Experiencing Community-based Sabah Tourism Fair in Malaysia [This Weekend Only!]
Sneak Peek into what Sabah offers - Muslim-friendly Woman Cave Guide, Ant and Crocodiles, Largest Market (Tamu) Festival and so much more!
Sabah Community Based Tourism Fair (SCBTF) 2024 is back and is held for five days at IOI City Mall Putrajaya from October 16-20th, 2024
There are 27 tourism associations from 22 districts available throughout the five-day roadshow here such as Ranau, Inanam, Kota Belud, Kiulu, Tuaran, Papar, Membakut, Kuala Penyu, Sipitang, Penampang, Tenom, Nabawan, Kemabong, Keningau, Tambunan, Kota Marudu, Kudat, Pitas, Tongod, Telupid, Beluran, Kunak, Lahad Datu, and Kinabatangan, among others that will answer all your questions like “when is the best time to visit?”, “how can I arrive there from Kota Kinabalu (KK)”, and so much more!
See what Muslimah Solo Traveler Farihah has experienced there, while learning about what Sabah has in store for all Muslimah Solo Travelers.
Was a Bit Lost in IOI City Mall Putrajaya
Although I’ve been to IOI City Mall Putrajaya a few times, the scale of this mall ( 2.5 million sq. ft.) is just too huge for anybody and you’ll need help navigating around.
I’ve double-checked their advertisement on this Tourism Fair before coming here and parked at West Wing, but still, I had to ask the receptionist, “Where is the fair?”
True enough, within 8-minute walk, I arrived at the fair!
Sabah Crossword Puzzle time!
Immediately upon coming to Sabah Tourism Fair, I was greeted with a crossword puzzle.
The challenge – was to learn about Sabah and its districts.
This took quite a while, but a word that I remembered I came across on the crossword puzzle immediately at a glance was “Kinabatangan” – so perhaps that’s the clue for my next adventure!
P/s: I’ve actually been to Kinabatangan River on a cruise pre-pandemic in search of proboscis monkey. While I’ve lost my cruise photos (pretty sure it’s here somewhere, a photo that’s worth sharing is this Kiulu rafting excursion).
Perhaps it’s time to do it again with Muslimah Solo Travelers?
Regardless, the puzzle was fun, but had to save this for later as a puzzle at home since it’s time to explore the entire Sabah Community-based Tourism Fair Roadshow.
New Islands Revealed & Meeting Woman Cave Guide at Kunak Tourism Booth
The presence of a Muslimah pulled me to Kunak Booth.
“I’ve never heard of Kunak before,” I told Mdm Sari, and she explained to me the three new islands that they’ve discovered and how close they are to Tawau airport.
These islands are:
- Blue Ring Reef
- Pulau Pasir
- Underwater Great Wall
As she was telling me whether I could either dive or snorkel there, suddenly came a woman covered in yellow beads on her head.
“What’s that?” I asked her in Malay language, intrigued at the beautiful beads.
“This is a headgear for the Lundayeh tribe,” she told me. This lady, who I was about to meet, was an extraordinary woman.
She is Maidlin, a woman guide who specializes in Madai Cave in Kunak. From exploring the underwaters of Kunak, our discussion heads to Maidlin, who brings people into the Cave in search of swiftlets, birds nests and understanding Ida’an ancestors.
According to her, there were records that Ida’an people were the one of the first few to embrace Islam in Sabah.
Already mesmerized by the knowledge of Kunak and deeply eager to go there, I became even more fascinated by Maidlin’s spirit of caving and bringing people there to appreciate this integral heritage of Sabah.
“How long can you be there? In the caves?” I asked her.
“I can stay there for up to a day,” she smiled at me, and then showing her TikTok on her cave explorations and the birds she found. I could sense that she loves what she does and that is the spirit that we seek for in our #muslimsolotravel encounters.
Crocodile Balm and Ant House in Tuaran? Is That The Best of Combination?
“Come to Borneo Ant House! We have a private beach nearby!”
“Ant House? What’s that?” I stopped in my tracks in front of Tuaran Booth.
“Because we have the biggest Ant, named Camponotus gigas (The Giant Rainforest Ant),” Olivia shared with me how Borneo Ant House is an educational theme park that lets you learn about this ant, have fun in ziplining or try traditional clothes of Sabah tribes.
As if that’s not enough, the presence of two balms – named Crocodile balms in flavors lemon honey and mint – intrigued me even more.
“We’re neighbors, just next to each other!,” she said, pointing at her tourism comrade, Engalbert of Tuaran Crocodile Farm.
“Why do you have this balm?” I asked.
His answer? Let’s just say that’s a secret between us.
Tamu Besar Festival Happening At The End Of This Month in Kota Belud, Sabah
Towards the end of the roadshow, I spoke to Mdm Haimie, who said that she’s also hosting the ‘Tamu Besar Festival’, happening from 25th October till 27th November.
Completely oblivious of the existence of festival, my natural response was “What festival is that?”
“This is the largest tamu (market) organized in Sabah where you can see traders come out in full force with their very best goods on sale. This is the best time to come in Kota Belud,” she said.
Pictures started coming in, one by one, of buffalo racing, traditional pageantry, the tamu (market) itself, traditional sports and so much more!
“Wow! Can I still come?” I asked Haimie.
“It’s too late. All of our homestays are fully booked now. You can come next year. Be sure to book at least one month in advance,” she smiled at me.
The roadshow was fantastic. I’ve learned a lot about Sabah beyond just Kota Kinabalu and I’m pretty sure you would too.
There are lots of other exciting activities like traditional games that entitle you to some lucky draws, VR experience that will show you a life-like simulation of Sabah. So don’t miss out on that.
If you are in KL do check out this tourism fair happening till the weekend. Discounts, games, Sabah-made products and discoveries of North Borneo await!
Otherwise, do check out other events happening all over the world in our newly minted MST Events Calendar here.
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