Sabah - Borneo - page 147

Getting There & Away
All buses north pass through Tuaran, and minivans shuttle regularly to and from KK
(RM5 to RM10, 30 minutes). Minivans to Mengkabong are less frequent and cost RM1.
Regular minivans go from Tuaran to Kota Belud (around RM15, 30 minutes).
KOTA BELUD
You might think Kota Belud isn't much to look at, and frankly, you'd be right, but the
town's Sunday tamu , or market, is definitely worth your time. It's a congested, colourful
and dusty melee of vendors, hagglers, browsers, gawpers and hawkers, all brought togeth-
er by a slew of everyday goods in a bustle that consumes the whole town every week (and
a smaller version takes place on Wednesdays!). The most impressive site in Kota Belud is
sadly an uncommon one these days: a procession of fully caparisoned Bajau horsemen
from the nearby villages, decked out, along with their steeds, in vivid, multi-coloured sat-
in 'armour'.
A tamu is not simply a market where villagers gather to sell their farm produce and to
buy manufactured goods from traders; it's also a social occasion where news and stories
are exchanged. These days tourists now often outnumber buffalo, and the horsemen have
mostly moved away from the car park, though some do put on a show for visitors.
Visitors looking for tribal handicrafts and traditional clothing may find a prize here, but
it's cheaply made stuff for tourists. Ironically, the best way to experience this commercial
event is to come not expecting to buy anything - soak up the convivial, occasionally man-
ic atmosphere, enjoy a good meal at the lovely food stalls and just potter about like
Grandma at a Sunday flea market.
A DETACHED SENSE OF FEAR
If you're out at night in Kota Belud and hear a strange noise, or happen to be either pregnant or a newborn infant,
get inside. Because you may become the next victim of the penanggalan, Kota Belud's resident phantasm. The pen-
anggalan (“detach”), known locally as the balan-balan , to Westerners is an odd monster: a mix of banshee, vam-
pire and biology experiment. By day it appears to be a beautiful young woman; at night it is also a beautiful young
woman, or at least the head of one. The rest of the 'body' is a trailing mass of intestines and other internal organs.
The balan-balan is said to seek the scent of newborn flesh and the blood (and placentas) of pregnant women.
There's a pretty great 2011 Malaysian horror movie on the subject called Penanggal , complete with flying heads,
lots of screaming and folks getting eaten.