Harish's Story of Sabah

Hi all! Below is Harish' story, I have corrected some spellings (in green).

Mabul Island - I like Mabul beach but the beach is dirty. Do you no (know) why? Because the village peoleo (people) troh (throw) dirty things in the beach. I saw a lizet (lizard) in the beach. Oh ya, I almost forgot this I collect a lot of big sheles (shells). The boat is very special and thats my best right (ride) ever in the hol world. And the 2 boat right (ride) was a lot of waves and I think that the boat is goving (going) to tebalek (terbalik, Malay word for upside down). And that’s the end. Byby!





Harish, 8-8-2011






Bukit Gemuk - The part I like is the canopy walk but dont no (know) why my father and my stupporn (stubborn) brother whes (?) to. And I head (hate) Madai Caves because there is stupid insict (insect). But when we climb the rock that was very fun. But because of the ideoyt (idiot) monkes (monkeys)when (went) and stop us. Madai Caves was so papam (telugu word for pitiful)because the birds nest is gone. Do you no whats the best thing? It is the rock just kidding hahaha! Madai caves sh!sh!sh!sh! actually I dont want to tell you this but I well (will) tell you madai Caves has so much of poo. Byby, have fun in yo (your) holidays.




Harish, 9-8-2011




Madai Caves- Madai caves is beter (better) then (than) Bukit Gemok. I wish I when (went) to the orang utan place. Do you no (know) how many this kain (kind) of things? 7 of them. Do you no what's the best thing in Sabah? Its the teksi (taxi) ..just kidding ha!ha! When we go to the aroplan (aeroplane) my ear drams (drums) ormost (almost) bust (burst). Now we are again in the aroplan. I wish this is not bad and when we were goving up and down we saw a trhee (not sure?) stick on the wall and I feel sorry for the trhee. But the best climber is Rishi because he is a Scout. And now he is sleeping in the aroplane because he is walking so long. We saw pretti (pretty) mushrooms and insicts. We saw a big quin (queen) ant and guah-guah (not sure). And this is done by Harish.

Harish, 9-8-2011


Thanks for sharing, Harish.. Rishi's version coming next

Escapade into Bukit Gemok, Tawau

Day 6  – 9 August 2011

Bukit Gemok (The Fat Hill) is about 10 km from Tawau town. The peak of Bukit Gemok is about 425m above sea level. This is a gazetted and protected forest. But as we saw everywhere in Tawau, it is surrounded by oil palm trees owned by private companies, encroaching right next to the forest.

The signage to Bukit Gemok

Bukit Gemok has the second longest Canopy Walk in Sabah at 231 meters, also known as 'Titian Selara' in Malay. This the its main attraction. The canopy actually hangs from tree to tree. It was built in a very eco-friendly way without damage to the trees.

Bukit Gemok Forest Reserve - the entrance

And this is what the boys wanted to try, the canopy walk. For me I was just tired of seeing miles and miles of oil palm trees, and was eager to see Sabah’s more natural side.

So, we had a quick breakfast at a Chinese coffee shop in Tawau - red bean pau, mee soup with fish and nasi lemak. We didn’t quite like the taste of the mee soup and nasi lemak.

Nasi Lemak Sabah style -wrapped in plastic (in West Msia usually banana leaf is used)

Mee soup with fish inside

Bukit Gemok was quite easy to find. Look out for Merotai Road in the Town Centre and follow this road till you reach Kuhara Road intersection. Then turn left and drive about 5km. You will soon reach a signage that welcomes you to Bukit Gemok.

The signage inside the Forest Reserve

But it gets a bit confusing as you turn left after the signage, as the road splits into two and you need to decide which one to take. We took the road that seemed to go uphill and ended up at a dumping ground – Tawau’s dumping site (kawasan pelupusan sampah). Can you believe this? Plastics bags of rubbish were scattered miles and miles away and more and more garbage lorries were coming up the road.  A dumping ground beside a gazetted forest?? Whose brilliant idea was this?

We headed back to the junction and took the other road which led us to Bukit Gemok Forest Reserve.


As we stood talking to the forest staff, we could smell a strong stench in the air. We realised the source was the dumping site.  A dumping site right beside a Gazetted Forest!  Sabah State Government – pleaseeeee, what’s going on?? DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.  According to the staff, there has been many complaints but no action.

The pondok (rest hut) to refresh

They provide chalets for those wishing to stay the night. The staff cautioned us about monkeys and snakes, and fallen trees due to rain that may obstruct our trail. They gave us their mobile number in case we got lost. We were asked to keep to the trail and to look out for 7 stations/rest huts (pondok). These are the landmarks.

Station No 3

Station no 6

The hanging canopy and the mighty tree stops

The canopy walk starts from the 7th station. Seems there are 7 to 8 canopies but we were advised to stop at the 5th canopy as the others were under repairwork.

Wah..some more can show off ...

Harish

We bought a few bottles of drinks and started trekking at 10am. We came down at about 12.30pm. About an hour to trek uphill till the 7th station (many obstacles due to fallen trees) and an hour to complete the Canopy Walk.

But well worth it because….

1. I could now say that I made it all the way up ..my first complete finish of a hillclimb….yahooo

2. The boys enjoyed the jungle trekking and canopy walk

At the last canopy stop

Will you stop taking my pictures?



3. We got an aerial view of Tawau Town from the Canopy tree stops

An aerial view from atop Bukit Gemok

N at the 5th Canopy stop

Tawau town and its coastline

4. We saw many insects and lots of butterflies

5. The stench from the dumpsite didn’t’t permeate the air in the hills

6. We had the jungle all to ourselves (as there were no trekkers that morning)

7. We got some beautiful shots of the forests

  

8. The boys successfully completed their mission..

Just before trekking back downhill



Warrior dance

We cleaned ourselves in the washroom provided and rushed to get back to our hotel for check out. By the time we reached the hotel, our car rent friend was already waiting and tried to raise the rent a bit as we were a little late. But when I told him there is still fuel left in the tank worth about RM20, he left.

As for the hotel, we were charged RM10 for every hour after 12pm. Luckily we checked out before 4pm as the full rate for late check-out is due after 4pm.

We went for lunch at the nearest Chinese Restaurant, and had fried rice and noodles. They charged us RM0.50 for one glass of ice water!

We wanted to make one final stop at the Pasar Tanjung Tawau (also known as Tawau Hanging Market). So we walked all the way with our bags. But although I had read much hype about this largest indoor market, what I saw was a worn out market. The unique concept of hanging their merchandise is okaylah, kind of attractive ...items sold were mostly dried fish, squid, anchovies etc.

  

What's unique about the market is products are hung neatly in rows after rows using rafia string...

Even the salted fish are hung..

Since our flight back home was delayed till 10pm, we arranged for a cab to pick us from the ‘Esplanade’ at 6pm. So while the children spent the time at the playground, N and I just sat and soaked in the breeze from the Celebes Sea.

N



The boys lost in their own world at the playground



Tree pose

Okay now they are seriously modelling

Rishi

The esplanade

Against the moonlight

Sunset in Tawau

At about 5pm, I took a walk to Yassin Curry House (only open late afternoon as it is Ramadhan month) and bought 2 packets of chicken briyani at RM6.50 each. Really tasty.

At 10.25pm, we flew out of Tawau.

Tawau Airport

 

While all of us slept or at least tried to sleep in the plane, I saw Harish writing his own Sabah travel story. I will share this in the next post...look out for 'Harish's Story of Sabah'.

 

Engrossed in story-writing in the airplane

Some tips :-

1. Do go with proper gears meaning shoes, comfortable shorts or tracks, water bottles, etc

2. It isn't humid in the hills, but the climb up will sweat you out

3. We didn't see any leeches

4. Be prepared for obstacles along the trail like fallen tree trunks; you need to either go over it or around it

5. There are parts where the trail becomes a bit blur, look out for the plastic bag tied to the trees (the landmark)

6. As you reach Canopy Station 6, you can hear the sound of monkeys; but we didn't see any come our way

7. We spotted a snake on one of the canopies; and we let it pass before moving on

8. The scenery from atop Bukit Gemok is really worth the climb up - you can see the town centre and the coastline

9. Look out for thorn trees and plants ; quite a number around

10. Look out for spider webs and use a long stick to clear it; otherwise it will end up on your face

11. The Admission Fee is RM1 for Adult and RM0.50 for Child (Malaysians)

All photos are copyrighted. I can be reached at sivakay2009@gmail.com.

  



Spitful Semporna

Day 4 – 7 August 2011 / 1 Night

From Mabul Island, we reached Semporna at about 4.30pm.

According to Wikipedia, Semporna has a population of around 135,000 and is the land of the Sea Bajaus.

There is not much to see and do in Semporna itself. The first thing I noticed was the spit on the streets, pavements and roadkerbs. The locals here seem to be spitting all the time. Just walk down any street in Semporna and you will know what I mean.

As two of us had bags with rollers, I had to make sure we didn’t have any direct contact with the spit. I had to be the extra eyes for the boys telling them to look out and avoid it at all times. One local I spoke to actually paused to spit in between sentences, wow, it has become a habit that they are hardly aware of what they are doing. How disgusting!

Since it was already late in the afternoon, we decided to stay in Semporna. So, while the boys sat down for a drink in the only visible Mamak Restaurant, I scouted around for a decent hotel to spend the night. There are more lodges and inn in Semporna than proper hotels. Everything fortunately is just a walk away.

The town is dirty, messy, full of immigrants and crowded around markets (tamu). And these markets just mushrooms everywhere, along streets, alleys, etc etc.

After enquiring at 3 lodges/inn, I chose the one nearest to the bus terminal so that we could leave the first thing in the morning. I stopped at the terminal to find out bus schedule to Tawau. They have A/C express buses plying the route of Semporna-Tawau everyday at 7.30am, 8.30am, 11.50am, 2pm and 4pm. Just nice for us to leave at 8.30am in the next morning to Tawau.

The room came with a window and two Single Beds for RM70. It had the best shower ever. It was soothing hot and had adjustable water speed. The boys experimented with high speed snow-like shower. That day, we all took turns on refreshing long showers/bath to make up for the lack of it in Mabul Island.

Later, I dreaded walking out for dinner as I couldn’t stand the sight of spits.

But leave we did, the boys wanted seafood so we went looking for one. We found one but surprisingly we were told that there were many customers waiting and that we had to wait close to 2 hours for food. We really couldn’t see that many seafood restaurants; considering that this is a coastal town with so many fishing villages. So, we walked back to the only Mamak Restaurant we knew. Ordered chicken and seafood tomyam, roti telor, onion tosai and roti canai – the all familiar Malaysian food.

The next morning, I packed some sausage rolls, egg tart, butter sandwich and kaya puff from a bakery (thank god there was one) and Milo and Nescafe at a Chinese Coffee Shop. Funny thing was I found out that if you ask for a 'Tarik' drink (pulled drink) you have to pay RM1 extra. How ridiculous! So I opted not to ‘tarik’ my drinks.

We left Semporna via the 8.30am Express Bus and enjoyed our breakfast in the bus.

Some Tips :

1. Stay in Semporna only if you absolutely have to

2. Get your stock (snacks, packet drinks) from the supermarkets here if you are visiting the islands. Prices are reasonable.

3. As I had already mentioned, look out for the spits, they are everywhere

4. You may encounter barefoot beggars on the streets; I saw a whole family begging

5. Be prepared to come into contact with many many Indonesian and Philippino immigrants


I can be reached at sivakay2009@gmail.com

Where the Sun Meets the Sea - Mabul Island

Day 3 and 4 – 6 and 7 August 2011 / 1 Night

Mabul Island is a small oval shaped island ringed with sandy beaches (see map below). It is actually a fishing vilage since two decades ago and it became popular to divers in the 1990s as it is about 15km from Sipadan Island. Those going to Sipadan use this island as a jump-off point; one cannot stay in Sipadan but in Mabul Island, one can find lodging – budget or luxury.

  



Map showing location of Semporna and Pulau Mabul (Mabul Island)

After an early breakfast at the floating chalet restaurant, we gathered in front of the Dive Operator’s office for our 7.30am departure by speedboat.  

Breakfast at Floating Chalet Restautant

The boys all ready to board the boat

The boat was docked at the chalet so we got in easily. About 16 of us were in the boat with a crew of 3. None of us were reminded to wear the life jackets for safety. In fact the crew spreaded some life jackets onto the seats for people to sit on as the seats were wet from previous nights’ rain.

As we took off....

Looking so fresh before the boat took off....after the ride was a different story

Wah, so happy and cheerful before the ride....

The boys took a spot near the engine for a better feel of the wind and water. Me and N sat on a plastic chair (?) opposite them. The type of plastic chairs you find in coffee shops, the one that can be moved around easily.

The boat left Semporna at 8am for the 1 hour ride to Mabul Island. What a ride it was! Halfway through the journey, it started to rain. The waves were strong and we were jolted up, down, sideways, many many times. Several times, my heart skipped a beat and I thought this is it, we were doomed. So much for my escape plan to a remote island for my birthday the next day! I think I lost count of the number of times I screamed.

The boat ride..before the rain started

Rishi was soaked to his skin and moved closer to N and laid his head on N’s lap till we reached land. I held Harish tightly with one hand and N’s T-shirt with the other. We were all soaked and I could see and feel Harish shivering, teeth chattering. On top of it all, the bloody plastic chair that I sat on kept jolting with the boat. I had to drag it back in place for stability. Everyone else seemed so cool, maybe this was all normal to them.

Divers and snorkellers getting ready for the morning ride..

Finally, we reached the lodge. It was a floating chalet, standing on stilts and arranged prettily on the water.

The chalets provided by the operator..these are the more expensive ones than the one we stayed..

The crew helped with our bags. While waiting for our room to be ready, I quickly changed the boys’ clothes, and we sat down for our breakfast – hot tea, coffee, bread, butter, jam and fried rice. Almost 80% of the guests were Mat Sallehs (Caucasians), 15% Chinese, 4% Sabahans and 1% Indians (us). Yup! We were the only ethnic Malaysian Indians there and we naturally stood out.

Common gathering area that served as a restaurant..

While eating, we saw people getting ready for their dive, each donning their gears. So many gadgets – dive suits, snorkel, mask, fins, underwater camera, oxygen tank, all available for rent. This is definitely a niche sport.

A team of freshies learning the basics of diving

When we finally got our room, we were disappointed. The worst room (or dorm) of our trip. There were 4 single beds, one table without mirror, attached bathroom with a small mirror, toilet but without shower. There was a pail and dipper for bathing, the traditional ‘mandi’ with cold water. The bedsheets lokked worn out, do did the pillowcase. Electricity is only available in the island from 5pm till 8am in the morning, luckily our room had A/C so at least we could sleep well at night. I just think the money we paid for that room was not worth it.

Harish in the room

The village behind our lodge, some villagers had their own boats

None of us bathed for the two days we were there because the water was cold – it rained the first day and the second day although the sun was out, the water was too cold. And when you rinsed your mouth, the water had some chemical taste to it. What was that?

The scene at the village when we took our first beach stroll

In the late morning, the boys were restless, and we realised that the rain wasn’t going to stop. For non-divers like us, the beach hang-out is the next best thing to do.

An oil rig converted into a lodge in the middle of the sea

So we packed one bag with some tidbits and went for a walk-around-the-island in the drizzle. It seems it only takes 20-mins to complete one walk-around of the island. But it took us longer! You know why? There was hardly any beach left!!

Houses along the beach

1. There were so many stilt village houses built on the beaches that we had to walk underneath the houses to pass through. There is whole settlements of immigrants from Philippines who have made the island their home. These villagers (Bajau Laut /sea gypsies) are fond of the sea and so build homes on the beaches.

Typical stilt house, and we saw more of this being built

2. Some parts of the beach are not accessible as private resorts/dive operators have declared them as private property! We had walk through private luxury chalets to do that one island round. I am sure if we lingered long enough, the guard will remind us we were trespassing.

Corals and shells for sale in the village

We had to walk on wooden bridges put together with long pieces of planks around the stilt village houses to get to the beach. Some villagers have set up small shops to cater to the tourists. We saw quite a few of these, you can get items like soap, detergent, tidbits, drinks etc here. We passed barefoot children playing self-created games, a surau, a school, a kindergarten etc etc.

Rishi and Harish spotted an empty stretch of beach and were eager to play but we were warned to be careful as there were shrapnels of glasses lying on the beach and in water. The beach was strewn with rubbish and women were scavenging for re-usable items.

At one time, we passed a private resort with beautiful chalets and landscaped gardens, and had to jump fallen trees and squeeze past fences just to do the island round. Definitely more than 20mins!

When we finished the round and ended up back in the village, we couldn’t find the connecting plank/bridge to our chalet. The locals pointed out our lodge and we made it back.

The boys were naturally disappointed as they couldn’t play on the beach. To make it up, N rented a snorkel and mask for him and Rishi and they did some shallow water snorkelling. From the jetty, we could see many starfish and other sea creatures.

At 2pm, we followed N and some guests to a nearby reef about 10mins boatride away for snorkelling.

The starfish - plenty around

Rishi happily attempting snorkelling

Some of the others who were in the boat with us..

Harish comfortably seated for the ride..

It was N’s first so naturally he was excited. After 45mins, the snorkellers returned .

N putting on the snorkel

Rishi encouraging his dad

Father and son

While waiting in the boat, me and the boys saw a big turtle. We could see the turtle’s head popping in and out of the water as he swam.

Rishi on the lookout for N

Can you see the turtle's head bobbing out of the water? He was right behind our boat

The group

That evening, we saw a beautiful sunset where the sun meets the sea. Pretty, very pretty.

The sunset..where the sea meets the sun

Another beautiful scenery

Family watching the sunset on the deck

Dinner that night consisted of white rice, chicken coated with honey and soysauce, vegetable and fried beef.

The boys at dusk

Rishi took this shot...his masterpiece, beautiful, yes?

 

As the sun disappeared

Some guests sat on the deck chairs reading books, some were photographing the sunset, some drinking away, and others including us sat under the moonlight for some time.

The boys spotted some cats and started chasing after them. That night, me and the boys slept almost instantly. N stayed out till late, he said a couple (siblings) from Denmark joined him. Some guests played the guitar and had group singing sessions. It seems 2 giant turtles came close to the chalet that night.

On the 2nd day, the sun was out. After breakfast (fried mee hoon; tasteless) we walked to the beach to let the kids play on the sand and collect shells. I was sure they will freak out if we didn’t find a good spot for them. We found a spot which was fairly clean, right in front of one of the luxury chalet operators. The operator had built a jetty leading up to the jump-off point for divers and snorkellers. Yes, it was written that this was ‘private property’.

While the boys played, N and I took a long walk on the jetty, ignoring the sign. What a beautiful sight it was. As we walked further away from the beach, on both sides of the jetty, we saw so many corals and colourful fishes. And when we reached the end of the jetty, we saw many divers already underwater. As the corals are protected, everyone is warned not to touch them. Unfortunately, we missed out on photos here as we couldn't charge our camera batteries the previous night. The plug in the room just didn't work.

Every resort/dive operator had their borders in the sea meaning areas for their guests to dive. Outside this border, you could see poor and homeless sea gypsies carrying on with their lives. Some had built huts on stilts, some live in boats (I saw people cooking, washing, eating and sleeping in their boats) while their dirty looking children, some totally naked, catch fish, swim and play on the beach.

Rishi told me later that they actually played ‘throw and catch’ with the starfish. They seem so neglected and are different from some other villagers who seem to live in some kind of social order (like having schools, mosque etc). I even saw a banner in the kindergarten thanking MP Khairy Jamaluddin for officiating the opening.

The contrast was so obvious. The many Caucasians and a few Chinese/Japanese holiday in luxurious beach chalets/resorts and enjoy diving/snorkelling; while the poor sea gypsies live right beside the resorts on rubbish-strewn beaches and old stilt houses. I watched as the guard rudely told the poor children to stay off the jetty.

The other contrast was while divers are told to preserve the corals and reefs and protect marine life, the poor villagers collected these corals to be sold as souvenirs!

At one point, the guard on duty tried to tell us we were trespassing on private property. He looked Malay but spoke in American slang. We said we were just checking out the place for future holidays.

We even went to the reception to enquire on rates and were surprised to see the place teeming with Caucasians. It looked like an exclusive place for them. The staff manning the reception was Caucasian, so was the Manager. Except for menial jobs like cleaning, housekeeping, landscaping etc., which the locals did.

By now, the boys had happily collected 3 big plastic bag full of shells and one cup of live baby crabs. We went back to the lodge and I asked them to release the crabs as we can’t possibly take them back as they will surely die. The boys did as were told.

We had lunch (squid in cauliflower soup (yuks), chicken etc) and asked the operator to let us know if there were boats leaving the island before our scheduled departure at 4pm. They said there is one at 3pm. By 2pm we were asked to check-out.

The ride back to Semporna was smooth, we could see many Indonesian islands from the boat.

The ride back..more calm

Bye Mabul Island! And to the pretty bird that posed for me below, have a great life...you are so pretty.



I saw this lonely guy perched on a rock near a resort



There he is...he knew I was there but stayed put on his spot

Some Tips :

1. Be informed that Mabul Island is for diving enthusiasts so all lodges/resorts cater and pamper more to their needs.

2. There are packages for non-divers.

3. Mabul Island and the islands surrounding it are blessed with reefs, corals and sea life that can only be seen through diving or snorkelling; so if you don't do either one, you have not really seen Mabul in its wholeness


4. Best if non-divers go on a day trip but it may not really be worth the money as return boat transfer is expensive; RM100 per pax (adult)


5. If you bring along children, they may get bored easily, other than leaving them to play at the beach and there is not much of this left. The dive operators offer no stimulating activities for children.

6. There are no proper shops, supermarkets or even restaurants in the island so you have no choice but take up one of the packages offered by the dive operators as they provide meals (there are however small shops that sell tidbits and household items for tourists; and I saw one small restaurant run by a villager but not sure if they open all day)

7. There are no cars and motorcycles on the island, the mode of travel is by walking


8. Electricity is turned off from 8am till 5pm every day, so be warned. Charge all phones and cameras beforehand.

9. Baths are traditional Malay styled - cold water in a bucket of water. I suppose if you opt for expensive resorts, you need not be concerned about this.

10. Would recommend a night stay for honeymooners at the expensive resort - ideal place. Sunrise, sunset, crystal clear water, corals etc etc


11. The last boat leaves the island at 4pm daily


12. The divers are mainly whites so the food is tailored to meet their taste buds; very mildly spiced and lots of beef


13. There is separate rent charge for renting of suits, masks, fins, oxygen tank and whatever gadgets that divers or snorkellers use including underwater camera


14. Be ready to take lots of pretty pictures; whatever said, islands are always so picturesque


15. Venture and check out the other dive operators' places - the jetties, dive site as some of these places have beautiful underwater reefs and corals- and find clever ways to ward off the guard that 'protects' the 'private property'


16. Take time to look at how the villagers' live - especially the sea gypsies, their houseboats and the childrens' antiques. Really makes you count your blessings.




Some concerns :

1. Is there any effort to control the population in Mabul Island? I think the island can only sustain so much habitants.

2. Is there any effort by the state government to conserve the reefs and corals and the marine life that thrives here? I hope so, as my spirits were dampened at the sight of so much rubbish on the beach and in the crystal clear waters.

3.  Is there any hope for the poor Sea Bajaus who live here? Are their children going to live the same life as their parents? Who looks after their needs? There seems to be sections of them who are obviously marginalised?

4. Are more and more private operators going to build more resorts and chalets here? And deny the visiting public access to the beautiful beach of Mabul? Who gives them the right to own beaches?

I don't have the answers...but I do hope fervently that these concerns can be addressed. My dear Sabahans, if you are with me, do something for your Mabul Island please.

All photos are copyrighted. I can be reached at sivakay2009@gmail.com.