Exploration Borneo Tours

By Roger Rajah
Copyright (c) 2006

The introduction was informal "Hi, I'm Roger" "and I'm Charlene, nice to meet you", "same here", I replied. That was the first time I met her, she was with her friends on her way to do her open water dive training. We ended up talking for a good while. "So what are you planning to do?" I asked out of curiosity. "Well we're thinking of going to Sipadan Island from here and then when we get come back to Kota Kinabalu, we will have a few days to spent". "Yes" Mike nodded, "but we are having problem with Charlene’s air ticket as we are supposed to fly to Kuala Lumpur but we can't go on the same flight which is what we have wanted" he continued. "Give me the flight reference and I'll see what I can do" I said. "Enjoy yourself in Sipadan and your tickets should be sorted out by the time you get back". "Great, sounds good to me" they both replied almost simultaneously. "Give me a call when you get back from your scuba diving trip" I said as we went on our separate ways. The next day I resolved the ticket problem, thanks to the excellent service Malaysian Airlines provided.

That conversation, however, left me thinking; Sipadan Island is, without a doubt, THE diving site at the moment. Dub the world best wall diving and big fish diving location in the world, it is no wonder that it became a pilgrimage site for scuba divers from all over the world. I cast that thought aside and kept myself busy with work the next few days. Out of the blue, several days later, I got a phone call from Charlene, "Hi Roger, fancy going out for a drink with us". "Why not, then I can tell you about your flight" I replied. We met and decided that the best location to drink is Coffee Bean and TeaLeaf, in Wisma Merdeka Complex. She filled me in on the diving at Sipadan and as usual they were truly impressed and amaze at the diversity of marine life and the beauty of Sipadan Island. Later we went to Malaysian Airline office and got her ticket sorted out. I could see a big relief in Charlene’s face.

"So, what have you guys planned the next few days" I asked. "Nothing at all, unless you can suggest something exciting" was her reply. "Well, I was thinking of going to the Kota Belud Sunday Market or locally called ‘Tamu’. You'll get a chance to see the local indigenous community meeting and selling their produce such as vegetables, fruits, sea products and handicrafts together with other stuffs that you get from mobile traders. We might even get to see the famous - Cowboys of the East - the Bajau Horsemen" I continued. "Later on, I suggest, we can visit a local sword or ‘Parang’ maker”. "Cool", Charlene replied. "Let me see if I can convince the others to join us". The next day, Sunday, was the regular day for the Kota Belud Tamu. We decided to meet up for breakfast and choose BB Café/Sugar Bun Restaurant as our meeting point. BB Café is currently the most popular eating place; serving local to fast food and it’s a natural place to unwind after a hectic day at work or play. This morning though, it is just a meeting place for us. I then took them to my favourite local coffee shop for my regular ‘Laksa Curry Noodles’. "What noodles in the morning", the rest of them seemed astonished. "It’s common in Malaysia to have noodles for breakfast", I was trying to defend our culture. "Anyway, I'll order one and all of you can have a go and if you like it then you can order for yourself", I challenged them. "Great", came the answer. The noodles came and almost everyone, except for Charlene, decided to order the noodles, one up for Malaysian food.

By 8am, we were finished and were already in a mini bus. There were the six of us together with five local Sabahans. We chatted aimlessly along the way while the locals whom I assumed were very used to the journey, decided to doze off. We arrived at Kota Belud over an hour later and walked the half-mile to the Tamu ground. The town of Kota Belud is home to the West Coast Bajau community, the second largest indigenous community in Sabah. Once fearsome seafarers living in boat houses out in the open sea, this Bajau tribe came to settle closer to shore over two hundred years ago and built houses on stilts above the water, now commonly called the Water Village. These houses symbolise these people ways of life as fishermen, living in boats, that have been in their blood for generations.

Today though, some of the Bajaus have since abandoned their ancestors’ tradition and settled further inland. They became expert farmers, especially in cattle or buffaloes rearing. When ponies and horses were first introduced to Sabah, these land Bajaus looked after them and they found out that these animals make it easier for them to round up their cattle and buffaloes. This gave birth to what is today famously called - the Cowboys of the East. The irony is over 200 years ago they were riding the waves of the high seas and today they are riding horses.

The walk to the tamu was to me a torture as the sun was at its peak and humidity was almost at 90% but that did not bother my friends. I knew why I call England home. From where we were walking, we could see Mount Kinabalu lying majestically in front of us. Walking further down a small hill, the number of cars, pick-up trucks and vans became like a convoy and I told them that we were approaching the tamu. I was quite amazed myself to see how the tamu had grown larger since I was last here. The buffalo and cattle auctioning were non-existence though the site still bore the sign of years of auctioning and bargaining. I told them that the auction of buffalo was synonymous with our wedding tradition; the buffalo was part of a bride’s price that the groom had to pay to her family before he could marry the woman of his dream. The tamu was at its peak now. Throng of people flocked around a medicine man claiming to have miracle herbs and roots from the jungle that could cure all kind of ailments. Several elderly men could be seen sitting by the tobacco seller, while the women chewed contentedly on their betel nut ignoring the clicking of cameras that these foreigners seem to be endlessly taking. The food cover made from screw pine and dyed in a multitude of colours attracted me and I explained how it was made. Mike nudged me and pointed to a lady carrying a large local basket on her back, which was made from rattan and bamboo. "That's the traditional basket, we have replica of them sold as handicraft, as you can see, it is carried on the back like a rucksack. As Sabah is a mountainous state, the locals need to have their hands free to hold on to the hillsides as they make their way down to markets like this one", I explained. Click, click went the cameras, this time from several Japanese visitors who heard what I was saying. "Arigato, Thank you, Terima Kasih" one said. "Interesting way of saying one word in three languages" Charlene remarked. "Not at all surprising" I said. "Sabah's indigenous communities speak nearly 55 languages and over 1 hundred dialects, and on top of that we have also identified over 130 traditional dances being performed throughout Sabah", I explained to Charlene as she looked in amazement.

After spending about an hour at the tamu, I asked them if they would like to visit the Bajau Horsemen. All of them wanted to go. "I have to warn you first that they charge RM10.00 per person as part of the government’s programme to give them a supplementary income especially from tourists", and before I finished someone interrupted me, "No problem, it is less than 2.00 pound". So that settled it and we walked through a village at the edge of the tamu. Less than ten minutes later, we arrived at a secluded area where we could find the Bajau Horsemen. The headman greeted us and after the formality of shaking everybody hands, Mike asked, "Why do they take their hands to their chest after shaking our hands". "It is our custom" I replied before continuing, "they are actually touching their hearts, meaning we accept your friendship and welcome you here from the bottom of our hearts". "That’s such a nice gesture" said Charlene. The horsemen started their demonstrations by showing us their skills in horsemanship and then they invited us to have a go at riding. No guesses on who volunteered first, the lovely Charlene followed by Mike. Later I found out that the Japanese group was in the headman's house eating pot noodles in the traditional way, sitting on the floor. "Hey! Isn't that how they do it in Japan?" I kept my thoughts to myself.

No one in my group fancied pot noodle so we said goodbye to the horsemen. I took them behind all the houses to the riverbank. From here the view of mount Kinabalu is considered to be the best. However, that day, as usual Kinabalu was hidden behind a veil of cloud. We walked to a nearby house where sword making was performed and once again I explained that it was also part of a government’s programme to supplement the income of these people. The whole process of making a 12-inch sword together with its handcrafted wooden sheath takes about one day. The sword maker then showed us several ready-made swords and was told that we could purchase them with prices ranging from RM25 to about RM150, depending on the size and how elaborate the design carved into the sheath was. Sadly, none of them were able to buy any sword, as they would not be allowed to bring them back to England. The sword maker then informed me that his niece would be getting married later on that day and of course, in a traditional Bajau wedding. He asked if I would like to take my friends to see the wedding. Charlene and the rest seemed very reluctant as to them it seemed like gate crashing to a complete stranger’s wedding reception. I had to convince them though that it would be a wonderful honour to the newly wed if foreigners visited them during their wedding ceremony. The groom and his bride would be the talk of the village for having guests from England gracing their wedding.

My friends finally relented. As we walked among the wedding guests, I started to feel uneasy. We felt that we were intruding and interfering but the welcoming we received was absolutely fantastic. We were treated like some VIPs and we were straight away invited for lunch. We stayed downstairs but I told my female friends to go up and meet the bride getting ready. After much persuasion, they finally agreed and spent a good while upstairs. Later we were told that they were admiring the whole wedding set-up and even got invited to the bride's room as they were shown how the bride’s make-up were put on. We finally managed to leave the wedding reception after being stopped and told more about the traditions and ceremonies related to the wedding. As we walked back, Mike asked "Roger, was this all planned?" "No, why?" "Well back in England or wherever, I never thought you could just walk in uninvited to someone else’s party and especially a wedding reception". "Well, this was not planned at all and since the sword maker said it was his niece’s wedding and invited us, I thought why not. To me it is the best way of showing my culture to all of you", I explained.

We walked back to Kota Belud town and boarded another mini bus back to Kota Kinabalu. It was another adventure journey back as we had a local man who had been drinking the whole morning, trying to befriend Mike. It was a sight to see, well at least the guy was friendly. We reached Kota Kinabalu by 3pm and after bidding goodbye to the rest who would be flying home later that day. I was left with Mike and Charlene.

Charlene and I decided to meet the next day but that trip would be another story.

About The Author
Roger Rajah is co-owner of Exploration Borneo Tours. Visit his site www.explorationborneo.com for more information on Borneo, The Exotic Island Paradise. Check out all the travel tours and packages to Borneo.

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