Yoku Tanak Kampung

Yoku nopo diti tanak do mosikin,
aiso nunu nunu do posurungon ku.
Ika tu olumis, au oku kaanu papasangan dika.

Yoku tanak kampung, aiso sinikulan.
Kuli-kuli do touki, au kapadan dika.
Ika tu olumis, ogumu pomuhang lagi orang kaya.

Translation:
I really am a poor person,
there is nothing that I can offer.
You're really pretty, so we are not suitable for each other.

I am a village boy, didn't even go to school.
Just a servant, that's why we don't suit each other.
You're really beautiful, many rich people would be attracted to you.
(Just a loose translation. Very hard to find the proper words.)

Well, honestly, I have always pictured Net's house as a normal terrace house in a housing estate. Pretty boring if you ask me. Whether or not I was correct, I was bound to find out, as I left KK for Keningau early Wednesday. Honestly, I had no idea what Keningau was like, whether it was a "cowboy town" like Sandakan (That's what Kak Anne, Net's sister-in-law described Sandakan as) or a Penang-KL combo like KK. Well, what fun is traveling if there are no surprises?

My bag. Pretty torn up eh? Lol.

Gilbert was already up when I went downstairs. It was raining (alternating from a slight drizzle to heavy rain. It happens every time I leave KK.) so he suggested that I wait for Mr. Jimson and carpool with them since his college is near the place where I'm suppose to take a bus to Keningau. Gilbert is studying something like Culinary Arts or something like that in a college in KK. He made a cheese cake the previous night. Was quite good, despite it having an odd colour. I took the chance to ask him advice on making the base for the cheese cake as we waited for Jimson. Well, looks like I can make a whole cheese cake now (could only make it with pre-made bases earlier). Gonna try it out it JB lol.

Wasn't raining anymore when I arrived at Bandaran. Bought a ticket for the 10 am bus despite it just being 8 am because I had to pass my memory card to Norzie so she can finish her clinical report. Well, not bad for delaying my trip by an hour, since that would allow me some time for breakfast.

The traditional Malaysian breakfast: Half-boiled eggs and toast.

Managed to reach Bandaran in time for my bus (after walking to and from Wawasan to meet Norzie and gang). So, Keningau, here I come!

Somewhere near Bandaran bus station.

The bus took the Kimanis route to Keningau, and on the way, we had to go through the famous Crocker Range (heard so much about it when I was in school, but could never remember that it was in Sabah). Wanted to take a picture of the front gate of the Crocker Range Park (Taman Banjaran Crocker) but we passed it so quickly that I didn't even have the time to whip out my camera.

A view from somewhere in the middle of Crocker Range.

Really nice scenery. After more than two hours in the bus, I finally arrived at Keningau, and it was something like Sandakan: just one or two "Billion-like" malls, and many old buildings, and heavy, slow moving traffic. Just imagine Bukit Mertajam (Southern Penang).

Well, I'm going to split up the posts about Keningau, because it's a little too much to fit in one post (doing 1 whole week's post). The next post is about my experience in Keningau. Straight from my hand-written journal (a few additions will be done to the journal entries to further explain the situation, but I will try to stay true to the journal as much as possible. But no facts will be changed.), filled with my experience, thoughts and feelings of the place.