Steve and Cathy's Blog

The island Of Borneo is the third largest island on earth, and “is divided among three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south. Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. In the north, the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak make up about 26% of the island. Additionally, the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan is situated on a small island just off the coast of Borneo. The sovereign state of Brunei, located on the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo’s land area. A little more than half of the island is in the Northern Hemisphere including Brunei and the Malaysian portion, while the Indonesian portion spans both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.” (Quote lifted from Wikipedia)  Today we are visiting the northeastern state of Sabah, Malaysia and its capital Kota Kinabalu.  But first, here is our sunrise:

The entire island of Borneo has a fascinating history, and the state of Sabah as part of it.  We could spend 2,000 words describing it. Instead, I am going to use good old Wikipedia to give a shorthand description: “The earliest human settlement in Sabah can be traced back to 20,000–30,000 years ago along the Darvel Bay area at the Madai-Baturong caves. The state had a trading relationship with China from the 14th century AD. Sabah came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 14th–15th century while the eastern part of the territory fell under the influence of Sultanate of Sulu between the 17th–18th centuries. The state was subsequently acquired by the British-based North Borneo Chartered Company in the 19th century. During World War II, Sabah was occupied by the Japanese for three years. It became a British Crown Colony in 1946. On 31 August 1963, Sabah was granted self-government by the British. Following this, Sabah became one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia (established on 16 September 1963) alongside Sarawak, Singapore (expelled in 1965), and the Federation of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia).”

Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, was established as a city only in the year 2000.  It started as a fishing village, and was “discovered” by the North Borneo Chartered Company after its own administrative center burned down. Renamed Jesselton after one of the company’s deputy managers, it became Kota Kinabalu  in 1967, Kota being the Malay word for Fort and Kinabalu after the nearby Mount Kinabalu.

Having arrived at the port at around 8:00am, we exit the ship around 9:15am to start our excursion, Tribal Highlights & City Highlights.  Borneo’s most interesting history is that of the island’s many, many tribes of indigenous people.  In Sabah alone, there are thirty-two “tribes” as they refer to the ethnic groups.

We are on Bus 12 and there are at least three buses of us Oceania guests making the tour.  Our guide is named Tommy, and he explains the two segments of our six-hour tour: the visit to a cultural center and some time driving through the city, including stopping at a local market.

On our way, we are introduced to Sabah and its capital city.  The two Malaysian states, Sabah in the northeast and Sawarak in the southwest, are on the island and comprise East Malaysia, the rest of the country being on the mainland of Asia.  Our guide speaks to the “slow pace of life” in Sabah being one of its attractions.

Before we completely leave the city, we pass by an enormous mosque, the Masjid Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu mosque.  This was built in 2000, and can accommodate 12,000 worshippers.  Tommy mentions that the number 5 is a lucky number in Islam, one of the reasons being that Muslims pray five times a day.  Muslims make up 65% of the population.

We will be visiting Mari-Mari Cultural Village to be introduced to five of these tribes.  Here is how their own website introduces our experience: “Mari Mari Cultural Village tour is located deep in the countryside away from the modern and developing Kota Kinabalu city. The village operates as a museum that preserves Borneo ethnic culture. It aims to share the knowledge, history, culture, and tradition of Borneo with you so that it is not forgotten.

“The tour offers you the opportunity to see and experience the culture and lifestyle of how the indigenous ethnic groups of Borneo used to live in the olden days when electricity had not yet been introduced in their land.

“The village features 5 different ethnic tribes in one village. They are the rice farmer Kadazan-Dusun, the longhouse resident Rungus, the hunters and fisherman Lundayeh, the cowboy and sea gypsey Bajau, and the famously feared headhunting tribe Murut.”

We drive about ten miles into the countryside from the city, and arrive around 9:30 or so.  We are one of probably three buses of Oceania guests, plus there are others arriving.  The place is very busy – and the weather is very “rainforest-y,” hot and humid.

Our bus group is divided into two smaller groups for the ninety-minute tour of the cultural village. Please take a look at this well-done map and legend of our tour.  Our guide is named Carol, and she is a member of the Dusun tribe.

After crossing a rope bridge, we enter the village.  Carol leads us from building to building explaining how people from each tribe represented make their living, how and what they cook, some of their customs and so forth.  In most of the houses, there are other young people that demonstrate various aspects of life for that tribe.  Below are some photos that hopefully will give you an idea of our tour and what we see.  You will notice that a number of those photos are of beautiful young women (one of whom graces the beginning of this post).  That is because Steve is doing the photography. There are of course many young guys as well, demonstrating certain skills, such as fire starting or the art of tribal tattoos (Steve couldn’t resist.  No, it isn’t permanent, but it was fun to have it for a few days!).

There was also a young man showing us how a headhunter would properly decorate a skull.  (Yes, you read that right.  Warriors in the Murut tribe were some of the famous headhunters in Borneo that instilled so much fear in the colonials.  Our hosts kept assuring us the practice was outlined over a century ago.)

Each building or two represented a different tribe.  There were snacks to be tried, honey, a rice beverage and a few other foods, every one of them delicious.   At the end of this elaborate and well laid out tour, we were treated to a narrated performance of tribal dancing and music.  Lunch followed.  [Cathy will comment: it was awful. Rice, fatty gristly beef, bony chicken and undercooked cabbage. Worst meal off the ship.]

We left around 2:00pm, so you can see that we were given quite a thorough introduction to historical indigenous life in Borneo by some very hospitable and talented young people that are proud of their heritage and anxious to show people that visit their country.  In another twenty minutes, we are driving around parts of KK (that’s the nickname for Kota Kinabalu) and Tommy is showing us two of the newest, tallest buildings in the capital of which they are very proud.  One is a government building:

and the other a marvel of architecture and engineering that he insists is earthquake-proof.

Our guide goes on to tell us that Sabah is becoming quite a tourist destination, especially for Chinese and Koreans that come here on their honeymoon.   “They call it ‘Love Island,” he quips.   He also says that a favorite kind of visit in the Home Stay Program rather than a resort.  In this case, you are brought to a house that is part of a farm.  You pick vegetables for your dinner, are treated to a huge meal of local foods cooked in the house where you are staying, party, dance and drink rice wine with the people in the neighborhood.  It sounds like a really great time.

Our bus has one more stop. As we have learned by now, some kind of shopping experience is either demanded by most tourists or made by some kind of arrangement of some shopping complex with the tour company.  So we stop at a local open-air market in the middle of the city.  Tommy our guide has a warning: “ Do not buy a Rolex here.  It is a fake.  After two months, you will call it a Relax  because it won’t work.”

We tour this huge shed full of stalls, 90% of which seem to us to be closed, so Cathy suggests a latte at a Starbucks across the street.   Steve is a zombie by now, so that is a great idea as far as he is concerned.  The place is almost empty, except for several other staff members who are off duty and a couple of their friends.  Other than another couple from the ship and us, it is only local twenty-somethings.   They are very polite to us, and act just people their age act wherever you are in the world: laugh and flirt and look at their phones.  It is nice insight to modern Kota Kinabalu that the market across the street would not have afforded us.

We board the bus at 3:25, and it starts pouring.  Just like you would expect in the tropics.  Eventually, everyone returns to the bus, the bus returns us to the ship and our tour is over.

The evening brings a spectacular sunset.  These small photos cannot begin to do it justice.  If you would like to see more, please go on to the Steve Knight Facebook and you will see them.

Naturally, after dinner we are done for the day.  Another great learning experience, and not just about modern Malaysia but also about a culture that has existed for thousands of years half a world away from home. Whew, what a trip this is!