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Sabah
Land Below The Wind
Sabah, " The Land Below the Wind", is mountainous with a lush tropical rainforest. It is a country of unspoiled beauty, fascinating culture, isolated tropical islands, and home to one of the highest mountains in South East Asia, Mount Kinabalu (4,095m). This paradise also offers visitors activities such as jungle trekking, mountaineering, diving, exploration of caves and much more.
Kota Kinabalu, the gateway to the rest of Sabah, is also the State Capital. It has a population of around 300,000. Kota Kinabalu or K.K. as it is usually called, is a relatively new town as the original town was destroyed during the Second World War. In the vicinity of Kota Kinabalu there are various places of interest, including the offshore islands, Tanjung Aru Beach, the State Museum and the State Mosque, the Gaya Street Fair every Sunday morning, the "pasar malam" or open night markets where you can test your bargaining skills, and nearby water villages. Kota Kinabalu itself is well served by hotels and restaurants of international standard.
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The Cultural
Sabah's population comprises over 30 different races and over 80 different dialects. The 3 main indigenous groups are the Kadazan/Dusun, Bajau and Murut. The Kadazans/Dusuns are found mainly on the West Coast and makes up about one third of the population. They are prosperous agricultural people and are the main rice producers of Sabah.
The Bajau are skilled fishermen though there are linguistic and cultural differences between those living on the west and east coast. Those living on the west coast are predominantly farmers and they are well known for their skilled horsemanship. Those living on the east coast are mainly sea nomads, coming ashore only to bury their dead. The Murut live mostly in the South West region of Sabah and in remote parts of the interior residency between the town of Keningaru and the borders of Sarawak and Indonesia. They were great hunters who uses spears, blowpipes and poisoned darts.
Accomodation
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Places of interest
For travelers who prefer to laze under the sun, Sabah offers glorious tropical beaches with activities such as swimming, snorkeling, or just simply relaxing on the beach. These beaches are located on five different islands near Kota Kinabalu and are something not to be missed by visitors.
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Kinabalu Park
Sabah's state park, Kinabalu Park, is a naturalist's paradise with its unique flora and fauna. The park is also the dwelling ground to the world's largest "orang utan" sanctuary. For those who enjoy a more active holiday or want to be in the cool natural surroundings, Kinabalu Park is the place for them.
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Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park
The Tunku Abdul Rahman Island, located only 10 to 15 minutes by speedboat from Kota Kinabalu consists of 5 beautiful islands in the sun. Here, visitors can treat themselves to a fun filled day among lovely sea creatures at the marine park. The islands fine white sand beaches provide endless hours of sun bathing and its crystal clear water is ideal for swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving.
The Tunku Abdul Rahman Island is also surrounded by colourful coral reefs filled with a veritable treasure trove of marine life. Accommodations are not available on the islands, however, permission to pitch a tent can be obtained from the Sabah Park Office.
To get there, ferry service is available and that each long boat can accommodate 10 people. The boat service is operated by the Marina and leaves the Marina Jetty at the beach hotel in Tg. Aru every one hour.
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Pulau Tiga Marine Park
Lying approximately 48 kilometers south of Kota Kinabalu, off the coast of Kota Kinabalu , is Tiga Island. The word 'tiga' means three, and as the name goes, the Tiga island compromises of three islands abundant in flora and fauna. These three islands are the island of Tiga, Kalampunian Besar, and Kalampunian Damit. Spanning an area of 15,257 hectares, the islands were also gazetted as a national park in 1978. It also supports an assortment of animal and botanical species, as well as a prolific coral garden.
The reefs are easily accessible and contain some species not usually found on the west coast. Within its emerald depths, divers can see delicate sea fans, staghorn coral and schools of vibrant coral fish.
The best time to visit the islands is between February and April when it is drier and the seas are calm. A rest house is available with two rooms. Visitors are advised to bring their own food and camping equipment. Permission to camp must be obtained from the Ranger-in-charge at the Sabah Parks.
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Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary
The Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary is a fascinating place where visitors can observe trainers teaching orphaned or displaced Orang Utan apes to climb in their natural habitat. At this rehabilitation centre, captive animals are retrained for life in the jungle.The centre allows a close-up view of these arboreal creatures.
The best time to visit is at 10.00 am and again at 2.30 pm when the primates emerge from the forest for their daily ration of bananas and milk. You can see the orang utans being fed from a platform in the centre. Nicknamed the 'Wild Man of Borneo', the orang utans are returned to the forest when they can fend for themselves.
Aside from the orang utan, over 200 species of birds and a variety of wild plants can be found within the 5.666 hectares of forest reserve.
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Turtle Island
The Turtle Islands, lying some 40 km north of Sandakan and close to the Philippines border comprises of 3 islands - Selingan, Bakungan Kecil and Gulisan. It covers an area of 1,740 hectares which includes the surrounding coral reefs and sea. The Island is famous for its green and hawksbill turtles which lay their eggs on the beaches of the islands. Fly to Sandakan from Kota Kinabalu.
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Layang-layang Island
The west coast of Sabah offers visitors the perfect diving environment with an enormous variety of marine creatures and corals that enliven Malaysia's tropical seas. The island of Layang-layang is one of these internationally famous diving sites. Located 165 nautical miles northwest of Kota Kinabalu, the oval-shaped island is nearly 7 square kilometres wide and 1.2 square kilometres long. Layang-layang is accessible by light aircraft and is only an hour's flight from Kota Kinabalu.
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Sipadan Island
The island of Sipadan is located at the east coast of the state of Sabah and is Malaysia's premier diving site and rated one of the world's best diving locations by Jacques Couteau. Here, divers will be able to swim with sea turtles, spot schools of Hammerhead sharks, and cruise beside giant manta rays as one is diving along a coral wall that plunges 2,000 metres. The variety of marine life on the island of Sipadan is amazing with more than 200 species of fish and 70 species of coral that have been recorded.
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How to get here?
There are many ways to plan an escape route to Sabah. The capital Kota Kinabalu (or more fondly known as KK) is the gateway into Sabah. The international airport in KK entertains flights from Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Japan (Osaka and Tokyo), Korea (Seoul), China (Shanghai and Guangzhou), Taiwan (Taipei and Kaoshiung), Hong Kong, The Philippines (Manila, Cebu, Puerto Princessa, Zamboanga), Brunei (Bandar Sri Begawan), Thailand (Bangkok) and Singapore. Flights from other parts of the world will not directly land in KK but flights from the mentioned places are frequent, which is convenient for a traveler at anytime. Driving from Brunei or Sarawak into Sabah is possible but only for the patient few. Once in KK, other parts of Sabah are easily accessible, be it by air, sea or land.
There are no secrets in Sabah, just treasures everywhere to experience. The journey is barely a chip off the iceberg, melt the ice by experiencing this memorable destination.
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