Sabah: Road Tripping in Eastern Malaysia
After a quick morning cab ride to the airport, we boarded a flight to cross the South China Sea and arrive in Kota Kinabalu. Life in Eastern Malaysia moves in a different fashion at a different pace than life on the mainland. While it does feature active urban centers like KK, the sense of natural mystery and wonder that is endemic to the island of Borneo permeates every aspect of Eastern Malaysia.
…Also, it was way more humid.
Our initial plan to drive from Kota Kinabalu, up the west coast of Borneo to the tip of the northern state of Sabah. But after experiencing the lane-swerving madness of KL, and seeing the looks on locals’ faces when we told them about our plans for Sabah, we began to have second thoughts. Heck, we were still freaked out by the whole “driving on the left side” deal.
Thankfully, our stunning, intrepid and fearless friend Sarah came to our rescue, and agreed to meet us in KK to once again act as our guide (and chauffeur), this time in the exotic climes of Borneo. Sarah had never ventured over to the other side of Malaysia, so the trip promised to be as exciting for her as it was for us…with some unexpected results.
We rented a car and loaded up on road snacks. Ian and I had by now developed tastes for a couple of local chip brands, and were happy to find plenty of Krating Daeng, the original Thai inspiration for Red Bull. Guided by Sarah’s GPS, we headed north…
At mid-afternoon we arrived at our destination: the Rungus Longhouse. To back up a bit, for months we’d been planning on visiting the longhouse, one of the many traditional homes still maintained by indigenous Malays in Borneo.
Ian in particular had become attached to the idea of visiting the longhouse. Whenever the subject came up (or even when it didn’t), Ian took great delight in saying the name of the place. And it never was just “the longhouse”, it was always “the RUNGUS Longhouse”, with plenty of rolled R’s and extravagant pronunciation. By the time we arrived in Kota Kinabalu, I’d lost count of how many time Ian had asked taxi drivers, hotel concierges, waiters, and just about anyone else whose ear he could bend about the Rungus Longhouse. Like I said, I think he just enjoyed saying “Rungus”.
Set at the end of a winding country road amidst picturesque jungle, the longhouse was a…well, it was a long house set on stilts. We met up with Maranjak, the head (or “Rungus”) of the family who built the longhouse. He gave us a tour of his home, and graciously agreed to sit down to answer some questions about it and the traditions behind it.
Our video of our visit to the Rungus Longhouse.
Tags: malaysia, Malaysia.com, Rungus Longhouse, Sabah, Travel
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