SEJAHTERA MENGKABONG

Lost Borneo for travellers who want to explore beyond the usual tourist attractions
Filed under: *Lost Borneo tours, Adventure, Kota Kinabalu by losttraveller — Leave a comment June 30, 2008

Ratings: **** A unique half-day tour that is relaxing and fun with a bit of nature and culture thrown in.
Lost Ratings: ***** Definitely no big tour groups here.

Sabah is well-known for its white water rafting spots in Padas River and Kiulu River, but a less intimidating form of canoeing can be found at the mouth of the beautiful Mengkabong River. With the backdrop of Mount Kinabalu and the silhouette of houses on stilts above the calm waters, Mengkabong River is the perfect place for a relaxing kayak trip only 45 minutes away from the capital city of Kota Kinabalu. Take a stroll through the water village using the wooden walkways and get to know the friendly inhabitants better. Then get into your kayak and slowly make your way towards the nearby mangrove forest for a rendezvous with nature. You can either participate in the dawn kayak or the night kayak tour. Both tours offer different perspectives of the Mengkabong River. A kayak trip at dawn offers the chance to see the sun rise up from behind Mount Kinabalu and enjoy the fresh morning air. The night kayak tour starts in the evening and ends with the twinkling of fireflies on the mangrove trees in the stillness of the night.

The following is an account of our writer’s trip on the dawn kayak tour.

Sane people do not wake up at 4.30 in the morning to go kayaking. No matter what they tell you about the sun rising earlier in the east, it is still dark at 4.30 a.m. in Sabah. Then again, the purpose of going kayaking so early in the morning is to catch the magnificent sunrise from Mengkabong river, about 45 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu. I have seen pictures of the sunrise before. Postcards of this sunrise are sold all over town. With the sun rising from behind Mount Kinabalu, the shadows and colours cast on the river is amazing. Now I want to get that picture myself. And if that means waking up at 4.30 a.m., then so be it. Apparently, I was not the only one who’s not sane. Together with me were 3 Japanese – the kayak instructor Sakamoto, another Japanese guy called Daisuke and pretty Kuni. The good thing about a tour like this is you never have to worry about crowds. Unlike in West Malaysia, where daytime starts at 7am, in East Malaysia, it starts to get bright at around 6 a.m. So we would have to depart from Kota Kinabalu before 5 a.m. if we were to get there in time to see the sun rise.

Mengkabong is not just the name of a river, it is also the name of a huge Bajau water village situated on the banks of the river. Our departure point was a house belonging to one of the villagers, an elderly Bajau fisherman whom my kayak instructor calls Pakcik Sai. I felt awkward barging into people’s home so early in the morning, but Sakamoto said it was ok even though he didn’t make any prior arrangements. In fact, there was no proper door, but just a curtain covering the entrance and Sakamoto walked right in like it was his own home. Surprisingly, Pakcik Sai was already awake and he welcomed us warmly. The sun had not risen yet, but some people in Kampung Mengkabong were already up and about. The majority of the villagers of Mengkabong were fishermen and they go out to sea early. According to Pakcik Sai, it used to be even earlier. In the old days before there was public transportation, the fishermen had to walk to the nearby town of Tuaran to sell their catch at the market, so they used to go out to sea at 4 a.m.

Luck was not on our side that day. It was low tide and we couldn’t depart until the water came in. This usually happens about 3 days every month. Not one to let an early morning go to waste, Daisuke and I took a walk around the village. The Bajaus are friendly people. Despite encountering 2 strangers walking around their village at dawn, everyone smiled and greeted us. This could be due to the fact that the Mengkabong River is part of the popular Mangrove Cruise tour in Sabah and quite a lot of foreigners pass by this village by boat. But I don’t think anybody ever comes this early, and not many actually stop at the village. Passing by the village by boat and actually walking inside the village is a different experience all together. Until you are inside, you do not realize how big the village is. We actually got lost. Pakcik Sai said that there are about 3000 people living here. The stilt houses are built above the river and are connected by wooden planks, some only as wide as the soles of my feet put together. But the people here are used to it and the children run along it like professional tightrope-walkers. Meanwhile, I have to watch each step I take in case I fall into the water, or at the time of my visit, mud.

The moment that I’d been waiting for finally came. The silhouette of Mount Kinabalu started getting brighter as the sky behind it turned bright orange. Together with the reflections and shadows of the stilt houses on the water beneath the houses, it made a perfect picture. When we returned to Pakcik Sai’s house, we found Sakamoto sleeping inside. This guy feels totally at home here. He must be the only Japanese Bajau in Sabah. Makcik Sai cooked breakfast for us and we drank thick black coffee and listened to stories by Pakcik while waiting for the tide to come in. With his strong Bajau-Malay accent, I only understood about half of what he said. The Bajaus are the second largest indigenous group in Sabah and are believed to have come from Southern Philippines hundreds of years ago. Like most coastal communities in this region, the Bajaus are Muslims and some still stick to their traditional way of life as fishermen.

Finally, the water came in and we were able to push our kayaks into the river. There are single-seater and two-seater kayaks, and even a family version for those with children. Daisuke and I both got into a single-seater while Kuni shared a kayak with Sakamoto. River kayaking at Mengkabong is simple. Anybody can do it. There are no rapids so it is not like white-water rafting, and there are no waves so it is safer than kayaking at sea. That was a relief to know because I feel as comfortable on water as a fish does on land. Just in case you are wondering, there are no crocodiles and sharks either. Then, there is paddling. Simple instructions are given by our instructor before we got on board. Basically, you hold a paddle in each hand and row. It is almost impossible for you to fall into the river, unless you do it on purpose. And life jackets are provided. Those of you who are lazy might ask, “Why not just take a boat cruise, instead of using my (tiny) arm muscles?” Well, let me put it this way. It’s like a sports event. A boat ride means you’re just watching the game. Kayaking, you’re in the game. So even though your arm muscles might feel sore at the end of the day, there is nothing more exhilarating. More importantly, being in a kayak, we can squeeze into narrow passages in the mangrove jungle that big boats are not able to. Besides, the noise from the engine of a boat takes away some of the thrills of being with nature.

From the water village, we paddled past an island that is the burial ground of the Bajau people. Tied to branches of trees jutting out of the rock were cloths of yellow, red and white. These were gifts to the spirits whenever a wish was granted. We also went past a wooden platform where fish and oysters were being reared.

Finally, we reached the mangrove forest. It was exciting to be this close to the mangrove forest and looking up at the trees from below. The trees provided a cool shade from the sun that was now beginning to make its presence felt. We took a break here before making our way back to the village.

On reaching home, I took a shower and went to bed to make up for waking up so early in the morning. I was tired, but in a nice kind of way.

Tours:
Website in Japanese: http://kayakdeborneo.sakura.ne.jp/
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