Tag Archives: jungle trekking
Malubang, a beautiful fishing village in Pitas
When I was on a quest to explore the legend of Supirak, I found myself another wonderful seaside vacation at Malubang Village (Local Name: Kampung Malubang), a remote fishing village in Pitas near the tip of northern Sabah. Spend a few days there and you will experience a simple village life without electricity, Wifi, water heater, air-conditioner, asphalt road, etc.
Malubang Village (Kampung Malubang) in Pitas, north of Sabah
Kampung Malubang (Malubang Village)
Malubang Village is located at a beach in Marudu Bay. Most villagers are Sulu people who mainly work as a fisherman. Every morning you can see their fishing boats depart for fishing trip.
Every house owns a boat in Malubang Village
Malubang is facing Kudat town and Tip of Borneo is clearly visible at the horizon. In fact, Kudat is less than an hour away by boat, and Banggi Island takes about 20 minutes.
A fisherman fixing his fishing net
Some houses are still using well for water supply
Though tourists seldom come here, the friendly villagers are ok with outsiders taking a stroll in the village. They are shy but smile a lot. It’s a small fishing village with about 30 houses. Foreigners would find the fence-less stilt houses there interesting.
A house with colorful hanging clothes
During my visit, there was an open house wedding reception (of Mizrul and Mastura) in the village. They were kind to invite me to have lunch with them and watched them dancing and celebrating.
Married couple Mizrul and Mastura
Group photo with the cute village girls who dressed up for wedding function
This village is a close community, in contrast to city. I confess I don’t know most of my neighbours and never visit their home too. May be it’s not only me.. Nowadays kids in same neighbourhood don’t mix around. In old days, I went cycling, fishing and climbing tree with my young neighbours, so Malubang brings back memory.
I enjoyed every moment in Malubang. The only thing I don’t like is that a lot of rubbishes washed up to the shore there.
Supirak Legend
Supirak Island and its surrounding legendary rocks are the main attractions of Malubang (as well as Pitas district). Legend says Supirak Island was a ship turned into a rock due to a curse by mother to her ungrateful son.
Cruising around Marudu Bay
At Malubang, you can charter a small boat easily (for less than MYR80) to visit these island and rocks around the bay, as every villager owns a boat (life vest may not be provided).
Rocks and wells of Supirak legend
Besides Supirak Island, there are many other places of interest in Pitas, to name a few, traditional fishing platform named Bagang, long-nosed monkey in mangrove forest of Bengkoka River, and Esplanade Bengkoka. Due to limited tourism facilities and lack of promotion, Pitas isn’t a popular destination.
Accommodation
Malubang Homestay is the only accommodation in Malubang Village. At the edge of Malubang, the lodge is a longhouse style accommodation with 6 Rooms. The rate is MYR40 to MYR50 (about USD$10 to 12.50) per room per night. It could be fully booked during peak season such as school holiday.
Malubang Homestay is the blue building under the yellow pointer
Rooms of Malubang Homestay
Each room is big enough to fit a group of 3 to 4 people, and it comes with attached bathroom cum toilet, beds, and fan. You can cook in common kitchen area, but you need to bring your own cooking utensils.
What we ate in Malubang Homestay
Please note there is no restaurant in the village. You can request the lodge to prepare the meals for you (Fee per head: Breakfast MYR4.00, Lunch MYR10.00, High Tea MYR2.00 and Dinner MYR10.00).
Enjoy meals with sea view
Everything in this lodge is basic. Power supply is only available from 6pm to 6am (by power generator), which provide lighting and sufficient electricity to charge your phone and camera.
The view in front of Malubang Homestay
But hey, the nice sea view makes up for it, and beach is less than 20 Meters away. Some beach resorts want guests to pay thousands for such view. The little rocky island at the left is Bum-Bum with a half-completed jetty (lack of fund to finish).
Malubang Homestay and its beach
There was no mosquito net in the room. To prevent mosquitoes eating me, I had to position the standing fan to point to my bed to blow those buggers away.
Malubang Homestay in Pitas
For booking, you can contact Mr. Moktar at cellphone: +60 19-8212597 (Whatsapp available). Moktar is Orang Sungai married with 5 kids. He starts the lodge in 2008. The GPS location of Malubang Homestay is 6.956184, 117.060140 (see Location Map). Moktar also can arrange the tour and boat transfer to visit the attractions nearby.
Seafood feast, a treat by Moktar!
Most guests are families from Pitas and Kota Marudu. Moktar will be happy to receive some international tourists. He understands that his lodge could be better, so he plans to improve his accommodation.
Fat crab with juicy meat
When we were ready to check-out, Moktar was missing in action for nearly an hour. Then he suddenly showed up and brought a covered plate, with mysterious smile on his face. He cooked us a big plate of yummy and steaming fresh crabs. Thank you Moktar! You are such a nice guy.
Sunset
Malubang Homestay is facing west, so you can enjoy watching giant yolk sinks into sea every day. I need not to say more.
Beautiful sunset at Malubang
Magic hour of Pitas
After dusk, the brightest thing at night here is the city light of Kudat at the horizon. Power line hasn’t reached this village yet.
Fishing
You might think that this peaceful fishing village becomes even quieter after nightfall. Wrong. Many villagers, both young and old, are busy fishing at the jetties at night. FYI, Malubang Village is famous for fishing giant squid (Sotong Gergasi), which can weigh up to 6 Kilograms and abundant from Oct to Feb every year. Now I understand why every visitors brought a fishing rod.
Local anglers got busy after sunset
Malubang is so lucky to have 3 jetties that extend a few hundreds Meters to the sea, so the people can fish anytime, even during low tide. I didn’t bring a fishing rod, so I was just busybody and check out what they caught. There were mainly stingray and fishes, some are over 2 Kg, quite big.
Many locals come to Malubang for fishing holiday during weekends
FYI, my Maxis mobile phone got one bar of signal at the end of the jetty, enough for me to check Whatsapps and emails.
Milky Way
It’s quite windy in the evening. I felt so relax laying on the platform of jetty and enjoyed the sea breeze. The sky was full of stars and shooting stars appeared almost every few minutes, some are quite big and last 4 or 5 seconds.
Pitas is a good place for stargazing
That’s crazy that by 7:30pm I already could see Milky Way spanned across the sky like a silver belt. I didn’t know Pitas is an excellent place for stargazing.
Kampung Pansuran
I also walked around Kampung Pansuran (Pansuran Village), a smaller fishing village about a stone’s throw from Malubang Village. Most residents there are Bajau Sama people.
View from Kampung Pansuran Village
Visit the water village of Kampung Pansuran
The villagers there are also equally nice and friendly. They were busy with fish caught and dried some of them under the sun to make dried seafood.
A young fisherman in Kampung Pansuran Village
Dried fishes on boardwalk of Kampung Pansuran Village
They still use traditional fishing methods such as fishing net and fishing line. Pitas is famous for its dried seafood.
Dried stingrays and fishes
Talking about village life, you might visualize I become a shirtless muscle guy playing soccer and laugh with the local kids, a cliche scene common in many movies. No, I didn’t do that, LOL.
Mondou Hill (Bukit Mondou)
To make sure I didn’t miss out any attraction near Malubang Village, Moktar took me to Bukit Mondou, a small hill only a few minutes drive from the village.
Mondou Hill (Bukit Mondou) in Pitas
Though Bukit Mondou is the highest point in Malubang, it is less than 80 Meters high, and it took us less than 30 minutes to reach the top. The trail is mostly flat and not challenging at all.
Climbing Mondou Hill (Bukit Mondou) in Pitas
However, the trail is not tourist-friendly and covered by long grasses. Please don’t go there alone.
You can see Berungus from the top of Mondou Hill (Bukit Mondou)
The view on top of Bukit Mondou is nice, as you can see Supirak Island and have a panoramic view of Malubang and Marudu Bay.
How to get there
From Kota Kinabalu City (KK), you need to drive about 5 hours to reach Malubang Village. The first 3 hours drive from KK to Pitas town is on 140 KM of paved road in good condition. The last 60 KM further north from Pitas to Malubang Village will be a bumpy 2-hour ride on gravel road.
The distance from Pitas town to Malubang Village is about 60 KM
Therefore, you need 4-Wheel Drive to enter this remote place. Though small sedan such as Kancil also can make it, it’ll be a pain to move around the potholes, mud ponds and uneven surface. The GPS Coordinates of Kampung Malubang is 6.956184, 117.060140 (see Location Map).
Gravel road from Pitas town to Malubang Village
It’s advisable you stop by Pitas town to have lunch and fill up the gas tank. For first timer, avoid to drive there at night because there is no street light along the way. Please also note that Uber and GrabCar aren’t available in Pitas district. Internet and mobile phone coverage are limited in most part of the journey.
Moktar pointing at Kudat town
Shopping for dried seafood (e.g. dried shrimps, salty fishes) in Pitas
Btw, one the way home, you may buy some dried seafood from the roadside stalls around Pitas, for great bargain.
Photos taken in Pitas, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
Serinsim, a different face of Kinabalu Park
A family is having a hard time to plan a holiday trip at a destination that makes everyone happy.
Grandfather: “I want to learn some local history and legend.”
Mother: “How about a BBQ feast?”
Father: “Let’s climb a mountain.”
Son: “Camping and jungle trekking will be fun!”
Daughter: “I love swimming in river.”
Location of Serinsim (Sorinsim) and Kinabalu Park
Finally they decide to visit Serinsim (or Sorinsim) in Kota Marudu, which has all these. There is no second place in Sabah where we can find river, waterfall, forest, cave, mountain and historical site in one park.
Signage to different attractions inside Serinsim. It’s ok if you can’t read Malay. I’ll tell you what they are later.
Serinsim is a substation in northern part of Kinabalu Park, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site of Malaysia. Lies between the Serinsim and Kanarom rivers, the river of Serinsim is straight from the undisturbed rainforest and mountain, so its water is crystal clear and almost as good as Spritzer.
Kanarom River in Serinsim (Sorinsim)
You may be familiar with the mountainous zone in Kinabalu Park HQ in Kundasang highland. Serinsim is at opposite side of HQ, which is dominated by lowland rainforest, shows different face of Kinabalu Park. Most locals only come here to enjoy the cooling river, without knowing that Serinsim has the following special attractions:
1. Mount Nombuyukong (Gunung Nombuyukong)
With a height of 1,603.57 Meters, Mt. Nombuyukong is 976 Metres lower than its sister peak, Mt. Tambuyukon, the third highest mountain of Malaysia. Mount Nombuyukong can be conquered within a day.
Mount Nombuyukong in Serinsim
» Read about the challenging climb to Mt. Nombuyukong…
2. Bat Cave (Gua Kelawar)
Gua Kelawar is a small cave about 200 Meters long, and it is for the adventurous you who like the idea of exploring the unknown. *Hint:* many creeping critters in the darkness. I saw rare mushroom and endemic begonia outside the cave.
The rocky wall of Bat Cave (Gua Kelawar) in Serinsim
» Read my scary story inside Bat Cave…
3. Misumpak Waterfall
Serinsim is more than a park for swimming and picnic only. Do a jungle trekking to visit the 12-Meter Misumpak Waterfall. Soaking in its cooling ponds will be one of the best nature experience, I promise. You would see hornbill, civet, red leaf monkey, orangutan and other wildlife on the way.
Misumpak Waterfall and its pond
» Read more about Misumpak Waterfall…
4. Gambaliu, the Tallest Man in the World
According to the local legend, a giant named Gambaliu lived here about two to three thousand years ago. With a height of 24 feet, Gambaliu is taller than giraffe. He was a gentle and helpful giant. However, what his people did after he died was sort of… heartless.
Tomb of Gambaliu, the tallest man
5. Sigunting Graveyard
Sick of those cliche movies about superheroes saving the mankind? Let’s hear the story of real Sabah hero, Si-Gunting, who fought British imperialism for 7 years.
Graveyard of Sigunting, a Sabahan hero
6. Deer Farm
About 120 Meters from the hostel (Asrama Kanarom) is a 0.5-Acre of fenced and forested Deer Farm. The best time to visit is the feeding time at 2pm, the time about 10 Sambar deers show up for jackfruit, tapioca leaves, banana, and fruits given by the Park.
Deer Farm of Serinsim. Visitors can walk up to the tower for better view.
Below is the trail and layout map of Serinsim. Please note that for most jungle trekking activities, you are required to hire a guide from the Park, which can be arranged easily one day in advance.
Trail map to different attractions in Serinsim. Translation: Pejabat = Office, Galeri = Gallery, Pondok = Gazebo, Pelawat = Visitor, Tapak Perkhemahan = Camping Ground, Tandas Awam = Public Toilet, Dapur = Kitchen, Sungai = River, Sg. = River, Anak Sungai = Small River, Jalan Raya = Road, Jambatan Kerata = Bridge for Car, Air Terjun = Waterfall, Makam = Grave, Puncak = Peak, Kem = Camp, Ke = To
Accommodation
Three chalets and one hostel are available to accommodate three families and 24 people respectively in the Park. Below is a quick comparison of the price. The rate is as of July 2017, and GST tax is included.
| Accommodation Type | Rate per Night |
|---|---|
| Camping | Adult: MYR5.30 (≈USD$1.32) Below 12: MYR2.15 (≈USD$0.53) |
| Hostel (Asrama Kanarom) | Adult: MYR42.40 (≈USD$10.60) Below 18: MYR31.80 (≈USD$7.95) |
| Chalet | 1 Chalet: MYR318.00 (≈USD$79.50) 1 Room: MYR106 (≈USD$26.50) |
Notes: Check-out time is 11:00am. Non-halal food such as pork is forbidden in the accommodation. The accommodation is not well-maintained. Before you unpack your luggage, make sure everything in your room is functioning (e.g. water supply, light, air-cond). Just in case anything is broken, you can change to other room quickly.
Asrama Kanarom Hostel
Asrama Kanarom Hostel is a dormitory-style one storey building which has four bedrooms, common toilet + bathroom and kitchen. Each room has 6 bunk beds, so this hostel can host about 24 people.
Asrama Kanarom Hostel in Serinsim
Interior of Asrama Kanarom Hostel in Serinsim
The fee for each bunk bed in hostel is MYR42.40 for adult and MYR31.80 for kid (below 18 years old). The room has air-conditioner, and pillow and blanket are provided. It’s an economic choice for budget travelers and student group who don’t mind to share room.
Bunk beds in Asrama Kanarom Hostel
The kitchen has gas stove, cooking and dining utensils for use by the guests. Electricity and water supply are available all time.
Kitchen of Asrama Kanarom Hostel
However, there is no private bathroom. Guests can share the common unisex toilet and bathroom. Sorry, no water heater for a hot shower, but you can boil hot water in kitchen like what I did.
Toilet cum shower room, cooking area, utensils and refrigerator in Asrama Kanarom Hostel
One nice thing about this hostel is that it’s located next to the starting point of trail to all nature attractions.
Chalets
There are three chalets in the Park. You can book the whole chalet for MYR318 per night, or rent a room for MYR106. Each chalet has three rooms (two of them are single bed). Each chalet is limited for 6 people. For additional guests, you need to pay extra MYR30 per person.
There are 3 chalets in Serinsim Substation
Chalets of Serinsim
Each room has an attached bathroom cum toilet. Heater for hot shower is not available. Soap and towel are provided for the guest. Every room has air-conditioning.
Chalet of Serinsim (or Sorinsim). At the left is Mt. Nombuyukong
Bedroom, living room and kitchen of Serinsim Chalet
Camping
Camping ground is also available to those who desire a more nature experience. For adult, the camping fee per night is MYR5.30 and MYR2.15 for child below 12. You can rent a camping tent for MYR30/day at Sabah Parks office, or bring your own.
Camping ground of Serinsim
Gazebo and benches at camping site
The campsite is just next to the river. There are gazebos, benches, public toilet and kitchen nearby that area.
Campers in Serinsim
Kitchen near camping ground
There is no lighting at night, so you better bring your camping light and torchlight.
Barbecue party at the hostel
There is no TV, karaoke and night life in the park, so you will get bored in the evening. Do plan some fun activities for the night, for example, board games, BBQ party, strip poker, watch movies on laptop.
Playing Uno in the hostel (Asrama Kanarom)
By the way, Kota Marudu is famous for its maize. You can buy some along the way and grill it, it’s delicious.
Layout Map of Serinsim Substation
Don’t be impressed by the facilities listed in the map above. Everything in Serinsim is basic, nothing 5-star. For example, the so called soccer field is just a grassland. The restaurant never opens and there is no gallery.
How to get there
Serinsim is about 32 KM from Kota Marudu town and 130 KM away from Kota Kinabalu City (capital of Sabah). This substation is now highly accessible after asphalt highway is complete in 2013. The GPS coordinate is 6.293915, 116.707986 (see Location Map).
Asphalt road to Serinsim in Kota Marudu
In the past you needed a 4-wheel drive to get in. That might be the reason why Serinsim is one of the least explored parks in Sabah. There is no bus goes directly to Serinsim.
You will pass through Marak-Parak Village and Sorinsim Village before you reach Serinsim
You also can go to Serinsim from Poring Hot Springs, the 46-KM road is in good condition.
Signage at the entrance. Translation: Welcome to Kinabalu Park, Serinsim Sub-Station, Kota Marudu
Things to Note
For a better travel experience at Serinsim, please take note of the following:
- There is no restaurant in the Park. You can prepare your own food in their kitchen, buy food from villages nearby (The shops are usually roadside residential run by villagers with signage such as Gerai Makan (Food Stall) or Kedai Runcit (Grocery Store)), or drive 30 minutes to Kota Marudu town looking for restaurant.
- The mobile line coverage is none or poor in the Park. My Maxis line got 0 bar. Celcom may work. Anyway, let’s prepare to be offline there.
- Bring insect repellent. There are mosquitoes in shaded area during dusk and dawn.
- There is a grocery shop and cafe outside the park entrance.
- Most area in Park has no light. Bring a torchlight if you would move around in the Park at night, especially campers.
Sabah Parks office and car park of Serinsim (Sorinsim)
Entrance Fee
The following is the ticket fee to enter the park. They only accept cash in Ringgit Malaysia (MYR).
| Item | Fee / Rate |
|---|---|
| Conservation Fee | Malaysian: MYR3.00 Foreigner: MYR15.00 Below 18: MYR1.00 and MYR10.00 respectively |
Ticket counter at the entrance of Serinsim (Sorinsim)
Serinsim is managed by Sabah Parks. For more information about Serinsim, you may browse www.sabahparks.org.my or call the head office of Sabah Parks in Kota Kinabalu at +60 88-523500.
Photos taken in Kota Marudu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
