Taking a picture with one of Kota Kinabalu city's landmarks, the 'I heart KK' sculpture.
After taking our Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations, my friends – Ethan, Oscar and Chun – and I decided to go on a trip together to reward ourselves for our hard work. Since Ethan is from Sabah, we thought it would be nice to visit his home state.
It was my first trip to Sabah, as well as the island of Borneo, so I was very excited about it.
The first thing we did after leaving the Kota Kinabalu International Airport was to look for something to eat. Ethan took us to eat one of the most popular local dishes – sang nyuk mian or pork noodles. The noodles were mixed with aromatic dark soy sauce and complemented by a bowl of tasty pork broth, with meat and pork balls. This is definitely a must-try dish for visitors.
The writer at Tun Mustapha Tower, known to locals as the Yayasan Sabah.
After that, we went to check out the Tun Mustapha Tower, known to locals as the “Yayasan Sabah” building. This spectacular cylindrical building is located very close to the sea shore.
The Kota Kinabalu City Mosque was our next destination. I was impressed by this magnificent mosque that sits on top of a lagoon – it looked like it was floating. We took a lot of pictures here, and there were many tourists from different countries who did the same.
The highlight of our first day was Tanjung Aru Beach, where we waited patiently for the sunset. When the sun’s red, orange and yellow hues were reflected on the sea, the scenery seemed unreal – it was the most stunning sunset that I had ever seen.
The next day, we joined a tour group to go to the highlands in Kundasang. It was some distance away from KK city and the roads were pretty winding, which can be a problem for people who suffer from motion sickness.
We stopped in Tamparuli for lunch, a small town popular with both locals and tourists. We had its famous dish, Tamparuli noodles, which is fried home-made egg noodles served with egg and either char siew or other meats.
Our journey continued to the Desa Dairy Farm. The hillside attraction had a few Holstein Friesian cows grazing on the farm, a view that’s quite similar to some places in New Zealand or Switzerland.
It was also pretty chilly at the farm, but that did not stop us from tasting some creamy gelato. We had them after checking out how Desa produces its milk and other dairy products. It was quite an interesting experience.
Later, we went for an ATV ride at a different hill. It was my first time riding and I was quite nervous about it. However, my friends encouraged me to do it and slowly, I began to relax and just enjoy the ride and the surrounding views.
We checked into Pine Resort, a hillside accommodation that gave us a very good view of Mount Kinabalu. Later, we went hiking at Crystal Hill. We thought it would be an easy climb but it wasn’t. However, the gorgeous view from the peak was definitely worth all our huffing and puffing!
The Canopy Walk experience is not for the faint of heart.
The next day, we did the Canopy Walk at Kinabalu Park. I was excited to walk through the suspension bridge high above the trees. But to my surprise, we had to hike up a hill for about 45 minutes before we could actually see the bridge. We were definitely not as fit as we thought we were.
After all that workout, we walked over to the Poring Hot Springs to soak our tired feet in hot water. It helped a bit to regain our strength.
The writer was lucky to see a Rafflesia in full bloom in Kundasang. — Photos: JUN KEAT GOH
We were really lucky to come across the biggest flower in the world, the Rafflesia, in full bloom. We took so many pictures of it because we couldn’t believe that we finally got to see this natural beauty in real life.
Our tour took us to a fish spa at Kampung Luanti. It was quite fun sitting on the riverbed and getting our feet nibbled on by these tiny fish. The locals said that doing this can make our skin nicer, as the fish “eat” all the dead skin on our feet.
We stopped by the Mari-Mari Cultural Village the next day. Here, we were introduced to the cultures of a handful of Sabah’s native communities like the Kadazan, Dusun, Rungus, Murut, Bajau and Lundayeh. This village also had replicas of each native community’s traditional homes.
The most memorable one for me was the Murut house. The Murut are traditionally known as the “head hunters of Borneo”, and before we entered their house, a few of them spooked us from inside! It was all in good fun and we appreciated their efforts to teach us about their culture and traditions.
The writer and his friends at Mari-Mari Cultural Village.
We also got to watch traditional games and performances. The Murut has a lansaran which is like a traditional trampoline.
We were invited to take part in the bamboo dance, or the magunatip, together with the performers. I would say this village is a must-visit attraction in Sabah.
Our trip was refreshing and informative as we got to experience many things that are not familiar to folks from Peninsular Malaysia. We should try our best to understand and respect the different cultures, races and religions that exist in our country. Celebrate and be proud of our diversity!
The views expressed are entirely the reader’s own.
