Here I am… in Papar…

Papar is a compact town.

This is how I summarize Papar after a 6 weeks stay. The many round-a-bouts (which is actually a trademark of Sabah, I may put it that way on my own. I've never been to anywhere where there are so many of them, which can be both annoying and helpful), fresh market, a Giant hypermarket, a Super Store, a KFC, many small restaurants, a small district hospital, a Public Bank, a library, schools, furniture trades, plant nurseries etc basically just nice enough for you to live adequately. For more, you'll have to drive the extra 20km to Kota Kinabalu city.

But I like it. It’s almost quaint, but not so with the shop lots tampering the scene as you drove further. From KK you’ll catch a brief glimpse of beautiful beaches, greeneries, fields and hills, and on entering the town via a metal bridge hanging over the Sungai Papar / Papar river, you’ll meet a roundabout. Then, turning to the 2 o’clock direction, you’ll meet another one. Go straight then and you’ll meet another one. All in less than 1 km, much to my amusement. (By the way, I’m describing the route towards the district hospital, where I live nearby). Traffic moves at 40 – 60 km/hour on the tiny roads, seat – belt free being an unwritten exception here. Limited parking space in shop lots area, so park somewhere and walk around instead. Break a sweat here and there now, shall we ^_^

The fresh market sold fresh stocks updated almost daily. Here I bought almost all of fresh supplies especially tofu since super market tofu disagree with me with their gooey chunks appearance. I made an exception on eggs, after a vendor cheated me on by trying to charge me RM2 for 5 eggs (a normal egg usually costs roughly RM0.32. Call me stingy but why buy products of unknown quality when you can get better.), and carrots and tomatoes since I found supermarket price cheaper. Since I do make trips to the city from time to time, I made it a point to stop at the city Giant to stock up on young carrots and tomatoes, mushrooms (can’t find any here except canned ones) and potatoes. So what else do I usually buy in the market? Mostly green leaf vegetables and beans, regardless the price since the supermarket only sold these wilted and/or godawful looking vegetables. Once in a while I’d venture to the open market at an open space between shophouses for a change of scenery, not better bargain since the stuffs sold are nearly the same. The open market offers other stuffs like more fruits, local snacks and delicacies, clothes, fake brand names, with vendors of pirated VCDs and DVDs wedging in between.

Though I’d never venture in them before, I found myself walking into many restaurants which are extended branches from the city such as Juara Nasi Ayam and Taufiq 3, and making mental notes to visit their KK branch some other time soon. Some of my favourite stops for Malay food are Bestari (near KFC), KFC itself, Pandan and Restoran Pantai Manis. I’d say that the food selection here is pretty alright, given the variety of choice.

And so is accommodation. 10 – 20 km prior entering town, there are 3 resorts to choose from; the Beringgis Beach Resort (RM 220 - 400), Borneo Paradise (RM 200 - 400) and Langkah Syabas (RM 200 - 400). In both Beringgis and Langkah Syabas they have their own travel agents, but Langkah Syabas also provides a direct transportation from the airport and boating service to selected islands.

So basically that’s Papar for you. Of course, life gets monotonous after a while for us who are used to many life distractions and fillers such as the mall, cinema, recreational area and such. I’d admit to sporadic boredom from the daily classes and practical to the same selection of vegetables and fruits so the periodic return to Kota Kinabalu would be filled with grocery shopping for canned food, instant pastas, dry goods, mushrooms, herbs and fruits. I’m not exactly complaining but hey, I lived in the other world but it can still merge with my Papar world so why not?