Things to do in Kota Kinabalu

This media trip is made possible by Amazing Borneo Tours.

When i was younger, i hated the hiking trips my dad takes us when overseas. We would walk for ages with no end. I once threw a tantrum in Gold Coast, sat on the forest floor and refused to walk another step. Eventually, i got up & walked because i realised i am too big to carry and my family were disappearing in sight. I was rewarded by being able to order anything i want in the restaurant later.

Now then i've grown up, i appreciate the opportunities to be in nature. Especially when there're 50 cars queuing to enter Macritchie or East Coast Park is overwhelmed with foreign workers pitching tents.

As a Singaporean, we city dwellers didn't grow up climbing trees and today, it's much worse when 3 year olds know how to work an iPad. I'm very blessed for a Singaporean father who plan hiking holidays (amongst other activities) and i hope young parents will do the same.

In the 80s, we still could see chickens in markets here.
Today, we travel to countryside overseas for farm  animals.

Kota Kinabalu is a mere 2.5 hours flight away and there are various levels of adventure available. If you aren't into climbing Mt Kinabalu which i rate 7/10 on the adventure scale, there're alot of other activities to do!

Kiulu River Rafting
is mild. We had a granny on board, albeit a feisty Italian one. There isn't much of a scenery going down the river but it's a fun boat ride down 9km of the Kiulu River. The stream isn't as gentle as the nursery rhyme,  but it is definitely merrily merrily merrily and life is but a dream.

A grade 2 river (the fastest rapids are graded 5), we were taught simple instructions like how to sit in a raft and what to do if we fall out.

For the ones wanting a bigger thrill, you can try body rafting. I was pretty intimidated at first, but after seeing many bobbing bodies drifting down successfully, i decided to do it!

We took a long hike up-stream. The most thrilling part was getting into the fast rapids. Our bodies weren't in position yet but we were being whipped around and the rapids threatened to sweep us off our foothold. Then within 10 seconds, we're washed down to where we started.

I have white water raft in New Zealand before and the rapids there were alot faster for the adrenaline junkie me. However, what they didn't have was feeding massive fishes!

 It was a pleasant surprise when our river guide instructed us to row the boat to the bank and park. Then, we got into the river and we felt these monsters swishing around our ankles! Because the river is a protected area, no fishing is allowed thus the fishes that come to get fed are huge and numerous.

Helmet covered my eyes, excuse to not row.

Island Hopping

Popular nearby destinations for Singaporeans are Thailand or Bali. Little did we know that nearby and not as touristy is Kota Kinabalu. Malaysia has just as pristine waters with blue skies to match.

Shopping
A holiday isn't complete without shopping. Gaya market is comparable with Chatuchak in Bangkok. Ok, i can't compare because i hadn't been to the latter, haha!

They sell lots of beach "produce" like sea water/ fresh water pearls, large sea shells etc. They also have their local medicinal looking things.

 Animals are not lacking. Either for you to keep as pets, farming or eating.

While you wouldn't get a huge harvest from Gaya, you'll find quirky items unique to Sabah!

Creepy frog coin pouch. I don't know if it's made from the frog's skin.

Carved from a coconut.

I almost bought this! It was SGD 250. 

I know i'll be visiting again, have yet to explore the jungle side of Sabah. I hear it's like Africa in Asia with animals like the pygmy hippos unique to Borneo and spotting wild crocodiles as you cruise down in a boat.

I compiled a video of what i did!

In Kota Kinablau, all attractions with the exception of the islands are in the outskirts of the city. Making your way to such attractions can be abit difficult, therefore book your day tours from www.Amazing-Borneo.com.

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Tribal Living

This media trip is made possible by Amazing Borneo Tours

The Internet is made for porn. Today, social media supersedes porn in the usage of the Internet. Before the internet, before porn, how do people live then?

They live in tribes. Before the Internet, the tribes are about leading and connecting people and ideas. Sounds familiar with what we do with social media and the Internet isn't it?

While Singaporeans are familiar with the tribes of today, church, work, community, we are not familiar with the real tribes some 50,000 years ago.

Sabah has 32 tribes and almost all people living there now are descendants of a tribe. My mountain guide is a descendant of Murut, a head-hunting tribe. He told me his uncle still hangs 42 skulls in his house and during family gatherings, they are displayed.

In my recent visit to Kota Kinabalu, a short 90 minutes flight away from Singapore, i visited the Mari Mari Cultural Village.

I enjoyed the village because it simulated authentic tribal living as accurate as it can be. There were also alot of interactive elements including tasting the food and drink in as in a tribe!

Unanimous amongst the tribes, virgins are precious. All daughters sleep in an upper corner with the ladder taken away at night to prevent any men or enemy accessing them.

Once the heavy ladder is taken away, the girls can't get down and no one can get up!

                 
The Dunsun tribe make their own rice wine by fermentation. They are good drinkers, including the women. However, if there is a funeral in the household, they prohibit the making of wine. They have a superstitious belief that the wine will taste sour because of the death in the family.

Back in those days, there weren't stoves. So they put raw ingredients into a hollow bamboo and cook it over fire.

A cultural village like none other, not only did i taste fermented rice wine, i also tried cooking the tribal way!

Everyone's tea depended on me.
A dash of chilli and ginger, a spoonful or chicken, a pinch of salt and sugar.
Oh and throw in some lemongrass too.

                 

I was too heavy handed with the ginger but otherwise it was an interesting way of eating your own cooked dish!

The Rungus tribe send boys to warrior school. They are also skilled in starting fires by using the fiber of a tree.

They remind me of Disney's Jungle Boy.

Like our HDBs, some tribes live in long houses where many families live under one roof.

It was an educational tour, especially if you've children. Hopefully, it will make them appreciate life being made so simple today. That we didn't have to roll tree barks to make clothing.

The Lundayeh and Murut are the head hunting tribes.
Before opium was invented, people were addicted to head hunting. With each head hunted, they get a tattoo to boast the conquest.

At the cultural village, they simulate getting tattooed by using hanna!
                            
The Lundayeh tribe worship the crocodile because they believe its spirit is powerful. Human skulls then outline the crocodile for a ritual.

Can you see the outline of a croc?

Today, we kill people who killed people to show them killing people is wrong. Such oxymorons exist in tribal living too. Because the head hunters fear their victims coming back to haunt them, they adorn the skulls with silat leaves.

At first i thought it was for decoration, to give the skull some hair.

At the Mari Mari cultural village, every artifact is real.

The skulls are real and are all hanging up above.

Today, we hang paintings. Back then, they hang dead animals.

The Bajau tribe are the most business savvy. Unlike the first tribe mentioned who are masters at making wine but only for their own pleasure, the Bajau make Kuih Jala out of flour and sugar and juice pandan and ginger to conduct barter trade with other tribes or nationalities like the water gypsies or Chinese traders. They are also the only tribe with a religion (Muslim) and believe their ancestors hail from Philippines 500 years ago.

Very yummy!

Visitors get to eat and drink the above mentioned.

Visiting the Murut tribe, the most vicious head hunters, was like visiting a haunted house. Although the village guide spoilt the surprise by preempting us, telling us actors will be jumping out of the bushes and ACTING really fierce.

My dad didn't believe his threats.

We got to try out the blow pipes that is used to hunt down animals or humans!

I executed a pretty good blow job, nailing it on first try.

Without computers and internet, what do people in those days do for entertainment and leisure then? Alot of song, dance and games.

Are we missing out much living in today's era? I wouldn't know, but for that afternoon, i had a taste of tribal living.

In Kota Kinablau, all attractions with the exception of the islands are in the outskirts of the city. Making your way to such attractions can be abit difficult, therefore book your day tours from Www.Amazing-Borneo.com.

For my guide to climbing Mount Kinabalu, read here.

Gudang grosir baju anak murah - harga pabrik !!
www.gudanggrosiran.com Categories: kota kinabalu, things to do, travel