The Walk That Never Ended
A memory of Sandakan, Tuaran, Kepayan and the walk home that became KK Sunset Villa.
Viannie Undikai
10/15/20263 min read
The little girl in blue on her walk home. Illustration created for Stays Well Global.
I was seven, and even then, I didn't fully understand. My parents decided we would leave Sandakan, though all I knew was that home was changing. My sister and I were sent ahead to Tuaran, to our grandmother's small, quiet home, where her steady love became our anchor. My sister was always by my side, we shared a bed, our fears, and every tiny dream. I started Primary One at St. John's in Tuaran, and slowly, that small town grew inside me.
Later, the whole family reunited in Kota Kinabalu. My father, a police sergeant, moved us into the police quarters at Kepayan, a ten-story building, our home on the second floor. It was simple, but alive, with neighbors who felt like family.
Our old home at the Kepayan police quarters, now demolished. Photo courtesy of Petrus Bansing and Earlyn Lee.
Kepayan Police Headquarters today. Photo courtesy of Petrus Bansing and Earlyn Lee.
The hill and field where we played as police kids, sliding down in paper boxes. Photo courtesy of Petrus Bansing and Earlyn Lee.
Kepayan Police HQ as it once was, seen from above. Photo courtesy of Petrus Bansing and Earlyn Lee.
Police officers were usually transferred every five years for promotion, but my parents decided to stay put for our stability. We stayed there like forever, until I went to college at ITM. My mother, who couldn't read a word, started a small Gerai, a zinc-roof stall where we sold bananas and daily necessities. That little stall was my first business school. I helped count coins, learned math, and saw how, even with weary hands, she never gave up. Some nights, I watched her sorting coins under a dim light, saving for a future she couldn't even name. And yet, from that Gerai, she sent my sister to the UK. She never asked for herself, only that we soar beyond what she ever dreamed. That was where we broke every boundary, and where I learned that love, when it works hard enough, can open any door.
Gerai: a small roadside stall (Malay word)
A fruit stall in Kota Kinabalu, much like our Gerai. Photo: Caroline Jones, CC BY 2.0.
Gerai: a small roadside stall (Malay word)
I went to Stella Maris. I wasn't the smartest, but I was adventurous, and that was its own kind of beauty. Every morning, when the other police kids piled into the lorry, no doors, just the wind in our faces, I felt free. And on some afternoons, when I needed peace, I chose to walk home alone. An hour beneath the blazing sun, my shoes wore thin, but so did my doubt. As I walked, I looked up at that house on the hill, and I whispered, "One day, I will stay there." Years later, that dream became KK Sunset Villa, a place where every walk, every dream, every peaceful moment led me to a home I now share with others, where guests come to feel that same wonder.
Sunset over the sea from KK Sunset Villa today.
That girl in blue was learning to grow up. Leaving home taught me that love travels. My mother gave me sacrifice; the Gerai gave me grit; the lorry gave me belonging. And that long walk, it never ended. Every step, every dream, I'm still walking, still grateful. And now, at KK Sunset Villa, that dream is a reality, welcoming everyone to find their own path home.
Gerai: a small roadside stall (Malay word)
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