Koisaan Cultural Village (KCV) — Attraction in Sabah

Went there on the morning of 19 April.

At 10plus in the morning, the sun was killing us.

The cultural village tour was fruitful and we got nice experiences in it.

We bought the ticket at the location. we think we were the first visitor to the compound on that day.

We visited the various model houses of the natives.

But the memorable peak of visiting this place will be the station tasting Lihing (glutinous rice wine), eating sago grubs (butod), learning to start fire and cook the butod, use the blowpipes, jumping onto the traditional trampoline and watching the traditional music being played on gongs and kenong.

Our guide, a young lady (wished I could have asked for her name) was very pleasant and knowledgeable. We asked a lot of questions beyond what was seen onsite.

The murut house is exciting as we have to cross the swinging bridge, to be met by the native from Murut on the other end.

The sago grubs, or Butod is a MUST TO TRY!! Yes, initially the thought of eating a worm can really test ones nerves. But after overcoming it, the butod eating is actually pleasant and delectable. There is nothing unfamiliar with the taste, except for the fear of eating a worm. The butod personally for me tasted like fried egg. Especially the white part of the egg white which was fried with a bit of brown bits on it. Some said it tasted like fresh uncooked sweet corn. Because the flavour is familiar, I am compelled to say that I am definitely going to have more butod in restaurants around KK that serves them.

I do recommend tourists to visit this place, even though the weather is not friendly enough. Because their hospitality is superb!

Wishing KDCA all the best and will expand to have more native housing and share more of the native cultures and history with us. Will visit you again...

Went during the Kaamatan Festival. It was packed with people and cars are parked dangerously outside the main road (which is not safe for the pedestrians especially for children and elderly). Anyway, here's what I liked the most, the handmade handicrafts, the traditional cultural longhouse (RM1.00 per entrance), the homemade delicacies like lihing, sikat, fish and fruit pickles ranging from RM10.00 and above (no free sample/food testing okay), the local vendors' agro culture products (sadly, I didn't see much of it, since the name of 'Kaamatan' means harvest clearly mentioned) but I enjoyed the Goat Milk Honey Ice Cream though (yummy *.^). For a first timer visit to KDCA during Harvest Festival, it will be a cultural shock, where you can see lots of 'pork' and alcohol stalls here and there plus the locals get drunk till morning (I wondered how the nearby neighborhood can sleep at night with the 'nightclub' noises) Thanks God it was a sunny day. For your information, the entrance fee (not on festival season) is RM25.00 for local and Foreigner is RM35.00. Here are my snapshots on the Kaamatan...

We recently rented three units during my daughter's wedding there, namely Hamin Tambunan, Ranau, and Kuala Penyu.

We were accused of stealing eight (8) blankets and four (4) towels and were forced by the staff to pay a penalty of RM210. Those towels and blankets were not even in the house in the first place, especially in the double-decker beds in Hamin Tambunan, there were none at all. (PLEASE REFER TO THESE UPLOADED PICTURES. CAN YOU SEE ANY BLANKET & TOWELS???)

We have witnesses who can confirm the absence of those items in Hamin Tambunan from Day 1. However, the staffs kept insisting that we pay and claimed they had checked the CCTV, which they said showed that only we were there during that period. However, they have failed to prove us with a CCTV recorded video, showing that we stole those items. None.

I will never pay for something that was not our fault in the first place, even though my wife has already paid the penalty just to avoid escalating the matter further. I did not agree actually.

To anyone planning to stay at any of these homestays, be cautious of this scam !!

Thank...