 Sabah
Cities and Towns, Malaysia
Kota Kinabalu
The state capital of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu. It is a relatively
new town as most of its original buildings were destroyed
during World War II. Only the north-eastern corner of the
town remained and is known as 'Old KK' among the locals today.
The post-war reconstruction has resulted in Kota Kinabalu
becoming a hodgepodge of new and old buildings. Previously
known as Jesselton, Kota Kinabalu is a sprawling, relaxed
township of more than 13,000 inhabitants. There is an interesting
blend of European, Malay and Chinese shop houses, traditional
market places set amongst several high-rise buildings and
new shopping areas.
The town is also referred to as 'Singgah Mata' (where the
eye lingers) and its still as appealing as it was to the mariners
of old. Kota Kinabalu has some beautiful views of perpetual
blue skies, a coral-studded sea with lovely sunsets and misty
mountains in the distance.
Tenom
From Kota Kinabalu, you can travel west on the main highway
by express bus, passing through Papar, Bongawan and Kimanis
before reaching Beaufort. From here, visitors take the train
to Tenom, a scenic four-hour railroad journey that snakes
along the Padas River, giving passengers a spectacular view
of the Padas Gorge.
The Padas River offers a challenging experience to rafting
enthusiasts. The Murut in Tenom live in longhouses and are
a generous, hospitable people who take up any excuse to let
loose with song and dance. They have traditionally depended
on shifting agriculture and hunting.
A major attraction in Tenom is the Tenom Orchid Center which
has more than 600 species of orchids. From Tenom, excursions
to other Murut settlements in the neighboring areas can be
arranged.
Tuaran
This small, pleasant place is a half-hour's drive from Kota
Kinabalu. The road to Tuaran runs through farms, valleys,
rubber plantations and forests. The agricultural station here
is well worth a visit.
Papar
Papar, 38 km from Kota Kinabalu, may be reached by road.
This is a particularly scenic route with green padi and jungle
lining the roadside.
Kota Belud
This small town 77 km east of Kota Kinabalu is galvanized
into life every Sunday when the tamu, or open market, takes
place. The market is also an essential part of the social
life of the local farming community who comes to trade as
well as exchange news and gossip.
The farmers here are Bajau horsemen who wear stunning jeweled
custumes for ceremonial occasions. At the tamu, the horsemen
become buffalo farmers and buffaloes are traded. The Bajau
rear buffaloes for meat or as beasts of burden.
Penampang
This is a Kadazan village, 13 km from Kota Kinabalu. The
Kadazan are the rice growers of the region. Each year, they
celebrate harvest festivals lasting for several days accompanied
by a great deal of rejoicing and merry-making, in hopes of
a good harvest. They make their own potent rice-wine, the
deceptively strong tapai, for the occasion.
Keningau
Keningau is 48 km by road from Tenom and can be used as a
stopover point before making excursions deeper into the Murut
districts of Tenom. Cattle and ponies grazing on the plains
are common sights.
Tambunan
Only 1.5 hours from Kota Kinabalu, and 48 km from Keningau
is Tambunan, a town surrounded by a scenic countryside of
padi fields and rolling hills. The lihing, or rice wine, is
famous here.
The hills around Tambunan are covered in a profusion of bamboo,
the result of a colonial edict that for every bamboo pole
cut, twenty bamboo shoots must be planted. Tambunan has a
Handicraft Centre that sells local handicrafts and the tamu
(open market) held on Sundays is an interesting place to browse
around for village craftwork.
Accommodation is available at the Tambunan Village Resort
Center or Majora Holiday Farm, both of which are isolated
retreats and the take-off points for trekking up the Crocker
Range or rafting on the Pegalan River. Interesting places
near Tambunan include the 150-hectare Rafflesia Forest Reserve
and the Mawah Waterfalls set in rainforest at the edge of
the Crocker Range National Park.
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