by Daniel Chiam
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Under the bridge |
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Under the stars |
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The limestone, Batu Punggul |
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On top of Batu Punggul |
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The tajau shaped limestone |
The folklore has it that Batu Punggul was once a Rumah Panjang (long house) belong to one of the Murut tribe in Sapulut. The tribe and their long house was cursed and was turned to limestone for making fun of a leech by making it drink the rice wine and getting it drunk. They were laughing and humiliating the leech and thus it offended the spirit or guardian of the forest.
On your way to the top of Batu Punggul, you will come across a cave which believed to be the entrance to the long house, and in it you will see a huge tajau (traditional jar) shaped limestone which believed to be one of the remaining of the long house.
I would also like to thank Mr. Lantir and his whole family from Kampung Tataluan for the hospitality and for taking good care of us when we were there. Thank you for the shelter and for the freshly caught wild board for dinner! We really had an awesome time there.
My other stop: