Beautiful Borneo
Our arrival at Kota Kinabalu was reasonably smooth. Got to our apartments and they were a bit of a let down after Treetops in Singapore. Still they were clean and spacious so we managed for the three nights. We had some amazing luck at the shopping mall. Managed to get a wonderful taxi driver with a 7 seat taxi who became our guide for the day. He took us to the floating mosque, Atkinson Tower and Signal Hill to get the most amazing views over the city. He was able to answer all the boys questions about why the domes on the mosque are blue and the components of the Malaysian flag. The red stripes signify the army, the star is the king and the crescent moon is for Islam religion. The Sabah state flag includes the blue mountains of this beautiful state.
However the piece de resistance was the Mari Mari Cultural Village. This is some distance from Kota Kinabalu and contains the traditions and houses from the 5 main tribes of indigenous people of Sabah. We learnt how to cook in bamboo pipes, how to fish, marriage ceremonies,the making of blow pipe arrow proof jackets from tree bark, how to hunt and make rice wine.
The great excitement though was to enter the head hunters village. Patrick had been chosen by our guide as our leader and when we got to the village he had to answer certain questions or lose his head. Great consternation and discussion about what the questions might be and the ramifications of getting them wrong. When we got close to the village we had to line up in twos, were instructed to keep our arms by our sides, not make eye contact and not show our teeth as these were signs of disrespect. More consternation and discussion amongst boys with lots of prompting about what the questions might be. Then the chief appeared looking very imposing and threatening. Patrick stepped forward. They placed their right arms on each other's shoulders and the questions, through an interpreter were asked. Fortunately he got them right and heads remained intact. Great sighs of relief all around and of course said the boys he wasn't serious!!!
We then enjoyed a cultural show of dancing, drumming and stinging from each of the tribes which was fun.
Our last surprise was sunset at Tanjung Ari beach south of KK which was just spectacular. So a great day and one of those amazing coincidences you often find when traveling of lucking out with a good driver.
Next day hit some shops and then another trip south this time to the wetlands and a boat cruise to see the proboscis monkeys. These cute fellows have the long noses and we managed to see quite a few which was exciting. The concentration of the boys with their binoculars was great. Then dinner on the beach and another glorious sunset and off to do the fireflies cruse. This was truly spectacular with thousands of fireflies in the trees and over the river. They were attracted to the boat and landed on hair and arms. Amazing and really just like fairies.
So late night and early check out and short flight to Sandakan where the orangutans await us.
However the piece de resistance was the Mari Mari Cultural Village. This is some distance from Kota Kinabalu and contains the traditions and houses from the 5 main tribes of indigenous people of Sabah. We learnt how to cook in bamboo pipes, how to fish, marriage ceremonies,the making of blow pipe arrow proof jackets from tree bark, how to hunt and make rice wine.
The great excitement though was to enter the head hunters village. Patrick had been chosen by our guide as our leader and when we got to the village he had to answer certain questions or lose his head. Great consternation and discussion about what the questions might be and the ramifications of getting them wrong. When we got close to the village we had to line up in twos, were instructed to keep our arms by our sides, not make eye contact and not show our teeth as these were signs of disrespect. More consternation and discussion amongst boys with lots of prompting about what the questions might be. Then the chief appeared looking very imposing and threatening. Patrick stepped forward. They placed their right arms on each other's shoulders and the questions, through an interpreter were asked. Fortunately he got them right and heads remained intact. Great sighs of relief all around and of course said the boys he wasn't serious!!!
We then enjoyed a cultural show of dancing, drumming and stinging from each of the tribes which was fun.
Our last surprise was sunset at Tanjung Ari beach south of KK which was just spectacular. So a great day and one of those amazing coincidences you often find when traveling of lucking out with a good driver.
Next day hit some shops and then another trip south this time to the wetlands and a boat cruise to see the proboscis monkeys. These cute fellows have the long noses and we managed to see quite a few which was exciting. The concentration of the boys with their binoculars was great. Then dinner on the beach and another glorious sunset and off to do the fireflies cruse. This was truly spectacular with thousands of fireflies in the trees and over the river. They were attracted to the boat and landed on hair and arms. Amazing and really just like fairies.
So late night and early check out and short flight to Sandakan where the orangutans await us.
Amazing holiday!
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