CutiCuti: Kundasang - Zen Garden Resort & Desa Dairy Farm

Assalamualaikum. 안녕! 

Reminiscing the first family get together we had after Aunty Ana's departure. Time to unwind everything. Time to move on albeit she is very much missed by all of us. Especially Bungsu & her children. Life goes on; so it says. Forget not the people who've left us...and live life to the fullest. Sayang pada yang masih ada; appreciate & cherish them.

The short getaway was during the Kaamatan (Harvest Festival) 2010 long holiday break. Cafe was closed for nearly five days so we thought it would be of great idea to have a family getaway. It's been a while since we last gathered. Those past few months had been rather depressing for us hence a short vacation certainly will do different to us. And so I planned in the very last minute. 

Alhamdulillah, I managed to get rooms at one of the resort in Kundasang despite the peak season. Always, very thin chance to get even one room during the Kaamatan season. What's more when it falls on Thurs & Fri. But I successfully booked a deluxe room & 2 standard rooms few weeks before the getaway. Talked about being lucky ya'll. Puke!

We stayed at Zen Garden Resort, Kundasang. It is located not far away from Kundasang town, but secluded enough to give a romantic & tranquil feeling to its guest. Major landslide occurred few months later...and unfortunately, swept the resort away. According to the locals, the only thing left there are remnants of the buildings/chalets. Its website said they are currently under renovation. I really hope they will start doing business soon. This resort offers magnificent view of the nature in Kundasang...especially the majestic Mount Kinabalu. 

Our room has balcony...in which automatically voted as tempat masak memasak for dinner. That's ours on the left.

Settled with check-in, we headed to the restaurant situated near the main road; which lead to the resort. It is on the right side if u're arriving from KK city. Intan Restaurant is famous for its delicious 'chicken wings panggang', it was already quite full when we came for luncheon that day. But we managed to get a table for all of us. 

The only downside of this restaurant is the flies. They are like everywhere. Flying across ur face, near ur food...sometimes singgah bertenggek atas muncung gelas. Bunda said it's because of the cold weather hence they are more than usual that day.

Bunda & her eldest sister.

After lunch, we drove to Desa Dairy Farm. The route heading to this farm leads to Kundasang War Memorial first (on the right side). While the War Memorial can be seen from the main road for it is situated just opposite the row of shop-houses; this farm is located a little farther. Actually, the hilly & winding road make it looks far. 

10 minutes of driving from the main road, entrance to this farm & its big signboard will be seen on the left side. The right side will lead u to Dream World Resort. We took roughly two minutes driving on the gravel road to the entrance gate. 

And if u drive straight, u will see more guesthouses located on the hills. Also will lead u to Mount Kinabalu Golf Club; where just before its main entrance is the Kiram's Village. I stayed at Kiram's Village with my girlfriends few years back, when it was just opened for business. But I never blog about it...will find sometime to scribble about that later. Insha Allah. 

View that instantly put me in a peace of mind. Subhanallah; regardless how many times I went here the landscape never failed to amazed me. 

Local visitors entrance fee is RM 4.00 (adults) & RM 2.00 (kids). IF I'm not mistaken. Desa Dairy Farm is a local chain owned by Sabah. 

We were there just on time for the milking process! The process starts at 3pm daily. These cows are super clever. They know their schedule. When to eat, when to play, when to sleep...and when to queue for milking process. It was very cute to see them running to queue upon hearing the alarm. Siap ada bergaduh sebab potong queue ok. See even cows know how to line up lah, us human being pula macam cipanzi berebut². Erm, kenapa cipanzi dapat nama pula ni.

Entrance door to the viewing area of the milking process. 

Credit to owner for pictures above & below.

Final product can be purchased on-site. Friends from West Malaysia once asked me why they never saw the fresh milk with Desa brand sold at their place. And that's when I found out that this brand is only famous among the Sabahans. So if u ever go here, try the milk. The fresh product is processed & pasteurized here. It taste different than the imported ones. Well, that is based solely on my opinion of course. 

Last time we were here, the merchandise store hasn't open yet. All those souvenirs in the picture are available after our visit; I reckoned. I bought the fridge magnet when I went there with my Kolumpor's friends who came visiting last year. They requested me to bring them here. "Bie, we HAVE to go to the New Zealand farm. Period". 

Yeah, people always compare the view at the farm to New Zealand. I don't know why because I have never set foot upon New Zealand. But friends who've been there said, there are no view like this in New Zealand. And that got me confused more. Why people kept saying the view resembles the Kiwi Land? Hmm perhaps it is time to explore New Zealand. Gitu!

Picturesque! We didn't get to see even a glimpse of Mt. Kinabalu. He was just too shy to show himself. Moreover it was the end of May. Haruslah weather akan jadi a bit gloomy. Its the end of the harvesting month, the rainy season. Don't act like u don't know, miss. 

Back in 2010, where everyone still kurus. Ayat memang minta sumbat lada.

Part of the family. Along + Aunty were out of town. While Angah's in Kolumpor. Duduk jauh, memang susahlah join family get together yang dirancang sangat impromptu kan.

The restaurant/cafeteria.

Some view of the resort area in the evening. Just ignore the woman in black tudung. 

We cooked our own dinner! Luckily the room we rented has balcony. Else, berasap lah kan masak dalam bilik. Siap masak guna portable stove ok!

Dinner served for the two nights we're there were purely homemade dishes brought all the way from Kota Kinabalu. Apa guna ada cafe kalau beli yang siap² marinated, kan. Harus segala pinggan mangkuk, periuk belanga, sudu garfu hangkut cafe mari!

Ade Harry Jozef & Ary Stefan Jozef; the twins in the family.  Enjoying the scrumptious dinner made by Yours Truly. *puke*

Sunset view from our balcony. Too blissful an evening it was. 

Morning view from our hotel's room on the second day. The fantastic Mount Kinabalu finally showed himself. And he was out for more than ten minutes. Ouh how I extremely wish to wake up to this view every morning!

I was reading a friend's entries about her vacation in Sabah recently. And it hit me hard upon realizing I never scribbled any of my vacations in Sabah before. Taking things for granted; just because I'm a Sabahan I never give it a thought of scribbling about the places I visited in Sabah. Sangat lupa diri, yes? It hit me hard after reading how well she scribbled & described my hometown. Siap boleh buat reference to future visitor as well. Whilst me, did nothing to promote my own negeri. Boohoo!

And I decided to write about Kundasang. Not in details like hers but at least this entry will give a sneak peek to people who haven't visited or who will visit Kundasang. In the future, Insha Allah I will try to make entries for each places in Sabah that I've visited before. Sesi throwback bakal bermula, woot!  

Sibuk mau explore negara orang, negeri sendiri belum habis aku jelajah. Shame on u, Bie! 

eryantierdabdulkarim