My Kudat days: culture shock. Still in Kudat…

My last stay in Papar is nothing to be compared to the one in Sikuati. The gap is way too huge. It’s an eye – opener and also I was hit by culture shocks, lots of them.

So here goes.

The village where we carried out our research project on hypertension was Kg. Rampai. At first glance this picture shows you a very tranquil village; azure sky, swaying coconut tree, lush paddy fields, friendly villagers. That was, before we had to trudge through sloshy, muddy paddy field to reach some of the houses, panting through the hill climbs, all bang – up in the bus during the rough trip on the pothole – filled and uneven road, chased by dogs and walking around in the dark when evening came as there are no street lights. Then came the part when you enter the houses where the stairs and plank floor creaked with your body weight, animal litters scattered on the floor, the dilapidated roof and wall seemed as if it’s gonna collapse soon, houses sometimes indistinguishable from the woodshed, no pipe system (most relied on the rain water collection and gravity feed system) and more dogs which freaked the hell out of our Muslim companions.The view of Kg. Rampai Vinilai, Kudat, Sabah.

So the dinner at KFC after that was a treat to us all.

This one shows the condition in a house with a case of undernutrition child in Kg Barambangan, Kudat, Sabah.

Some villages still rely on well as water source, like the one here in Tg. Kapur. The one below here is not for drinking purpose however, due to the fact that it’s dug too near to the sea.

A well shared by many houses, Tg. Kapur, Kudat, Sabah.

We joined one of the Aedes mosquito surveillance activities, also in Tg. Kapur. The pictures depict the housing conditions there.

The backyard of a house in Tg. Kapur, Kudat, Sabah.

This one is from a fogging activity in a water village, Kg Landung Ayang. The houses may seem crappy from outside but upon entering you’ll be surprise to see the sound system set – ups. They will at least have a karaoke system. The house with the grandest set – up is easily recognized as they would be playing music at full blast, which we passed off as a joke “song dedication for the whole village”.

The houses here are referred collectively as the "kampung air" @ water village since houses are built on platforms on seashore.

There was this remark made wryly by an officer regarding these villages: “it is difficult to determine the poverty line in Sabah sometimes, you’ll be thrown off balance when you see the sound system set ups in the houses and the undeclared lands they own in contrast of their income, housing conditions and undernutrition children.” Which is sadly, mostly true. And I leave the rest to your ponder.