On March 15th we were in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia’s Sabah state in the northern part of the island of Borneo. Sabah is known as ‘Land Beneath the Wind’ as its location at 6ᵒ north of the equator is just below the tropical typhoon belt! This means it largely misses the devastating effects of typhoons that frequently hit the neighboring Philippines. Often referred to as KK, Kota Kinabalu is a bustling coastal city partly surrounded by rainforest. It used to be known as Jesselton while under British colonial rule – which ran from the late 1800s until 1963. Sadly, most of the original town was destroyed due to bombings during World War II and today there are not many pre-war historical sites left around the city.
For our excursion in KK, we first visited the 30-story Tun Mustapha high rise. The tour guide offered to take our photo and had us do one of the silly photos where it looks like we’re holding the building. I thought it was funny because we basically just do as we’re told. John’s face says it all – haha.
Next on our stop was to the Mari Mari Cultural Village, which featured replicas of traditional homes made with natural materials.
Five different ethnic tribes were represented here in a natural environment depicting their traditions and histories. As the official website for the cultural village states, “From the skilled farmers and traders of Dusun and Rungus to the resourceful hunters and fishermen of Lundayeh, the adventurous cowboys and sea gypsies of Bajau, and the legendary warrior tribe of Murut, each group contributes to the vibrant cultural tapestry of Sabah. Immerse yourself in the timeless essence of these traditions, connecting with the past and present, and witness the remarkable blending of history and contemporary life.” And immerse ourselves into the culture we did! We heard stories of how the tribes’ ancestors lived, learned about their spiritual beliefs, and saw many demonstrations. We were also treated to an entertaining cultural performance before sitting down to a buffet lunch.
Some of the highlights of the cultural village for us included a good amount of information about the Borneo ‘headhunters’ and a glimpse at pots in which one of the tribes would keep human bodies in.
We also liked that we saw several cooking demonstrations, including how they make a couple different types of rice wine, how they got some special sweet/sour honey, and how they made several tasty treats including linapak (chicken and chili cooked in bamboo), kuih jala (a treat made with runny batter drizzled into a hot pan to create a net-like treat), and penjaram (a Malaysian “UFO” pancake). We also had some really tasty kalamansi juice (a lemon/lime citrus juice).
We also saw a great fire-making demonstration in which the guy was able to create a fire in less than 60 seconds using only tools that ancient tribes would have used.
The buildings themselves were also interesting to see. There were elements that were similar across the tribes (like being made of bamboo) but then there were unique elements such as one long house being similar to an apartment complex in that multiple families each lived in a separate room versus individual huts with separate families.
We also saw a demonstration of an all-natural trampoline that one tribe’s members would bounce on and try to grab things from the ceiling for prizes (such as a feather that they could exchange for a chicken).
We were even able to try the trampoline out ourselves! It was actually quite fun and had a unique bounce to it.
We each got a henna tattoo during the henna demonstration. I really liked mine.
And finally, here’s a photo of us in a traditional wedding scene.
After the cultural village we stopped briefly at a Filipino market and then a final photo stop at the city mosque.
The highlight of the day was the cultural village. It had the risk of being cheesy in its set-up, but instead was actually quite a fun experience. The demonstrations throughout meant that we learned a lot without ever feeling bored or like we took too long just standing around. The treats were all tasty and the fact that we could participate in some activities (like the trampoline and the henna tattoo) were a nice benefit. Overall, we’d definitely recommend others to go to the Mari Mari cultural village if you’re ever in the KK area.