Tripping to Tiny Tenom

Not a fan of that wretched novel series, let alone the movie......but I am CRAZY about this song, which is featured in the soundtrack. It's one of those songs that you can listen to over and over and over again.

Of course, I abso-fucking-lutely love Ellie Goulding. Such a talented lass. And she runs too! :)

Aaaaaaaaaaanyway, yesterday (Saturday) I went on a long solo drive, covering 300 km on the following route:

Penampang-Tambunan-Keningau-Tenom-Keningau-Kimanis-Papar-Putatan-Penampang

It all began with a phone call at noon to my friend Pali:

"Dude, I'm itching for a scenic drive.Where can I go to that's not too far and I can return by 4pm?"

He suggested Tenom, a tiny town famous for its coffee, which is about two hours' away.

"The easiest route would be to go through Putatan, followed by Papar and Kimanis. Turn left at the Kimanis roundabout near the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal and from then on it's just straight all the way to Tenom".

Of course, being an idiot with zero sense of direction adventurer, I took the longer route instead. Since I was already in Donggongon town in Penampang, I decided to just go to Tenom from there. Because...........reasons.  

So that's how the ridiculously hilly roads of Tambunan got added into the itinerary and why I only got home at 8pm.

Manic March has been really taxing on me (and it's only been a week!) so it was either I drown myself in junk food while glueing myself to the telly or I drive to see new places instead. Pali was supposed to join me but bailed at the very last second because he had a booty call at noon surprise visitor as he was getting ready to leave the house. Hmph.

Driving long-distance amidst greenery dotted with villages (or in the case of Sabah, a Catholic church every five metres lol) is one of the nicest ways to relax. Maybe it's the Iban wanderlust in me that's responsible for this habit. Or maybe it's the bi-annual long drives to our longhouse for as long as I can remember, so much so that it's been ingrained in me. I guess you can take the girl out of Sarawak, but you can't take Sarawak and her instincts to travel out of her. 

I had wanted to be home before it got too dark so I only stopped at Tambunan, Tenom and Dimie Pedalaman Resort, Kimanis for quick pit stops to refuel etc. Didn't manage to stop at any of these local attractions:

Tambunan: Rafflesia Forest Reserve

Keningau: The Oath Stone

Tenom: Murut Cultural Centre

One of the highlights of this trip was experiencing my first gravity hill on the Keningau-Kimanis highway. I thought I was going downhill (which means that my car would roll faster on its own) but I experienced a decrease in speed instead because I was actually going UPHILL. It's a confusing optical illusion caused by the layouts of that stretch of road's surroundings.

The view in front of Dimie Pedalaman Resort, KM 16, Keningau-Kimanis Highway (supposedly the steepest highway in Malaysia).

I'm sorry that I didn't take many photos. It was an ad hoc trip so I didn't bring my digital camera with me (the built-in one in my Asus Zenfone 4 is a joke, save for the panorama function). On my way to Tenom, I did make a stop somewhere along on the quiet Tambunan road to take a photo of the undulating emerald peaks, but before I could snap a panoramic shot, I received a stupid phone call in which the caller just refused.to.hang.the.fuck.up. Then while on the phone, two men on a motorcycle arrived. Call it paranoia or self-preservation, but when I saw them stop a few metres away from me, I unceremoniously disconnected the call, ran as fast as I could towards my car (imagine a fat duck waddling on the side of the road if you will), and then locked myself in before driving off. 

If there's one thing that I've learnt from travelling solo all these years, it's that you can never be too careful. Which explains why there's a baseball bat in my car. 

But that's a story for another day.

♪ Love me like you do..love love love me like you do...♫