North Borneo Travelog 1

Overall North Borneo Travel

Sabah, was once known as British Colony of The North Borneo, is now part of the federation of Malaysia. After gaining their indipendence on August 1963, Sabah along with Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya sign an agreement to form a federation called Malaysia. The agreement was sign on September 1963, a month after the independence of Sabah. Sabah is also known to as The Land Below The Wind, a phrase used by sailers of the past to describe lands below the typhoon belt.

This island of Borneo is home to over 32 ethnics group, as well as more than a hundred species of flora and fauna. To our amazement, these species are still counting! Sabah has one of the oldest rainforests in the world, apart from The Amazon. This part of the island is the only place where you can see the large-nose-monkey, known as probosis. It is also home to the highest mountain that stand between the Himalaya and The New Guinea.These are the reasons, of which made Sabah a meltpot of culture, flora and fauna. Perfect for those travel-craving mind of yours.

Ho to get to Sabah, Malaysia?

There are a number of flights coming though the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. From Kuala Lumpur, board another 2 hours and 45 minutes flight to The capital city of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. Tourist can choose between a variety of flight carriers to go to sabah. We have Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia and Malindo Air. There is another airline reporting to begin their service to Kota Kinabalu, Rayyan Air. 

You can of course fly directly to Kota Kinabalu, without transit in Kuala Lumpur. There are several international flights from China, Korea, Indonesia and The Phillipines as well as AirAsia (Flying from the east of the world) making Kota Kinabalu as their destination. Other foreign flight carriers which land in Sabah are: Jin Air, Cebu Pacific Air and Dragon Air.

Once you arrived in Kota Kinabalu, you will need to pass through an immigration check-point. after that things willl get eaasier. There are several ways of which you can travel within the Land Below The Wind. You can either ride Buses, Cars, Taxid and intra-Borneo aircraft, MasWing.

Kota Kinabalu is the capital city of the state. It was formerly known as Jesselton. It is commonly known as KK, by Malaysian and internationally. The people of Sabah address themselves as the Sabahans. And of course, by pride! The tagline of this city is Bandaraya Peranginan Semula Jadi or Natural City of Tuorism. The city is equipped with: Hospital, Library, Mall, parks and etc.

Getting a ride to Mount Kinabalu.

Black sky over Kuala Lumpur

Oath stone, SIB church

Mount Kinabalu is best accesible from Ranau. Ranau is a a Dusun derived word, ranahon which means mud. As time fly by, people start calling Ranahen as Ranau, it is easier to pronounce.

From the airport, tourist will have to go to a bus station located near Padang Merdeka, Kota Kinabalu. 

There are two types of transport you can chose to get there:

1- Taxi: Cost RM30. You can also go directly to ranau via taxi (Long Haul taxi), but it will cost you RM120.

2- Airport Bus: Cost RM5. The bus will rotate from KKIA Terminal 1 to KKIA Terminal 2 and then to the bus station. of course the time needed to get to the bus station is longer, but hey, this is the chance for sight-seeing (from the bus).

Once arrived at Padang Merdeka, you gonna have to walk for a little distance from the location of the Airport Bus Drop zone. look for signboard RANAU. There you can choose weather you want to ride Taxi, Mini Buses or Unser. The drivers can speak English, and they usually depart after their transport is full. They wear blue short-sleeve shirt, and they are friendly. Now, don't go too friendly with them, you might forget your flight home! HAHAHA.

1- Taxi: Will cause you RM 20. Advantage: Wait for another 3 person, and you are good to go! Short waiting time. Disadvantage: Cost is more by RM2 compared to other option. Considerable, yeah?

2- Unser: 4 wheel drive, with 9 passenger excluding the driver. RM18. 

3- Mini Bus: A small bus with very limited leg room. Price: Unknown. 

There is another option: By Bus! or they call it Bas Express. These busses are meant for the East Coast of Sabah. but they are gonna stop at Ranau. 

The journey to Ranau will take about 1 and a half to two hours. along the way, enjoy the scenery, feel the wind (if the driver decided to turn off the aircond), listen to your iPod, or make friends in the car!! Dont forget to take a few shots of the highway. Reading is not advised, because the journey is zig-zagging. this could lead to nausea and vomitting. you are gonna lose your energy! After all, your motive of coming is to enjoy!! Don't ruin them with sickness!

EXTRA INFORMATION: All these transport will ask you where do you want to go, because they can drop you at your destination of choice along Kota Kinabalu-Ranau. The more passenger the transport can hold, the more stops it will make.

For more information about public transport is Sabah, please refer to Sabah Tuorism website.

My journey to the centre of the planet!

Fresh vegetables, bright colours flowers and fruits!

My journey in this beautifully crafted part of the world will include land, train and sea travelling. I am to start the journey from Ranau and move further into Sabah to Keningau. There i will continue to Tenom. Then im gonna take a train to Beaufort and continue the journey to Membakut, a small Pekan located on the Eastern-Coast of Sabah. From Membakut, Labuan will be my next destination so im gonna cruise in either a ferry or a speedboat. 

Speedboat seems more.......... Interesting. Don't you think?

NOTE: Heres some picture, I took along the way.

Small Old Town of Tenom

Tanjung Aru Beach Near Kota Kinabalu International Airport

Small Hanging Bridge in Keningau

Mini Bus from Keningau to Tenom

Deserted Road

Sabah Railway

Ticket with only RM2.75

Scenery Along The Way

Beaufort Railway Station

Ferry to Labuan

Purplish Sunset Over Kundasang

this pretty much summerize our journey. but we do have some recomendations to make the road far more colorful:

1- In every district you go, please at least have a look on their market. 

2- Tenom railway station will open 30 minutes before depature of the the train, if you are travelling i group, assign someone to book a seat for you! REMINDER: There is no seat number on the ticket. Though still very much cheaper. yeah, considerable.

3- Take the morning train if possible. 

4- Bring hand held fan in the train. its pretty steamy!

5- Stay at least half a day in each town. Go sight seeing! enjoy yourself!

Finally: Apa Guna Pergi Luar Negeri, Lihat Kinabalu Hati Saya Rindu!

SONG

And to Ter, Ann, and Ess, and Ben (who wasn't in the trip):
When you are reunited with your friend, and you want the moment to last more than everything! It is as majestic as the sunrise, its like walking on an untouched beach, and it is the most beautiful colour in the world. 

Friends are evergreen, there are no old and new friends! They will remind you of your childhood memories, they will tell you right from wrong, they have the same frequency of humour with you, they laugh to your funny-ness (even if they have to fake it), they cry with you, they sit with you on a river bank and talk about everything and nothing, they give unconditional advises, they know when you sad when you don't even talk about your sadness, they record a video of you snoring 3 am in the morning and they tease you for it, they have name-code that only you able to understand, they accept you for who you are, they make time to see you even if there is none, and most importantly: 

When its time for you to part, they will say "I'm looking forward to our next reunion! Its not as fun if you are not around". 

And when you found these peoples, when you know these beautiful and amazing friends of yours, hold them tight, and never let them go. 

Labuan, Nov 29 2015.

nukilan JebatBukanPenderhaka dengan izin Tuhannya