Oh my, I love Sabah! Part 3

I am getting better at this! :)

I love going on road trips, to me it is one of those activities where you can de-stress and see the world around you when you are moving. I was grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to bring my Peninsular friends to Kudat on July 2nd, the day after our island hopping trip (see previous post). This was only my second time to Kudat and my very first time driving long distance as the journey takes about 3 hours from KK Sweet Home to Kudat.

See my previous post on Kudat: http://motxam.blogspot.com/2008/12/kudattip-of-borneo.html

I have to say the journey was very routine: to stop by in Tuaran for non other than Tuaran Mee (that was our breakfast) and continued our journey to Kudat.

Let these pictures fascinate you:

Mighty Mount Kinabalu, blanketed with clouds. Zhi Kai told me it looked like Mount Fuji.

Eat right away! My friends enjoyed feasting the Tuaran Mee. Yeah! That's the spirit.

Before we went to Simpang Mengayau aka Tip Of Borneo, we spared our time to visit Bavanggazo Rungus Longhouse in Matunggong :)

The entrance to the longhouse. The fee to go in is only RM2 per person.

Sturdy enough to support me! :)


The gongs.


I could reach one of the pillars! I'm not that short after all.

The Rungus aunties who were selling the souvenirs were friendly enough to take pictures with us. They did not hesitate!

No doubt, the visit to the longhouse was truly an amazing experience :) We bought enough souvenirs. If you want to go to this longhouse, just make sure when you are on your way to Kudat the junction is on your left, very easy to locate actually as a huge signboard will lead you the way. After the visit, we went straight to the Tip Of Borneo (more like, ear of the dog if you do know how Sabah actually looks like, literally).

Once again, let these pictures fascinate you :)

Just like my maiden trip to this place last December, the feeling of in awe and gratefulness struck me again.


YES! The tide was low, the sea was so calm, now that I've got my chance to...


GO FURTHER! :D


Finally, and again for the second time, I conquered the Tip Of Borneo. This time I really made sure it was the tippest I could get :P


Oh my, the clear blue sea behind me, I could just jump in anytime you know. I did not really care of what happened to my skin. Tanned and burnt to the max!


The landmark is still there, all in its usual glory :)

Not long after that we went down and stopped by at the beach, just before the mini police station in the area. I was excited and more than in awe of the beauty. Nothing could stop me from stripping off my shirt and heading straight to the water! :)

LIFE'S A BEACH :D


Once again, I did not put on sunscreen, not even a drop of it. I'm the ultimate sun worshipper remember?

I wished I could stay a bit longer but the heat was so unbearable; and I should have brought extra clothes with me!

We managed to go around Kudat and had really good street food there. After I pumped fuel into my Grey Wira Aeroback, we went back to KK. Along the journey, we stopped by for food, again, and this time it was corn baby! :)

More like, smoked corn. You have to eat it hot; it does taste good! :)


My friends managed to look around when I bought smoked corns for them. I also bought the famous sweet potatoes for my parents to savor every mouthful of them :)
By the way, can you spot those sweet potatoes?

I also went for the extra miles (again, literally) to stop by in Kota Belud for toilet breaks and my friends managed to go around the town for awhile. Proof?

This is where my father was born :)

We reached KK around 7.30pm and the reward for such a great and exciting road trip? Seafood for dinner! Location? Welcome Seafood Restaurant in Jalan Bundusan; behind Supertanker. I guess these pictures will speak for themselves :)

I really enjoyed the dinner. Everything was great from the very first dish we ordered to the last. Hold on, I should have posted these pictures in Food Blog #21 instead! It doesn't matter I guess :P

I was dead tired but at the end of the day, the road trip to Kudat was worth it. My friends were impressed and one thing is for sure:

They got to see the more beautiful side of Sabah!

Oh my, I love Sabah! Part 2

One thing I like about Sabah, Kota Kinabalu in particular is that everywhere is near: you want to climb the Mount Kinabalu (which is in my list of 1000 things to do before I die), the journey is only about 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on how fast you drive. You want to go to the beach (Tanjung Aru), drink fruit juice and enjoying the sunset, the journey is only about 10 minutes; and if you want to go to the islands? A fifteen-minute boat ride and voila! and you can finally say that you're in an island. That instant.

People who plan to go to Sabah! Attention! If you're in KK and you want to go to the islands, you are SPOILT FOR CHOICE. There are 5 beautiful and gorgeous islands to choose from: Sapi, Gaya, Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug.

Want to go to one island only? No problem.

More than one island? No problem as well. The more the merrier!

Last month, July 1st to be exact, I got the chance to go island hopping on three different islands (Mamutik-Manukan-Sapi) with my friends who came from the other side of South China Sea (Peninsular, geddit?) and the experience was MORE THAN MEMORABLE, hands down. :)

Let these pictures fascinate you:

A group photo is a must before the trip to the islands, period. :D


Speedboats awaiting people to hop in. This is the part where the real excitement begins!


I'm coming to conquer you islands!


First stop: Mamutik. Damn the beach. I didn't even put on sunscreen, mind you. I was so excited.

Kota Kinabalu from Mamutik. The mighty Mount Kinabalu can be clearly seen from here! :D


Mamutik oh Mamutik.


Damn the seawater. I could just dive in if I want to.
I think I said 'damn' twice already.


Zhi Kai aka Ah Ma loves Sabah! :)


Pulau Sulug, closer!


Pulau Manukan, in the background.

This photo is taken in Pulau Sapi, the last island of the three-island-hopping spree. I think of all the three islands we went, Sapi is the best of them all. Simply because I saw a wild sea turtle there! My friends and I managed to get someone to bring us to the other side of the island to snorkel and boy, the coral reefs and all, they are awesome! We were fortunate to see the sea turtle. If only I own a waterproof camera...

Last but not least,

I had a lot of fun doing this: parasailing! I had the best feeling ever; going up to the sky when the boat was going really fast and going down to the sea when the boat slowed down, all for 20 minutes. My RM55 was worth it, no doubt! I will definitely try this again next time! :D

Oh my, I love Sabah! Part 1

Good riddance now that I have time to spare to write, I should go straight to my topic. Since I traveled quite often when I was back at home during my mid-year break it would be better for me to share this unforgettable experience with you; and I bring you my first part of "Oh my, I love Sabah!"

It was on the second week of June when my dad approached me if I could join him to go to Tenom and I quickly jumped from my couch and said an exciting "Yes!", without any hesitation :) And so, I went to Tenom for the first time of my life on June 15th. Once again, I let these pictures fascinate you! :D

Well will you look at that dense fog!
Picture taken along the Kimanis-Keningau road.

Well, if you use this particular route to Keningau/Tenom you cut the journey short by about 1.5 hours rather than going it all the way via Tambunan. Nice view by the way. We are talking about the Crocker Range here people!

So this is where the Crocker Range Park Station is! If you use this road from Kimanis and happen to see this signboard you are about 15 minutes away from Keningau.
By the way, can you spot lil' grasshopper?


Sabah Agricultural Park.

Your visit to Tenom is incomplete if you don't come here! I definitely recommend people to go this park, very well maintained, one great place to chill out and enjoy the nature. I was hoping for the four season fruit but there was none. :(

There were a group of Australians who went on the tour with us and they called this quote "Cannonball Tree" ;)

It's worth to pay Tenom a visit! :)