I've always known that long car rides have always been my thing--the whole looking-out-the-window-while-listening-to-music kind of thing. So, today was very enjoyable for me, even on the bumpy roads. :D
Woke up early again and followed my mom to the morning market near my house to get some cakes, char siew paus and dumplings for my friends for breakfast. I think playing host throughout the week has really gotten me more involved in my own kitchen and microwave--haha. Something I take for granted with my mom and kakak around but I don't think I did half bad working the microwave, serving the food and drinks, washing the plates and containers after, etc. If it weren't for them coming over, I wouldn't have felt as independent as I did. Especially since I didn't have the chance to do much around my own house for the past three years and especially so, since I'm leaving this coming month. Makes me appreciate everything around the house even more. I think there were some firsts i.e. the most people in my house (especially the kitchen and dining area) than ever in my 19 years of living in the house. I guess that's one of the things with a small family, you always know where everyone is every time of the day and it threw me off a bit when my friends came over coz someone was always doing something else. I think my mom and dad realised the change as well. Everyone was all over the place but of course, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, in fact, I like the life my friends injected into my household. It was just a different vibe which I enjoyed for a change.
I didn't drive but having my KL friends around also made me more aware of the roads around KK and Sabah. Got my sense of direction working as we looked for the places we had to go as well as the shortest routes to places. Made me appreciate how conveniently close all the places were in Sabah and relatively less traffic it had as opposed to bigger cities like KL.
First stop was the Maranjak Rungus Longhouse which we later found out was actually a lodge in which tourists could actually stay! Hm, perhaps it would be an interesting experience. Next time. Maybe.
Also met a nice Rungus lady who had been selling her handmade scarves, keychains, boxes and jewellery for 10 years. I realised I enjoyed the very human and historical aspect of the people in the longhouse too. I asked her whether her children were doing the same thing and she said yes, she also told us that it took her around one to two days to finish one whole necklace. And me being the sucker for people like this, I bought a scarf from her thinking it would also be nice to hang up some stuff from home in my US dorm.
Several winding roads later, we reached the epic Tip of Borneo at Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, Kudat and unloaded the basket loads of food we brought and gobbled them down before heading to the actual tip!
The view was gorgeous, the sea was authentically bluish green and it was the strongest wind I've ever experienced. So strong that if you looked at the trees, they were all tilted to one side, like a slanted world. Hmm. Not far off from how my world is, by any chance.
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I'm telling you I felt like I could have flown away. That was how strong it was. And I'm talking nonstop wind. |
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Yes, we were literally holding hands to keep ourselves, for lack of a better word, grounded. |
Then, we stopped by the beach to get a glimpse of the blue ocean and fooled around a bit more.
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Found an old boat to sit on as I recharged with some quiet time away from humans. Discovered that I needed it more than I thought I did. |
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This shot looks epic. Haha. T'was unintentional, I promise.
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Um, yea. This probably was intentional. Though, didn't get to straighten my legs coz the wind was always threatening to blow me off the tree trunk.
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We were a bit groggy from dozing off on the van but were okay after getting down at Kampung Sumangkap, a community of gong makers. We met this cool guy who memorised the sound of all the keys so that he could replicate a particular key every time he made a gong so that it would have the desired note--MIND BLOWN. Maybe that's why Sabahans are generally more musically inclined.
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Some say largest gong created |
Ended the night with some Tuaran mee which everyone outrightly enjoyed and Bak Kut Teh which Tiara got addicted to its free refills.
And we practically ran to the fountain at Perdana Park to catch the last musical fountain show and stayed until they annonced that they were closing the park.
I wasn't very sure about everyone else but I was pretty wiped out at the end of everything. The long hot shower was doubly amazing as I reminisced on the interesting conversations we had on the van ride home about our future, psychology, physiotherapy, appendicitis and pain among other things. Hah.
Coz my friends are awesome like that. (: