With Fishes, from Pitas (Part 1 of 2)

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Anyone knows where is Pitas? Many may have forgotten this little small town on Sabah map. Since I started my blog, this place was always a big question mark to me. There is nearly no information about Pitas on the Net, and I didn’t know what attraction it got, otherwise I could find an “excuse” to visit it.

Finally the Pesta Bengkoka (fishermen festival) last week gave me the chance to come to Pitas the first time. The event was held in Mempakad Beach. The first thing that caught my attenton was the hut-like structure a few KM away from the shore. I spotted more than 10 of them. At first I thought it was a fish nursery farm.

When I looked closer, each platform has a small hut on it, and it got light at night. In the following day, in a fishery exhibition, I was told that this was “Bagang,” a traditional fishing device used by Pitas fishermen since 1980. They place a big fishing net in the sea bottom, using light to attract the fishes gathering above the net. When thing looks promising, they just lift the net and collect all the fishes trapped inside the net.

Though the mechanism of Bagang looks simple, each of them costs about RM15,000 (nearly USD5,000) to build, mainly because of the use of expensive wood, which is resistant to sea water. Sadly, with that amount of money, they don’t get something like floating chalet. But they are trying to market it as an attraction. You can arrange a visit to Bagang, to see how they catch the fishes. Sound like a cool experience.

Imagine you are fishing and watching sunset on Bagang. So now you see the first promotion to Pitas on the Net. Pitas is one of the poorest district of Sabah. Hopefully tourism can bring more income to improve their living. My interest of further exploring this place is still strong after the first visit. Will tell you more if I come again.

The Marudu Bay is between the “ears” of Sabah and near to Pitas too. Probably due to lack of pollution by industralisation, the sea water is clean and suitable for oyster farming.

Picture below is a sea cucmber checking out the oysters. Some call these oyster as “Peacock Oyster” coz of its colours.

Ikan Billis (Billis Fish) is the famous product of Pitas. Besides being used as a ingredient for many local food, they are also made a good snack. My mouth watering already…

Photos taken in Pitas, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

27 thoughts on “With Fishes, from Pitas (Part 1 of 2)”

  7. xJRONx

    i think dat u should know about diz..
    but i think dat u may already knew about it..
    just FYI..
    at pitas, there are also rungus people too..
    in bongkol, kanibongan, dandun, and many more areas..
    usually, when people talk about rungus people, kudat will be the first thing in their mind..
    but make no mistake..
    there are also rungus people living in pitas n some area in sandakan, mostly beluran..
    i guess dat many people don’t notice about the rungus people over there, as there are little info about them..

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  11. carmen charlotte

    excuse me, if your staying at kota marudu hotel that is marudu inn,season inn or palm hotel! it will take about 2 hours to reach pitas!i know pitas more bcoz my mom is from pitas and i went there before!if you don’t believe me,you can ask anyone that is older who is from pitas!

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    1. Steve

      Which is the nicest place to visit, Kota Marudu or Pitas? I want to visit with three families for one night in late December 2014 and happy to stay in homestay or hotel, but I can’t find information about accommodation or the towns.

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      1. Murphy

        Hi Steve, sorry about the late reply because I don’t know much about these two places. Based on my knowledge, both Kota Marudu and Pitas have something special.

        For Kota Marudu, Sorinsim (or Serinsim) National Park is worth a visit:
        http://goo.gl/3k9bxq

        For Pitas, attached please find its travel leaflet. You can contact the lodge to arrange a tour for your family.

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  13. duke of eastaring

    i may have travel to many place..but the most place that i cant forget is this place.. sir..maybe u wanna see culture of my race… tombonuo…just go to kampung sungai Eloi… u may put some interest info about my culture to ur website… and im very thank you for that.

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  14. wakat

    hey guys…just to update u all..Pitas da ada hotel sekarang ba..nda susah lagi cari mana tempat tinggal if u wish to visit Pitas…room very clean, my fren baru balik dari pitas for pesta bengkoka…so apalagi…

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  15. farizan

    salam….jom p pitas anda pasti,akan merasai keindahan pemandangan yang tersendiri,dan keunikan kampung tersebut..heeeeeeeeeeee…ada pepatah melayu belum cuba,belum tahu,sudah cuba baru tau..huuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

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  16. didie

    Assalamualaikum…..klau anda ingin ke Kg.Mempakad,try la p BAGANG k…..pemandngan laut yg mnakjubkn lg indah….you will not regret it, so go with your family.and, do not throw garbage in the sea ok.

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    1. Murphy

      You born in a beautiful place! I always want to visit interesting places in Pitas, but my last trip to Pitas was cancelled due to serious flu.. 🙁

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    1. Murphy

      dee, tiada bas dari kk terus ke pitas. u perlu ambil bas from kk ke kota marudu, mungkin sana ada bas atau taxi pergi pitas (perjalanan ambil 1 jam atau lebih).

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