Dine by the beach and watch the sunset in Tanjung Lipat, Likas KK Sabah

Hi, it's been a long time. I've been to many places and have more stories to tell but not today, I will in another post. Today I'm going to post about Tanjung Lipat, a popular beach to the locals in Kota Kinabalu Sabah (Malaysia Borneo). The beach is located in Likas and has become a great spot for international event such as the 2010 Dragon Boat Competition and even an active local recreational park! A good place to have dinner with a nice view at the local restaurants nearby. Here are some of the pics I took :)

Enjoy the fresh young coconut and delicious satay. Enjoy :)

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Maranjak Homestay - Bavangazo Rungus Longhouse in Kudat, Sabah

Hola hola superhola!!! Hahaha.. How you doin? I am good...  Anyway, as you can tell I am really bad with introduction, so let's cut the blahs and let me tell you about the Maranjak Homestay. Maranjak Homestay is probably the world's longest house, okay I'm exaggerating but it's really long. Originally, it was a long house of the Rungus tribe at the Bavanggazo Village. Nowadays, it's a homestay open for public who would like to experience a unique lifestyle. You can stop by and visit without staying if you want to, just pay the fee entrance that will be use for the long house maintenance.

As you can see from the picture, there's a watchtower at the entrance. I imagine in the past, the men would take turn to guard the entrance from enemies. Unfortunately I was only able to take a few pictures of the long house exterior due to heavy rain :(

As soon as we enter, we can see a few women selling handmade items.

Don't forget to register your name in the guest book =)

I love the long house, in the past 'one family' consist of as many as fifteen families would live together and hang outside their respective rooms. The wooden sticks sparsely fabricated along the veranda gives open air ventilation.

The roof is made of dried Nipah leaves, folded over a rod and stitched together to form shingles called atap. These shingles are used for roofing that can last up to five years.

Rain falling off the edge of the atap.

The walls are made from patches of tree skin. I just love the beauty of its architecture. There are not many long houses nowadays, and Maranjak is one of the last few.  Looking up close, I noticed there are some traditional items hanging on the wall for display. Looks like water bottle and a rock. I do not know the significant of the rock but the water bottle looks interesting? Is it handmade as well? I thought all Dusun people drink from the bamboo container?

Wait a minute, it says here bla blah blah Amsterdam! Sorry I can barely see what's written there except Amsterdam. Clearly this doesn't belong here... Perhaps a tourist as a gift left it behind?

Traditional music instrument, this two-string lute called the Timpalan.

Hmm... I don't know what this is, can someone tell me what this is? Please?

Inside one of the rooms, I asked Kak Liau and Famulan to pose for me. Heheheee... The room is provided with mattress and mosquito nets.

The only furniture inside the rooms. Looks like the previous visitor was having an instant noodle, hahaha.. Muslim visitor rest assured, the Maranjak Homestay provide halal food prepared by Muslim cook, so no need to worry and shy away eating your instant noodle soup in your room secretly. Hehehehe...

Very happy guests, Kak Liau and her son Faiz. Maranjak Homestay has 75 rooms available for rent at RM75 per room for foreigners and RM55 per room for locals. The longhouse is 818 feet long. Hmm... I wonder what Famulan is searching for? Perhaps the rorizan, which is used as a place to hide the most beautiful girl in the longhouse until she is wed. Thank God I wasn't born here during that era, I don't want to be trapped inside a room!!! Hahaha... =P

 

Very happy Famulan, found the rorizan?

After dinner, the women and men of the Maranjak long house will dress in their traditional wear to perform the mongigol samundai dance in this area.

Common music instrument of all the Dusun ethnic, the Gong.

I found a video of the Rungus traditional dance on Youtube uploaded by RadioRungus.

Here's another video I found on Youtube of a Rungus traditional song, it is not a ritual song but a song. I have heard the ritual song before and it's different.

Hopefully one day someone will translate this song.

Aiso and Charles chilling out at the veranda.

Irfan and Faiz relaxing on the hammock. I didn't inspect the jar but I think it's tapai (the local rice wine).

Fermented rice wine inside of a jar. I understood that there is a tapai session which the guest may participate in.

Well, look what I found. A commercialized local rice wine called Montoku. The process is different from making the tapai.

Kak Liau found something interesting.... "oooooh what's this?" she probably said while examining the thing hanging on the pillar. It's a traditional puzzle game of the Rungus tribe.

In the past it is custom for the Rungus tribe to test a future son in law with this puzzle. If the man (groom to be) is unable to solve the puzzle within the length of time the future father-in-law takes to smoke his sigup (a local cigarette which the tobacco is wrapped inside a young Nipah leaf); the proposal will be turned down. This puzzle was used to test the suitor's problem solving skills and capabilities in bringing up a family well. Kak Liau and the boys were trying to solve the puzzle but failed, lucky for us the friendly lady then shows us how to solve the puzzle :) 

Aiso checking out some of the handicrafts and souvenirs.

The handicrafts here are a lot cheaper than those you can get at the market. I bought quite a few and gifted a bracelet made of stone (don't remember the name) to Famulan.

Famulan looking at the sigar with full concentration, handmade by the women of Maranjak long house. See, she's wearing the bracelet I bought for her =)

Sigar is hand woven into a piece of cloth using kapok fibers (silk cotton) from the seed of the kapok tree or scientifically known as Ceiba pentandra. This cloth later will be folded into a headgear uses by the men.

My brother Aiso took a memorable photograph with the friendly lady, Mrs. Maranjak. The wife of the long house coordinator. Sadly Mr. Maranjak wasn't there that day so we didn't get the chance to meet him. By the way, to whom it may concern, Aiso was actually sitting behind her not beside her, as the picture seems to portray. Heheheee...

Goodbye Maranjak Homestay, it was a pleasant stay though only for a short while. I had fun  =)

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Candi Borobudur - my journey into the three realms of metaphoric cosmology!

Hello, today I'm going to share my experience while visiting Candi Borobudur, the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world and one of the eight wonders of the world. Candi is a local word that means temple, and Borobudur derived from the Sanskrit word vihara Buddha uhr that means the Buddhist monastery on the hill. It was founded by a king of the Saliendra dynasty; it was built to honour the glory of both the Buddha and its founder, a true king Bodhisattva. Candi Borobudur is located in Muntilan, Magelang, and is about 42 km from Yogyakarta City, Central Java, Indonesia. It was lost hidden from the world until it was found again by Sir Thomas Raffles in 1812, since then it has been under restoration and maintenance regularly.

I went to Candi Borobudur while on an 18 days trip in Indonesia with Famulan and Faye.  We rented a car from a man called Pak Joko and headed out at 7.30am from our hotel, Duta Garden.  If you wish to read my blog post about the hotel, click here. Anyway, when we got there it's almost noon and it looked like it was going to rain. Pak Joko offered us umbrellas that he always carries around in the car for his passengers, Faye gladly took it because she doesn't want to get wet in case that it rains, and don't want to get dark due to the heat in case it didn't rain. Famulan and I decided not to, I don't remember her reason but I didn't want to carry an umbrella because I am already carrying my huge green shoulder bag that was so heavy it felt like I'm carrying tons of bricks, plus I'm also carrying a video camera.  So no thanks.  There are numbers of helpers outside the temple compound offering services that cost minimum of Rp10000 to carry an umbrella for you. Anyway, that is the last thing I want, to have someone follow me closely behind. I would even go mad having a sales person follow me around in a shop, so imagine how uncomfortable it must feel for me to have someone so close with an umbrella... No thanks!! However, in the end I end up carrying Faye's umbrella because she got tired carrying it. I have no idea how it ended with me but I used it as a walking stick in the middle of the tour... haha!!

Taking memorable picture with Famulan before we begin our adventure in three realms of Borobudur. What a huge bag I carried around with me, it has a huge chunk of  iron molded into the letter G. It looks cool at first that's why I bought it. Later I kinda regret it because it was soooooooooooo heavy even with very little stuff inside. Next time I will just use a knapsack for my camera. Oh btw I didn't have a camera during this trip, I am grateful to Famulan for sharing these photos.

We took an official tour guide, I've forgotten his name but he is a very soft spoken and speak in a very thick Javanese accent that most of the time I have no clue what he was talking about. He was very polite and kept  reminding us that we can always ask him anything that we don't understand. Unfortunately I don't understand most of it. Well it's difficult to put much attention when my mind is so overwhelmed with the fact that I am finally here... one of the places that I wanted to be is Borobudur and now I can proudly say I have stepped my feet here. I'm so eager to do a little adventure on my own. Little did I know I was going to travel in three different realms before I finally reach the infinite... or perhaps nothingness?? Metaphorically of coz... hehehe.. It was exhilarating finally reaching the top!

It is believed that the panels or relief extend over a total length of 6 km and hailed as the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world. The narrative relief on the main walls read from the right to left. This was done for the purpose of the Pradaksina ritual which the pilgrims make moving on the clockwise and keeping the sanctuary to the right.

According to our guide, every visitors to the temple have to perform Pradaksina, encircled the temple three times clockwise from the east gate as the starting point. In Buddhism it symbolizes its centrality in the lives of those who walk around it. The activity also represents integrity and cosmic harmony in mirroring natural phenomena such as the clockwise course the sun was believed to follow over the surface of the earth. Hmm... If you take it literally it doesn't make any sense but perhaps what it meant was the sun rays that reach the surface of the earth appears to be in clockwise motion? Buddhism is very metaphoric in their philosophy...  As a sign of respect we begin our climb in clockwise motion, stopping at each level to hear readings of the engraved panels or relief.

Borobudur temple has three tiers that represent the three major realms of Buddhist cosmology, the first is the Kamadhatu. It's the lowest of the Buddhist realms - the realm of desire that it is related to the 'thirst' or 'craving' and that is the cause of the 'suffering' or 'impermanence', in which the human beings are still prisoners of their own desires. 

Is it my imagination or is there a mismatched on the far end of the upper left? This must be the Kamadhatu realm. Look at him, he has two pretty girlfriends in both arms. Lol.

The second tier is the Rupadhatu, the realm of Form where dependence on earthly desires have been mastered, the human beings are no longer subject to the extremes of pleasure and pain, or governed by desires for things pleasing to the senses. The third tier is the Aruphadatu, the realm of Formless. The beings inhabiting this realm have either shape or location; and the realm has no location either. The Formless realm belongs to those devas who attained and remained in the state of mastering one self and no longer subject to earthly desires in previous life or realm, the human beings now enjoys the fruits (vipak) of the good karma of that accomplishment. It is to be understood that deva in this realm are not "gods" in the common sense of the term, it is an imprecise term referring to any being living in a longer-lived and generally more blissful state than humans in the other realms.

Here I am getting ready to climb to the top, to Aruphadatu. On my left hand is Faye's umbrella that now has become my walking stick. Lol. Honestly, I don't think I ever reach Aruphadatu. Let's be realistic here, there's so many worldly things that I want to have or to do, for example I wish I have Sony VIAO L Series big screen PC!! Now wanting to have something but not having is not equal to not wanting therefor not having. So I can say that I am currently in the realm of Ruphadatu where I am practising the mastery of not wanting or desiring anything a.k.a. dead inside. Occasionally I visit some old friends in the Realm of Desire because they miss my money on occasion that I do have it. When I died and become totally formless I will probably reach Aruphadatu where everything is nothing. Hahahahaaaa...I'm kidding so don't take it personal!!!!

Technically I reached the highest level of the realm by climbing this magnificent temple and the view is magestic!! Marvelous!!! Bravo!! How else would I be able to take this pics.. Haha! In summary, the three realms is the vertical cosmology corresponds to a mental state or a state of being, interesting philosophy put carefully in a metaphoric way don't you agree?

Here we are at last, the realm of the formless - Aruphadatu. Faye is holding her own umbrella now. There's Buddhas inside the huge stupas. The local believe that anyone who can touches the Buddha's toe will be granted his or her wishes. Only those of clear and good intention will be able to do so, or so I was told by Faye and supported by our guide.

Happy faces, all three of us were able to touched Buddha's toe quite easily, I don't even have to reach  out very far.  Those people behind us, they kept complaining out loud that the Buddha's toe was beyond reach. My brother said, if he stick his hand inside the stupa, he probably won't be able to touch it too. Worse case scenario, he said that the Buddha will probably stomp on his fingers because of too many evil thoughts. Hahahaha... So what will you wish for if you have the chance to touch the Buddha's toe inside the stupa?

Candi Borobudur is surrounded by eight mountains while the ninth is the Borobudur itself. One of the mountain that surrounding Borobudur is the recently erupted volcano Mt. Merapi. Scientist and scholars believes that in the past Borobudur was surrounded by water.

 Tips: You will be asked for donation at the exit, it will be used for maintenance so please be so kind to do so if you enjoy the tour. Careful, as soon as you exit the temple compound, peddlers are ready to swarm you trying to get you to buy something from them. If you are not gonna buy, please don’t haggle or small chat unless you love to be chased around persistently! It will take them a long time before they actually give up on you.

P/S : The trip was in 2008 and all photographs was taken by the tour guide using Famulan's and Faye's compact camera :)

Hope you enjoy my ramblings.  Anyway, see you soon in my next post. ‘Til then, have great days  :)

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Pantai Kelambu - a natural hidden beauty :)

 I am a sabahan who had never step a foot on any island in Sabah, well that is not exactly truth since Sabah is part of an island, Borneo Island... Hahaha... Anyway, everytime I make plans to visit the beautiful islands surrounding Sabah, the weather is never right, it's either too hot or raining cats and dogs.. sigh! Well this time despite the bad weather, I manage to be on one very small island, it's about a hundred meters from the shore of Pantai Kelambu and it's connected by a tombolo. When the tide is high it become an island, some people will go diving around it although I heard that there's not many fishes to see. I dunno, I haven't try diving, perhaps one day I will... If I can still swim, I seems to have forgotten how to but I do have a natural talent for drowning tho... hahah!

Even on cloudy and rainy day, Pantai Kelambu still manages to give me beautiful shots. Imagine how this place looks like on a beautiful sunny day... If you want to get there, the beach is located about 35 kilometers of Kudat town. You will need a local map or guides to get here since the road signs are poor, you might end up getting lost as we did. Good thing is, the locals are friendly and helpful. At the split road points towards Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, go straight ahead and you will find yourself driving on a gravel road. On the way, you can see some traditional Rungus houses and old traditional houses of the oldest Chinese village.

 Despite the cloudy, windy and rainy day I still enjoy walking along the beach at Pantai Kelambu, Nearby is Kudat Riviera, a property for the rich and famous. It is owned by Touchdown  World Tour Group Company based in UK. Kudat Riviera is a private luxury villa residencies which is off limit to public, one lot or one property is up for sale or rent just like in Mauritius or other Caribbean island with starting price of USD 1 million. Rumors saying that the Malaysian's tycoon Robert Kwok and the famous Jackie Chan owned a property here... Really?!!

Oooh look!!! Aren’t that Jackie Chan and his assistant having a little adventure around the island? Heh!! Just kidding, that's my brother and the girl just happens to be there. She stood there for a few minutes as if waiting for my brother. Maybe she thought my brother was Jackie?! Hahahaha....

Yah and kak Liau at Pantai Kelambu with Pulau Kelambu at the background. They spent the whole time walking along the beach collecting seashells, wonder if they still have it.. Lol. Yah said she dreams to open her own homestay one day. I'm sure it will be a great adventure staying at her homestay, Yah and her husband Chal are great host guaranteed.

Beautiful seashells, the kids are having the most fun collecting these. It came in various size, colors and shape. When I was a kid, our home used to have seashell-hanging curtain on doorways. I have a love hate relationship with it because it really hurts when it hit my face but it's so pretty at the same time.

Legend said, that scary looking creature was once the king of the island, but he was so arrogant that he killed his own pride to have all the fishes for himself. One day, a man went fishing near the island; this infuriates the beastly king so it went to attack the man. Turn out this man is a powerful shaman, he demanded that the beast to bow and ask forgiveness but the beast was so arrogant. So the man cursed him into stone... it will come alive when the tide is high during the full moon, it will continue crawling searching for the shaman to forgive him... just kidding hahahaaa!!! I just made that up, anyway no one seems to notice this wonderful thing among the rocks, everybody just keep passing by without even looking. Well since I am the one who found him I'll name him Buaya Tanggang.. Lol. Well, obviously no such legend exist but it would be hell scary to find him on the seabed while diving here!!!

While Pantai Kelambu is a beautiful white sandy beach, the place has no other facilities except the two pavilions and barbecue pit. There's a public restroom nearby. A short walk back down the road you came from and you'll find some houses and a wooden booth selling sweets and local fruits, the restroom is just behind it.

I wonder who manage the cleanliness of this public area since thrash can be seen lying around the pavilions. Perhaps left by inconsiderate irresponsible visitors. I see some thrash near the multi-million dollar villas back exit to the beach as well, hmmm..... Should I make a call to Karam Singh Walia? hehehe...  So if you plan to visit, please CLEAN after your mess BEFORE you leave. Don't throw anything into the sea especially plastic bag. Do you know that thousands of sea turtles dies every year caused by marine plastic thrash?

My rating  : 6/10. The place has great potential, too bad it's overlooked by authorities. They should maintain the place, build a better public restroom and showers. I don't mind paying as long as it is at a reasonable price and the place kept clean.  Provide thrash can please, I couldn't seems to find anywhere...

Well, that's it for today, hope you enjoy my ramblings. Hopefully I will be back here when the weather is fine so I can take loooooooooots of beautiful pictures. Will try to write more of my adventures with lots of photographs! Till then, adios~

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