Tag Archives: longhouse

Playful children from local village

Bawang Jamal Beach: Sunset, Longhouse, Milky Way

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Need a break? Hearing someone says, “let’s go to the beach!” will definitely cheer you up. Everyone loves going to the beach. However, it stinks for beachgoers to get only a few meters of space at a popular but crowded beach. Personally I dislike sharing a beach with hundred of people.

Bawang Jamal Beach (Pantai Bawang Jamal in local language)

A crowded beach in USA (photo by Michael Candelori)

Luckily, with about 1,300 Kilometers of coastline, Sabah has so many nice beaches that are enough for everyone to get over 10,000 Sq. Meters of space.

Bawang Jamal Beach is about 1 KM long

I’m not exaggerating. Bawang Jamal Beach (Pantai Bawang Jamal in local language), in north of Sabah, is one of them, and most of the time you would see less than 10 people on this 1-Kilometer long beach.

Water-filled trough (Runnel)

Promoting the beaches of Sabah to foreigners can be challenging sometimes, because my marketing managers would comment, “The photos are nice but hey.. the beach is so empty. Tourists would think that our beach ain’t fun or got shark!”

Panoramic view of Bawang Jamal Beach

Located in Kudat, Bawang Jamal Beach is really hidden well behind a village and dense casuarina trees (GPS: 6.993149, 116.727974, see Location Map).

End of Bawang Jamal Beach

During my visit, I saw an Australian couple spending their vacation at this beach, and they say Bawang Jamal Beach is probably the best beach in Borneo. I had seen the seething mass of meat (people) in Bondi Beach of Sydney, so I understand why they love this secluded beach so much.

Tourist walking on the beach

This beach is unspoiled and turtles also come to nest occasionally, and a turtle hatchery was built around here. Street and house light can drive turtles away, so no development could mean a good thing to wildlife.

White sandy beach of Bawang Jamal Beach

Local children beachcombing for shells and seaweed

The blue sea and snowy beach here are something that tourists willing to pay high dollar for staying in such an untouched beach. It’s a small bay flanked by rocky shores. The intertidal zone and sandy beach are wide, which is very suitable for kids who can’t stop running around.

The island far behind is Kelambu Island

Edible seaweed found on the beach

Sometimes group of village kids would walk along the shore to collect edible stuffs such as shellfish and seaweed. In tourist beach we can’t do this because usually there is nothing left.

Crawl marks left by seashells

Rocky shore of Bawang Jamal Beach

Rocky beach at the end of Bawang Jamal Beach

The rocky shore at the edge of the beach is fun to explore. You would see many small marine animals trapped in the tide pools. I can sit there whole day watching them crawling or swimming.

Starfish in tide pool

Rocky beach covered by yellow seaweed

The most interesting feature of Bawang Jamal Beach is big area of rocky shore covered by yellow seaweed. It looks like a golden carpet when lighted by warm colors of sunset.

Beautiful sunset at Bawang Jamal Beach

Rocks along the beach

Actually I want to photograph the luminous sea (“glowing sea” caused by bioluminescent phytoplankton) of Bawang Jamal Beach, but it wasn’t in peak condition during my visit. Anyway, I saw many fishes swam near to the shore to lay eggs, and a fisherman showed me his caught after night fishing, it’s kind of fun.

Fishes caught by villager at night

Mossy rocks and seaweed on the beach

No matter what, this beach is quite unique that I’m sure many photographers would thank me for introducing them another nice spot for landscape shots.

Milky Way at Bawang Jamal Beach

As this beach is free from light and dust pollution, you can see thousands of stars clearly in crystal clear sky. I shot a few photos of Milk Way. Later I found that some of my friends have no idea what is Milky Way because they never see one in the city.

Super Sunset

Not only that, the sunset view at Bawang Jamal Beach is spectacular. No kidding. The nice sunset and beach can be the excellent backdrop for romantic movie scenes.

Dog and cat seem to enjoy the sunset

Sunset walk at Bawang Jamal Beach

Our beaches are really underrated. I’m kind of upset when some travel portals rank some mediocre (but popular) beaches as the best in the world.

Panoramic sunset view

Sunset run on the beach

After seeing so many nice beaches in Sabah, I’m not easily impressed by beaches in other countries. In fact, many Sabahan friends return from overseas trip and say, “heck, you know what? Our beaches are better.”

Secret Place Cafe

By the way, if you stroll around this beach, you would find Secret Place Cafe near the midsection of the beach. Well, it’s not that secret. I saw a number of westerners relaxing there.

Secret Cafe Place

You can buy hot and cold drink such as tea, coffee, soft drink and beer there. They also sell food like fried rice, noodles, toast and omelette. The prices range from RM6.50 to RM8 (≈US$1.60-2.00) and the serving size is quite big. Though the cafe is not certified Halal, they serve no pork.

Beach at Secret Cafe Place

FYI, you also can rent snorkelling gears and camping tents at this cafe. I think they offer sunset BBQ too.

Lupa Masa Longhouse

For those who want to spend more wonderful time at Bawang Jamal Beach, Lupa Masa Longhouse is only 3 minute walk away from the beach. The design of this accommodation is based on traditional bamboo longhouse of Rungus people in Kudat. “Lupa Masa” means “Forget Time” in Malay language, which conveys that it is an enjoyable place where you would forget about time.

Lupa Masa Longhouse

Like how villagers live, the bedroom and amenities of the longhouse are very basic. The room is quite warm during daytime, but quite cooling at night. Electricity for lighting is available. Common toilet and bathroom are just 10 Meters outside the longhouse. The place can accommodate about 12 guests.

Lupa Masa Longhouse has some basic amenities (From left to right, top to bottom: longhouse, bedroom, washroom, verandah)

The accommodation fee per night is RM50 – 75 (≈US$12.50-19), depend on if you want to participate in Homestay (with full meals) or just Bed & Breakfast. They can help you to arrange various activities around Kudat, for example, snorkeling, fishing, sunset tour and river cruise.

Longhouse under the starry sky

Lupa Masa Longhouse is only 7 Km before the Tip of Borneo. Below is their contact:
E-mail: lupamasaborneo@gmail.com
Tel: +60 19-8020549
Website: lupamasa.com
Facebook: Lupa.Masa

Mangrove river behind the beach

Would you prefer a crowded beach or a tranquil beach? Please tell me in comment section below.

Photos taken in Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Linangkit Cultural Village, mysterious past of Lotud people

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Linangkit Cultural Village (LCV) is located in Kampung Selupoh (Selupoh Village) in Tuaran, about 40 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu. Linangkit is a unique form of needle work and handmade decorative embroidery using interlacing knots. It is used to decorate and join seams by Lotud, who is a sub-ethnic of Kadazandusun and have a population of nearly 10,000, most reside around Tamparuli, Telipok and Tuaran areas.

LCV offers a platform to display the colorful culture and mystical history of Lotud tribe. Lotud is very famous in their skillful weaving, and personally I think their traditional dress is one of the most beautiful and elegant costumes in Sabah. That’s why the Lotud dress is the favorite choice for beauties who compete in the annual Harvest Festival Queen beauty pageant (Unduk Ngadau).


>> Click Here to see more photos of Linangkit Cultural Village

With striking red, gold, silver, white and black colors of the dress, Lotud girls always become the center of attention and most photographed target in any cultural fair.


Same as other indigenous people of Sabah, Lotud people also live in longhouse, but the difference is – each Lotud longhouse only hosts one family. The longhouse in LCV is in fact a “treasure house” with many antique items of Lotud people.

Linangkit Cultural Village (LCV) is open daily from 9am to 6pm for tourists, but you are advised to contact them (Tel: +60 88-787382, Mobile: +6013-8803738 / +6012-8667236 (Mrs. Alice Tee Jilan)) at least 3 hours in advance to make prior arrangement (for guided tour, food, cultural show, etc.).


>> Click Here to see more photos of Linangkit Cultural Village

You may watch the video below to look at the surrounding of LCV.

Click Here to see wider video.

Upon arrival, you will be taken to a traditional Dusun Lotud longhouse, where you could gain better understanding of the culture and the lifestyle of the Lotud. The house has a good collection of ritual tools used by Tantagas, the traditional priestesses of Lotud. Nowadays, many indigenous people are converted to Christians and Muslims, so the mystical practices is gradually fading.

There are many interesting items inside the longhouse. A guide will tell you the story behind each item. Actually, they don’t allow photo taking in exhibition area, so I only list a few here…


For example, the hundred-year-old “Gusi” jars above are for housing the spirits of the ancestors. Lotud would appease them regularly. Many heard strange noise or human voice in the jars at night.


Above: an accessory for warrior. They believe this gives them strength and magical power.


Above: a symbolic ritual tool used by Tantagas as a “torchlight” to see in “other” world.


Above: Lotud was once a headhunter. Each hair cluster means one head.


Above: they have good collection of old decor and items, which remind me of the era of my grandfather.

There are lot more stuffs. I’ll let you to find out there.



Above: they also have the longest linangkit in Malaysia.
>> Click Here to see more photos of Linangkit Cultural Village


By the way, do not forget to chew some betel nuts and smoke the local tobacco, to perfect your cultural adventure.




After the tour in longhouse, depend on your package, they may take you to the activity hall to watch cultural show and enjoy local delicacies.




You will love the delicious food at LCV.
>> Click Here to see more photos of Linangkit Cultural Village

As I am always attracted by pretty Lotud girls, they teach me how to spot a single by looking at their costumes. Look at the photos below. You may flirt with the Lotud girls that wear belt that has no black color (first photo).

But if you see black color in their belt, that means she is not available (see photo below).

Please visit Linangkit Cultural Village to see the most beautiful tribe of Sabah today!


>> Click Here to see more photos of Linangkit Cultural Village

Photos taken in Tuaran, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Long Pasia – adventure to the Heart of Borneo (part 1 of 6)

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I’ll pick Long Pasia as my hometown, if I were to born as an “orang kampong” (villager) in Sabah. More than 250KM away from Kota Kinabalu, Long Pasia is located in south-western corner of Sabah, very near to border of Kalimantan (Indonesia). With an altitude of 1,000 Meters above sea level, cool mist frequents Long Pasia, hiding some least-known natural and historical heritages of the Heart of Borneo.

Since year 2005, I have been thinking of visiting Long Pasia. My father had been there and told me about this beautiful and remote place. Finally I had the chance to join a 4-day-3-night adventure with a group of friends in early Nov. Below is the outline of our Long Pasia trip:
Day 1: Depart to Long Pasia homestay
Day 2: Rapid shooting & jungle trekking to (and camping at) Fefukan Waterfall
Day 3: Back to Long Pasia homestay
Day 4: Back to Kota Kinabalu city
You may Click Here to see the detail itinerary.

DAY 1 – GOING TO LONG PASIA

Road Trip to Sipitang

The road trip to Long Pasia took us about 9 hours (8am – 5pm), as we made a few stops. The beginning part is easy; we drove 2.5 hours on a paved road from Kota Kinabalu city to Sipitang town (144KM). At 10:30am, we reached Sipitang, where we had our early lunch and purchased food supplies for camping. Sipitang has undergone some changes and now it has a nice sea-view esplanade.

We also met up with our Long Pasia guide, Lait. At first look, you have no doubt he is a competent “jungle man” coz he is muscular. I’m surprised that he is also a talent artist, and his drawing is so fine and detail, a big contrast to his rugged figure. He always has a mischievous smile on his face, as if he would play a prank on you anytime (and he does!). He is a naughty and playful big boy, this trip would be less fun without this friendly guide as our company.


Above: Lait, our guide


Above: Bestamart Supermarket

After lunch & briefing, we dropped by Bestamart supermarket of Sipitang, to get some stuffs for our camping. We bought biscuit, instant noodle, can food (sardine, curry), 3-in-1 coffee mix, onion, vegetables, water, oat meal, sugar & salt, cooking oil, etc.

Then we loaded our bags and supplies to a 4-wheel drive. Long Pasia is 123 KM away from Sipitang, and it’ll be a 4-5 hours bumpy ride on a hilly gravel road (a logging road in fact). The road was dry and dusty that time. But in rainy season, the road will turn muddy and slippery, only accessible by 4WD. It sounds very isolated, but the most beautiful and pristine places of Sabah are always in remote region.

Iban Longhouse

We visited an Iban longhouse about 15-minutes away from Sipitang. I knew there were some Iban people living in Tawau district (South-east of Sabah), but didn’t know some of them lived in Sipitang too. Though this longhouse is a modern version, it is really long and able to house about 40 families. The veranda is so long and wide that some children have fun racing on it back and forth.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Long Pasia

The most distinct feature of this longhouse is the deer skull decors at each door. I saw the skulls of Sambar Deer and Barking Deer (Kijang). We only stopped here for 10 minutes, and then we continued our journey to Long Pasia.

Road Trip to Long Pasia

Very soon we hit the rough gravel road. We passed by small villages, plantation (e.g. rubber, banana, paddy, tapioca, maize) and rivers, most of the time we were surrounded by lush hill forest and saw no other car. Sadly, we also saw logging trucks and deforestation done by SFI (Sabah Forest Industries). You may watch the video below to get an idea of the road trip.


Click Here to see bigger video

When we were about an hour from Long Pasia, we found that a bridge in front of us collapsed. Luckily a truck and excavator were there to make a new way. Within 30 minutes, we could move on again.

Long Pasia Village

Finally we arrived Long Pasia at 5pm. Long Pasia means “Mouth of the Red River” (though I want to call it “Long….. Passage” due to the long ride). First thing I felt was the fresh and cool air (remind me of Kundasang town decades ago). This highland village is always in dense mist in the morning and late afternoon. Surrounded by mountains, forest and rivers, Long Pasia is the one of the few villages closest to true nature and wilderness. They said an eagle grabbed a chick when we got there.


Above: Long Pasia


Above: Paddy field

Most of the 600 villagers here are Lundayeh people, which means “People of the Interior or Upriver”. In the past, they were headhunters, as well as a strong rival to another headhunting tribe, Murut (means “People of the Hill”). Now most of them are Christians and work as farmers, fishermen and hunters, and they are one of the friendliest people I meet.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Long Pasia

Long Pasia is unlike the typical Malay kampong (village) in other parts of Malaysia. Most villagers still converse in Lundayeh, though they speak fluent Malaysia language. Lundayeh is also found in Sarawak (known as Lumbawang instead) and Kalimantan. To see their differences in costumes, you may see my blog on Lundayeh Festival.

We walked around Long Pasia in late afternoon. We were greeted by friendly villagers and felt so welcomed as a guest. Many were playing soccer and volleyball on the field as past-time. I noticed there were so many dogs, probably as many as the human population here. FYI, you will be fined RM500 (USD$150) for killing a dog, coz many of them are trained as a hunting dog, a loyal partner that follows the hunters in and out forest for days.

Another “feature” of Long Pasia is the Solar Panel outside every house. There is no power line here, so they rely on stored solar electricity for basic lighting and TV. This solar panel costs about RM15,000 (it is funded but I don’t know by who)! If they need more power, they will turn on the generator on demand, so I can charge my camera batteries. You can save a lot on electricity bill by living here, coz we don’t need air-conditioner in cool place like Long Pasia.


Above: Street light powered by solar panel


Above: Huge solar panel

My mobile phone got no line coverage here. I was told that they have Internet connection by satellite in the village, so some of them even have Facebook accounts. Not only that, many houses also have Astro channel (satellite TV).


Above: SK Long Pasia, first school in Long Pasia

Long Pasia Homestay

For first day, we stayed with a local family (Dina & Janet) in Long Pasia. The people here realise the importance of eco-tourism and nature. About 15 houses have registered under the Homestay program. Under the education of environmental bodies, the villagers reduce the cutting of forest and hunting of wildlife, especially in tourist areas, though these have been their traditional practices for centuries.


Above: our homestay in Long Pasia

The standard of living here has improved over the years, and most villagers are self-sufficient. You won’t find yourselves staying under the roof of a water-leaking broken hut. In fact, their houses are spacious, comfortable and well-furnished, just as good as the houses in city. As pamper city people, we only had problem to bathe with icy mountain water. We went into the shower room, screamed then stormed out in 2 minutes, probably the shortest shower that we’ve ever taken, lol…


Above: our bed

The evening was getting cold and it was so nice that the family cooked a hot dinner for us. We ate a lot of delicious fresh vegetables that planted and harvested locally. Do you know that Long Pasia produces the best rice in Sabah? It’s so soft and yummy that I had 3 plates.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Long Pasia

Long Pasia Homestay has been around for some years, but it is under-promoted. Personally I think Long Pasia is the best homestay in Sabah and many will agree with me. Besides accessibility issue, many tour operators (outsiders) are only interested in earning more $$$ by building luxury chalet there then charging tourists a “5-star” price, just like what happens to Mt. Kinabalu now. I will only opt for homestay coz it benefits the local community, not a few blood-sucking tour players.


Above: homestay with Rose’s family

After a briefing by Lait for the trip next day, we went to bed. Tomorrow we will explore one of the most remote places in Borneo, even to the locals, the Fefukan Waterfall. Long Pasia has many attractions such as Tiger Hill and Maga Waterfall, but Fefukan is totally new and far away.

>> Read Next Article (Part 2)

Photos taken in Long Pasia, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Mari-Mari Cultural Village

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“Mari-Mari” means Come Come in Malay. This new cultural village is located in Kionsam of Inanam and received many positive feedback from tourists. There are five indigenous houses in the village for you to see how Sabah ethnic groups, i.e., Murut, Bajau, Dusun, Rungus and Lundayeh lived in their past. The air there is fresh, maybe the village is inside the forest and next to Kionsam River.


Above: tourists try Lihing the local rice wine


Above: experience traditional Bajau mock wedding

Tourists are presented the traditional way of bamboo cooking, rope making, tree bark processing (for making Murut’s cloth), blowpipe making, etc. You also can try out the traditional food and even experience their activities such as blowing blowpipe and smoking local cigarette.


Above: trying lansaran (wooden trampoline) in Murut headhunter longhouse

The guide will bring you to visit each houses and explain the ancient lifestyle. Some “staircases” are quite steep. As a local, I find that I know so little about our cultures. At the end of the tour, you can enjoy the performance of traditional dances and lunch after that.


Above: watch out for chicken dropping above your head

You may try the local cigarette. My grandmothers likes to make her own cigarette by rolling tobacco into dry leaf. The taste is light and not as strong as commercial cigarettes, though it has no filter.


Above: starting fire with bare hands and bamboo in less than a minute


Above: guests are invited to try bamboo dance

The most interesting part for tourists is probably getting a tattoo. They demo the traditional method to create a tattoo.

Then visitors also can ask them to tattoo a favourite figure on their skin. They use something creamy to draw the tattoo and it will leave a stain that can last for a few days (not permanent). Not sure if you can ask them to draw tortoise on your arm.

Besides Mari-Mari, Monsopiad Cultural Village in Penampang also offers the similar things. If you ask me which one I like better, it is hard to answer coz both have its uniqueness. The best of Monsopiad is its House of Skulls, a real historic heritage, but Mari-Mari gets better cultural experience. FYI, Mari-Mari does not take walk-in tourists, so you need to book the tour in advance.

Photos taken in Inanam, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Modern Longhouse

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Continued from my blog about Misompuri Homestay in Lajong Village of Kudat town…

Anyone know what are the things in the photo below? I saw them hang in the house of this village..

The guides took me to take a look at the “modern” longhouse in Lajong Village. This longhouse was built during the time Sabah state ruled by Berjaya Party. They call it modern longhouse because the structure is quite different from the traditional longhouse of Rungus people, though both designs look alike. This is just one of the many longhouses like this in Kudat.

First, this longhouse is not totally built from wood. They use zinc material to make the roof. The locals say many trees and forest are cleared for development. Without the tree as wind shield to block the strong wind and storm, their houses really need stronger structure.

And it is taller and longer. I guess it is about 100 Metres from one end to another. The building has 2 levels. The guide showed me around. I saw some residents were socializing outside. At first I was a bit hesitate to take their photos, and I thought it was rude to take photos in private area. The people there would think tourists like me view them like an animal in the zoo cage. The guide told me it was perfectly alright and she was right. They are very friendly and don’t mind to pose for a shoot.

There are over 30 families living in this longhouse. They even have a grocery store in here.

Just drop by to say Hi and take a photo, then exit without buying anything…

Another thing that amazes me is all the “apartment” does not close the door. When I pass by, basically I can see them watching TV, sleeping, eating, and doing other private businesses inside. Personally I am not that open. I will slap the door at their nose, if I find someone are curious about my living room. Everyone looks so free and relax, even the dogs.

One of the apartments is preparing the rooms for homestay (see photos below). They even have refrigerator and TV.

There are still two more blog about the Misompuri homestay. Sorry for being slow on update. I have been sick for 2 weeks. Need rest badly as my brain does not function very well… Later.

Photos taken in Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo