Travels with George and Marta

Kundasang

This is the third in a series of more in-depth posts on our trip to Borneo.
February 14, 2009

Anxiety runs in my family. I was not afraid to drive in Sabah but I was very anxious about having my car delivered to the hotel. I tossed and turned during the night wondering if the delivery would go smoothly. Normally, we drop by the car rental city center office and pick up our car. I realized it was a little bit different in KK when I stopped by the rental office to do the paper work. The cars are only at the airport – not in the center of town. Several people on Trip Advisor mentioned that they had the car delivered to the hotel so we decided to do the same. We will also have them picked it up when return from Mt Kinabalu. Would everything go smoothly? What an item to lose sleep about!

We had breakfast, gathered our bags and went down to the lobby to check out just before 9am. We sat down and waited just a few minutes before the representative showed up. Right on time – just a few minutes after 9am. No reason to stress at all. We finished the paper work, swiped my credit card and walked us out to the car. He showed us the car and verified that it met our approval. It only had a 1/2 tank of gas (4 notches). He mentioned that if we returned the car with more gas, that he would be very happy. We signed off and loaded up our luggage. I adjusted the mirror and we were ready to go – once I figured out reverse.

Malaysia is a former British colony and they drive on the left. One thing we learned from our previous trip to Australia was, if possible, to rent an automatic car in left driving countries. There are two large Malaysian car manufacturers – Proton (a subsidy of Mitsubishi) and Perodua (subsidy of Daihatsu). We got a Perodua Viva 1000c automatic. It was pretty small but we have a small Honda Civic Hybrid at home and are used to driving a small car. But was going to be really interesting going up hill.

I do not mind driving on the left and driven on the left on most of our recent trips. I find it easier to get used to driving on the left than remembering to look left when I walk across streets. Of course, there are a couple of things that do take a bit of adjusting such as remembering which side of the steering wheel are the turn-signals located. I don’t know how many times I turned on the windshield wipers when I wanted to turn! The other drivers thought I must have been crazy flashing the windshield wipers at them. It is also a little hard to adjust to looking to the left for the rear view mirror but I must say the side mirror does a good job.

Our first stop was Orchid de Villa just on the outskirts of KK. I had emailed them for directions but I never received a reply. They had pretty good directions on their website and we asked at the Sabah Tourism Bureau how to get there. They said it was signed but warned us that it was a dirt road. Okay…

It was pretty easy driving out of KK. . I printed out a couple of Google maps for our route. I studied them before I left to become familiar with how get to Jalan Tuaran and Jalan Kiansom. Many of the roads are not signposted so you need to know the landmarks – Chinese temple, supermarket, church. We did pretty well until we got to Jalan Tuaran. Where do we turn? Are we in Inanam? Have we missed our turn?

Suddenly I noticed one of the supermarkets noted on the map on the Orchid de Villa website and pulled into the right lane. There it was – a sign for Orchid de Villa. We had found Jalan Kiansom and turned. We traveled along it checking off the landmarks and then saw another sign for the road for the village – Kampung Kawakaan. Now the fun began. I was so glad that I knew it was a dirt road. The sign said we had 3KM to go. It was pretty rough but nothing worse than what I’ve driven before on a PNW logging road.

It was very interesting to see the small houses and farms. It felt similar to small country farms in the US but the houses looked very different. And the plants were so exotic.

We found the nursery and parked. The guide told us the entrance was 20rm and offered to show us around. She knew just where to look for the orchids in bloom. Part of the nursery is a cut flower nursery for the local florists in KK. They mainly grew dendrobium orchids and were very busy preparing cut orchids for Valentine’s Day bouquets. On the property, there is also a large pond which is fed by a cascading stream. This is where many of the local orchids grow. It was very interesting. We spent about 2 hours walking through the nursery. It gave us a good base knowledge of the orchids to look for on our travels. But it was time to move on.

Orchid de Villa Office and our little Perodua Viva

Showing us around Orchid de Villa

Lovely Dendrobium orchids

More exotic Arachnis orchid

I had not printed out directions on how to get from the nursery to Mt. Kinabalu. I thought we had enough information in the guidebook and the map we had gotten from the tourist office. George felt it would be best to return to the junction with Hwy 1 although I was pretty certain we could continue on Jalan Tuaran and join up with the highway without having to backtrack. But he was the navigator so we went the way he felt most comfortable with.

Of course, we ran into several traffic snarls. First was the traffic jam at the Chinese school on Jalan Kiansom. It was just getting out at noon and traffic was being stopped to allow parents to pick up their children. It took us a little bit to understand what was going on. But this was nothing to the backup we ran into back in Inanam on Jalan Tuaran. The traffic seemed to not be moving at all. It just sat for about 5 minutes and then moved a bit. What was going on! I was starting to panic. Was this normal? Why did we go this way?

We finally started to make some progress and realized what was going on. The light was out at the major intersection where we needed to turn and a traffic cop was directing traffic. He let each way take their turn which is why it was taking so long. But finally after a 30 minute delay, we were on our way. Yeah!

We pulled off and filled up the tank. We had instructions which told us to fill up before heading to Mt. Kinabalu. We didn’t see any gas stations after leaving Tuaran so it was a very good reminder. It was about 1.8RM per liter – not that much different from the US prices after calculating the per gallon price and exchange rate ($1.8USD). We continued to Tuaran and then turned off to the highway to Mt. Kinabalu.

The two lane highway continued for a few miles passing farms and small villages. One interesting village we passed was Tamparuli. It is known for the big weekly tamu (market and flea market) and an interesting swinging bridge. The market wasn’t on Sunday so we didn’t stop. The road started to climb. The grade was steep and road was windy but fortunately, it did not have a steep drop off on the edge. This is the major road between KK and Sandakan. You frequently come up behind diesel trucks with the truck beds loaded with heavy material such as lumber, rocks, etc. They crawl up the road at a very slow pace – maybe 20Km/h. You have no choice but to pass them on this curvy uphill road. Thank god for the passing lanes. Our little Perodua Viva had very little power to pass them so most of the time we just chilled out until the next passing lane.

Passing on the road to Mt. Kinabalu

One of many slow trucks we had to pass

Mt Kinabalu peaking through the clouds and smoke from the farms

We caught glimpse Mt. Kinabalu in the cloud openings. The road sides were over grown with wild bananas, impatiens, bamboo and other tropical plants. Soon we became familiar with the Sabah dogs. They had a tendency to sleep on the road – close to the road edge or be found investigating the road edges close enough that you had to swerve to miss them. They seemed to be everywhere so I stayed alert. We kept climbing until we came to the main turn off for Mt Kinabalu. We had only traveled about 70km but we were almost at 4,000ft. The road now curved along the mountain side passing various hotels. This area is a popular area for hotels just outside the main park gate. The view opened and we saw the deep green terraced valley of the Kundasang area – our destination for the next 3 days.

Kundasang is at 1600 ~(5200ft) meters and much cooler the KK. The hills are terraced with vegetable farms growing a wide variety of different fruits and vegetables such as cabbages, tomatoes, and squashes. At the turnoff for the road to Mesilau, the roadside was lined with covered wooden stalls filled with fresh vegetables, fruit and snacks. We watched for the sign for the Golf Course to know where to turn. It was hard to see where to turn. The area was chaotic – filled with people, cars, buses, dogs going every which way. We slowed and crawled along waiting for an opening so we could turn. It was Sunday afternoon and everyone was preparing for the work week. Once on the Mesilau road, we passed seed and nursery stores more evidence that this was a major farming center.

We kept watch for more signs to the golf course to point us the way. The road steeply angled up and our little car struggled up the road. We passed the Kundasang diary and knew we were getting closer. Suddenly we noticed the large expanses of grass. This must be the golf course. The road to Mesilau cuts right through the course. We found our turnoff and drove up our home for the next three days – Magic Mountain Country Home. The owner, Lily, and her two dogs came out to great us and showed us the way to our room where we relaxed and unwound from the drive.

Dinner was wonderful as expected. We had a great steamed fish with ginger, tofu, and a vegetable similar to spinach except with more firm stems. Lily sauteed it in garlic. It was so yummy.

We also tasted some wonderful tropical fruit – snakeskin fruit and fresh jackfruit. The snakeskin was very good and so different . It is large about the size of a plum but in a tear drop shape. You peel the scaly skin and the firm fruit is in segments similar to a clove of garlic. It is similar in taste to a cross between pineapple and apple. It is also very crunchy. Lily also bought us some mangosteen but haven’t tried them yet.

The evening was cool and we were both very sleepy after our wonderful dinner. We had to say good night early and fell asleep right away to the sounds of the wind in the trees.

Fruit stands along the road in Kundasang

Wide variety of fruit and goods under the shade of the wooden roofs

Schools Girls in Kundasang

Mesilau road at Kundasang

This is the first in a series of more in-depth posts on our trip to Borneo.
February 12, 2009

South China Seas. I can not hear that name without thinking of the Vietnam War. My brother-in-law served in the Navy on a boat station in the South China Seas. But Vietnam was not our destination. It was Borneo, an island south of Vietnam bordering on the South China Sea. Specifically, we were bound for the Eastern Malaysia state of Sabah and the town of Kota Kinabalu.

Kota Kinabalu, known locally as KK, was originally called Jesselton. It was a major trading post of the British North Borneo Company and founded it in the late 1800’s. The British razed the city in WWII to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Japanese and rebuilt after the war. Northern Borneo joined Malaysia in 1963 and the town was renamed Kota Kinabalu in 1968. Today it is one of the fastest growing cities in Malaysia.

It is also a great tourist jump-off point for visiting Sabah. We selected it because of an one-stop flight from Seattle to KK via Seoul. There are also frequent flights from KK to other areas of Sabah and Sarawak which made it a great anchor point for our travels.

Our flight arrived late in the evening. The airport is new and very efficient. We were not certain if there was an ATM in the airport or if it would be accessible at 11:00pm so we exchanged $50US at the Incheon airport in Korea when we changed planes. Do you know how hard it is to get Malaysia Ringgits in the US? Many banks stock common currencies such as Euros, Sterling Dollars but you have to pre-order Malaysia Ringgits from either a bank that handles international currencies or from Travelex.

We did not need to be concerned. There are two ATMS at BKI and a currency exchange booth just outside of baggage claim in KK airport. They were open until 12:00 midnight.

Our bags arrived quickly and it did not take long to get through Malaysian customs. They inserted the departure portion their immigration form in our passport. I was afraid that we would lose it over the two weeks but never did. We also found out that you have to go though passport control when you travel between states in Malaysia.

There is a taxi counter in the airport and the taxis between airport and KK are regulated. You just walk up. tell them where you want to go and pay the taxi fee. It was 20RM to KK (30RM if between 12:00midnight and 6:00am). We made it by 15 minutes of the 50% surcharge.

There was little traffic and the driver rushed us towards KK. Sodium lights gave the area a golden glow as the buildings rushed by. I could feel and smell the humidity and heat even at midnight. Valentines Day was just a few days away and several of the billboards suggested for gifts. At one major intersection, a couple professed their love for each other. I do not think I would like my love announced on a huge billboard for millions to see.

Fifteen minutes later we arrived at our hotel. The King Park Hotel is located just on the edge of the center of KK. Our room was near the top and faced the water. A little musty but very clean with a large king bed and air conditioning. We took a hot shower and soon fell asleep. It had been a long 18 hours.

Activity starts early in the tropics. The length of the day varies little. Sun rose around 6:30am and set around 6:30pm. The low drone of the early traffic and a narrow beam of sunlight woke us. We heard the local minivans beeping for passengers. I peaked out through the window for my first glimpse of Borneo. The traffic circled below me and I could see the city awaking.

Breakfast was included with the price of our room which by the way is an economical 138rm or ~40USD. It was the standard Malaysian breakfast which consists of a variety of noodles and rice dishes, curry, porridge and egg along with hot sweet milky coffee.

We hit the street after a lazy morning. Our first challenge – getting across a major 4 lane street in rush hour traffic. And to remember to look left since Malaysians drive on the left. My senses were in overdrive. Heat, smells, noise! You definitely need to watch your footing while walking in KK. Many of the sidewalks at store fronts have tile floors which are often missing one or two tiles. There are dips and bumps on the sidewalks just waiting to twist your ankle if you are not paying attending. The storm drain gutters are covered with loose uneven slotted tiles which easily twist your foot. You do not want to go gawking around staring at the sights and not watch where you place your foot. Thankfully the sidewalks are extremely clean and there is no dog poop unlike Europe. The smell is another thing.

We headed toward Jalan Gaya. Jalan is the Malaysia word for street or road. This area is the Chinese center and also filled with backpacker hotels. The streets were still lined with brilliant red Chinese lanterns from the recent New Years Celebrations. We headed for the Alliance Bank for more money and the Sabah Tourism Bureau. We quickly realized that it only took us about 15 minutes to walk the main distance of the center of town.

I noticed the Tong Hing Supermarket when we left the Tourism Bureau. We had to check it out. It was almost deserted early in the morning and was extremely clean. It is rather upscale and looks to be the place to purchase foreign food. It also had an extensive wine section which is pretty unusual. Malaysia is a Muslim county and alcohol is not as readily available as it is in Western countries.

Our next stop was Borneo Books in the Wisma Merdeka Mall. This is the place for flora and fauna books. We had to go there to see what plant guides we could find. We were not disappointed. The Wisma (mall) was also very interesting . I’m not certain how to describe it. In the center, there is an escalator/stairs leading up to the other two floors. Radiating out from this center space are passages lined with small tightly packed stores selling everything from sim cards, computer games, candy, shoes, clothing, food, jewelry, services like reflexology massage. I’m used to more open malls coming from the west coast and the stores seemed a bit more packed like what you would find in NYC or Europe. Borneo Books was located in the back corner of the 2nd Floor (3rd floor for US). We just followed the signs pointing the way.

Now for a bit of sightseeing. We headed to the waterfront. The day market is located in a large concrete multi-story building along the waterfront. The bottom floor is a wet market filled with produce, meat and other food sellers. I could not resist and investigated up and down the aisles and maze of stalls. It was dark but very interesting. So much foreign and different. The top floor is food court and a clothing store. Next door and outdoors is the smelly but fascinating fish market. It is filled with exotic fish and seafood. Next is the Filipino craft market. The stalls made me pretty claustrophobic. The aisles wound among the packed stalls lit by single light bulbs – dark even in the bright tropical mid-day sun. We were not in the market for trinkets or souvenirs so we moved on.

We were surprised that it was not yet noon. We had one more chore to take care of. We dropped by the downtown office of KK Leisure Tours to arrange for our rental car to be dropped off the following day. We ordered an automatic on-line and I wanted to take care of the paper work. We found their office in Sedco Complex, paid the deposit and finished the paper work. We arranged to have the car delivered to our hotel the next morning at 9am.

The Centerpoint Mall was near by so we decided to check it out. It was lunch time and there was a lot of activity in the mall. It is a somewhat modern mall with 5 floors including an extensive hawker food court in the basement. The air-conditioning made it a nice refuge. We checked out the food court and attempted to get a juice but we had not figured out how the hawkers work yet or we were just being ignored. We decided to move on. We crossed the street and stopped for a coke in outdoor restaurant along Jalan Pasar Baru. They had a large TV on with US big time wrestling. We learned this is a popular item in Malaysia. “Where are you from?” the waiter asked us. This question or its variation of “Are you from Great Britain?” was a common question. Many people were surprised to hear that we were from the United States. We ran into many other Europeans but rarely other tourists from the US.

The sun was high in the sky – it was time to return and rest before venturing out again at night.

Related Posts:

• Kota Kinabalu
• On the slope of Mt. Kinabalu

View from our hotel – King Park – over the center of Kota Kinabalu. Palau Gaya in the distance.

Near the Wisma Merdeka

Rush hour in Kota Kinabalu – early evening