Sabah | Bavanggazo Rungus Longhouse

I am gonna tell you an interesting fact that I just learnt on Rungus Longhouse. I was so intrigued when I heard this.

Momogun Rungus is an ethnic group in Sabah (more in the northern part of Sabah) especially in Kudat. They are the sub-group of the Kadazan-Dusun, and have a distinctive language, dress, architecture, customs and oral literature. They are known for holding strongly to their culture and custom, and are thought to be the most traditional ethnic groups in Sabah. It comes as no surprise that many Rungus older generation folks still living in longhouses.

Rungus is famous for the beadwork known as Pinakol; a shoulder bands that is worn diagonally over each shoulder, crossing the chest and back like a sash. It usual contains 5 motifs/design/pattern ie Tiningulun representing a warrior, Tinompuling, a spear. Then there’s a gecko called Tinugarang, a wild flower named Vinusak and lastly Tinutub, a motif to complete the design.

We know that the Rungus longhouse is built using bamboo and all (well, I just got to know during this trip actually). Its interior is being divided into 2 areas – a long hall way where family can lepak, do kenduri works and etc, and partitions of room on the other side (per room consist of one family regardless the size of the family tau). Here's the thing...

#Funfact 1 : One longhouse can consist of one village. Like seriously hokkay.

#Funfact 2 : The room will be added as the family grew or get married. So, imagine lah how long this longhouse can be.

#Funfact 3 : Each room has its own kitchen (the room is pretty small, and please be reminded that per room consist of ONE family).

#Funfact 4 : There is a common kitchen qt the end of the long hall way. Yup! Proper kitchen with washing area and all. Tapi lupa nak ambek gambo pulak dah

#Funfact 5 : This is the INTERESTING part. When a family member passed away, they will make a 'hole' or 'a space' infront of the room hall way enough for the body to be carried down/out. The body WILL NOT be carried put thru the main entrance via the hall way.

Kg. Bavanggazo where the Rungus Longhouse is, is located near Tinangol in the Kudat district. It is about 41km from Kudat 100km from KK. You can stay here a night to experience Rungus delicacy, learnt their craft and enjoy their culture performances. There are also a few hiking tracks that can be arranged for you.

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Rungus Longhouse

Jalan Bavanggazo

Matunggong, Kudat

Sabah

The KUDATang Blogger & Social Media Influencer Fam Trip is in collaboration with Sabah Tourism Board and all its sponsors with #GayaTravel Magazine as media coordinator.

Sabah | Things To Do in Kudat

Been to Sabah and covered Mantanani (you can read it here) and early of this year I was lucky to be invited to cover Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Mabul. Lucky me huh…. Yet I have not been to the famous Tip Of Borneo ie Kudat. Yup, you guessed it right, I was insanely ecstatic when I got invited to cover Kudat and Kota Belud. In my mind was – Tip of Borneo, Pasar Tamu, Tegudon Tourism Village and Too Jou. What is Too Jou? Check it out here.

Many has visited Sabah and generally would cover Kota Kinabalu, Mount Kinabalu, Kudasang and Mabul. These are the towns favourited by Malaysian. One rarely heard of Kota Belud or Kudat… So I guess it is up to me then (ceh waaahh…) to share valuable information and tips on Kudat (Kota Belud later-later lah yek). So, aside from covering Kota Kinabalu or visiting the beautiful islands such as Sipadan, Mabul, Mataking and etc, you can also make a trip to Kudat. Here are a few tips/suggestions if you are heading to Kudat. 

1. Tip of Borneo

- Best to come in the evening, then catch the beautiful sunset

- I should think sunrise will be as good, since it is…. after all…. The tip of Borneo kan.

- Come here early, an hour or so before sunset, this will give you plenty of time to take photos at daylight and at sunset

- The rocks towards the end is rather slippery so be very careful

 2. Sumangkap Gong Village

- An important Rungus tribe musical instrument

- Entrance fee is RM3 for Malaysian and RM5 for non-Malaysian.

- The giant gong weighs 980kg and took 4 gongsmith 5 weeks to complete

-  Gong was a communication tool to send signals to other villagers. Different rhythm translate to good or bad news. Eg, slow rhythm means an invitation for a drink, fast indicates danger. Dying will starts with a slow beat ascending, where else death will be slow beat, prolonged.

3. Bavanggazo Rungus Longhouse

- You can come here to look-see look-see or stay here for a night and experience Rungus lifestyle

- 3 to 3.5 hrs drive from Kota Kinabalu

- You can do a day-trip here

- For more details, click here

4. Learn surfing at Kalampunian Beach, Tip of Borneo

- We went to Blue Fin Surf And Dive

- Blue Fin offers accomoodation as well so you can stay here a d learn how to dive

- Best time to surf

>>> Southwest (May to September)

>>> Southwest monsoon (November to March)

Photo credit : Zarnizar, ashraf_suhaimi

5. Tambakan Fish Farm

- From RM180 which includes boat ride, snorkeling and lunch

- To book via travel agent or directly, I use Trek Finders Tour

- The lunch crazy giler sedap

Photo credit : Jaslin Puasa

#TravelTips

+ Do a 2D1N trip so that you don't rush youself

+ 3D2N trip if you wish to at surfing or/and the fish farm

+ Plan well as in distance looks near but due to the road condition, it might take longer time. Buffer additional 30mins or so.

+ Self drive is highly recommended BUT dp drive safely (no speedy)

+ Do visit cultural place to support local cottage tourism (beli lah souvenir sikit 😊)

+ You can stay in Kudat, there is plenty of places to select.

So how, interesting right *wink*.

The KUDATang Blogger & Social Media Influencer Fam Trip is in collaboration with Sabah Tourism Board and all its sponsors with #GayaTravel Magazine as media coordinator.

Too Jou Flashpacker Hostel in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Too Jou (read : Tuju) is the new and trendiest hostel in Kota Kinabalu todate I would say.

I remembered the first time I saw the Too Jou, it was on Diana Teo Instagram post, she told me it’s a backpacker place, a hostel. But now that I am here, I realised that it is more of a flashpacker accommodation as the price range is rather steep for backapackers (especially local backpacker) as they provide a slightly upmarket value added services such as café, co-working place, roof top (still under reno), a slide (one of its cool features), instagrammable location, water dispenser, laundry room, free wifi and etc.

Just so we get it clear, there is a difference between a backpacker and a flashpacker, you guys do know this right? Here is what you get when googling flashpacker versus backpacker.

Flashpacker

Flashpacking is referring to an affluent backpacker. Whereas backpacking is traditionally associated with budget travel and destinations that are relatively cheap, flashpacking has an association of more disposable income while traveling and has been defined simply as backpacking with a bigger budget. Flashpacker as a rapidly growing segment of travelers who adhere to a modest accommodation and meal budget, while spending freely, even excessively, for activities at their chosen destination.

Backpacker

Backpacking is a form of low-cost, independent travel. It includes the use of a backpack that is easily carried for long distances or long periods of time; the use of public transport; inexpensive lodging such as youth hostels; often a longer duration of the trip when compared with conventional vacations; and often an interest in meeting locals as well as seeing sights.

Source : https://nomadsworld.com/what-type-of-traveler-are-you/ and Google.

Now that we got this out of the way, it easy for you guys to understand the price mechanism tend to be abit on the higher side as it provides comfort and convenience. The dorm starts from RM45 (as of Oct 2019) and traveller has the option to select either dorm room (4, 6 or 8 per room, female/male/mix), as for studio double or twin, the price ranges from RM150 per room (for 2 pax, I have googled and noticed that you can get lower price from other website on promo). For that amount of comfort, I highly recommend Too Jou.

Walking distance to :

7-10mins walk to Gaya Street (Sunday Market) and Atkinson Clock Tower

12-15mins walk to Centre Point

15-20mins walk from Filipino Market Sabah

And most importantly, it is walking distance of less than 20mins to these places – 99 Speedmart, KFC, 7-11, Biru Biru Café, kopitiam and mamak.

On the 1st floor there is a co-working space called OPIS where you can actually have a group discussion, a space to work, a common area for mingling as well a copier machine for work purpose and a pantry. How can we work with no F&B kan.

There are also snooker and foosball table for those who wishes to take a break from opis work *wink*.

Yes. There is also a washing machine and dryer on the OPIS floor so you can actually do your laundry and work (while waiting). How good is that kan.

How can you not like Too Jou *heart*.

Toojou Sdn Bhd 

12, Jalan Masjid Lama,

Bandaran Berjaya,

88000 Kota Kinabalu,

Sabah

Too Jou website : https://www.toojou.com/

The KUDATang Blogger & Social Media Influencer Fam Trip is in collaboration with Sabah Tourism Board and all its sponsors with #GayaTravel Magazine as media coordinator.