A Celebration of Life in Sabah

Kopisanangan… Welcome to my real world. This is Serinsim, or usually pronounced as So-rin-sim. This is the place where I was born and grew up in. This is my very place of origin of which the name of this website is taken after. It’s a little haven tucked away and hidden in a remote corner of Kota Marudu, about 32 km uphill and downhill ride from Kota Marudu town and around an hour fifteen minutes drive. When I was a child, this place was virtually unknown. Who would dream of making the harsh journey 27 years back just to reach here. The was no road! All travelling was done by foot and on top of a water buffalo. Even the nearest village to ours, Kg. Marak-Parak, takes ages to reach because in our way, stood beautiful virgin forests and tall, big kayu balak (timber wood). Even near my humble bamboo kampung house then was surrounded by these mighty trees. How I greatly miss those days. It was always cool and misty and you could film the next sequel of “Lord of the Rings” there if only the forest and trees were still there. It could have been the perfect natural set-up. Timber companies came and made cuts after cuts and now Kg. Marak-Parak can be reached in mere seven minutes by car. That is how clear the landscape has become. My family was the first settlers in Kg. Serinsim. It wasn’t a village then, just another land to settle on. It was declared a village only as recent as 1985. Thank God because amidst the mindless felling of trees, some things survived… we, the villagers, and some precious pieces of nature…

Is the signboard familiar? That’s the standard look for signboards put up by the Sabah National Park. But why is it in my kampung? Because it was beautiful enough to be gazetted as national park and that means it is now under the protection of the Park. Yup, we live within a National Park! I knew all along that this place was worth protecting because we have always enjoyed the beauty of our kampung which made us happy all the time. Our virtually unknown hideaway is now beginning to be opened up to the world. It is no more exclusively ours, we have to share it with others.

This is Mount Nembuyukung, the third highest in the state after the mighty Nabalu in Ranau and Trusmadi in Tambunan. Nembuyukung is  part of the reasons our kampung was turned into a national park. The journey up there begins right here in my kampung. I took this picture just outside my father’s house. Mountain guides are available and a must if you want to make the climb and they are all under the Park. On a fast pace, you should reach the top in about 3 1/2 hours’ time. If you are not that fit, then you’ll take perhaps the whole day.

There’s a bat cave about a little more than three hour’s walk from the kampung. Around the cave’s area, you sometimes can spot rafflesia flowers.

There’s a piece of history here too. Once, there was a local warrior called Sobunting, more widely known as Sigunting. He was a British resistant during the reign of the Brits in Sabah. You could see a large banner picture of him hanging in the state museum. And he is, my great-great-great grandfather. His tomb is right here in Serinsim, just about one hours’ walk from the kampung.

So you see, there’s quite a bit to see and do in my kampung.

Sungai Serinsim, a dream river. Cool, clear and friendly.

That’s the forked junction of the river. The left side is warm and the right side is cold. Magical and awe-inspiring.

This looks so inviting I feel like going home right now…

A quite and peaceful spot of the river

The great rush

Two local tourists (no, kidding. They’re my friends) lured by the call of Serinsim.

Relaxing within the compound of the National Park before the big hump into the river.

That’s Dad, getting some woods for cooking by the river. This part of the river is within the park’s compound’s.

Time to eat, simple food but so yummy when you are in the great outdoors.

Peek-a-boo. That’s me looking at you.

This is jacuzzi made by Mother Nature and this part of the river is just a stone’s throw away from behind my father’s house. Look at my friends, they go gaga over it. It’s FoC for as many sessions as you want. Just promise to help us take care of it kio…

Fun and games…

A child of nature…

On top of Tarzan!

More family members

This is yet another part of the river that is not too deep so most people can dip into it without fear. The kampung folks took with them a pail of “rice juice” to enjoy by and in the river. Can’t overdo it and not to be taken alone just in case you got too much juice and the current sweeps you away and there’s no one around to fish you out.

Home time… But can go back anytime because the park and river is just in our backyard…

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 8th, 2008 at 1:35 am and is filed under Magical Places. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.