exploring KUDAT, sabah.

hi peeps.

so,last month o the 15th and 16th march i went to Kudat with my workmate and i must say Kudat is a good place to visit to.

at first when my friend mention about visiting Kudat i am not so thrilled.

maybe because i only know simpang mengayau and pantai bak bak in kudat.

last time i went to kudat when i was 15.

i join my church's pathfinder camp.

it was a great camp and we did visit the bak-bak beach and also the simpang mengayau but i don't really remember how it used to look like. 

maybe i am too busy finding new friend from other church! haha

and i am so glad i joined my friends exploring Kudat last month!

just wait until you see the picture!


DAY 1.
i was working morning duty that day so we started the journey to kudat at 1.30pm.
yes, i took my bath and change my clothes in my ward. heee
Kota Kinabalu to Kudat took roughly 3 hours driving non-stop but if you know how to drift (not recomended) you'll arrived there in 2 and half hour at least.

Simpang Mengayau-the tip of borneo

our first destination is Simpang Mengayau.
we arrived here around 4 pm (our driver know how to drift!) which is very very good timing to watch the view!
and if you wait a little longer, you'll see the sunset from the tip of borneo!!
here's our minta puji photo!

handphone and power bank! kekeke

jalan-jalan cari makan. hehe

if you want to be more comfortable going down and up the cliff, you might want to wear something like jeans or short pant because i saw one of the korean traveler won't go down the rock cliff because she's wearing maxi dress.
of course you can just see the tip of borneo from the above but if you want to explore more then you need to go down the cliff and climbing it when you are done!
but if you are the 'i don't care' type of girl just like me, wearing maxi dress won't be a problem to go down the rock cliff at all!

beauty! i took this picture :P

and NO. when i said going down the cliff, it's the real cliff not this stair.

we love watching the sea scenery while waiting for the sunset!
i took this too! *bangga! HEHE

My ex-housemate. 

cantik kannnnn!

saya pun mau gambar-gambar juga! hehe

welcoming the sun set with my treepose! ha ha

i love this photo of stacy. no, it's not me who took it. it's our dearest photographer koko koay!

another tree pose from me! can you see the stair-look rock cliff back there? yes, that's the rock that you will have to climb! and oh ya, don't forget to put on a sunblock ya. the sun's killing even at 5 pm!

not only climbing the cliff with my maxi dress but also jumping around on the big rock there. i sure get a lot of attention from others visitor! hehe

say hi to my new friend. bavaria. she come down a little bit late because she scared of the sun.
well, the sun does burn your skin kan. hehe

awww..the rock cliff. no, you don't have to climb this cliff. not this one. don't worry.

panting after climbing the cliff. 

we only have the chances to take photo of this rock statue after all the visitors pulang.
kalau tidak susah owh. mau berbaris-baris, maybe coming here on weekend was not really a good idea. hehe

cantik kan. jalan dari car park to the cliff.

Kalampunai Beach

Kalampunai Beach located just beside the simpang mengayau. 

if you went to Simpang Mengayau  you'll definitely see this beautiful beach.

the sea was as clear as chrystal!

it's a must go see beach!

we arrived there pretty late around 6 pm. 

we decided to watch the sunset here. 

it's sunset!

playing with the sea. sangat sangat jernih!

i ask stacy to run on the virgin sand and i snap the footprint!.
oh i like it!

jumping sunset. she finally jump!

The Upper Deck Hotel.

we arrived kudat at night around 7.15 pm and we choose to fill our hungry stomach at the Kudat Esplanade.

sorry we didn't take any photo there since our photographer are too busy eating.

explanade kudat. we didnt at this restaurant instead we choose another chinese restaurant just beside this restaurant.
picture source: google

after eating we went to checked in our hotel.
we choose the Upper Deck Hotel just beside the Milimewa Kudat.
the price per night is rm105 per night for the double bed room.

this is the view early in the morning from our hotel's room.

SECOND DAY.

Pantai Bak-Bak Kudat.

We wake up late on our second day so, we only started our journey at 12 am after eating.

actually it was only me and stacy who wake up late.

hehe

we decided to begin our journey to Pantai Bak-Bak Kudat.

and omgeee.

another beautiful beach. 

the blue sea and wind captured our heart!

spot the sea water.

gorgeous Bavaria! 

lepak-lepak makan angin.

as clear as crystal!

Bead Centre Kudat.

our next destination is to go shopping Beads. 

i am sorry don't really remember the way from kudat to this Bead center since i fell asleep during the trip.

*bergossip sama ann sampai pukul 4 am kan the night before! haha

beadssss.. i have to be honest, the bead's price here are much more expensive compared to KK's price.
i used to buy the same exact beads bracelet(different color saja) for rm4.50 in KK but then here they sold it for rm10!
mungkin sebab dorang buat sendiri kali. hehe

beli jangan tak beli.

keychain beads pun ada sold at rm3 ka or rm5. tidak ingat.

i am the queen of beads! kikikiki

Bavanggazo Longhouse

from the Beads Centre we continue our journey to Bavanggazo Longhouse.

it's not that far from the Beads Centra actually. 

about 15 minute drive.

i am a sabahan but this is actually my first time visiting a longhouse.

ya, BOOOoooo me. 

they also sell beads here but not as much beads as the beads centre. and some of the beads here are cheaper than the beads i buy in the Beads Centre.
the aunty in the blue shirt is the gaurdian of this place and she's very friendly!

i also just found out that they provide a home-stay in this longhouse!

rm50 per night including breakfast, lunch and supper!

if the customer is more than two person, they'll prepare rungus dancing show at night and also jungle trekking without extra payment!!!!

wow!

murah tak?

fun long house.

here's the room for those who interested to stay at this longhouse experiencing the Rungus lifestyle!

another room.

according to the aunty, most of their customer are foreigner or a group of student.

as we all know foreigner loves exploring the extreme lifestyle.

if you are planning to go, i think it's the best to go in a large group.

don't forget to contact me ya. 

i want to join if you don't mind! 

i want to experience the rungus lifestyle too!

now, just beside the Bavagganzo Longhouse, you can see another beads store.

they sell also beads and a Rungus traditional costumes.

this rungus tradiational alone can cost rm800!!
because they made it with their own bare hand!

they also sell souvenir and home decoration!

beli jangan tak beli lagi

try to imitate the grandma making the beads. wahaha.. 

oh ya. i almost forget, the fee to enter this longhouse is rm5/person ya. 

Kampung Sumangkap Gong Factory!

i know Gong since i was a little girl.

see, i am one of the true dusun kampung girls!

*proudly. hoho

i learn how to play it when i was 9 years old from the grannies in my village.

not a pro one but i think i know how each of the gong should be played.

*dengan confident-nya.

but Gong was played differently in different district.

they all sounded almost the same but if you used to play gong, you'll know that the sound is actually different in each district.

but this is my first time watching how the Gong was made.

this Gong Factory are not so far from the longhouse. also in Matunggong area.

excited to see the big gong in the entrance of the village.
oh ya, fees to enter this village also rm5 ya. hehe

say hi to the rooster. his family are the one welcoming us from the entrance.
thank you mr.rooster. 

gong gong gong. awww... 

hehe. no, i didn't learn how to play this Kulingtangan since it's not really famous in my village but if you just hit whichever gong with quick movement it will still sound like you know how to play it!
ha ha

this is how they make the Gong and Kulingtangan.

the resident of this village are just so friendly.
they even play a few song for us using the kulingtangan.

if you walk a little further to the village you'll see these big gongs.
since the weather are so hot we just watch it from afar.
no one want to go near the gong since it is made of iron. 

we are planning to go to the honey farm but since we are so tired so we cancelled it last minute.

i am sabahan but there are still so many ethnics, tradition and places i don't know in sabah.

what's more embarassing is, our tour guide for the trip is koko koay and he's from Penang (been living here for 7 years). T^T

for Sabahan out there, add Kudat in your 'must visit place before you die' list.

tidak rugi. 

p/s

i am planning to go to Semporna this month with other friends but i cancelled it due to the recent kidnapping case happened there.

i tried to think positive about the case but then i think it's the best to think about my own safety first. :)

maybe next time.

now other places in Sabah i hope i can visit this year is either the Danum Valley or Meliau Basin or maybe both. 

amen.

XOXO,

 l i l i e j o h n