Sabah Road Trip: Kota Belud

When my husband asked if I wanted to eat at a restaurant in Kinabalu Park, I said no because I knew our next stop, the Tip of Borneo, was quite a distance. So, I heroically said we'd just grab something on the way. The journey from Kinabalu Park to Kota Belud (nearest town) is about 66.5 km and takes about 1 hour 11 minutes according to Google. Yours truly was not aware of this and was actually already a little hungry. Oh why do maps always make everything look so close by?? So, by the time we reached Kota Belud I was cranky - let me correct myself, I'm almost always cranky so that would make me -crankier than usual! : )

At Kota Belud, I did not feel like eating fast food (there was a KFC). Blame it on my crankiness. So, we looked around - round and round that little town and finally saw a restaurant that got my stamp of approval - read 'fussy'.

The food was delicious and it was a happier albeit fuller me that stepped out of this restaurant. 'Pencarian' means search (noun) and 'bersama' means with/together. Just like the search we had together looking for a place to eat...how apt.

It was a hot day and we didn't have sun shades so I had to improvise. The car we rented from Hertz, was a Hyundai Matrix. It has wide, wide windows. For the window on my side, I used an old napkin! What a sight, right! But who cares..comfort comes first!

Let me tell you a little about Kota Belud. The main attraction of Kota Belud is the 'tamu' or Sunday Market and is really famous. Almost everyone you meet will mention this market if you were to say Kota Belud. It is a melting pot of the various different ethnic groups in Sabah. There is also an annual Tamu Besar (Besar means big) which is held every October, with cultural displays, dances, handicrafts and the famous Bajau horsemen.

Not much to share as we only stopped here for makan. Onward, onward towards the Tip of Borneo!