Today is August 6th and we are slowly heading towards Kudat. Kári is suffering from a bad stomach, hence we do not cover long distances every day. I sit here and write at T. Pangitan (06.39.102 - 116.34.507) while Kári sleeps and tries to recover.
This place is absolutely beautiful, but the wind is howling and there are even white caps on the waves here in the anchorage, thus I shall not attempt to take the dinghy down and go ashore.

But this is a perfect opportunity to tell you a little more about Sabah which we are now exploring. The capital here is Kota Kinabalu and there we finished the rally.
Kota Kinabalu or KK as it is often called can be traced (in a way) back to 1881 when the British occupied P. Gaya (which we visited when we left KK). But in 1897 the rebel Mat Salleh along with his followers burned and destroyed the British settlement on the island.
Never giving up easily the British relocated and now they settled at a small fishing village on the mainland by the name of Kampong Gantisan and true to a fault they promptly renamed the place. At this time there was a big organization in Borneo called British North Borneo Chartered Company and the Vise Chairman was Sir Charles Jessel. In his honour the new settlement was named Jesselton.
But although the British named the place Jesselton it was quite well known by the name of Api Api which means "fire-fire". It is not known whether this name was due to repeated fires caused by fireworks that set the wooden structures of the town on fire or (which is more likely) it got the name from the Avicennia trees which grew along the coast and were used for firewood.

The Japanese forces managed to occupy Borneo during WWII and one of many sacrifices in order to claim Borneo back was almost the total destruction of Jesselton. Only a few colonial buildings got through unharmed. But the British got their Jesselton back and Jesselton was declared the capital of North Borneo (July 15th 1946), replacing Sandakan which apparently had also been bombed seriously during the war.

Then it was on September 30th 1968 that the capital got yet another name and now the appropriate name of Kota Kinabalu in affiliation with the highest mountain in South-East-Asia Mount Kinabalu which is 4.095,2m (13.435ft). The mountain is very popular by tourists and there is even a race up the mountain once a year, which I would have loved to participate in a few years back. But today I long to take a walk up that mountain and see the sunrise from the mountain top one morning. People generally take two days for the hike, stay overnight on the mountain, wake up around 3am and walk to the top in order to be there right on time to see the sunrise.

Here live about two million people and what makes those two millions so extra ordinary is that they come from 30 different races and among them there are about 80 dialects. It seems as though all those different people manage to live peacefully together and all do preserve their own cultural traditions. A tourist gets here a unique opportunity any time of the year to experience one or another traditional festival.

The largest ethnic group is the Kadazans/Dusuns who make up about third of the population. They used to be rice producers and good at that, but today (like everywhere else) their young people seem to seek more modern professions. But it is good that they still keep the traditional female priestess "bobohizan" who practices ancient rituals. One may witness such ritual during Pesta Kaamatan (Harvest Festival) in May when the Bobohizan in search of rice spirits goes into trance.

Then there are the Bajaus who (like the Icelanders) are skilled fishermen and well known for the ponies and water buffaloes they breed. Due to their great horsemanship they are knows as "The Cowboys of the East" and you should see them in their wonderful customs and the ponies are all dubbed up, it is simply breathtaking.

Mr. Datuk Ellron Angin, who sat at our table at Sutera is a Murut and The Muruts entertained us with traditional dances and in beautiful customs that night. Understandably Mr. Angin is proud of his roots and told us many interesting facts about the Muruts who previously used to be famous Head Hunters. Many of them still live in communal Longhouses and hopefully they keep alive their famous ability with spears, blowpipes and darts.
It is a rare treat to join one of their famous weddings which apparently display elaborate bride wealth, dancing and feasting.

I suppose you have heard that here you find some of the oldest rainforests in the world where you can find wild Orchids,pitcher plants that gulp down insects, the largest flower in the world The Raffesia, not forgetting the innumerable animals living there.

Once you have spend enough time in the Rainforest it is great to go down to sea, sail to a spot where the water is pristine and clear. There one can snorkel or dive and enjoy other types of creatures and fauna.
It is no wonder that we are not in any hurry to leave this wonderful land..