Tag Archives: fruit

Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden of Kinabalu Park

Kinabalu Park has one of the richest assemblage of flora in the world, with an estimate of 5,000 to 6,000 vascular plant species that cover the habitat from warm lowland forest up to cold alpine mountain zone inside a park area of 754 KM². Though Kinabalu Park has become the most popular destination of Sabah, most tourists can’t even name 3 plant after a trip there. A short visit to its Botanical Garden will improve their travel experience considerably when they learn the wonders of our flora kingdom.

Pic: Kinabalu Park is an UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its mega flora diversity. Now it’s a Unesco Global Geopark too.

“The interest, and uniqueness of Kinabalu lies largely with its mountain flora.” -van Steenis, plant geographer

Pic: Liwagu Restaurant

Pic: the direction sign to Mountain Garden

Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden (a.k.a. Mountain Garden) is completely concealed by dense trees and pretty much neglected by tourists. The “secret” entrance is located in the wood between Liwagu Restaurant and Kinabalu Hall (Dewan Kinabalu). Just follow a small trail to the forest from road side and look for the direction sign. Some locals may have visited the park a dozen time, but they never discover this garden. Like my father, he was so surprised to see this “hidden garden” and didn’t know it has existed since 1981.

Pic: entrance and ticket counter of Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden

The garden is about 50 Meters away from the sign and you will see the long stairway leading to the entrance and ticket counter. The surrounding here is quiet, in contrast to other park areas full with noisy tourists. I heard many bird’s chirping and squirrels skulking behind the leaves. The air is cooling and refreshing too, as the garden is about 1,520 Meters above sea level, with a mountain stream named Silau-Silau River (the mean temperature of the water is 16°C) running through it.

Pic: layout map of Botanical Garden

The garden is only 1.4 hectares in size and there is a 700 Meters garden trail (see map above) with labels, so you can explore the garden on your own (but not so advisable). I strongly recommend you to join the 1-hour guided tour (at 9am, 12pm and 3pm daily) for a very small fee, or you will be disappointed and give it a thumbs down in TripAdvisor. Even botanists have difficulty to identify 25% of the flora in Kinabalu Park, so normal visitors won’t have much fun if they wander on their own.

Pic: umbrella tree (Species: Araliaceae)

Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden is not only about flowers, it also shows the endemic flora, fruits, ornamental plant, trees, local herbs and other special plant from Kinabalu Park. Though most plants are green, they are not made the same. A guide from Interpretative & Education Unit of Kinabalu Park will provide a 1-hour interpretive walking tour in the garden, in English or Malaysia language (depending on the nationality of the audiences). I forgot the name of my guide. Let’s call her Sumandak here. The first interesting plant that Sumandak presented was an Umbrella Tree, which is used by locals for birth control (female).

The garden trail is paved by concrete and boardwalk. The place looks more like a natural forest than garden. While listening to the guide, we couldn’t help to turn our heads around to appreciate the beautiful lush environment of lower montane forest.

Pic: wild banana tree

There are five wild banana species in Kinabalu Park. Their fruits are edible but contain plenty of oversized seeds, unlike the seedless banana that we buy from supermarket.

Pic: Medinilla Speciosa, with pink pendulous inflorescences

Nicknamed as Showy Asian Grapes, Medinilla Speciosa fruits all year round and its ripe berry (in dark purple) is an important food for birds and wildlife. The fruit is edible with sweet taste and might protect you from eye diseases. Medinilla is also a popular landscaping plant in highland.

It’s an enjoyable experience to hear Sumandak to explain the features of interesting plants. Everything said is in plain English, she didn’t use much scientific names and jargons that only botanists could comprehend (unless you request). You can ask questions too. Many plants are not pretty but very useful. Without an introduction from the guide, you won’t know the awesome things it does. It’s like knowing a new friend who looks low-key from outside but has charming personality.

Then we came to the nursery area of the rarest orchids and pitcher plants of Kinabalu Park. To prevent people to pluck them, the nursery is fenced, but you still can have a good look of them through the wire mesh. These fully protected species are highly sought-after items in black market.

Pic: Low’s slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum lowii) is the only epiphytic slipper orchid of Borneo.

Sabah is well-known among orchid mania, because more than 1,200 orchid species are found in Kinabalu Park. In general, the blooming months for most orchids are between Sep and Dec. However, whatever day you visit, you won’t see them all blooms at the same time.

Pic: Rotchcild’s Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum rothschildianum) is the State Flower of Sabah and has many names such as “Aristocrat of all slipper orchids”, Gold of Kinabalu and Sumazau Orchid. It’s endemic to Sabah and a highly endangered species. You have better chance to see it flowering if you visit in Oct or Nov.

Pic: Laughing Orchid (Bulbophyllum lobbii)

When gently shaken by breeze, the moving lip of Laughing Orchid appears like a naughty boy sticking out his tongue repeatedly. Actually the “tongue” is called labellum, which serves as a landing platform for visiting insects (pollinator). The blooming months of Laughing Orchid are Jan, May and Jun.

Pic: The Sexy Lady Orchid or Dancing Lady Orchid (Stikorchis species). I guess you can see how it gets this name lol.

One of the highlight of this tour is sighting of Pinhead Orchid (Podochilus tenuis), the smallest orchid in Borneo (some says it can be the smallest in the world). Its tiny flower is about 2 MM across (note my finger next to it). The funny thing is – it grows on a tree near the entrance but none of us notices it. See, that’s why you need a guide or you will miss many things.

Besides the amazing orchids above, Jewel Orchid (Macodes sp.), Rabbit Orchid (Stikorchis sp.), Necklace Orchid (Coelogyne sp.), Phaius subtrilobus and many other orchids also grow in this garden.

Pic: Begonia has the most variable form of leaves in plant kingdom. Researchers estimate that there should be at least 600 species of Begonia in Borneo but only 194 are scientifically described at present.

Pic: Begonia

Sumandak also showed us some Begonia flowers. There have been many publications about Begonia in recent years because over 50% of Sabah Begonia are unnamed and all Bornean species are endemic. It is an exciting botany territory filled with new discovery and surprise.

Pic: flower buds of Alpinia havilandii, a ginger endemic to Mt. Kinabalu and Crocker Range

Who would relate colorful flower with pungent ginger? I’ve been hiking in many forest of Sabah and always impressed by variety of colors and shapes of ginger flowers in the wild. Without ginger flowers, the view of rainforest will be less spiced up. 30 species of non-edible ginger are planted in Mountain Garden.

Pic: hybrid of Nepenthes lowii and Nepenthes edwardsiana

We entered the pitcher plant section. Suddenly a tour guide broke the silence with a 50-Watt megaphone and introduced a hybrid of Nepenthes lowii and Nepenthes edwardsiana to her tour group. Nepenthes lowii and Nepenthes edwardsiana have highly localized distribution. To see them in the wild, you need to climb Mt. Tambuyukon (a dreadful long climb), so it’s something worth to shout about.

Pic: bloated Nepenthes burbidgeae, the least common species in Kinabalu Park

Pitcher plant (or Monkey Cup) is a peculiar carnivorous plant which traps insects as food. Its genus name, Nepenthes is a Greek word meaning “removing all sorrow” (Go figure). The Mountain Garden has 5 species of them (all endemic to Sabah), including the most magnificent Nepenthes edwardsiana that has the most developed ribs on its peristome (rim), and Nepenthes rajah, the largest pitcher plant in the world (can hold up to 3.5 litres of water. Sometimes rat, lizard or frog is found drowned inside).

The exposed smooth orange-brown trunk of “naked tree” (Species: Tristaniopsis bilocularis) will catch your attention. It is endemic to Kinabalu Park and its bark peels in scrolls constantly. Villagers use its bark as mosquito repellent.

Then Sumandak spotted something moving on the floor. It’s a well-camouflaged stick insect that blends perfectly into mosses. It was busy pressing its tail to the ground to lay eggs. Nobody would see it if it stayed motionless. You may see it in action in following video:

Pic: thorny rattan

The largest of the mountain rattan is Plectocomia elongata (see photo above). Its thorns look so nasty that I want to stay 10 feet away from it. This rattan only flowers once in its life and it’s one of the 40 rattan species live in Kinabalu Park. Malaysian parents like to whip naughty kids with rattan, luckily they don’t use the species that has thorns.

Pic: yellow flower of Rhododendron retivenium

Rhododendron is also called wild rose. There are 24 species of Rhododendron in Kinabalu Park (5 are endemic to Borneo). Observant climbers of Mt. Kinabalu would see at least 6 species along the trail to the summit, if they are keen to stop and smell the roses.

Pic: Bird’s Nest Fern / Crown Fern, a common ornamental plant in Sabah.

608 species of fern are found in Kinabalu Park. Most ferns at or above the altitude of this garden are not found in other parts of Malaysia.

Other remarkable plants you can check out in Mountain Garden are Dawsonia Giant Hairy-cap Moss (world’s tallest land moss), fig, lipstick flower (Aeschynanthus), Kinabalu Balsam, bamboo, Kerosene tree (with combustible oily seeds), aroids (with heart-shaped leaf), wild raspberry, etc. As plants have different flowering and fruiting seasons, you won’t see exactly the same things every month. What I mention here is just a very small fraction of what Mountain Garden has.

Ticket & Info

Ticket Fee: RM5 (≈US$1.50) for Non-Malaysian, RM4 for Malaysian, (50% discount for visitor below 18 years old)
Opening Hours: 9am-1pm and 2pm-4pm daily (Last entry: 3:40pm, Gate closes at 4pm sharp)
Guided Tour: 9am, 12pm and 3pm daily
Location: Kinabalu Park HQ in Kundasang (see Location Map)
Tel: +60 88-8889103
Website: www.sabahparks.org.my

Other Tour

Near to Mountain Garden, there is another nature tour starts at 11am daily. A guide will take you for a 1-hour walk in Silau-Silau Trail nearby, a great bird-watching area. If you are interested, you may purchase ticket and wait at Kinabalu Hall before 11am. The fee is RM3 (≈US$0.90) for Non-Malaysian and RM2 for Malaysian (50% discount for visitor below 18 years old).

There is a Video Show at the theater in ground floor of Liwagu Restaurant at 2pm every day (and 7:30pm on Fri-Mon & Public Holiday). Ticket fee is RM2 (≈US$0.60) for Non-Malaysian and RM1 for Malaysian.

Photos taken in Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Tenom Farmstay, healthier food and planet with Integrated Farming

2 Replies

Some city kids are very afraid of chicken though they eat a lot of KFC. “Apple” is probably the first English word pupils learn but they have never seen an apple tree. Though our young generation is no longer required to get their hands dirty in the farm today, we must let them understand how agriculture works, as it’s the most important knowledge for survival of mankind. We can’t improve things that we don’t know.

Pic: Tenom farmstay with pineapples in front

Run by Tham’s brothers in Sapong, Tenom Farmstay is about 12 Kilometres away from Tenom town (Ladang Batu 10, Jalan Kemabong) of Sabah interior (see Location Map). It’s a 35-acre real farm that practices organic farming and open for people who want to experience authentic farm life. Besides, they also bring their guests to volunteer in local community projects and interact with the local people.

Pic: Neem tree outside the house. It is a natural mosquito repellent.

The Plantation

Different from other farms, Tenom Farmstay is an integrated farming with the concept of diversifying the crops / livestock and making them to complement one another. For example, the manure from animals can be recycled as fertilizer for the crops. The end result is the creation of multiple recurring income streams and more sustainable organic farming.

Pic: lime orchard produces 200 Kg of fruit monthly

The owner, Tham Yau Siong took us to tour around his farm, which is thriving with pineapples, tapioca, calamansi, banana and other crops. He supplies fruits and vegetables to market as far as Kota Kinabalu city and also gives some to his friends. (Note: many mosquitoes in orchard, do bring insect repellent)

Pic: Calamondin fruit (Limau Kasturi in Malay language)

Calamondin fruit is in good demand because its sweet and sour juice (locally known as Kik Cai Ping) is the favorite drink of Sabahans.

Pic: Aroid plant

What surprised me was – I found corpses flowers in his plantation. This flower (a.k.a. Samurai Flower) is a close relative to titan arum in Sumatra, a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. According to Alim from Sabah Parks. it is Amorphophallus lambii, a plant under the family Araceae. There are 5 species of such flower in Borneo. FYI, Amorphophallus means “misshapen penis” in Greek.

Pic: beautiful stem of Amorphophallus lambii

Samurai Flower takes many years to bloom and I was not in time for its flowering. Anyway, it is still worth taking a close look. Its trunk is actually part of its leaf structure. If you squeeze its soft stem, you can feel layers of leaves under its skin, what a peculiar plant. I never expect to see such natural wonder in a farm and there are 6 of them! Tham said someone told him that he could charge people entrance fee to see this flower.

We kept on walking and enter a mini “forest” on a slope. Tham keeps slope area of his farmland forested, for conservation and as a buffer zone to prevent soil erosion. Sometimes wildlife such as mouse deer and eagle forages here.

Pic: this giant tree is the highlight of this forest. It’s a softwood that called “包皮青” in Chinese (literally translated as Wrapped Green Skin). Please tell me if you know its identity.

This tree looks like a long-necked Sauropod dinosaur from a close distance. There are a few other beautiful tall trees too and Tham decides not to cut them down.

Pic: stand of 5-acre forest in the plantation

Shortly we came to an open space and walked among large area of banana and Sabah vege (Sayur Manis in Malay language) plantation, and also passed by a lush grassland, which is the food stock for his goats. Probably Tenom was used to be the floodplain of Padas River, so the soil is fertile, making Tenom one of the most important agricultural area in Sabah. Both lowland and highland crops seem to grow well in Tenom.

Pic: 7 acres of grasses for goat farming

Tenom is also famous for its pomelo, avocado and coffee. Unlike greedy farmers who always aim to maximize profit by using a lot of chemical fertilizers, Tham uses goat dung from his farm instead, it is more organic and save him 70% of money spent on fertilizer.

Pic: a super-tall papaya tree in the farm

He prioritizes the well-being of the environment and consumers over the money, which makes his integrated farm more sustainable. This reminds me of the 3P model (People, Planet and Profit). Tham proves that winning for People-Planet-Profit is attainable with mixed farming.

“Nothing is illegal if a hundred businessmen decide to do it.” Well what’ll go wrong if people are obsessed with money? Just look at the recent cases like the use of gutter oil and plasticizing agent in our food and drink. Feed your chicken with unwashed vegetables and they will turn blind in weeks. When fruit juice is not real juice, fat is not real fat (trans fat), food issues become a world crisis. We have been putting highly-processed or harmful food into our mouth. How many “real” food are there in the market? I think “Food Education” is more important than Sex Education now. Consumer is the key force to drive the change. We are no longer afford to say, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” It’s time to question how our food is made.

Pic: a high ground area with nice view of the farm, forest and mountain. A chalet will be built here.

Besides 8 acres of orchard and vegetable farm that provides fresh banana, Sabah Vege (Sayur Manis), pineapple, durian, mangosteen and various other crops, Tham also owns a 16-acre oil palm plantation.

These oil palm is mainly nourished by goat dung from Tham’s farm, which cut down the need for chemical fertilizer significantly. Moreover, he keeps a long vegetation zone between the river and his plantation, to prevent fertilizer causing pollution to the river. As a matter of fact, oil palm can be environmentally friendly if planted correctly.

Pic: Brian (Tham’s nephew) holding a big pumpkin from the farm

Tham says it is very satisfying if you cultivate your crops with heart, and everyone can enjoy your healthy food worry free. Looking at his happy face, I have no doubt he is a good man rich in economic and inner wealth. I know some farmers who don’t dare to eat their own crop due to heavy use of pesticides. I wouldn’t sleep well if I were them.

Pic: Tham Yau Kong (left) shows us the formula to cure cancer with the leaves and fruit of Guyabano.

Then we met his brother, Tham Yau Kong in the orchard, he is a no-nonsense but a very friendly and kind man. He travels to a lot more places in Sabah than I do. He has climbed Mt. Tambuyukon numerous times as if it’s in his backyard. He still works in tourism industry and comes back to this farm regularly.

Goat Farm

Next we checked out the fertilizer factory, no.. I meant the goat farm. You might think that Tham Yau Siong is a farmer since the beginning. Nope. He was a financial controller. When economy turned bad in late 90s, he returned to Tenom and started his farm in 2004. He saw the potential of goat farming. With 0 experience, he ventured into goat rearing in 2005 after he took a 1-week course conducted by Veterinary Department.

He started with 6 goats and now he has about 300 goats in his farm and even won the Successful Breeder Award (Sabah) in 2010. Most important of all, he finds meaning in his new business and really love his job. His success story is an inspiration to those who only want to stay in comfort zone.

Pic: Tham shares his secret recipe on goat’s diet. The mulberry leaves in the photo is a natural multi-vitamin for goat. Tham also feeds his goats with Jackfruit leaves that can de-worm and high-fibre oil palm leaves that keep their guts healthy. This eliminates the needs for chemical and synthetic nutrients injection.

In contrast to what I imagine, his goat feedlots are clean, well-ventilated and well-lit. It doesn’t smell bad at all. Hundred of goats started bleating like baby when they saw us approaching, so cute.

The goats are so adorable and look like smiling. In Sabah, about 85% of the lamb is imported (as frozen meat from Australia and New Zealand), so it is demand over supply hence a huge market. Tham stressed, “Everyone needs food and world population is growing, so food supply is getting scarce and becoming more and more expensive, so you won’t go wrong producing food.”

There are 3 types of goats in his farm, namely, Ferrel and Boar goats, and 3rd kind is a cross-breed of these two Australian breeds. It takes about 6 months for the goat to grow to the marketable size of 25 Kg. Each goat can be sold for RM1,000 in Brunei, quite a lucrative business as every goat costs less than RM300 to raise. The advantage of Sabah is that our livestock has no foot and mouth disease problem, so exporting them to other countries is easy.

Pic: Tham shows us how a healthy goat looks like. This goat seems pleased.

Male goat can mate 3 times in a minute. Though “fast” it is impressive. Most guys believe mutton is good for men. I even made fun of its big “sperm tank” in one of my blog lol.

Pic: the goat is so happy and playful, as if it sees its father.

Pic: a goat tried to eat my pant. Want to keep a goat as pet? Think twice.

Goat eats anything. “You better rear them behind the fence. If you let them wander around, they will eat plastic, cloth, rubbish and everything. Their meat will smell bad,” Tham smiled and said.

Pic: the by-product of goat farm, organic fertilizer

His goats produces 1,000 bags of goat dung per month. Each sack weighs 30 Kg, and Tham sells 200 bags for RM20 each every month, generating a side income of RM4,000. He uses the rest of the goat dung for his farm, saving him a ton of money. FYI, chemical fertilizer costs RM5 per 400g, which is far more pricey.

Farmstay

After a long walk, we were hungry and Tham prepared a yummy Kampung (village) lunch for us. We had some rice, pumpkin, Sabah vege and chicken. Somehow I felt the food tasted better when I knew that they were fresh from the farm.

The soy sauce chicken meat tastes really delicious. I think it’s the famous Maize Chicken of Tenom, another high-quality product by Tenom farmer. The chicken is fed with corn instead of cheap pellets, so its skin appears yellowish and the meat is sweet, springy and less fatty.

Pic: soy sauce chicken

Tenom Farmstay welcomes anyone who wants to experience farm life to stay there. They have been receiving many student groups, especially from UK. The youngsters will be kept busy doing real works. Instead of being a braggart in social media, they gain more pride by doing volunteer work to help the local community.

The farmstay has 6 rooms with fan and bunk beds, and able to host up to 30 people. The fee is RM60 per night (≈US$18.50) (normally it is a 2-Day-1-Night package). Tham joked, “the large quantity of fruits they can eat here is already worth more than that.”

Pic: the room of the farmstay

Pic: toilet and bathroom

Pic: BBQ area

If you are interested in Farmstay, you may contact TYK Adventure Tours for more info:
Name: Padas Farmstay or Tenom Agro Paradise Farmstay
Website: www.tykadventuretours.com
Address (office): Block E, Lot 38, 2nd Floor, Damai Plaza IV, Luyang, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Tel: (6088) 232821
E-mail: thamyaukong@gmail.com / b.oswanda@gmail.com

Below is the leaflet of the farmstay:

Brochure of Padas Farmstay, Tenom (Updated: Oct 2017)

To see more photos of Tenom Farmstay, you may browse my photo album.

Photos taken in Tenom, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Pisang Goreng Cheese (Fried Banana with Cheese)

Other Locations

Besides Semporna, Indo Cafe in Tawau city also sells one of the best Pisang Goreng Cheese in Sabah. They are also famous for their Pisang Penyet (hammered banana fritters) and Mango Sago (a sweet dessert). Below is their contact:

Indo Cafe

Address (see Location Map): TB4604, Ground Floor , Block B, Bandaran Baru, 91000, Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 14-3764752
Opening Hours: 9:30am – 10pm, opens daily (off day once in 2 weeks)

Indo Cafe II

Address (see Location Map): Lorong Pusat Komersial Uni Jaya, Tawau, 91000 Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 8am – 11:30pm daily

You also can find Pisang Goreng Cheese in Kota Kinabalu city. In Anjung Senja (Waterfront Esplanade), there is a shop named “M&N Corner” that sells Pisang Goreng Cheese for RM4 (≈USD1.20). However, despite higher price, it is not as good as the one in Semporna.

Pic: Pisang Goreng Cheese of Kota Kinabalu

Have you tried Pisang Goreng Cheese?

Photos taken in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

The Vibrant Tamu Market of Kota Belud

12 Replies

To know the culture and lifetstyle of locals, the best way is to visit their market. Tamu (means “Meeting”) is a traditional open-air market of Sabah. In the old days, there was no supermarket and shopping malls, so farmers, fishermen and hawkers would gather weekly at tamu to exchange their goods by bartering. Tamu is also a social gathering place where villagers exchange news and gossip. The tamu of Kota Belud town is the biggest and the most famous native market among tourists.

Kota Belud is 75 KM north of Kota Kinabalu city. To go to Tamu of Kota Belud, which is open on every Sunday from 6am to 2pm, you only need to drive about 1 hour on the sealed road. Along the way, you would see lush paddy fields and Mt. Kinabalu, the highest mountain of Malaysia and Borneo.

Pic: the entrance of Kota Belud Tamu (See Location Map)

The tamu becomes the busiest spot of Kota Belud in Sunday morning, so it is a bit hard to find parking space. Tamu trade is carried out under the tree shade, so you will see some big trees around.

Once you walk into tamu, you will smell a mixture of different scents like wet market. I love to experience the atmosphere here. Though it is a busy market, everyone is really relax. You can mingle with the friendly locals, and soon you will feel that you are part of tamu. That’s why my late grandmother always hanged around in tamu every week. The people here are very used to tourists.

The Tamu is more than an open market, besides local produces such as fruits & vegetables and fishes, you can find all sorts of local and imported goods, from clothing, handbags, baskets, handicraft, tobacco, traditional herb, food, snacks, wild honey, electronics, toy, and more. I saw many interesting and weird stuffs for sale too.

Food & Snacks

If you plan to tour around Tamu, I advise you not to take heavy breakfast. There are rich variety of local food and snacks for you to shop and try.

Pic: this wrapped food attracts a lot of honey bees. Out of curiosity, I bought one for only RM0.50 (?USD0.16).

Pic: It is Tapai Rice, a sweet rice with strong aroma of local rice wine.

Pic: Pinjaram (a.k.a. UFO Cake), a local sweet dessert with chewy texture, best served with hot coffee. Pinjaram comes with two flavors, i.e., Palm Sugar (brown) and Pandan spice (green).

Pic: this is Kuih Cincin (means “Ring Biscuit”), a famous snack that has crunchy coating, with soft and sweet content inside (taste like chocolate). Only RM2.00 (?USD0.67) per pack.

Pic: you can wear the biscuit if you don’t want to eat it LOL.

Pic: Check out this huge Tapioca Cracker (Keropok Ubi Kayu)! A pack of two costs RM2.50 (?USD0.83). It has 2 flavors, the dark one is spicy.

This big cracker is too fragile to bring home overseas, so you have to try it in Sabah.

There are 20 or 30 more food items and I can’t introduce them all here. But you can see them in my 4-min video below:

Colorful Handicraft

Bajau people of Kota Belud are famous for their colorful culture. They love bright colors such as red, yellow and green, and this is reflected in their handicraft.

You will be impressed by a lot of big and small handicraft items in Tamu. I saw most tourists were not empty-handed after a visit to Tamu. Shopping for traditional handicraft in this traditional market is more fun than buying it from souvenir shops in city. Don’t forget to bargain though.

Pic: colorful handmade baskets of Bajau

Another great item to check out is hand-crafted Bajau machete (Parang in local language), which is created by traditional method.

Good parang can cost over RM100 (?USD33) each. Anyway, you can negotiate for lower price with the sellers. They expect you to ask for discount too.

Then I saw a booth selling “magic sticks” (Kayu Thas and Petunduk). The seller claimed that these sticks have spiritual power, just to list a few:

Chase away aggressive animals and bad spirit.
Prevent thief to break into your house.
Turning naughty kid into nice kid.
Bring prosperity to your business.
Cure various sickness.
Keep a small piece in your bag and the snatch thief won’t target you.

Wow, it can do almost everything. For only RM7 (?USD2.33), this “magic wand” is really cheap, haha. He said you couldn’t use it as a fishing rod, or you would catch no fish.

Seafood

There are plenty of fresh and dried seafood too. This tamu is quite well-organized, as stalls that sell similar items are grouped together.

Pic: Horse shoe crab, yes, it’s edible.

Pic: seaweed from clean sea water. It’s rich in collagen. You can add some lime juice and eat it raw.

Pic: Dried seafood (anchovy fish and shrimp) and salty fishes are popular buy of Asian tourists.

Pic: At first I thought these fishes were covered in soil. Actually they are seasoned with a fruit paste made of Buah Keluak (note the fruit at bottom).

Bajau and Tamu Besar Festival

Majority of population in Kota Belud is Bajau, who is also known as Cowboy of the East, due to their excellent horse-riding skill. The best time to appreciate their rich culture is in annual Tamu Besar (Big Tamu Festival).

Bajau is also good at riding buffalo, which is more challenging.

Pic: Bajau girls in traditional costumes

During the festival, you will see Bajau people dressed in bright-colored costumes. Some interesting activities in Tamu Besar include Beauty Pageant, Buffalo & Horse Racing, Cultural Performance and the highlight is Bajau Horsemen Parade.

They even dress up their horses and ponies in this yearly event. Tourists can take a short ride on these ponies for a fee (about RM10?USD3.33).

The Tamu Besar will be tentatively held on 26 and 27 October this year (2013). You may check out the calendar of Sabah Tourism website for latest update.

More Photos of Tamu

Created with flickr badge.

Photos taken in Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Tarap fruit of Borneo

Red and Orange Durians of Sabah

15 Replies

What makes Sabah people so happy in year end? Xmas? New Year? Oh ya, a King was born on Christmas. Guess what. The “King of Fruits” is born too, as it’s fruiting season now in Sabah, and durian is everywhere! Besides the ordinary durians, someone is more interested in two special breeds of Sabah durians, the Durian Sukang (Red Durian) and Durian Dalit (Orange Durian) of Borneo.

Pic: Durian Dalit (Orange-flesh Durian), Species: Durio oxleyanus
The husk of Durian Dalit is green color, with long and thick thorns outside.

Pic: Durian Sukang (Red-flesh Durian), Species: Durio graveolens
When ripe, the husk of Durian Sukang turns yellow, with short and sharp spines.

Red and orange durian fruits are very small and can be held by one palm. Both are considered as Wild Durians.

Pic: Durian flesh in red, orange and yellow colors. Which one you like huh?

When compared to a common durian seed, the seeds of both wild durians look so small.

The commercially-planted durian fruit has thick layer of yellow flesh. In contrast, though creamy as well, the flesh of red and orange durians is thin, and the taste is slightly bland. However, their scent is strong and distinctive, like fermented wine. The taste and flavor of red durian is twice as strong as orange durian. That’s why red durian is sold more (and fast) than the cheaper orange durian. Some says you would get a bit “drunken” if you eat too many red durian.

Where to Buy

Red and Orange flesh durians are not being cultivated on a large scale, so you won’t see them often in city market. You have to look for them in local market (or tamu native market) of rural or suburban areas of Sabah. I think you can find them in Petagas and Donggongon, which are quite near to Kota Kinabalu. But you have to be there early before these durians are quickly snapped up by others.

Pic: Orange flesh durian for sale in market in Kuala Penyu town. A bundle of 6 or 7 was sold for RM17 (≈USD5.70).

The red durian was sold out in Kuala Penyu last week. Luckily we found a roadside stall selling red durian around Membakut.

Pic: A bundle of 4 was sold for RM20 (≈USD6.70).

Don’t be sad if you can’t find wild durian. There are many other cultivated durians for sale at roadside.

The harvest this year is very good, so durian lovers are excited about the cheap durians.

Pic: Be careful if you put durians in your car, the odoriferous scent will fill the car soon, unless all passengers love durians. Most hotels in Malaysia don’t allow guests to bring durians into their rooms.

Who Loves Durian?

It is a pity that some people don’t like durian and describe it smells and tastes like shit (How do they know? They taste shit before?). Out of 20 wild durian species of Borneo, 12 are found in Sabah. In fact, most wildlife enjoys durian as a delicacy.

Orangutan likes durian, so does squirrel, mouse deer, hornbill, etc.

No kidding, I was told many times that durian is the favorite fruit of Clouded Leopard. I’m not sure if it loves cheese burger though.

The durian thorns can’t stop elephant from eating the fruit. The elephant will roll the durian again and again on the leaves, until the spiny husk is covered by leaves, then it just swallows the whole fruit!

Even animals know durian is good stuff, so what are you waiting for? Happy Durian Hunting! 🙂

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Yellow Dragon Fruit

2 Replies

Dragon Fruit (or pitaya) is one of the favorite fruits of Malaysians and has been planted commercially in Sabah for some years. It is only recently I learn that, besides the two flavors, i.e. white and red flesh, our dragon fruit also has the “third”, and best, flavor.

Pic: the brightly red-skin dragon fruit is a familiar sight when I walked around fruit & vege shops

One day I saw some yellow fruits next to the red dragon fruit. They are small and ugly, but they cost twice more than the normal dragon fruit. Then someone told me that this was a yellow dragon fruit planted in Keningau district. They are only available in small quantity so people don’t see them often.

Pic: to have some fun, I put 3 types of dragon fruits side by side and photograph them for comparison. From left: Red-fleshed Dragon Fruit, Yellow Dragon Fruit and White-fleshed Dragon Fruit.

1. White-fleshed Dragon Fruit

Also known as Pitahaya blanca, its skin is red and the flesh is white color.

Note its shape is oval. It is priced at RM8 (≈USD2.70) per Kilogram (KG).

White-fleshed Dragon Fruit is the first introduced species. It was used to be the most common dragon fruit in fruit market. However, its taste is bland, with mild sweetness and sourness, if compared to the more popular Red-fleshed Dragon Fruit.

2. Red-fleshed Dragon Fruit

It’s also called Pitahaya roja, its skin is red too, as is the flesh. In photo below, you can see it has round shape.

Due to stronger sweetness and flavor, Red-fleshed Dragon Fruit has replaced White-fleshed Dragon Fruit in fruit market.

It’s sold for RM10 (≈USD3.30) per KG. You can find it almost all year round.

3. Yellow Dragon Fruit

The official name of this least-known species is Pitahaya amarilla. They are cultivated in Keningau in small amount. They are sold out fast before others know about such fruit. The sellers told me that the peak fruiting season of Yellow Dragon Fruit is between Oct and Dec. Yellow Dragon Fruit is also sold in other months, but in very limit quantity.

Yellow Dragon Fruit is the smallest among the 3, but the sweetest and most expensive, which is RM20 (≈USD6.70) per KG. You can find Yellow Dragon Fruit at fruit & vegetables shops of Foh Sang and Bornion in Kota Kinabalu, but it’s not always available.

However, the taste of Yellow Dragon Fruit is the BEST! Its sweetness is double of Red-fleshed Dragon Fruit, and it has no sour taste.

Pic: 3 kinds of dragon fruits on one plate, yummy..

Pic: “mixed” dragon fruit feast after the photography session LOL.

Interesting Facts about Dragon Fruit

Red dragon fruit juice is delicious and it can turn your poo into reddish color next day, it’s harmless so don’t be shocked.

Dragon fruit is not native to Malaysia. It originates from South and Central America. The vine of wild dragon fruit can crawl high up to the tree.

Dragon fruit is a member of cactus family.

The flower of Dragon fruit can be consumed as tea.

Pic: dragon fruit plantation in Balung, Tawau

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Kiansom Waterall Park

3 Replies

Kiansom (or Kionsom) is a familiar picnic spot to people of Kota Kinabalu (KK). I call Kiansom a “Waterfall Park” because it has 7 waterfalls! This recreational park is only 20 KM away from KK and highly accessible by paved road. Kiansom is known as “??” in Chinese and sometimes misspelled as “Kionsam”.

When you reach the big roundabout of Inanam town, just turn to the junction where you will pass by Yick Nam SJK (C) School, and follow the main road. You will see village houses and Mari-Mari Cultural Village on the way. After 10 minutes, you will see Kiansom Waterfall Centre (Pusat Air Terjun Kiansom) at the end of the road. See the map below:

View My Sabah Map in a larger map

Above: ticket counter & entrance of Kiansom
Once you step out of your car, you will sense the fresh air packed with negative ions. Kiansom Park is at the foot of hilly terrain covered with lush forest and next to Kiansom River. The entrance fee for adult is only RM1.50 (USD0.45), RM0.50 (USD0.15) for child. The opening hours are:
Mon – Fri: 6am – 5pm
Sat – Sun: 6am – 6pm

Important: there are a lot of mosquitoes in Kiansom. Do bring Mosquito Repellent with you.

First 3 Waterfalls

You can see 3 waterfalls of Kiansom in less than 10 minutes. FYI, there is no lifeguard in Kiansom, so you swim at your own risk.

At the right of the entrance is cement walkway that leads you to first 3 waterfalls of Kiansom, where 90% of the visitors congregate for picnic and swimming.

Above: the first Kiansom Waterfall. It’s so small..

The small pond of 1st waterfall. The water is not too deep, so most parents bring their kids swimming here.

Above: a bit further upstream is the 2nd Kiansom Waterfall, not very big either..
The water here is deep and is known for drowning people occassionally. Many fearless youngsters like to jump into this pond from top.

Above: 3rd Kiansom Waterfall
At the end of cement walkway, just walk forward a few Meters on the rock surface and you will find the 3rd waterfall. To me, this so-called waterfall looks more like a stream flowing on a slope. I’m not impressed.

You see nobody in my photos b’coz I came here early morning. This place is crowded in afternoon, especially on weekends and holiday, as most visitors are students and family group. If you want quiet place with bigger waterfalls, you can enter the jungle.

Jungle Trail to Bigger Waterfalls

Not far from the park entrance, there is a hilly trail at the left that leads you further upstream for bigger waterfalls. The route is not so inviting and the trail is mostly steep and uphill path. Be careful when you walk on boulders as they can be VERY slippery. The trail is obvious but there is no signage at all. Forest leeches may present in wet season, but they are tiny brown leeches and small in number.

I didn’t feel really warm during jungle trekking b’coz the trail is next to the Kiansom River. There are quite a number of waterfalls and ponds along this cascading river. The water looks so clean and fresh that I was tempted to take a dip (and let those at downstream enjoying my bath water LOL).

I was not alone in the river. I can see many tadpoles and sucker fishes in the water. The Black-spotted rock frog (see photo above) is quite common here.

Flora of Kiansom

Since I was walking on jungle trail, I saw some flowers and fruits along the way. Like the “red-nosed” flower above.

The flowers are quite small in the wood. Can you name them?

Above: unknown blue fruit

Above: Poisonous Plant!!!
Then I saw a very interesting tree next to the river. It has pink flowers and translucent fruits, so cute… The fruits are above my head, so I grabbed their hairy stems to pull down for a closer look. A few seconds later, my fingers felt like being poked by many needles continuously, really hurt… the nasty pain lasted for over 10 minutes then subsided gradually, but the tingling sensation remained for hours. I used sticky plaster to stamp on my fingers to pull the venomous hairs out of my skin and that really worked.

Tallest Kiansom Waterfall

After 15 minutes on the trail, I saw a big waterfall far below. That must be the tallest waterfall of Kiansom. Climbing downhill to this waterfall is quite dangerous as it is steep (more than 50° inclination).

Anyway, I struggled climbing down 30 Meters for 10 minutes and reached the waterfall finally.

This waterfall is over 20 feet high, though it looks small in photos.

There is a smaller waterfall downstream that makes a lovely shot with the big waterfall behind.

You can click photo above for bigger picture. The cliff of this waterfall has very interesting rock face.

Another close-up shot.

You can watch this waterfall in 40-sec video below:

Click Here for wider video

Other Waterfalls

Below are a few other waterfalls that I saw along this 1-KM jungle trail.

Above: 4th waterfall

Above: 6th waterfall (5th is the tallest)

Above: 7th and last waterfall of Kiansom.

Warning: Everyone loves waterfall and can’t wait to dash into it when they see one. However, waterfall is a beautiful death trap even for experienced swimmers. Be extra cautious not to swim right under waterfall, as the water can be deep and swift. The falling rock from top can cause serious injury too. Stay away from waterfall during heavy rain, due to possible occurrence of flash flood. A small boy was washed away by flood here in 2010.

Fauna of Kiansom

The jungle trail is flanked by dense wood and shrubs, and you can spot interesting bugs among them. The variety is not as good as primary forest, but you still can find cool creatures.

Mantis and Stick Insect.

Millipede that mimicking Centipede.

Pill millipede from forest floor

Note the mating Stalk-eyed Flies at the right in photo above. The wider the eyestalks of the males, the sexier they look to females hence better chance to mate.

Above: a swallowtail butterfly caterpillar (species: Papilio polytes) tries to look less tasty with its bird dropping appearance.

I saw Rajah Brooke Birdwing Butterfly and Green Tree Lizard, but they fled before I took picture.

Facilities of Kiansom

Kiansom Park is open for everyone and it has basic public facilities. However, they don’t seem to have electricity supply.

Kiansom Park has a public toilets (male & female). It’s only RM0.20 per entry, RM0.50 if you take a shower.

The toilet is reasonably clean, but the floor is always wet. No toilet paper is provided so you need to bring your own.

There are a few small stalls that sell drink and snacks in the park. They usually open after 8am during weekends. Food stalls that sell simple food such as burgers and Nasi Lemak (rice with anchovy fishes) are open after 9am during weekends.

Kiansom is important as it is the nearest place where KK folks can enjoy waterfalls and nature view. However, the rubbish is such an eyesore to those who come here to enjoy the clean air and water. Sabah has the most beautiful nature in Malaysia, but we also have the most Litter Bugs in Malaysia. I also saw many candy wrappers and mineral water bottles along the jungle trail. I believe most garbage are from school kids. What did your schools teach you huh? Do they fill your brain with junk? Throwing rubbish is an act of low life. Keep our environment clean and don’t be “kurang ajar” (lack of upbringing).

Photos taken in Inanam, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

MySabah.com

Travel guides to Sabah, Malaysia Borneo