[Sabah trip, 25-Mar-2006] We rented 2 cars to drive to Kudat, the 4 girls decided to have some girls talk along the journey and took the better car. The guys had the ‘fortune’ to drive the other much rotten car that smells like fish, phew..
We passed by the famous Yayasan Sabah building in Kota Kinabalu and visited UMS before heading to Kudat.
Our first destination was the Rungus longhouse in Kampung Bavanggazo, saw lots of small villages, cows, buffalos and ‘buses’ on our way. It took us around 3 hours to reach Bavanggazo.
Well the longhouse was a bit commercialized and modernized.. they are actually using electricity, have a modern bathroom and wearing jeans. Well we can’t blame people for living a better life don’t we?
The Rungus named their longhouse “Binatang”. Although it’s a bit modernized we could still see bunches of traditional staffs, like their bead making, wine brewing and hunting equipments.. and listened to stories about how their traditional lifes used to be.
The guide at the longhouse actually invited us to stay overnight, and make advance booking if visiting them next time so that they can arrange traditional dancing performance and hunting activities for guests. Sounds interesting but we already had other plannings, so maybe next time.
We went to Kudat town for lunch before heading to Simpang Mengayau, the Tip of Borneo. It is the northest part of Sabah and the Island of Borneo. We had to drive thru some bumpy roads to get there, but it’s worth some backpain to reach there, it’s quite scenic and a pleasant place to be at.
After an hour stay at the Tip of Borneo, we drove ourselfs to Kampung Gombizau to see some bees ‘farming’ and honey producing. We got to taste some fresh honey, the honeycomb is sweet and chewy.. it’s like eating honey sweet chewing gum, very sweet.
It’s another 3 hours of driving back to Kota Kinabalu, HL was driving and leading the way and managed to scare the hell of everyone by getting into the opposite direction of a round-about traffic.. anyhow we still managed to reach KK safely, thank goodness.
Dinner was yummy seafood.. mini-lobsters, big prawns, crabs, fish.. it’s pretty cheap eating seafood in Sabah, taste fresh too.
Well it’s the first day of Sabah.. 8-9 hours of driving, some KK sightseeing, a ‘traditional’ longhouse, nice sea view, honey farm and a great dinner.
April 4th, 2006 at 9:18 am
cheap seafoood! it’s nice having them there cuz it’s always cheaper than it is here..
April 4th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Cheap is one thing, fresh is another issue.. well that’s the benefit of living seaside.
May 1st, 2006 at 10:57 pm
I got plan to Sabah next year,from your story I can’t be patient to go there.
May 2nd, 2006 at 6:22 pm
Steady steady Sarip, you said you need to train for it, and it’s very true.
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:17 pm
How much was the entrance fee and everything else? thought of going there too…
October 23rd, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Ren.. I can’t remember exactly, it has been half a year since I visited the Sabah.
For sure it’s not expensive, I THINK the entrance is around RM2-3 per person for long house, another RM2-3 for bee farm.
No idea about the price for staying overnight at the longhouse.
November 17th, 2006 at 4:29 pm
The entrance fee for the longhouse is RM3 per person (Malaysian).
Staying overnight will cost you about RM80 per person, per night, including meals and all the activities (if you go by yourself). But if you follow travel operator, they can charge you anywhere from RM130 to RM200.
It’s my father-in-laws longhouse…
November 18th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Thanks for the note drizad.