Penimbawan – a timeless water village

Where? Tuaran, Sabah

What? Water Village, Mangrove Forest

Ratings: **** For a taste of culture and adventure

Lost Ratings: ***** Only a few intrepid tour guides bring tourists to this place.

Although Sabah is by now very much heavily promoted as a tourist destination, there are still a few charming places that are not known to many people. One of these places is Penimbawan, an unspoilt water village located only about 45 minutes from Kota Kinabalu, and yet, a world away as far as the locals are concerned.

I first read about Penimbawan many years ago in an old copy of a travel guide. There was not much information given, but Penimbawan was described as “a timeless village, with houses of atap, bamboo and wood interconnected by labyrinthine boardwalks – called jambatan – along which fish are laid out to dry”. I was intrigued, but without my own transportation then, Penimbawan remained undiscovered to me for a few more years.

It was only a few years ago that I finally got to Penimbawan. A friend of mine who does kayak tours in nearby Mengkabong River was looking for a new place to expand his business, and he brought me to this traditional Bajau water village.

Getting to Penimbawan was an adventure in itself. The departure point to the village is at Serusup, on the shores of the Sulaman Lake, which is located in Tuaran district, north of Kota Kinabalu. Tuaran is famous for its tamu or morning market and we visited the colourful tamu since we were already there. From Tuaran town, Penimbawan was about 10 minutes drive away.

The road to Surusup was tarred and new, but few people traveled along it, and there were more cows and goats than cars. With so many more populated areas having roads in need of urgent repair, it was strange to see this beautiful road being used by the farm animals which loiter around and dot the road with their excrement.

The road ends at Serusup and this was where the journey got even more interesting. To get to Penimbawan, we had to take a sampan across Sulaman Lake. (A sampan is a wooden boat used by the locals). The boat ride took about 10 to 15 minutes. This was how the people living in Penimbawan traveled, and this was how we were going to travel as well. I now understood why there are no tours to Penimbawan. The jetty was simply not suitable for big tour boats. Not everyone will feel comfortable crossing a body of water on a sampan, but for me, the sampan ride was the highlight of the trip.

The village itself was charming. Unlike some other water villages where the atap roofs have been replaced by zinc, most of the houses here still retained their traditional design. As in all traditional Bajau houses, the tip of the roofs jut out in a scissors-like formation. According to the local people, this is to prevent the Selambadut ghost from entering the house because it will get stuck to the tip of the scissors on the roof. (According to Bajau mythology, the Selambadut is a bodiless ghost that flies around with its intestines still attached to the head. No, I have not seen it before.)

The Bajau people of Penimbawan were very friendly and welcoming. As this village seldom sees tourists, the children especially, wanted to practice their English with me. There was a school at one end of the village, and funnily enough, a few public phones on top of a hill.

It just so happened that there was a wedding on the day that I was there. I thought that we were very lucky, but my friend did not seem too bothered. He then told me that he had been here a few times and almost each time, a wedding was going on. We were invited to take part in the wedding as guests. In small places like these, everyone is related to each other, and weddings and other celebrations become big events that involve the whole village.

After the wedding, Manira, our boatman took us on a river cruise. Located a few minutes away is a mangrove forest that has been the lifeline of this village since time immemorial. I have been on mangrove river cruises many hundreds of times, but this was the first time I was doing it in a sampan, and it was a fantastic experience. The sampan was able to squeeze into narrow openings that a larger boat would have difficulty entering. It was like entering a tunnel of mangrove trees as the branches stretched out just above our heads. We switched from motor engine to paddle power as Manira guided us expertly through the tunnels of mangrove trees. The forest canopy provided a natural shade and the stilt roots and drooping branches of the mangrove trees gave a sense of being enveloped by the forest. The feeling of adventure and serenity as we glided through the river was unmatched.

I have since been back to the village a few more times. Any time I need to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, or some foreign friends want me to show them something not too touristy, I take them to Penimbawan. No tour boats, no hordes of tourists. This is where we get to travel like the locals do – on a wooden sampan.

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~ by losttraveller on June 4, 2009.