A trip down memory lane | Mount Kinabalu Park, Borneo

It's been a while, I'm finally home ( weird because technically I'm writing this in Singapore but you get the point. I'm narrating. Moving on..)

The days went by and I practically just shut myself at home. Literally left the house only to run errands and a lil bit of work outs. But basically just relishing being back home.

This trip to Mt Kinabalu Park was a great getaway, I was able to witness the majestic sight of the mountain post earthquake as well as just spending some quality time with the parents. Without further ado, here's some of the pictures I got whilst up there in the midst of nature and it's beauty.

My dad brought us to this trail that apparently was the trail he used to bring my siblings and I to when we were kids. This is the stream that flows along a bridge at the main entrance to the trail. 

Everything just looks, so

Green. 

Oh, dad found this ant or termite trail and I thought it was pretty gross! Ha, I hate little crawly things. 

Dad was fascinated with the roots that provided natural steps for the trail

Green. Again.

Introducing my beautiful Omma! 

My witty Abba!

( Randomly picks up branches and asks ' Do I look like a deer?' )

No trip can be complete without a SELFIE

And, finally. Mount Kinabalu.

Scars from the recent earthquake that sent landslides, boulders and loose rocks crashing down the mountain side destroying anything in its path as well as taking some precious lives. Till this day I can't imagine such heartbreaking event to have ever occurred so close to home. 

As a child I've always looked up and saw The mountain sitting so majestically swathed with trails of pearly white clouds, the pride of our land. Now, as we look upon her scars it'll bring a new sense of emotions, different for each individual and as for me, it'll be a heartfelt respect for nature and what has came from it. To know that we don't own nature but we're just mere beings that gained a temporary gift to dwell in this earth we can call Home.

Mount Kinabalu will forever be sat on her throne, looking upon the city of Kota Kinabalu. And we can always look up from wherever we are and remember,

 Tinggi-tinggi Gunung Kinabalu, Tinggi lagi sayang sama Kamu. 

Journey back to a few centuries ago.

History. Fret not.

It's better than the text books.

Hi you! Again! Thanks for reading. DO NOT. CLICK. EXIT!

Okay. Here goes. 

I live in a country with various types of ethnicity, race, religion, languages ie. Malaysia. Because we live in such a multi-cultural country it is hard not to miss the decorations, advertisements and preparation when a celebration is about to commence; and it is common for us to visit our friends and take part in these celebrations. 

Great food. Great atmosphere. Great time.

Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Monsopiad Cultural Village which is located not far from KK city. This village basically is a privately owned museum that displays the Kadazandusun culture. (one of the many ethnics in Sabah state) It is a great place to learn about the culture of Kadazandusun's from their traditional dances, food and wine making to legendary stories. 

While we were there, we were treated with some local wine and traditional food. There was a performance on traditional dances (Sumazau, Bamboo dance, Blowpipe shooting etc) Before each performance there would be a brief explanation on the dances and how it was performed as well as the objective behind each dance. We had the chance to participate in these dances as well! Next we were given a brief tour around and got to try out a very interesting delicacy known as the 'Rich man's meal' which is basically a huge juicy sago worm. Yes. WORM! (not for the faint hearted) We learnt how the people used to make traditional wine/ vodka from distillation processes and also visited the legendary House of Skulls where there are skulls of real humans, weapons, traditional artifacts and images are displayed. The tour guide also told us the story of the legendary Monsopiad; a warrior who grew up at the same village and protected the people with his fighting skills. It is said that he collects the heads of other warriors who terrorized his village as trophies. Hence, the House of Skulls. 

All in all it was a very productive and interesting day besides the fact that we were attacked by huge HUGE swarms of mosquitoes that left us dancing and prancing around. 

Note: DO NOT WEAR SHORTS. Please cover up. Unless you are willing to feed these bloodsucking monsters with your blood.

Another NOTE: 

The entrance fee's are a bit pricey because it is privately owned because there's huge amount of money needed in order to keep the village running properly and to preserve the place.

I would like to not only encourage the tourists but also the locals to visit this place to show support for a dying culture because sooner or later these traditions will not be around for you to experience. It is important to understand and appreciate the people we live with in a country filled with interesting cultures.

Traditional herbs for making wine

Borneo Vodka

Sago worm

Lighting fire with dried bamboo

A video of my trip would be uploaded on my YouTube channel soon! Stay tuned!

More info on the Village here:

http://www.monsopiad.com