29 September 2015:
I left home base at 0035 hrs to
rendezvous with Mohd Syam at Shah Alam. We had supper at Section 19 and at 0200
hrs; Mohd Syam drove me to KLIA2.
I had four (4) hours to spare by
myself as my flight to Kota Kinabalu AK 5110 ETD at 0635 hrs. I found a
comfortable corner and took a cat nap and recharged the hand phone. Pre flight,
at 0546 hrs, I joined the subuh congregation at the Domestic Departure Lounge
Surau. The subuh congregation was made of passengers destined for Sibu, Tawau
and Kota Kinabalu – the early bird.
Breakfast was on board the flight
and it was burger and coke that cost RM 15, what choice do I have? The flight
was smooth all the way and landed at KKIA2 at 0930 hrs. Haji Salim and Haji
Hasbullah waited for my arrival and we adjourned to Restaurant Malindo Sutera
City, Sembulan. My main purpose for this trip was to meet up with Haji
Hasbullah who was lately reported to be medically unstable. Haji Hasbullah is
my Sabah buddy who travelled with me to Cairo, Palestine and Saudi Arabia
(umrah). We became close friends after the Cairo umrah trip. At the Restaurant,
we had a long chat and I was informed in detail of his current ailment. Sadly,
he cannot drive anymore and with the medication prescribed, he would be groggy for
an hour or two. It is sad that he has to carry the urine bag along with him at
all time and his predicament that he intended to perform an umrah coming
December. He wanted to have the tube removed at the Hospital and that’s what he
planned to do later mid morning. I volunteered to accompany him as my next
appointment was only at 1230 hrs.
Haji Salim dropped us at Queen
Elizabeth Hospital emergency ward and Haji Hasbullah registered for
consultation. Regret, the tube could not be removed, provided with the advice
of the Urologist. The earliest, would be in January 2016 and Haji Hasbullah was
utter disappointed. Haji Salim drove Haji Hasbullah home to Petagas and along
the way we consoled Haji Hasbullah and advised him to adhere to Medical advice.
For the intended umrah, he has to consult the Experts at Tabung Haji.
I requested Haji Salim to drive me
back to the Airport as Haji Mokhdzar would be arriving from KLIA2 at about 1230
hrs. Pak Kadir, Almukmini Travel local Rep met us at the Airport and we started
our venture to Sabah Interior Division.
The first stop was Penampang to fuel
up the 4X4. Hajjah Faridah kindly offered Haji Mokhdzar to use the 4X4 while in
Sabah. We abandoned lunch as we could not find a parking space. The target for
today was Keningau. We drove the hilly winding road heading for Tambunan
crossing the Crocker Range. It began to rain heavily and we had to be extra
cautious as the surrounding was very misty. I began to get groggy as I was
hungry and lack of sleep. I was practically clinging tight while Haji Mokhdzar
negotiated the very acute corners. There was no stall or rest area until we
reached the midway peak - Gunung Mas. We broke journey at Gunung Mas but the
Malay Restaurant was closed. We were all hungry and the best halal choice was
hot cup noodle and hot tea. I began to feel better after breathing the fresh
mountain air. It was still raining and we decided to resume the venture.
Tambunan was just downhill and thank God, the rain had stopped. Pleasant
downhill drive with the vast jungle besides as we drove through. From Tambunan
to Keningau, it was all flat land, with padi fields on both sides. Few
kilometers before Keningau, we stopped at Kampong Bayangan Mosque for our solat
jamak takhir. At about 1700 hrs we finally made to Keningau. I never dream of ever
going to Keningau. A God forsaken town
right in the interior division of Sabah surrounded by the Crocker Range.*
We called up Haji Halim and we rendezvous
at Keningau Hockey Stadium. I was surprised Keningau is very well developed and
advanced as I noticed the hockey pitch is synthetic turf. Pairin Kittinggan,
the former Chief Minister of Sabah is the ADUN here. Keningau town has several
small roundabouts and at time it was very confusing. Haji Mokhdzar even
accidently drove across one. We met Haji Halim to appoint him as our local rep
in Keningau.
For dinner, we had Siamese
cuisine with the usual tomyam and daging masak merah. Haji Halim has a
Satay kiosk at the Restaurant and he fed us with mutton, chicken and venison
satay. It was not often I came across venison satay but around Keningau, within
the vast jungles, it seems wild deer is plentiful. Venison is even available at
the Local Market.
We were recommended to stay at
Queen Hotel and to find the place was another problem. Finally we found the
Hotel after going through two (2) roundabouts. The lady at the Petronas Station
showed the direction. Soon after checked in, we just laid down like a log. We
were all exhausted after the very long and tiring drive. Queen Hotel is rather
cheap, RM 100 for a family room. What we needed was only a bed to sleep.
*Crocker Range (Malay: Banjaran Crocker) is a mountain range on the island of Borneo.
Politically, it lies within the boundary of the Malaysian state of Sabah, located in the northern half of Borneo.
It is named after William Maunder Crocker. The
mountain range separates the east coast and west coast of Sabah. At an average
height of 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), it is the highest mountain range in
Sabah. Part of the range has been
gazetted for protection as Crocker Range Park since 1984. The area surrounding Mount
Kinabalu has been a state park since 1964 and was the country's first World Heritage Site.
In 2014 it was recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere
Reserve, becoming the second Malaysian site thus designated, after Chini Lake (in Peninsular Malaysia).
30 September 2015:
There are several Malay
Restaurants serving breakfast across the Hotel. After breakfast, our venture
continued to Tenom and returned to Kota Kinabalu via the coastal road, a
complete round trip. It was going to be another long drive. Down the highway, we
stopped at Tenom Mosque for solat dhuha and placing our travel brochures. In
town, we stopped for the famous kopi Tenom and light snack. We bought a few
packets of the famous Coffee Tenom at the nearest Supermarket. Immediately after
Tenom town, we crossed the Iron Bridge spanning over Sungai Padas. Tenom is
also the tail end of Sabah Railway rail line from Kota Kinabalu.
The next town of our itinerary
was the town of Sipitang. The highway
from Tenom to Situmin junction was marvelous but only few over laden timber
Lorries are using it. We were crossing the Crocker Range again. I passed by
Lembaga Getah Asli Sabah Complex and the rubber plantations or small holders
must be somewhere in the hinterland as I did not see any along the highway. We
stopped at Masjid Pantai before Sipitang to place the travel brochures.
We met
two (2) young Peninsular Malaysians from Gurun Kedah who stopped by at the
Mosque. They were with the new Petronas Ammonia & Urea project at Sipitang
Petro Complex. We decided to see the complex by ourselves and we drove to the
place. A new Port township is definitely developing at this area. Our next
destination was Sipitang Town. Just before Sipitang town, we stopped by at
Pasar Tamu and I was surprised to find “buah tampoi” or “buah larah” that I
used to know in my kampong. I bought a plastic full that only cost me RM 2. It
was ages since, I ate that fruit. It was lunch time and we stopped at the Food
Stall by the sea side. The “nasi goring
kampong” surely tasted different as
they added carrot and beans into it. That’s no more kampong style.
Sipitang Sea frontage. Labuan is just across.
Sipitang Sea frontage. Labuan is just across.
Time for zohor prayer and we
stopped by at Sipitang Main Mosque - Masjid Imam Haji Hashim. I did the solat
jamak takdim by myself and after completion; I just sat and iktikaf in the Mosque. Something
peculiar happened; I felt someone tapped my back but there was no one behind
me. Since it was bright daylight and moreover I was in a Mosque, I feared
nothing. This Mosque was inaugurated by Tun Mahathir on 28 October 1983.
From Sipitang to Kota Kinabalu,
we just breezed through Beaufort. I was in Beaufort about two (2) years ago. We
had only one stop over to buy anchovies and dried shrimps at the roadside stall.
To my surprised, the dried seafood is transported all the way from Tawau via
the Kimanis Highway. On the way back to Kota Kinabalu, we passed through
Kinarut, Lokawi, Putatan, and Petagas. We headed straight to Tanjung Aru Beach Food
Stall for refreshment and straightened our legs. What was important, we
completed our venture into the interior division of Sabah, safe, sound and
triumphant. Perhaps, I have seen Sabah more than some Sabahan.
We then headed to Inanam Square
where we checked in into Almukminin Office for the night. After solat jamak
takhir, we went to 1 Borneo Shopping Complex as I wanted to find a power bank.
We then went to Telipok for barbeque lokan. It was a delicacy and I never tried
before. The sea shells were placed on zinc plate and heated by firewood.
The appointment to meet Haji
Hasbullah at 2130 hrs had to be cancelled as we were late.
01 October 2015:
Early morning after subuh we went
to KK Pasar Besar (Main Market) to purchase fresh prawns and fish. We had our
simple breakfast at the 1st floor while waiting for the packaging
shop to be operational at 0730 hrs. We left our buy at the shop for collection
later in the evening.
At 1130 hrs, we had an
appointment at Majlis Ugama Islam Sabah (MUIS) Building to meet and briefed Almukminin
Travel potential Jemaah destined for Palestine & Umrah in December 2015. We
were joined by Haji Yusuf, KK local resident, an acquaintance who had performed
umrah with Almukminin Travel before. We performed the solat jamak takdim at
Masjid Negeri. We had lunch at MUIS.
After asar, Pak Kadir excused
himself to return the 4X4 and we thanked him for the company. Haji Yusuf took
over from thereon.
At 1730 hrs, Haji Yusuf drove us to
the Packaging Shop to collect the two (2) well packed seafood, we purchased
early morning. We headed straight to KKIA2 to get our boarding passes and pre check
in our luggage. It was about 1830 hrs and we went for early dinner at nearby
Tanjung Aru. I still had time to capture the sun setting.
I entered the Departure Lounge
early and to my disappointment, the Smoking Room was closed. Maybe due to the
refusal of Air Asia moving to the International Airport, MAB Kota Kinabalu made
life for Air Asia passengers difficult. I approached the Immigration and
Airport Security to exit the Departure Lounge and permission granted. I had to
undergo the same security procedures all over again when I reentered the
Departure Lounge. It was no big deal.
Flight AK 5131 took off Kota
Kinabalu at 2140 hrs and landed at KLIA2 at 2350 hrs. The flight was very
uncomfortable as I was seated by the window which I hate most. Mohd Syam was on
hand to meet us at KLIA2.
02 October 2015:
Boat passengers from/to Pulau Gaya (near the Pasar Besar, KK).
Life is very difficult for these people. What more do we complain?
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