those moments I will always cherish.

We drank sodas, chewed on beef jerkies and got into deep topics; topics which are close to our hearts. In between all of this, we saw a wild moose and shooting stars. The weather was perfect, making us extra cozy in our zipped bag (I wonder if the park rangers would allow campers to sleep in sarongs in the open?). Everything seemed perfect. None of us wanted the night to end, but we knew we had a long day ahead. We said our goodnights and shut our eyes.

Bambi's mom has her revenge.

Our drive continued to Paige (voted 1 of the best small towns in U.S) and Vegas. I'll post that up soon. Take care.

Isabella & Anton's World Journey 08

2008-07-08T06:20:00.003+08:00

Isabella and Anton have been traveling around the world since 2007 and gave these awesome photos.

I think what you guys are doing is pretty awesome! Enjoy the rest of your journey, guys!

Zeus The Superhero 08

2008-07-04T14:15:00.004+08:00

Zeus submitted this photo of what appears to be a costume-challenged superhero.

Thanks Zeus, for the zany pic. Enjoy your youth to the max!

Ashley's Green Man 08

2008-07-02T21:59:00.006+08:00

Ashley, who is quite the budding photographer, gave us this amazingly relaxing photo. So relaxing in fact that I'm gonna find a patch of grass to lie on after I post this.

Thanks Ashley, for the great pic. All the best for your photography venture! Aruuuu!

Matt's Tropical Island Holiday 05

2008-06-29T17:15:00.010+08:00

Matt says "I went on a trip to Malaysia in 2005 with my family. On this trip I met a couple of local guys and hung out with them the whole time. These pics are to remember the good times in beautiful Malaysia."

Young Matt showing his buddies how to throw a mean sandball. I don't think you're gonna throw it far with that silly smile and dainty pose, young man!

His older buddies (mad, half-naked unfit men) chase a football into the water, terrorizing innocent sunbathers and two oily Italian men strolling by the beach.

Matt is nowhere to be seen. Did these 'tough' guys eat him up? Or did they forget they buried him somewhere?

Thanks for the photos, Matt. I'm glad you and your buddies had a flippin' nice time. Keep the good times rollin' and the good pics comin', buddy.

What is a sarongutan? Part 3

2008-06-29T15:45:00.003+08:00

“The heavy rain suddenly stopped when one of us put the sarong on. We were all amazed and one by one quickly put on the sarongs too. Before we knew it the rain stopped and the sun came out. We were so happy we danced, laughed and threw a huge party. It was known as ‘The Big Sarong-aton Bash of 88’. We‘ve never taken off our sarongs and we’ve held annual Sarong-aton parties right here to keep the sun shining forever. And that is why we call ourselves ‘Sarongutans’,” said uncle.

“Wow, that is an amazing story,” I said.

“One that you are a part of,” he replied. “You are a sarongutan too, my boy.” Uncle grabs a sarong and wraps it around my waist. I looked around at everyone and I see happiness. I see young sarongutans swingin’ with their friends. I see the elder sarongutans sharing a laugh. This is real happiness. This is what being a sarongutan means.

On my journey home, I find myself constantly smiling and needing to share this amazing feeling to as many as I can. What I saw at the village was too great to be kept secret. But how do I do that? Who would believe such a bizarre story? And then it hit me. What if I made people feel happy by reminding them of their good times with their loved ones? I tried it out over drinks with my buddies. It worked! The laughter and energy I saw was similar to the sarongutan village. I need to let everyone else know.

My name is Hugh Mann. My friends call me Hugh ‘da’ Mann. And I am a sarongutan. Let me remind you of your good times………

What is a sarongutan? Part 2

2008-06-22T19:43:00.003+08:00

The day after I graduated from school mom said to me, “Hugh, you need to know something about who you are and where you’re from. Please follow this map and meet your uncle, who lives in the jungle by the Kinabatangan river. Don’t worry about finding him. He knows who you are.”

I have an Uncle? In the Jungle?

Being curious I set off on my journey. After two days of trekking in the jungle I found my uncle at a village. I was shocked! He looks exactly like me, orange fur and cute face and all. Looking around, I noticed everyone in the village looks like me.

“Hugh? Where’s your sarong, boy?” he asked me.

It was then that I realized everyone there was wearing a sarong too. Why is everyone wearing a sarong? Why am I always the only one not wearing a sarong? My uncle could see I was confused. He sat me down and said, “I believe your mom said I need to tell you something.”

“Years ago we were going through a long, wet and rainy spell here. It rained non-stop and it affected everyone. We couldn’t sleep, play or hang. Everyone was miserable because it was always dark and everybody’s fur was always wet.”

“Gee, that sounds like not a lot of fun,” I said.

“You bet your orange behind it wasn’t! Our spirits were drenched and drained. Then one glorious day, something weird happened. I remember it was around noon that day and the rain was pouring as usual, but far up in the sky the rain started changing colors. We could see little dots of blue and pink and yellow slowly appearing all over the grey skies. Then suddenly, one of it fell on my lap. It was a sarong - bold and blue and soft to the touch. One by one these sarongs fell from the skies. It must have been in the thousands. But something magical happened when one of us put it on...”

To be continued…

What is a sarongutan? Part 1

2008-06-15T16:08:00.004+08:00

Sunset at Tanjung Aru, my home.

Hello. My name is Hugh Mann. I am a sarongutan.

I grew up on the beach my whole life. My parents, Mr. Mann and Mrs. Mann, worked at a beach in Sabah, Malaysia called Tanjung Aru. Dad rents out jetskis while Mom sells yummy satay sticks by the beach. My Dad isn’t a Malaysian, but he decided to live here after witnessing “the most magically inspiring sunset on the face of the planet” during a holiday here, whatever that means. Mom is a local, born and bred right here in good ol’ Sabah.

What I like most about the beach besides the sunset is how colorful it is. Everyone here wears a colorful sarong. I started liking the sarong when I was 10. Mom and Dad wore sarongs all the time but they never made me wear sarongs. I asked Mom, “How come everyone at the beach wears a sarong? Where’s mine?” To which she replied, “Hugh, honey, you don’t need a sarong. You have fur.”

Fur?

Other kids always teased me at school because of my funny face and my orange, hairy body. When I was young I didn’t understand why I looked different. Maybe Mom fed me Dad’s hair-loss medicine instead of milk? As for my face, I always thought I was kinda cute. Some girls told me I was cute but when I asked them to go out on a date with me they said, “Not in a million years!”

Am I really that different? What am I?

To be continued…