| Ishan Ibrahim |
WITH the long road trip to Kota Kinabalu a taxing experience for Bruneians, many take the opportunity to stop by the sleepy, laid-back town of Sindumin.
Sindumin is located in Sipitang Sabah, Malaysia, and it is also a town near the Brunei Bay.
Just half an hour from the town of Sipitang, Sindumin is the entry point from Sarawak to Sabah, with few village shops and a small market providing daily necessities.
Fridays and Saturdays, however, transform the quiet town market into a buzzing hub of activities as the village people converged in the hundreds, bringing with them local products, particularly local fruits.
The Friday Market is a recent addition to the traditional Saturday Market.
It begins early in the morning and ends at dusk with traders and sellers often taking turns occupying slots to sell their products.
On offer are udang galah, fresh and dried fish, ready to cook punai tanah, vegetables freshly plucked from the forest – like lamiding and pakis, and in-season fruits.
Of course there are also stalls selling food and drinks for hungry visitors.
Buyers come from all over Sabah, Sarawak and even Brunei.
Some are middle-men merchants buying items in bulk to be sold back in their own town, while others are hunters for more exquisite or unique local products such as the parang, tongkat and even semi-precious gem stones. The Saturday Market is even more unique. It begins at three in the morning and ends four hours later.
You would be lucky to find a parking spot anywhere near the market, with late-comers often having to walk over a kilometre.