Borneo Family Holidays - Rediscovering Sabah on a 2 weeks road trip. (Part 3 of 4)
(Written by: Itisha Ismail)
Day 10 to Day 13 (3 nights), Hilton Kota Kinabalu
Monday 27 July 2020 to 30th July 2020
Our road tour route: Kudat - Kota Marudu (Smoked Sweetcorn stop) – Tuaran (Horseback riding + tribal food)– Kota Kinabalu (City life!!!)
Kota Marudu is the capital of Kota Marudu District in the Kudat Division. “Ohhhhh the sweetcorn roundabout” said my brother when I told him that I was there. You see Kota Marudu is known for its sweetcorn/maize production, hence the sweetcorn statue at its main roundabout.
If you are heading from Kudat to Kota Kinabalu, you need to make a stop at one of the stalls along the main road at Kota Marudu. You won’t miss it! The sight of roasted/smoked sweetcorn (still in its husks) looks charred and not so appealing. However, the taste is simply out of this world. I regretted to get only 4 sweetcorns in 2017 as it was not enough for our family. So this time around I got 5 of the jagung manis (sweeter version of the sweetcorn) and 5 jagung pulut (not as sweet but it was more creamy and buttery in flavor).
Jagung or sweetcorn is something not to be missed when you are at Kota Marudu.
Besides Jagung or smoked sweetcorn at Kota Marudu, you can also find other tropical fruit such as rambutan, dragon fruit, bananas and handmade hammocks sold at the stalls.
Sabandar Cowboy Town in Tuaran
After passing Kota Marudu, we entered Sabah’s small country town named Sabandar Cowboy town in Tuaran and just as the name suggests, the town gives you the feel of the Wild Wild West. A tourist spot among the locals and our previous visit in 2017 brought back memories of that delicious tribal food we had at Bamboo Restaurant set right smack in the mangrove forest (connected to the park).
Sabandar Cowboy Town in Tuaran
The boardwalk in the mangrove forest that led to the Bamboo Restaurant at the Sabandar Cowboy Town in Tuaran.
We promised the girls horseback riding during this holiday and we truly hoped that on the day we arrived the Sabandar Cowboy Town that it was open and for the weather to be good. We were in luck! At the Sheriff’s Office Ticket Counter, our body temperatures were measured and recorded. All good to enter!
Olivia and Emelyn – flip flops and horseback riding at Sabandar Cowboy Town in Tuaran.
As it was already lunchtime, we headed straight to the Bamboo Restaurant. I was set to have the Kadazan Dusun set meal only to be told that all the tribal sets were not available. In fact they actually stapled the pages where these items could be located. Though I was disappointed, I totally understand this scenario. It takes a lot of effort to prepare different authentic dishes. Notably all restaurants aims at providing the best and the freshest. It is best to take some items off the menu when the crowd is sadly not there.
Throwback: in 2017, I had the Bajau Samah set. This consisted of steamed white rice, fried basung fish (almost similar to sardines), chicken cooked in thick turmeric curry, grilled eggplants, dried shrimps and banana flower salad.
Throwback: in 2017 Simon had the Kadazan Dusun set which consisted of tuhau (wild ginger pickle), Bambangan (wild mango pickle), linopot (rice wrapped in leaf), hinava (raw fish salad, ayam masak lihing (chicken cooked in local rice wine) and pinasakan (mackerel slow cooked in sour gravy)
On this road trip, we witnessed how badly the tourism business has been impacted by the pandemic. July – August in the old norm, was the peak season of the year in Sabah. Back then accommodations were fully booked, restaurants were buzzing, some people complaint when the parks were too crowded. But this year, hotels and other form of accommodations/resorts/tour companies are slashing down the rates to appeal to the locals, to just stay afloat. Even with the price slash it does not necessarily mean that the occupancy rates are high or the tours are filled up. In the past few days since we started the journey, we were the only guests at the different type of accommodations. Restaurants were generally unoccupied except for the weekends which saw more locals dining out.
So whenever you can, please help support the local businesses - so that great restaurants like Bamboo Restaurant at Sabandar Cowboy Town can start to offer authentic tribal set food once again.
Kota Kinabalu City
We arrived Kota Kinabalu City at the northwest coast of Borneo after a slow ride from Tuaran. We were blessed that the weather was still bright and sunny during our few hours at Sabandar Cowboy Town in Tuaran. Just as we left Sabandar it poured heavily all the way through till we reached Hilton Hotel in Kota Kinabalu.
A few days before we arrived Kota Kinabalu we heard the news that starting 1 Aug 2020, those without a mask in public areas will be fined RM1000 per person. As usual, there were also unsolicited news that this will take effect a week earlier. We did not know how far this is true or if it was just a speculation. Since 18 March 2020, we have always put on masks when we go out to public places but did not put on for our kids as both are still below 5 years old . But we don’t have money to unnecessarily pay for fines. So starting 27 July 2020 in Kota Kinabalu city both our girls started putting on masks. I must say that I was impressed that both seemed to have no issues or discomfort with this.
The check in at Hilton Kota Kinabalu was smooth. The team at the reception were friendly and informative. Hilton at this point were giving out reasonable discounted rates, so we decided to pamper ourselves. The room was huge with comfy bed, nice soft pillows, fresh crisp linen!!!!! The hotel was also strategically located to nearby shops which was within walking distance. The pool was huge and there were not so many people that most of the time when we decided to go for a swim, it was not a problem. They do put a limit on the number of people that could be using the pool at a time, but I forgot the exact numbers.
Our time in Kota Kinabalu were spent at the pool (mostly Simon and the two girls), shopping malls (mostly me), trying out the food that we were unable to get in Lahad Datu and a good catch up with our dear friends Sue and Auther from Trekfinder.
Sunglasses shopping at Imago Shopping Mall Kota Kinabalu.
All those walking in the mall can be more tiring than jungle trekking! :-)
Breakfast at Hilton Kota Kinabalu – cereals for them.
Breakfast at Hilton Kota Kinabalu – delicious prawn noodles for me.
Breakfast at Hilton Kota Kinabalu – delicious nasi lemak for Simon.
Reunion with Auther, Sue and their beautiful daughter Shamiera. Auther and his partner in crime - Wilson both from Trek Finder Tours have been instrumental at helping Simon and myself when we first landed in Kota Kinabalu in 2011 to start up Bike and Tours in Lahad Datu. We are forever grateful to them for their never-ending patience and support when we asked for advice and guidance on the tourism business in Sabah.
Each time in Kota Kinabalu, I must visit the Times Bookstore at Suria Mall. These two recipe books were my choice this time.
Crown and long flowy dresses - Feeling like princesses in the city of Kota Kinabalu!