Visit Malaysia Year 2014 - Rumah Terbalik (Upside Down House), Tamparuli

To support Visit Malaysia Year 2014, I will be writing on various tourist attractions in the country. Let us work together to bring in tourists to our lovely Malaysia.

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Have you ever see a house turned upside down? Can you imagine living in such a house? I bet you will have trouble getting yourself oriented. While the idea of living there is not appealing for me, I definitely would be interested to have a look at such a unique house and luckily for us Malaysians, we have an upside down house just around the corner.

Rumah Terbalik or Upside Down House

Located along the road to Tamparuli town, you can easily hop on town bus from Wawasan Terminal to Tamparuli and indicate to the bus driver to drop you right outside the Rumah Terbalik, which will be on your left. However, direct buses to Kota Kinabalu are not so frequent so you are advised to take a bus to Tuaran town before changing to another one back to the city centre. It takes about 40 to 50 minutes one way.

RM 10 for adult

Taxis and self-drive are two other options you can consider. Do ask the taxi driver to wait for you to finish your tour as it might be hard to catch another one.

You have to wait for your turns to enter as visitors enter by groups. There are tour guides who will lead the way, giving information regarding the house as we move inside the house.

Friendly tour guide

No photography allowed inside the house but you can take photos of its upside down porch, garden and toilet which are outside the building. I believe with this no photography rule, visitors will not be spoiled of the surprises the house has in store for you. The interior of the house is decorated according to the traditional Sabah kampung (village) house, fully equipped with living room, bedrooms, kitchen, and so on.

Inverted porch

Garden upside down

Imagine doing business here

There are cafe and gift shop at the end of the tour for you to recharge yourself or take back a piece of Rumah Terbalik with you. This Upside Down House is definitely a unique experience that can challenge your perceptions and definitely worth a trip.

Here's another take on Rumah Terbalik in Virtual Malaysia. Do have a look and comments away.

Info Box

Rumah Terbalik (Upside Down House),

Kampung Telibong, Batu 21, Jalan Telibong, Tamparuli, Sabah.

Opens daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Adult RM 10 (RM 18 for foreigners), child RM 5, free entry for children below 3 years old.

Website.