Journeys of Self-Discovery …

NOTE: Click any image for a bigger picture.

Day 3, and as we drive along Likas Bay, the weather shows no sign of letting up.

The seafront has been done quite nicely, and there are places where you can comfortably enjoy your tea while admiring the scenic bay.

Picnic spots litter the place, while the gleaming rocket-like Tun Mustapha Tower, named after Sabah’s most colourful ruler (1967-75), stands guard.

Completed in 1977, this 30-storey cylinder is originally known as the Sabah Foundation Building. There’s a truly pricey revolving eatery on the 18th floor, so we’ll pass, thanks.

Ain’t that the nozzle of a rocket engine?

Not far from the modern tower, a water village stands. Looks charming from afar …

… but come closer, and you see decrepit houses above open sewer.

Yes, the water does stink. I wonder how those folks live.

The water in this lagoon is virtually stagnant. There is opening to the sea but I think it’s not wide enough, and the tide is also not strong enough to flush the stale, pungent, rubbish-strewn water.

And all this mess is sandwiched between the futuristic Tun Mustapha Tower and the beautiful City Mosque described in the previous instalment. What a pity.

After a hearty lunch at a friend’s house in Bundusan, Penampang, we pay the State Museum a visit.

Unfortuntely no photography is allowed inside the museum proper, which is a big pity, since it houses an impressive display of the state’s rich culture and history. Would have made great publicity if I’m able to put photos here.

So, just outside pics I have. Here, a traditional Bajau boat called lipau sapit, used for trading on the east coast.

Next to the car park, there is a row of old vehicles on show, and suddenly my 72-year-old dad gets excited about this one.

I’m clueless till he tells me that it’s the same bus which used to ply our Kelantan roads in the 1930s and 40s.

He says when he was a small kid in a remote village, he thought he could out-race this bus on the road.

Simple instrumentation for the driver.

With a wooden body and wooden windows pushed open, passengers would sit at the sides and on a plank in the middle, with more hanging at the back, together with the conductor. Or so my dad tells me. I suspect this bus couldn’t go very fast.

Across the museum’s car-park, there is an area where traditional dwellings are reconstructed. Looks very educational, so we pop in.

Several long-houses of the peoples of Sabah are faithfully reconstructed.

The tilting side of one of the long-houses.

We decide to try out the Murut long-house.

Aina gingerly climbs up the stairs.

Feels spacious and airy, raised platform on one side, and individual rooms on the other.

Inside one of the rooms, meant for one family. Sleeping platform and kitchen corner.

A backgounder on the place. Please click image for a better read.

Then I notice a depressed portion of the floor. I warily step on to it …

… and yes, it’s a trampoline, or a lansaran to be more accurate! So we have a bit of wholesome Murutic traditional fun before departing. A visitor to KK must visit this museum. Thoroughly recommended.

A couple of hours to kill before our flight back to KL, so we take a look at Sutera Harbour, with Tg Aru in the background. Reclaimed land, this.

So late in the day and kids are still having a bit of fun.

At last, we get to Terminal 2 of KK International. Built at breakneck speed to catch the start of Visit Malaysia Year 2007.

It looks pretty impressive.

But it does not look like an LCC terminal, though it’s serving AirAsia.

Good ambience.

A long row of check-in counters.

More seats would be most welcomed.

We wait for our on-time departure with AK5115 (reg. 9M-AFC, the ManUtd Airbus A320), while this family decide to have a round of Scrabble or two.

We land at KUL 15min ahead of schedule, and are soon home by 11.30pm. It has been another memorable trip to Sabah, made more so by the Ranau-Tambunan drive! And yes, the state deserves better roads.

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