TIP OF BORNEO: Kudat Town (Part Two)

Sidek Esplanade

Strolling along this promenade, I marveled the vastness of the seafront, and looking further east watched another peninsula not that far away. The sea in front of Kudat Town is actually sandwiched by two land mass and all this area is call Marudu Bay. Imagine looking at a two dimensional picture of a dog with a pointed ears. The dog is facing right and in the middle of the right edge of the left ear there is a small dot. That dot is Kudat. That picture resembled the map of North Borneo.

Coffee shop in Kudat

Many of us experienced back in Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu), the capital of North Borneo decades ago, there were many coffee shops that offered cup of coffee or tea and a plate of assorted cakes. Whatever we consumed, only those would be charged. This typical style is not easy to find anymore there; but we still experienced this in Kudat. Sitting here is so nostalgic.

Bak-Bak Beach

Many told me that the Bak-Bak Beach near the Kudat Town is beautiful. Before seeing this place, I imagined it would be stretching with white sandy beach and thousands of tall coconut palms. I was disappointed. The beach is silty, rocky and also dirty. However, I admit that during low tide, the beach does revealed itself to be attractive; by looking at the interesting rock formations. I believed it is sandstone being shaped by the waves and current.

So indeed Kudat Town is a wonderful place to visit, and those who had never been here should try out this place. There are quite a number of cheap but clean hotels, wonderful golf course, delicious foods and friendly people. Most of all, before the government tears down the historical wooden building at Lo Then Chok Street.  

  

TIP OF BORNEO: Kudat Town (Part One)

Historical shophouses of Kudat

I love Kudat because it is a serene and quiet town; but lovely. Like most small town in North Borneo (Sabah), it still have this iconic building made of wood which emphasized it's link to the British Empire. But sadly, we do not know how long these buildings will stand as both the people and the government were more concerned with concrete jungle. To my opinion, these buildings at Lo Then Chok Street should be preserved at all cost.

Fishing trawlers

Kudat can be considered a fresh seafood heaven because, to my opinion, the town fishing community have access to the vast South China Sea in the west and the Sulu Sea in the north. There are numerous seafood stalls along the Sidek Esplanade which serve delicious seafood. Even fresh meal could be tasted at a restaurant at Kudat Golf Club. I was made to understand much of the fish are sold in Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu), the capital of North Borneo. However, with the massive over-fishing going on as well as the fish-bombing epidemics, I don't know how Kudat could sustain itself with this wonderful gift from God.

Another view of Kudat Town

The Kudat Town was founded by the British on 7th December 1881, exactly 60 years before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, which made United States entered the Second World War. In 1882, it was declared the capital of North Borneo until the British decided to move the capital to Sandakan.  Traveling from Jesselton to Kudat, we will notice the vastness of grassland which I believe is unique to both Kudat and Kota Belud, another small town south of Kudat. From a distance, these grass will be mistaken for padi field. Century earlier the British too were puzzled about it, and asked the native tribe, the Rungus, what is it. The Rungus told them it was Kutat. So, that was why the town was named Kudat!

Clock tower at the Sidek Esplanade

Kudat is about 190 kilometer from Jesselton. The roads are good and traveling will indeed be convenience, despite it's single lane. Occasionally we will bump into road hogs that will slow us down, but most of the two and half hours trip will be fine.

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TIP OF BORNEO: The Sunset Music Festival

Music comes from the word Mousike, a Greek word meaning; the production of making harmonious noises. It is considered an art and cultural activities which originated from the Paeliolithic Era. Combine that with a beautiful sunset in the background; presto! You have the Sunset Music Festival! The sight was so awesome. While your ears focused on the wonderful rhythm, your eyes were feasting on the sun setting on the horizon, producing the orange light penetrating the darkening sky.

The Sunset Music Festival is held at the Simpang Mengayau located at the tip of Borneo. It is an annual event that had been started ten years ago. The nearest town is Kudat, a very pristine and peaceful place for a visitor to stay. Music here were performed by local as well as international artists presenting classical, cultural, jazz or pop music. You can be sure the crowds loved the performances as the singers were given thunderous applause and standing ovation. Many, I believed, will returned and watch the festival again next year.

Frankly speaking, I have heard about this event going on but never bothered to check it out. But this time I made it a point to see it myself and found out it was indeed an event not to be missed. It took me almost three hours to reach Kudat traveling from the capital, Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu). Then it took me another forty minutes to reach Simpang Mengayau. But the journey was worth it. Thousands of people came to watch. Before the sunset music start, tribal dancers showed us the Runggus dance. Runggus is one of the Borneo ethnic groups.

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KINABALU: Hot Spring

I thought hot spring bath can only be experienced at the Yellowstone National Park in USA or we have to travel all the way to Iceland to enjoy the water. But it is right here; a two hours drive from my hometown in Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu). Right in our own backyard! It's call the Poring Hot Spring or Poring National Park. Hot spring is a geothermal heated water coming from the earth crust. Many of the spring produce tolerable hot water and therefore pleasurable to bath with. But many are also too hot and dangerous. The heat is unbearable and could kill people if come into contact. But this one at Poring is indeed comfortable. The park does provide pools for visiting tourists and the guests and they can also mix the hot water with cold one. It is believed hot spring contains minerals beneficial to our health.

Nearby, we can also experience "sky walking" where the park provided a platform for the guests to walk among the canopies of the tropical hardwood forest, untouched by men (at this moment). The scenes are breathtaking. Platform 3 is the highest and the longest; and the scariest!

The Poring Hot Spring National Park is located at the highest mountain of North Borneo (Sabah) and it is one of the Kinabalu areas. There are many more beautiful places to explore here but at this moment, time only permit us to see a few.

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KINABALU: The Sabah Tea

I only saw inspiring images of tea plantations in Ceylon and also Cameron Highland (West Malaysia) and never for once thought there is a tea farm at our own backyard: at Nalapak, not far from the highest mountain in Southeast Asia, Mount Kinabalu! But here we are, making our trip to one of the highland paradise for the very first time. The view of the majestic mountain can be seen in the background. It is not as well-maintained as other tea plantations around the world; but nevertheless the view is quite breathtaking! The farm is known as The Sabah Tea.

Tea is an evergreen plant and the younger and smaller the leaves plucked, the higher the quality will be the tea.  I am made to understand the word tea is a Chinese word. The history of tea (camellia sinensis) started around the year 50BC in ancient China. In the early 1800's the population of Great Britain and Ireland were devastated by cholera. Million died of this disease. Then British traders introduced tea to their society. Because drinking tea involved boiled water, dying from cholera was dramatically reduced. Today the people of Great Britain and Republic of Ireland are the biggest per-capita consumer of tea in the world. In fact drinking tea had become their culture.

The Sabah Tea Farm is about thirty minutes drive from the Kinabalu National Park and two hours thirty minutes from the city. It is also very close to the Luanti Fish Spa.

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KINABALU: Trip to Luanti Fish Spa

I once operated a spa before. Those who ever dealt with this business will know how nightmarish was it to manage the human resources department. But for fish spa; it's cool men! Having common carps as your staffs definitely are dreams of a lifetime! Not only employing them are free, they also accept peanuts! In fact better; fish feeds! In Malay it is called dedak.

The fish here are known as the Ikan Pelian or Malaysian Mahshee (cyprinidae) which is a family of freshwater fish also called the carp family. They are stomachless as well toothless and they consume their food by sucking. Putting your foot down into the river does make one nervous and as the fish scrambled around your foot, the feeling is ticklish! For the first ten seconds you feel like giving up and you want to rush out from the water, but if we are patient and we let the fish do their job, soon our fear and nervousness will disappear. A lady next to us screamed on top of her voice but fortunately she endured the "suffering" and reaped the pleasure. After that, she refused to go out letting the fish feeds the psoriasis on her feet.

The operator told me this spa is operated by the Luanti village cooperative. Once the fish were almost extinct and the government encouraged them to practiced Tagal which mean "no fishing" in the Dusun language in the late 1990's. Within 15 years the population of the fish exploded and it is no longer considered endangered. Now there are thousands of them in this river. Kampung Luanti is located in Nalapak, Ranau about two hours and thirty minutes drive from Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu). It is also not far from the Kinabalu National Park. Coming here is indeed a great experience.

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THE QUEEN'S OBLIGATION: The Malaysian Agreement 1963

Zainnal Ajamain, the author of The Queen's Obligation doesn't fail to impress me. There are so many revelations that made me wonder; why our forefathers failed to notice them. Since 16th September 1963, many of our leaders from North Borneo and Sarawak didn't take note what the British had left for us. Before they left us, they actually gave us a security if we use it wisely; that was The Malaysian Agreement 1963.

To me, the most interesting one was the instruments that led to the signing of the Malaysian Agreement 1963. The British were those who constructed and shaped the agreement and it was accepted by the United Nation as binding. So definitely, the source of the Malaysian Agreement 1963 is The British Empire; notably Her Majesty, the Queen herself. According to Zainnal, that is her obligation.

The British entrusted Malaya as the Trustee, while Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak were the beneficiaries. These four independent countries helped to form Malaysia. Singapore had left Malaysia in 1964. We were not supposed to be part of Malaya; NOT ONE OF THE THIRTEEN STATES. According to Zainnal Ajamain, in the event of dispute, and there is no possibility of reconciling between the Trustee and the Beneficiaries, the Beneficiaries can opt for another Trustee!

Zainnal gave an example how the Trusteeship work; like the pacific island Nauru (below), given independent by Great Britain.  The Trustees were Australia, United Kingdom and New Zealand. According to Zainnal, the formation of Malaysia in 1963 was also based on the United Nations Resolution 1541. Since Nauru was satisfied with her trustees, she didn't made any fuss about it.

 Zainnal had sold out his first 2000 books. I would consider that a mini-bestseller because his first print lasted less than 5 months without any Traditional Publishers behind him! Now he got another thousand for the second print and it is running out fast. For those of you who are interested in the book, THE QUEEN'S OBLIGATION please do contact:


Ceilla Gilingan at:  011-321 30033 (Sales and purchase line)

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