Ranau Things to Do

One of the strange and 'unknown to me' fruits I saw here on the market was the snakefruit. The snake fruit grows in clusters at the base of the palm. And why it is called this way.... well, that's no surprise. The skin of the fruit is very thin and reminds a lot of the skin of a snake.

Of course I had to try a snakefruit! And it tastes delicious! :-)) It had a nice 'tropical' taste to it. Peeling the fruit is a bit tricky though. But luckily we had our guide 'One' around to help us out and tell us how to do it. When you have peeled the fruit, you'll notice a thin little skin still surrounding the fruit. Just rub that off with your finger and the snakefruit is ready to eat. Watch out for the seeds! You can't eat those.

Today I learned a little bit more about this fruit from an entry in my guesbook. The snake-skin fruit, is called BUAH SALAK by the locals. It is sweet if it is not too ripe but it tastes sour if it is very ripe and also like fermentating smell! Thanks Loretta! :-)

We all enjoyed this moment at the Memorial Garden, sitting, relaxing, enjoying the wonderful view. It was sad to leave, but of course we couldn't stay here for the rest of the day. 'One' our guide had more in store for us for the day, so the trip continues. Our next visit is going to be to Poring Hot Springs. But that is another story on another page.....

My visit to Kundasang has come to an end, but my Borneo adventures continue!

The previous leg of my journey was a visit to Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South-West Asia.

From Kundasang with its lively local market, its war memorial and wonderful views over Mount Kinabalu, it is time to be heading to Poring Hot Springs. You can read all about this place on my next page.

I hope you will join me on this virtual trip and enjoy reading my travel stories and see the pictures. For me it has been fantastic to write about my journey because it has made me relive the trip once again :-)

Zooming in with my camera.... It is great to have a zoom lens that can bring everything so much closer. I just clicked around a bit with my camera to capture parts of the surrounding landscape, and bring home with me some of these wonderful views and memories. Borneo and Mount Kinabalu, a place I won’t quickly forget.

You need to climb some stairs to get to the War Memorial Garden. The garden is made of several plateaus with nice gardens. When you reach the top of the garden, you come to this wonderful viewpoint. It was so amazing to sit here on this wonderful sunny day and having this amazing view over Mount Kinabalu and surrounding area. This was a moment I think that I'll never forget.

The reason why this place was selected to be a Memorial Garden is very touching. Here, in the shadow of Mount Kinabalu, many of the prisoners of war died. According to the local custom, the by clouds surrounded mountain, harbours the souls off all those who have died. And the views from this place over the mountain are breathtaking. The mountain feels so near. A worthy place for this war memorial.

In Kundasang you can find a war memorial to commemorate the people that died here during World War II. It is a sad story to read on this plaque and it moved me very much bringing tears to my eyes.

The Kundasang Memorial Garden was build and funded in the late 1950's by the people of Sabah. It is dedicated to 'those men and woman of all races that gave their lives for and in Borneo during the war'.

It was time to leave the market and go to the war monument here in Kundasang. On the way over there I couldn't help but being 'distracted' by the beautiful view on the surroundings. It is so breathtaking! My camera just needed to click, click and click again :-))