Famous for its suspension bridge, Tamparuli near Kota Kinabalu has another attraction — the region’s first Upside Down House, writes Olivia Miwil
MOMENTS after I uploaded pictures of myself with an upside down house in the background on Instagram and Facebook, my postings received lots of comments from friends asking me about its location.
Among these are my primary schoolmates who are not aware of the existence of this rare building in our hometown.
“Rumah Terbalik here in Tamparuli,” I wrote in the comment box of the two social networks.Though this unique building is probably the only one in the region — similar structures can be found in countries such as the US and United Kingdom, Rumah Terbalik (Upside Down House) is still relatively unknown. Even to the locals.
Owner Alex Yee, who built the inverted house in 2011, has put Tamparuli, a small town located 45 minutes by car from Kota Kinabalu, at par with the likes of Florida and Tennessee in the US and London.
The house is listed in the Malaysia Book Of Records as the first Upside Down House in the country.
Yee built the RM3 million red-brick structure, a souvenir shop, a cafe and a restaurant with the intention of drawing visitors to the town, especially those who are on their way to nearby attractions such as the Kiulu white water rafting, Mount Kinabalu, Kundasang, Poring hotsprings and more.
CAMERA-SHY HOUSE
The management is very strict about taking photographs of the interior of the house but visitors are given total freedom to capture the external of the building.
The management is very strict about taking photographs of the interior of the house but visitors are given total freedom to capture the external of the building.
A penalty of RM100 is imposed on each picture taken inside the house and the management holds the right to delete the images upon exit.
So far, there are only few areas of the house open to photography, and this gives netizens a bragging right to show off the pictures in the social media network,
Among these is a bright red Perodua Kancil, parked upside-down in a shaded garage, the garden and the bathroom.
Before visitors enter the house, in-house guide Bronika will show them how to enter the house the local way — by hitting the brass gong once, followed by a knock on the door. She says this local custom is a sign of politeness and respect for the host.
As we follow her around the house, Bronika tells an imaginary story of the house owners — a local Dusun tindal tribeman, his wife, a Sino-Kadazan from Papar and their son who lived in Kota Belud in 1960s.
Despite coming from different communities, the couple follow a few local beliefs and practices as reflected in the interior of the house.
For instance, a horseshoe crab shell is hung on the wall of the veranda as people in Kota Belud believe that the shell can help repel bad spirit while a bubu (fishing trap) is nailed on the ceiling as the wife believes it will “trap” good luck.
HAPPY FAMILY
A sewing machine, weighing 35kg, is the heaviest item you can see hanging upside down in the house. Besides sewing clothes for the family, the wife is also said to be an excellent cook.
HAPPY FAMILY
A sewing machine, weighing 35kg, is the heaviest item you can see hanging upside down in the house. Besides sewing clothes for the family, the wife is also said to be an excellent cook.
A typewriter and a basic phone, placed on the coffee table in the living room, alludes to the man’s occupation as a clerk in a government department in Kota Belud.
There are also adult and children’s Manchester United jerseys hanging inverted on the wall. According to Bronika, the father and son are close and they are always discussing football and other sports.
The young boy’s bedroom shows that he practises Aikido, plays badminton and reads comics. But what catches my eye is a set of markings on a pillar near his bedroom.
The markings remind me of how I used to do the same when I was child, to indicate how much I’ve grown in the past year.
In the master bedroom, a huge mirror is placed on the floor so that visitors are able to see the upright reflection of the room decor. The mirror helps to ease my dizziness of absorbing the upside down arrangements.
Bronika tells the visitors there is a message behind the design of the house: “The owner wants to spread the message that people should take care of Mother Earth or be prepared to face natural disaster.”
“Remember in 1996 when Tropical Storm Greg destroyed houses in Sabah?” she asks.
BACK TO NORMAL
After the short tour, I head for Mango Garden Restaurant next door to quench my thirst and to wind down.
BACK TO NORMAL
After the short tour, I head for Mango Garden Restaurant next door to quench my thirst and to wind down.
The restaurant has glass walls to allow the sun to shine through to the dining area. Through this, I can also watch a man attending to his organic vegetable plot in the backyard of the inverted house as I enjoy my tiramisu, served in a cute jar.
I am almost tempted to order lunch as the menu lists local appetisers such as hinava (raw fish salad), bambangan (wild mango pickle) and ulam but unfortunately, I remember that I’m due back in my hometown later for lunch.
Tamparuli, a five-minute drive away, is famous for its long suspension bridge, which is immortalised in the local Dusun song, Jambatan Tamparuli.
It tells the story of a woman who drops her high heels while crossing the bridge and buys a new pair at the weekly Wednesday market, which the locals call tamu. When I was a child, my uncle used to scare me by saying that I might find pieces of the woman’s shoes in my noodle soup. At that time, we were eating at a stall near the suspension bridge. Because of this, I have avoided eating the soupy dish, preferring to go for dry fried noodle instead, at a shop farther from the river.
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