The Upside-Down House! :)

Tamparuli, district of Tuaran, Sabah.

The first of it's kind in Southeast Asia and among the five upside-down structures in the world (3 are found in Europe and another in Japan). It has been listed in Malaysia Book of Records as the 1st Upside-Down House in Malaysia!

Guided tour is provided, and no photography allowed inside the house. Only a small group of visitors, 5-6 people are allowed to enter the house at a time. Lucky for me, I was the only visitor who arrived at that particular hour.
The house itself is hard to miss, having been flipped upside down, with its floor facing skyward. Everything inside the house, from furniture to household appliances, hover above your head, as the ceiling is actually the floor. It might seem disorienting in the first few seconds, but the fascination of it all takes over. 
Similar to Germany’s ‘The World Stands on its Head’ upside-down home, the Upside-Down House in Sabah is a childhood fantasy come to life.

In the garage, Kancil is parked upside-down.

Watch out, you might get dizzy for not getting used of its upside-down orientation! : )

New Zealand in Malaysia?

Desa Dairy Farm, Mesilau, Sabah.

It is 30 minutes drive from Mt.Kinabalu National Park and the largest farm in Sabah with an area of 199 hectares. The road into the dairy farmis not paved. The slow drive on the dirt road can be a tad frustrating but not for so long. I was greeted with a spectacular view of rolling green meadows that stretch as far as to the foothills of the majestic mountain. Every step I made or every angle I looked at, the view was constantly awe-inspiring. For a while, I though I was in New Zealand instead of Malaysia!

Completely took my breath away with its panoramic view of the ever-present Mount Kinabalu, cool climate and lush green landscapes.

View of Mt.Kinabalu


Apart from the magnificent scenery, visitors can also observed the milking process . Guided tour can be arranged before hand, otherwise visitors can only observed the milking process without any assistance. The farm is open daily from 8am to 5pm and the entrance fee is only RM3 per person. The best time to visit the farm is around 2.30pm as milking session starts at 3pm daily. There, you can see all the cows are lining up waiting for milking, without any guide needed as if they knew what to do. Cool! 

Each of the Friesian cattle could produce at least 14 litres of milk a day. The farm is now capable of producing one million litres of high quality fresh milk annually.

If you really want to experience the beautiful scenary of an unspoiled farmland, the Desa Dairy Farm is the exact place for you to be in. Do take your time to explore the vast green landscape of the farm to just simply absorb and let the sight overwhelm your sences. You don't even have to fly all the way to New Zealand to do so! : )

Kundasang a.k.a East Malaysia Cameron Highland

If you love Cameron Highland, then you will definately love Kundasang : )

Kundasang, located in district of Ranau,Sabah and only 4 km away from Mount Kinabalu Park.With an elevation of about 2,000 metres above sea level, it is one of the coolest places in Sabah with temperatures dropping to 13ºC at night, which unfortunate for me who only brought beach or summer attire during the whole trip.

First thing to do in Kundasang? Strawberries hunt!! :)
So my first stop: the local market.


I was a lil frustrated with the strawberries, not only unriped and sour but they are also hard to find in Kundasang. You have to reach the market early in the morning and by 11am they are sold out. Locals explanation for this, "Bukan musimnya". What??? My spontaneous respond was, "Strawberry pun ada musim ke? Kt Cameron banyak je smpai terjual.." Then I stopped. Owh shoot, how could they know, they never been in West Malaysia!

Blackberries! Love those!



You can't find many roses here as there are in Cameron.

Vegetables and Fruits. As u can see, all fruits are peeled, sliced and packed.

Ok, done with shopping and now it's time to get a taste of Sabah's finest Tea!
My second stop: Sabah Tea Plantation, now known as Sabah Tea Garden.
Sabah Tea Garden is the only organic tea farm in Borneo, which makes it the largest single commercial tea plantation in Borneo, with approximated area of 1,000 acres. It is also one of the very few tea plantations in the world certified to produce pesticide-free organic tea.

Sabah Tea Garden. It was officiated on February 19, 1984 by our then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

A regional brand that has transformed into a national brand, Sabah Tea is now country's third largest take-home tea brand after Lipton and Boh.

Green Tea Pancake and Sabah's Milk Tea @Sabah Tea House. Quite impressive I must say.

After the 2 visits, I have decided to call it a day as I was in sheer exhaustion, not getting enough rest since my journey from Sandakan. So I checked in Cottage Hotel and to my surprise it has the best view of Mount Kinabalu from the room's balcony. Luck was on my side that day :)


View of Mt. Kinabalu at 5.44pm, shrouded in mist.



View of Mt. Kinabalu at 6.27am. The clearest view is from sunrise to 9am.



Say tuned for my next post of Kundasang War Memorial which commemorate the brave Australian and British Prisoners of War who died during the infamous death marches from Sandakan to Ranau in World War II, and people of North Borneo who risked their lives to help them.

Negotiated Infidelity

Throughout my 80 days in Borneo, there was a thing kept on bothering me, which I can't even bare to accept: negotiated infidelity. Not all of them involved in this but most men or women that I encountered with during my 80 days journey in Borneo practising it. Despite being married and making a commitment to one another, they are allowed to have sex with strangers. This is way beyond crazy for me to accept.
For months, I've been looking for a word to describe this kind of behaviour until Taboo was aired on National Geographic Channel. Yes, TABOO is the perfect word!
A taboo is a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behaviour is either too scared or too accursed for ordinary individuals to undertake which make it sacred or forbidden based on moral judgement and religious beliefs.

I am sure that everyone is vulnerable when your partner is meeting other people. Jealousy starts coming in, trust has been broken, your heart fills with frustration and then a fight...finally it may lead to separation or divorce. But this is not exactly how it happens there. They seem to be okay with it as long as basic responsibilities are been carry out such as providing money and food at home, taking care of children etc.

Weird? Spooky? Well, you judge it! : )