Journey to Kundasang - Sabah Experience

Early in the morning, we start off our journey from Kingfisher, Kota Kinabalu toward Kundasang for a night stay at Kiram Village @ Mesilau. Throughout the journey we will be passing by Tamparuli then to Kundasang. Travelling with family is the most memorable things to do in life, where your mum will prepare food and everything that needed during the journey. You'll only need to bring your clothes and some necessities. First stop @ Tamparuli, very crowded morning market, even on Wednesday morning. Unlike anywhere in Malaysia, the locals were really friendly to everyone, including us. Tamparuli is likely to be one favorite spot for tourists and local to stop by for some snacks and meal because it is located in the route from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan. The town is also a convenient stop en route to the town of Kiulu, a popular whitewater rafting destination for domestic and foreign tourists alike.

                                                    Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

                                                       Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

                                                    Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

                                                       Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

Kundasang is a village in district of Ranau, Sabah, Borneo. This is where the majesty Mount Kinabalu lies. From here you can have spectacular view of the naked mountain with your eyes, and cool breeze of air. Before you reach the vegetable stalls, there is a place to stop by to take amazing landscape of the mountain even with your handphone. One shouldn't miss this place along their way to Kundasang. I wouldn't say Kundasang is similar to Cameron Highland, both of them have different elements, Cameron are more developed, in term of tourism and resources, and has better facilities than Kundasang. Where you still can sense the freshness and genuine living of a highland people here in Sabah. 

Then, you can find your way to the Desa Cow Farm. This is a farm that breed cow and produce fresh milk everyday and distribute to the retailers in Sabah (Not available in West Malaysia due to the perishability of the product). I was happy enough to see Liyi get along well with my Mum and my niece.

Information*
Dairy products (cow and goat milk) and souvenirs
Farm Milk Price:
-1Litre plain milk= RM 4.50
-1Litre chocolate milk= RM5.00
-1/2Litre plain milk= RM2.80
-1/2Litre choc milk= RM3.00
-250ml goat milk= RM 4.70

Entrance fees: RM3/adult & RM2/children
Photography Location Charge: RM100/couple

Milk Processing: every Tuesday, Thusday and Sunday at 10am-2pm
Milking Process: everyday at 3pm-5pm

Address: P.O.Box 71, 89308 Kundasang, Ranau, Sabah.
Contact Number: +6088-889562
Open daily from 8am-5pm
*Sources from https://www.facebook.com/desacattlefarm/info

This is a really good place to take pre- wedding photograph, with as little as RM100 per couple, you can take as many photos as you like! *Oh well, you need to have a good weather too!

I'm keen to start my venture and portfolio into Pre-Wedding photography. Im on my way looking for coolest and best spot for photography around Sabah, so far i would say Sabah would be a very good spot to shoot photo, as well as Honey Moon destination.

If you are interested to know more, or have any enquiry about package i can offer, do not hesitate to send me question at Basnojj12@gmail.com. Or call me @ 0166510595

A short drive from Desa farm, we arrived in our Chalet, "Kiram's Village". It is a beautiful place with many kind of flowers around all the chalets. Every single chalet have their own vegetable nickname. The one we stayed is call Cabbage house. It can accommodate up to 5person, with 3 single bed in ground floor, and one queen size bed on 1st floor. Of course, now you can cook because they provide kitchen facilities in the chalet! It is pretty affordable, RM200 for a chalet of 5person, RM40/Person/Night.

To book the Chalet, is very simple. 

1. Browse through their website http://kirams-village.com/

2. Decide which room you want to get.

3. Call the number provided in their website.

4. Transfer/ Bank in the money to them.

5. Receive Confirmation and you're done!

If you want to have a relaxing time, to escape from urban pace, this is a place for you. Bring some simple cooking ingredient, and show your cooking skills!

And this is the time i used my Nikon D7000 and Nikon 35mm f1.8G intensively, from Kudat to Kota Kinabalu, and now in Kundasang! The color produced was a little flat, but the contrast was astonishing! Most of the photographs below were taken by this combination, except for the landscape, taken by Tamron 11-18mm f4.5-5.6. A very affordable wide angle lens for budget hobbyist like me, focusing was a little bit slow, but the image quality and sharpness is superb!

Sweet Bokeh!

There will always be rainbow after the rain, supposingly.

Throughout 2Years of study in University Malaysia Sabah, i did not bother to visit beautiful places around Sabah, not even staying in Kundasang for a night! With my mum's visit, i get the chance to explore Sabah with curiosity and passionate, *because i have to make the planning. Ever since their visit, i told myself not to miss any opportunity again to explore it before i leave this "Land Below The Wind".

byUnknown

in Casual, Desa Cow Farm, Happiness, Kiram Village, Kundasang, Liyi, Lumix 20mm, Lumix moment, Mum, Nikon 35mm f1.8G, Perodua Alza, Qi En, Sabah, Tamron 11-18mm f4.5-5.6, Travel

05:16:00

Journey to Kundasang - Sabah Experience

Early in the morning, we start off our journey from Kingfisher, Kota Kinabalu toward Kundasang for a night stay at Kiram Village @ Mesilau....

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A Day in Kota Kinabalu - Moment with Lumix

The day begin by doing some grocery shopping @ Bundusan Wholesale Market. Things are relatively cheaper and fresher here. Vegetables are mostly come from Tambunan, Keningau, and also Kundasang. My mum and her friend really enjoy spending time in local market to check out their crops and fruits. According to my mum, almost everything here is cheaper than West Malaysia, and the quality is not bad too. The market located just right next to JPJ (Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan) @ Bundusan, Penampang. It can be found easily, by remembering this landmark. 

        Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

        Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

        Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

The Filipino Market is another landmark in Kota Kinabalu. Tourists come here for the affordable seafood and dinner, and the Local came here to do the daily grocery shopping. Biscuits, dried seafood become a must-bring-back things from Kota Kinabalu, because it's Made in Sabah. These stall keeper have to work long hour to survive their business, as the environment here is very competitive. However, don't let the wrinkles in their face fool you, Do Not forget to bargain for best deal. Its easily get rip off here too!

        Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

        Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

My mum and niece brought many joys to Kota Kinabalu. Its amazing to see how Qi En growing up from a baby until now, starting to speak one or two simple words to us. Although sometime she can be very naughty and irritating, she will still be the pearl in our eyes. These days, I really enjoyed showing them things around my daily life in Kota Kinabalu, a good place to stay, and to live. And the journey is still counting...

byUnknown

in B and W, Bundusan Wholesale Market, Casual, Filipino Market, Lumix 20mm, Lumix GF1, Lumix moment, Mum, Penampang, Perodua Alza, Sabah, Street Photography

09:56:00

A Day in Kota Kinabalu - Moment with Lumix

The day begin by doing some grocery shopping @ Bundusan Wholesale Market. Things are relatively cheaper and fresher here. Vegetables are mo...

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Kudat - Sabah Experience

Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. Approximately 190KM from Kota Kinabalu. The ethic composition is mainly Rungus, that is why you can find rungus long house home stay commonly here in Kudat. Our journey begin at Kota Kinabalu, heading north toward Kudat, crossing Kota Belud. First destination is Kampung Sumangkap Gong Factory, there is no need to worry about the location of tourist destination because the routes are easily spotted. You can find the way to Kampung Sumangkap Gong Factory, Gombizau Honey Bee Farm, Kampung Bavanggazo (Rungus Long House) from the main road. 

 Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2

Walking down the street of Kampung Sumangkap, every family runs Gong making business. Here you can see the process of how the local make the Gong, from beginning until finishing. There are many sizes of Gong, even the Gong with "1Malaysia" logo. Probably it was monday, there were not much visitors here, except a car of us. When we were here, there is no instruction or guidance to explain what is this place all about, we walked our own way around the village. This really sadden me because they have beautiful heritage, but they don't have a strong management team to supervise all these. The Gong making tradition is vanishing because the youngster might not wanted to live the life like their ancestors do.

                                                      Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f5.6

                                                       Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

                                                     Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

Next, we stopped by Gombizau Honey Bee Farm, there is vendor selling pure honey at the entrance, honey from wild bees as well as from their farm can be found here. It is more like a shop than a tourist attraction, there wasn't much to see in their farm. Only a few boxes of honey comb at the side of the road. Along the way we saw the children having a lot of fun with their mate on the tar road. Some of them can even understand mandarin!

          Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

          Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

Then we come to the Kampung Bavanggazo, the Rungus Long House. It is like a home stay, you can stay here for nights with prior booking. The house itself look classic, the floors are made with bamboo, real strong bamboo. In the long house it has showcase regarding the traditional clothes of Rungus people, their equipment for agriculture, and etc. The Hong Kong drama (富贵门) took some of the scene from this Long House. If you watched it, you will notice it too. 

          Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

                                                      Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f5.6

Somehow, our final destination is the Tip of Borneo, (Tanjung Simpang Mengayau). It is situated 30minutes from Kudat town, and by the time we drive there, the road condition is bad, really bad. *Another negative feedback to Sabah Tourism. The landscape is amazing, before we reach to the tip, we overlook the beach lies below the cliff, surprisingly clean, with white sand too. After short distance of walk from car park, we reached the globe stating "Tip of Borneo", and there is a stair way lead to bottom of the cliff, very steep but worth the effort to come down for a picture or two. 

            Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f6.3

           Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f16

           Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f5.6

            Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f5.6

            Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 11mm f4.5

             Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f5.6

              Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 12mm f22

             Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 12mm f22

             Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f5.6

We finished our journey after the sun had Set. After a beautiful group photo, we depart directly from the Tip of Borneo to Kota Kinabalu, stop by few station to buy some vegetables and fruit. Along the way we encountered really bad road condition, especially the exit from Tip of Borneo toward Kudat and Kota Kinabalu. Someone really have to fix it before it create any bad effect that chase tourists ($$) away. In summary, Kudat is a town famous for the Tip of Borneo, other than that i wouldn't recommend my friends to visit there. You have to pay entrance fee to enter Honey Bee Farm, Gong Factory, and Long House, i don't think it worth the money, unless you go there during carnival or festive season. It can be very tiring to do day trip, staying in Rungus House can be a adventurous experience too.

byUnknown

in Casual, Happiness, Liyi, Lumix 20mm, Lumix GF1, Lumix moment, Mum, Perodua Alza, Potrait, Qi En, Street Photography, Travel

02:24:00

Kudat - Sabah Experience

Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. Approximately 190KM from Kota Kinabalu. The ethic compositio...

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Family Blast - Moment with Lumix

Received a call from my mum telling me she missed her flight at 1105, i thought it was a prank, but it wasn't. She and her friend couldn't able to catch the flight on time, somehow they have to purchase another 2tickets, which cost them more than RM600. It was a bad start for this journey huh. Rescheduled the arriving time from 1340 to 1520, I arrived in the airport just on time to pick them up. Happy enough to see my adorable niece, she called me "Tsu Tsu" （叔叔）with her cute voice, the voice and the face i missed the most! In the middle of lunch and dinner, i brought them to Tanjung Aru hawker centre to have some fruits and juice while enjoying the sea breeze. Qi En seems to be very happy to have me playing with her, maybe mum had been too boring to her. 

                                                      Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

                                                     Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.8

          Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

It has been some time since i visited Tanjung Aru beach, many families bring along their children to the beach during weekend, for the food, and the beach. Sand Castles are everywhere, kingdom of nowhere. Children build their castle with creativity and little guidance from the parents, kids are getting smarter nowadays, thanks to DHA, Emfagrow, etc milk powder. 

                                                      Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.8

                                                      Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f3.2

My niece, aka Qi En really having good time playing with the muddy sand on the beach, you can sense the excitement in her face, maybe children all like beaches and sunshine? With Lumix GF1, i can capture 3 frames per second, which is really handy, and the face recognition is another plus. I don't have to half press to focus and recompose the picture, this kid will never stop moving. 

                                                      Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.8 

Looking at the performance of the Lumix, it really have good contrast and color cast over the scenery. In such sunny day, the picture doesn't seem to Over exposed even at f1.8, the sky was bright and clouds were beautiful. When i compose this shot, i was actually holding my niece's shoes on one hand and capture the shot using another hand, even though GF1 is small, but it doesn't have a good grip to me. 

          Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.8
This is my mum and aunty Bee Kim in "Living Seed Vegetarian Restaurant" （新翠园素食馆）. All tables were occupied when we arrive, we have to wait for our turn to dine. 

          Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f5.6

         Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

          Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

Qi En is a very adorable girl when we got close and play together after some while, but you will never wish to see her cry. She's not 信男善女 when she cries, she will scream her lung out for no reason, just to release the dis-satisfied-ness from her inner. It will caught everyone's attention to look at you, and make you feel embarrassed. Then, this is where you need to think how to calm her down. She's a kid after all. For me, i'd just buy some ice cream to make her =X.

          Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

Secret weapon to handle kids. Can you see how adorable she is when she's not crying?

byUnknown

in Casual, Kota Kinabalu, Living Seed, Liyi, Lumix 20mm, Lumix GF1, Lumix moment, Mum, Penampang, Perodua Alza, Qi En, Vegetarian restaurant

09:54:00

Family Blast - Moment with Lumix

Received a call from my mum telling me she missed her flight at 1105, i thought it was a prank, but it wasn't. She and her friend could...

Read More