Introduction
It was quite a thrill navigating our way to the North Borneo Biostation and funny one at that; how we managed to get to a place that no one has heard of, not even my friends from Kudat. Waze was acting up while taking us there and even gave up on us at one point rendering our journey to a brief halt when there on the horizon, we saw a fateful abang riding on his motorcycle slowly making his way to our aid and pointed his mighty finger towards our destination. We briefly exchanged niceties and went on our way.
Upon arrival at the resort, we were quite puzzled as the reception was nowhere to be found but we thought we’d just wander around for a bit. Yvonne then caught a glimpse of the tiny reception garden signpost swaying to the wind fixated right outside a chalet we first thought was part of the guests’ chalet, she then darted straight into the little cosy office to have us checked in. Fortunately, we got the first chalet adjacent to the reception office and we had a view straight towards the sea.
I won’t deny that when I first saw and entered the chalet all I could think about was “meh, we could’ve gone to a proper hotel or something” but there’s just something about our little chalet that kept us there. To our surprise, the resort really put the “bio” in their chalets; having only a reading chair and table, a queen-sized bed and a tv cabinet with no tv, heck, even the attached toilet and shower was out our door in an enclosure and was even open-air. That’s as close to nature as you can get.
Simpang Mengayau
After dropping of our belongings and freshened up a little, we raced against time and made our way to Simpang Mengayau, or better known as the Tip of Borneo. To my horror when we arrived and got out of the car, a lady was having heatstroke and breathing difficulties, I was sure I would be next.
My thought exactly source
After a few convincing and assurance from Yvonne later, we made our way to the top of the Tip.
Now, we are very curious people. When we saw crowds taking photos at the base of the cliff (from the Tip monument), we had to join in the fun.
It was no easy feat going down the steep cliff with close-to-nothing to hold onto, if one person slips and stumbles, everyone on the stairs will be gone just like that.
Every ounce of hassle was worth it from making our way down the cliff, it was a whole new experience to be inches away from where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea. Hence the name Simpang Mengayau, which means “lingering junctions” in the local language due to the confluence of the two seas. You can see people from all walks of life just taking in the beauty of our backyard, some are there fishing with friends, families, tourists and there was even a pre-wedding photoshoot going on there.
Being our first time at Kudat and staying in the middle of nowhere, we decided to leave after snapping a few photos of the sunset since the stretch of road from the Tip did not have any lampposts. It was quite a lengthy drive out in pitch black darkness, but we made it back to the resort just in time for dinner and retired for the night.
The very next day
I remember being dragged out of bed at 5:45 in the morning to catch the sunrise, I was still half asleep when we took the short walk from our chalet to the beach. Hearing the waves crashing ever so gently on the shore, the breeze brushing up against your face just as dawn breaks; serenity and tranquility at its best.
We headed out to the morning market to pick up some Kudat fried peanuts, rice crackers and their infamous dried salted fish. They’re all local specialties, so make sure to try them when you visit Kudat. On the other hand, stalls selling clothes, vegetables, meats and the likes were among what you would often see at a morning market. We didn’t have much time so our stop at the market was brief after which we met up with auntie Cecilia, a friend of Yvonne’s from Kudat, for lunch and they caught up a bit.
Before making our way back and ending our trip, we made a short pit stop at St. Peter’s Catholic church to visit the Door of Mercy; it was my second time there with the first when I was still attending secondary school. I was there with my family to attend an ordination of a priest followed by a sumptuous dinner fellowship, that’s how I got to know about that church and why my impression of Kudat has always been about food.
Kampung Sumangkap
Our next destination was to visit Kampung Sumangkap, a village famous for its gong-making industry and expertise. Although I’m not that into gongs, I was still very intrigued by the amount of work and skills dedicated into making and tuning these musical instruments; hammering every inch by hand.
You can find a variety of sizes from tiny ones that are great for souvenirs, all the way to a full decorative and functional set that you could pick up from any one of the artisans. There’s even a 20ft monstrous gong right in the middle of the village, weighing 980kg and took 4 master craftsmen 5 weeks to finish.
Gombizau Honey Bee Farm
Our last destination was the Gombizau Honey Bee Farm located 2km away from Kampung Sumangkap. I’ve always wanted to keep bees as a hobby, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to see up close what it’s like to be a beekeeper. There are easily over a hundred bee houses in the farm, it was founded to produce honey for the consumption of the locals as well as bottled up and sold to visitors wanting to try raw honey. We even got to try raw honey with the bees wax still intact, it was sweet and simply delicious.
That sums up our short getaway to Kudat, the northernmost district in Sabah; we didn’t manage to take some of the photos but trust me when I say that Kudat is a place worth visiting with all the food, cultures and natural wonders it has to offer. Would you plan your next road trip there?