Kota Kinabalu: The Land Below the Wind

The ferry suddenly stopped in the middle of Klias River in Kota Kinabalu. Our group, who earlier negotiated the sinuous river to spy on long-nosed monkey tribes along the mangrove bordering the wetland, managed nervous giggles as the boatman attempted to revive the engine. As more minutes pass, we fell into silence, perhaps reminded of the guides' warning to never put our hands in the water as the river is so full of life; it teemed with crocodiles.

A few seconds ago, it was sunset and the river mirrored the pastel sky and one translucent rainbow. Now, the water was thick and black, and it glistened with crowns of fireflies covering entire trees along the banks. Time indeed seems to fly so fast here that lest you think this will be a wildlife adventure-themed account, an hour later we were back in our 5-star hotel, fine dining on a sumptuous seafood buffet and wine.

Indeed, the lure of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah's capital, is the interesting marriage of luxury and adventure. Its terrain lush with rainforests and water formations a few minutes away from its world-class hotels, dining and recreation venues provide texture that is perfect for combining business with pleasure. At this little spot just underneath the equator, where their location allows no devastating typhoon to pass through (hence the description "Land Below the Wind"), you have truly, the best of both worlds.

Thus, the Sabah Tourism Board applies equal importance to these two complementing features of Kota Kinabalu. Aside from the usual tourist profile of vacationing Europeans and Middle Easterns, Kota Kinabalu is fast becoming a favorite MICE group destination. The world class facilities and natural wonders of Sabah are perfect for business conferences, company workshops and team building exercises.

During our group's visit made possible by the tourism board, Malaysia Airlines and Destinations Unlimited, a Philippine-based tour operator for outbound clients worldwide, we saw the area busy with constructions - roads, buildings, complexes were being built that one could envision a new city in a few years.

Likewise, tourism secretary Gordon Yapp says nature and the local culture's protection is always on top of their priority that they control real estate development in the area, even if that would mean more tourists, on protected areas especially Mt. Kinabalu, a majestic rock formation that once could see only on a clear morning; most of the time it disappears in a sea of clouds.

Aside from being a wildlife sanctuary, the forests are home and source of livelihood to the indigenous groups in Kota Kinabalu. More than 30 ethnic groups contribute to Sabah's colorful cultural tapestry. Some of them still practice collective living, most illustrated in the account of travel writer Maxine Rose Schur who visited Borneo a few years ago: how the heir to the chief lost his position to his younger brother because he once walked through the jungle to find the edge of the world as he thought the earth was flat.

"He lost his crown because he thought the earth was flat?" asked Schur.

"No, because he walked through the jungle alone," answered the younger brother, now chief of the tribe. "Here, we do not do things alone."

Chieftain wisdom aside, there are definitely so many activities you can do as a group in Kota Kinabalu. A popular team building activity is white water rafting along the Kiulu River - five persons paddling together and moving in sync to negotiate the inflatable raft amid boulders and gushing water.

"Mabuhay Pinoy!" our guide shouts, and we feel delighted to see a fellow Pinoy, an Ilonggo as he specified, just as we felt delighted to a number of other times we bump into a kababayan during our stay: from the waitresses in a popular restaurant, to an old veiled lady minding an ukay-ukay stall at the Gaya market, to a manager at the plush Sutera Harbor Hotel.

These encounters remind us of how Sabah is so close to the Philippines, its tip just barely touching Sulu. In fact, right from the time our plane arrived at Kota Kinabalu to the moment we left the city, we are constantly pointing out to each other its differences and similarities to the Philippines.

Indeed, we left Kota Kinabalu with various anecdotes, but this retelling can end with a single story: I remember walking hundreds of feet above the deep Kinabalu rainforest by crossing a narrow, swaying hanging bridge. I marvel at the carefully conserved oldest rainforest in the world and I think of how our country's flora and fauna, found to be among the most diverse in the world, would benefit given the same priority. It is strange, doing something so new, being in someplace so different from my usual route, yet being reminded of home, of the familiar.

Crossing that hanging bridge, I saw the edge of the forest, perhaps like that would-be chief in the story. To travel, to get on a journey, to look over the edge of your world, and to find yourself.