KOTA KINABALU: Yong Farmstay is an oasis of wonder in the middle of nature, where concrete buildings are snuggled among fruit trees and flowers as well as the natural environment.
The farmstay that boasts clean comfortable and spacious rooms within two buildings is build on land that was carved into a homestead for his family by a man who fled the war in his homeland, far away across the sea. The young man arrived on the shore of North Borneo and worked his way inland until he settled in Tenom and there he put down roots with his bride, also a child of the war, who as a baby was escaped the war-torn land with her parents.
Through thick and thin, the couple stayed together, working the land until such a time when their children grew, and their eldest whom they named Yong Oi Kiong grew up to be a successful man. This was all through hard work in everybody’s part.
The man who fled the war in his youth has since passed away and his son, now called Datuk Yong, took over the land and began to develop it. He ordered machineries to flatten some part of the land to build his Farmstay.
He turned the area into a tourism spot, where visitors can enjoy a walk on a glass bridge, or look out into the horizon far away from a platform. They can walk around the orchard of Duku and other fruits, they can walk on the bridge where the elder Yong used to walk on and feed the fish, or just enjoy the breeze as they sit on chairs available every where.
They can even try their hands at archery at the range available there. They can target practise all they want. Or they can try their hands with the sling with stones for shots. Boys in the days of yore were expert at both, and learnt to hunt games by these weapons.
For the Yongs however, best of all, the son never forgot his father’s legacy, and he honoured the older man by puting the old tools and paraphernalia up in a special place in the compound. There, the Hakka House reminiscent of his father’s old house stands, every feature showing how life was in the olden days. There are Hakka hats hanging on the wall, baskets and shoulder-poles are at the corner. Beds with mosquito nets are in the rooms where kerosene lamps are hanging on nails stuck on the wall. On the far side of the compound, a well still functions, complete with a wooden bucket just waiting for someone to roll it down. A visit to this house is like stepping back in time.
This is one of the tourism destination that the Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) Sabah Branch led by Lawrence Wong, are looking at as they are presently promoting Hakka Home and Culture in Tenom.
‘There are a community of Hakka people in Tenom that are still familiar with the old way of life and they are still in touch with the culture, traditions and food of this community. We want to work together to make this a tourism product, in Tenom,” he said.
MCTA was in Tenom recently to identify and promote tourism products in the district.-Anna Vivienne/BNN
