Rumah Terbalik The Upside Down House in Borneo

if u are staying in kotakinabalu

u must have heard all the fuss about Rumah Terbalik , The Upside Down House in Borneo

it was all over the newspapers

even nizam who was here for a holiday saw rumah terbalik on his way up to kundasang,

and he suggested that we go and check it out 

well, me being me, of course i wanna see what's all the hype about 

also, i can proudly say that i've been there, done that

nizam drove . and with my superb instinct and knowledge on roads in sabah,

we arrive after 30 minutes ++ drive from kota kinabalu

and we miss the junction 

because there were no signage at all  

we were quite in a rush since i thought that the rumah terbalik closes at 5pm

and man was i wrong 

we arrived around 4 ish plus

thought that it closes at 5 

but apparently opens till 8 pm

rushing like nobody's business and apparently u open till 8 -____-!

it was drizzling 

-__-!

so pictures are a little bit gloomy 

we were greeted by staffs wearing kain batik sarong and official rumah terbalik polo tshirt 

quite a lot of staff i must say

but maybe it was raining so not much tourist / locals stopping by 

we were charged rm 10 PER PERSON

rm 20 for the both of us 

for foreigners rm 18 

still dirt cheap for them 

but anyway 

the rumah terbalik operates in a way only a group will enter the house 

and then followed by another group 

even though there were not many people around 

so u'll see the staff holding walkie talky

acting all important 

communicating with each other 

like lady gaga is entering the house 

even though there were 2-3 of us around visiting 

the entrance fee includes 

a guided tour of the house

so a guide will follow u around the house 

u can't take pictures in the house 

which is a bummer 

and u can only walk on the designated red carpet path 

the guide will show u around the house 

explaining the area of the house

etc. living room, wash room 

and while u were admiring the whimsicality of the house

and when u were about to get dizzy seeing the world upside down, 

the guide will proceed to next area of the house 

as if pestering u to end the tour quickly 

man i paid rm 10 for this 

at least let me take my own sweet time 

hell, i can't even take pictures inside the house 

and for  rm 10

i get two minutes of guided tour inside the house 

ok exaggerating maybe five minutes 

SO NOT WORTH IT 

such a RIPOFF

god 

the side elevation of the house

nizam taking a picture of the house 

this is me making my rm 10 worth it 

taking picture with a banana tree 

this is at the souvenir shop area 

and there is a cafe too

unfortunately no free drink with the entrance fee

don't be fooled by our facial expressions 

such a disappointing tour 

back elevation 

me again

trying to make my rm 10 worth it 

taken from the souvenir shop area 

to take a picture with this kancil

it's free

so next time if u drop by here

just take a picture of the kancil and the exterior of the house 

from the parking lot area

i just saved u rm10 

me again

trying to make my rm 10 worth it 

nizam's final verdict 

my personal opinion on how to make it better 

maybe the guided tour should not pester us to quickly end the tour 

*let us take our time to admire your hard work 

*it will be more informative if the tour includes the history, idea, construction

i suggest , provide visual/interactive information boards on the history / idea/ construction of the house 

*an area inside the house for visitors to take a picture . at least one area . designated area la. 

great effort to promote tourism , but i'll just go once in my lifetime

rumah terbalik 

location : Kampung Telibong, Batu 21, Jalan Telibong, Tamparuli, district of Tuaran.

operating hours : 8 am till 8 pm