Still about The land Below The Wind (Mount Kinabalu,Sabah)

 

Meeting – checked

courtesy visit 1 – checked

courtesy visit 2 – checked

If it was in the past, I could have left to the airport and flew back to where I lived after I’ve done my duty, but not during this visit. My business partner, Gina and I decided to add excitement to our trip. We stayed back for another 2 nights.

The following morning raised us  to a clear and beautiful daylight. I love to see the cloud in this state. When you happen to visit Sabah, look at the sky above.

In this trip, I controlled the steering. Thank God, our rented car behaved well throughout the journey. We started our journey out of town, at around 11:30am. I drove following the arrow pointing for the place named ‘Tuaran’.

Prior to this trip, I’ve searched the internet. It was engraved in my mind to:-

-drive towards Tuaran for 1 hour

-then turn right to Tamparuli

-Then follow the signboard towards Kundasang for another hour drive.

OK SET.!

It was also set in our mind to relax…be cool….observe….learn….

We did as set. Not too long after the peaceful driving, we made our first stop at a stall by the road side. I saw a big sign of ‘Keropok  Lekor’ (Fish sausage, originated from Terengganu, which one time ago, called Trangkanu (Thai) when it was under the influence of the Siamese.

Keropok Lekor in Sabah..???

Our journey continued….

Up above, flowery cloud accompanied our trip. One hour has past. Another hour to our destination, Kundasang.

 

Look..! Jambatan Gantung (Suspension bridge), Tamparuli (name of area).

Lets snap a photo.

Down under, a wide, yellow river, named Tamparuli River.

Slowly..slowly… ..to the right…to the left…Gina stunned. On the other end, a  line of cars patiently waited for their turn to cross after me.

That was my first driving across a narrow bridge.  Phew.!!

We made it..! we’re safe..!

Hey look.!!!  farmers market. The market, locally known as ‘Tamu’ (tuh-moo), located at the other end of the bridge. It only happens every Wednesday. We came on a right day. “This is fun…lets stop…..”

 

 

Oh…They’re so cute..the chicks, I meant..the real chicks..alive and kicking.

 

Snap my photo..I wanna hold…but ..no..no..no..(I thought of bird flu)

I guess those sellers were tired of our silly questions..whats this?..whats that? whats this?..whats that…?

The lady was so glad that I requested to have a photograph with her. Smile.!!

I came across ‘Nona’ fruit (I’ve never tried this), ‘Bambangan’ (my favorite. I'm drooling just thinking of this sour fruit), Fermented Talapia Fish (yet to try), ‘Terap’ (Judging by the look, it should be categorized under species of jack fruit) and many more.

   

 

A lady seller having lunch with her children caught my attention. What a pity. I prayed for the children to grow up smart, kind and wealthy .

  

 

OMG..!!! I found it..!!!

What…??

I’ve been broadcasting to my Facebook friends on how I missed this special fruit. It is locally called ‘Durian Dalit’, as my friend Rosnanie, informed. It doesn't produce too much of a strong pungent as normal Durian.The taste is more to creamy , not sweet. Gina never heard nor tasted it. She got her first chance to eat this red Durian, that day.

I found it.!!

 

4 pieces for RM20 (USD6). I bought them all and I ate them all.

OK, time to go…

The weather was getting cloudy and darker, not too long after that.

It was only 2pm, but it looked more of dusk to me. Where is the mountain??

We should have it right infront by that moment, but where ??

From cloudy to misty…next…we were welcomed by the rain…. There goes the mountain view.

Rain has stopped 20 minutes later.

Stop.!! Dont miss the stalls. Local handicrafts were sold about 30 minutes drive to reaching our destination. We got to stop.

wait.! Gina...dont touch....

GONG..!!!!

A Gong is a circular metal platelike percussion instrument, usually accompanied a high Asian Culture celebration. It is very loud. It sounded as its name.

It was almost 3pm . Oh my…we could have checked in to the resort and rest at the balcony by then. The supposed 2 hours drive took us double the period.Can we stop all these stoppings?

I started the car thinking that we should see the peak of the Mount Kinabalu  within15 minutes.. but..where is the ..

my..oh..my…  it was getting darker and darker…

   

I couldn't drive any faster..not in that kind of visibility. The thick mist covered our way. The road was winding to my unfamiliar direction.Thinking of my family back home, I drove extra careful. I drove along with mostly 4-wheel drive vehicles, lorries and trailers. Dangerous drive, but not if you drive with extra care. 

We promised not to stop but….

How could we resist? Its The Kinabalu National Park, at the foot of the mount. Mount Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay Archipelago.

We paid RM6 (USD2) per entry to the park.

I zoomed  to the beautiful hundred years of age twines. Aren't they amazing?

I couldn't get enough with 1 photograph. Click..click..click….!!

  

Walking trail were provided for the passionate nature lovers. I chose to drive the car around. It was drizzling and breezy.  We stepped into the restaurant, just down the staircase near the park entrance. As soon as we stepped in, it started to rain. Oh..not again…..

    

Ahhhh…!!!A cup of hot tea was a great idea.

Ok, time to go again. No more stop, this time. That was the plan, but we had to make one last stop at the nearest small town of Kundasang. Why??

Gina knocked herself on the car door, while running away from rain at the National Park. She got a cut on her left brow. OMG! its bleeding! I got panic at first. Thank God she didn't need a surgery. A plaster would do, the doctor said.

Hush..hush.. dont let the doctor know…from the store next to the clinic, I bought ‘Minyak Gamat’ for Gina. Its an ointment made from a species of a sea cucumber. “It works like a miracle” I told Gina that, with confidence. She agreed to try. It does, actually. I’m not a ‘Minyak Gamat’ agent. I said that based on my own experience. So, don't buy from me. Get it from the store.

The bleeding from Gina’s cut stopped. We continued our journey. 5 minutes later….

Look..!! Vegetable stalls..

No more stops…please….I reminded myself.

 

The mist thickened, causing further difficulty to my driving, but contributes to the picturesque view.  What a feeling…..cool breeze rushed in as I wind down the screen. hmmm…. I inhaled as much air as my diaphragm could hold. I wish I could bring them back to my family.

Another 5 minutes later, I noticed a big sign to my right. YEAY..!!! Kinabalu Pine Resort. We have reached our destination.

    

Its clean and tidy. We both love the bathroom.

And the balcony.. just perfect, regardless of what I read some reviewers wrote in the internet.

Nice , neat and simple cabin. How I wished my family were around.

But where is the mountain??  Gina hadn't seen any proof of its existence.

Lets forget about her for now. She will come when she comes.

I took out a plastic bag to the balcony. I bought ‘Terap’ from the Tamparuli market. We used to have the tree, back home in Lahad Datu.

I wanted Gina to try. She seemed enjoying the new taste.

Next, we needed a foot massage. The Spa is in another hotel, located on top of the hill. We went. It was just about 10 minutes drive. Nice garden it has.

   

My dear friend enjoyed her reflexology treat. RM70 (USD24) per hour. Not too excellent, she said, though. Malaysian uses the slang  ‘OK lah’ , while the cost is doubled from the price she could have paid for a better masseur in Kuala Lumpur. No complain..relax… be cool…..

By night, we were getting hungry. We have forgotten about wanting to witness the majestic mount. The weather was getting cooler. Steamboat at the little cafe of our resort was just nice and satisfactory.

 

Our after dinner was  quiet and peace full. At the balcony, which is shared by 2 cabins, we talked about family, we discussed about work a bit. Sounds of our neighbors’ kids were heard pretty clear to us. The resort might not be right for a honey mooner. We giggled to that thought.

While Gina went to bed, I started my computer and work on my blogsite. Somebody somewhere must be waiting long enough for the continuation of my long winded series story. I fell asleep at around 2am.

Kringgggg..!!!!!  Wakie..wakie… I opened the curtain.

WOWww….!!!! 

There she was…The Mount Kinabalu. The majestic peak. Seen thru the window like a postcard.

I wouldn't know how to express nor I knew how to describe the feeling when I saw her, first thing in the morning. I let the pictures tell you further.

 

Minutes after minutes… it was coming out from the thick mist… beautiful…beautiful…beautiful… that's all I could tell.

 

Gina couldn't say word other than ‘beautiful’ either.

Clicking of cameras were heard all around.

   

Since that was her first meeting with the peak, I volunteered to be the camera women to Gina.

But then….

As early as 8:45am, we had to say good bye to the great mountain. Our flight wont wait. Exactly 2 hours driving down the hilly journey, we safely arrived at the airport.

We reached The Peninsular with Kinabalu still in our memory. The local song lingered in my ears.

Tinggi-tinggi Gunung Kinabalu.. (As high as the Mount Kinabalu)

Tinggi lagi sayang sama kamu.. ( My love to you is higher)

(thats the only lyrics I could recall)