Travel: Semporna to Tawau

Assalamualaikum..

Hi guys! So did you enjoy my previous post? Please tell me you do *insert crying face* hehehe. So the next day we checked out early in the morning because we want to go to Tawau. The designated driver *ahem* come and pick us again. He dropped us at 'checkpoint' where my friend had already waited there. There are this thing about 'checkpoint' here in Sabah. There were actually many road intersection called by that name. According to my friend, it was due to the Police men that used to do a roadblock at that place to catch the immigrants. Now there was no more roadblock left but still the name 'checkpoint' remained to this day and understood by the locals.

Anyhow, my friend picked us up and drove along the way to Tawau. Compared to Semporna, Tawau is rather a much more bigger district with developing town. We stopped by in Kg. Titingan for like the best soto I have ever tasted in Sabah! It was spicy of course but full of flavour. Gosh, I'm drooling the moment I'm typing this! hehe.. Then she tried to contact her friend's mother that worked in a Cocoa Factory to know whether they open for public or not. Unfortunately, they only open for big groups since it will be a guided tour and needed a prior notification and arrangement :( But, if you guys are interested, you can check them out here.

The best bakso in town (left) and ABC milo (right)

Rojak ayam  and cendol

Then we decided to go to Pasar Gantung. It was similar like the Philippine's Market in KK so we just browsed along the market. The next place was a shop that sells a lot of pearl based jewelry. But again, we didn't buy anything and just browsing. I don't remember the shop's name, sorry! hehe. The next destination was Pasar Tanjung in the middle of the town. There were many things sold here from snacks like amplang until the salted dried fish. We bought a lot of amplang here because it was very cheap compared to KK. Amplang is actually fish crackers but it melts in your mouth and have a very distinctive taste. It is safe to say that amplang is unique only to Sabah.

Various locally produced food in Pasar Tanjung

Tawau Mosque

Since it was already around late afternoon, and my friend has lost idea on where else should she take us. Hehehe so we decided to visit one of the malls there. She meet with her family there, and me and hubs decided to watch a movie during that time. After that we went to her sister's house to have some rest before the flight. She sent us to the airport and we were very thankful to her for the hospitality that day :') At about 830 pm we safely landed in KK.

This is our kind of  'romantic' :P

It was such a great holiday. The moment we arrived at home, I felt a sense of missing to the nice view in Semporna. Definitely I made a promise to myself that I will come back again, for sure :) Hope you guys enjoy the entry on our trip to Semporna. I will update to you on the cost and itinerary later, okay? Till then, thanx for reading! :)

Travel: Semporna Day 2

Assalamualaikum..

Hi guys! So are you thrilled to read the next part or not? Haha I bet you are *clap clap* :P hehehe..So the next morning we woke up early because the boat leaves at 8.30 am and we have to gather at the agent first to register our names. Oh I forgot to tell you that the fees also inclusive with the fee to enter Taman-taman Sabah. They do a head count first, pack all the foods and also the scuba gear for those who does scuba diving. Truthfully, I would like to learn scuba diving. It was like in the list of 'Things that I would like to try, but first, be rich' kinda thing. Haha. But seriously, if you have all the excess money, please try for scuba diving :) Anyhoots, we depart first to the Taman-taman Sabah office to pay for the fees and then straight to Mataking Island about 1 hour boat ride from Semporna Jetty. It was far alright! According to the guide, the next island after it is already the Phillipines! The journey was not that sea sickening, but definitely a bumpy ride! Haha (do you also read that in the voice of that thing on the bus that Harry Potter took to the Leaky Cauldron, or is it just me? haha)

The main jetty in Semporna

On the way to Taman-taman Sabah

They gave us the wrong ticket. It was supposed to be RM 2 only for Malaysian

On the way to Mataking Island

Is that Bohey Dulang Island? I think it is

Look at all those tanks!! 

Finally we are here!

Getting excited!!

Upon arrival, you could see that there were many soldiers guarding the island due to its location near the international border. But don't be afraid, InsyaAllah everything is safe there :) We were left on the small island first and the boat went for a deeper part of the island for the scuba people to do their activities. Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that Mataking Island consists of two islands which were separated by a sand barrier and can be passed through during low tide. According to the guide, the small island is now a private property and cannot be passed through randomly. There is a resort on the big Mataking Island for those of you who would love to stay there. 

Mataking Islands; the small and the big island. Source: Here

Le hubs with Mataking Besar as background

C'est moi with Mataking Kecil as background

Us :)

After 30 mins or so, the boat came back to take us to the bigger island. We snorkel some more and got a little tired because the sun was like literally scorching our heads! Tips 5: Do not forget your sunblocks guys. It was really hot there! Soon after, they took us to the Timba-timba Island for lunch. I forgot to take a picture of the food, but definitely it was really good, considering the grumbling stomach we all had. Hahaha. There were spicy chicken, omelette, stir fry veges, rice and also fruits. We had a good rest there. Some decided to fish using papaya as a bait while some decided to do a backflip on the jetty. Haha amusing of course!

Beautiful Timba-timba Island :)

On the way back. Tired, but still happy :)

Then we headed to the other side of the island to do a last session of snorkeling. There were many fishes! Sadly we didn't have an underwater camera so we couldn't show you the amazing view in the sea. T_T I might consider saving up to buy that kind of camera..hmm...Anyhow, around 4 pm we went back to Semporna and reached there by 5 pm. We were very tired of course, but couldn't missed out on buying some souvenir for the family. There were many souvenir shops in Dragon Inn and grabbed everything that we want there (we've paid for it, of course :P) and went to hunt for dinner. We were starved and search no further thus settled for the shop near the jetty. We had fish and stir fry veges. It was good and decent considering the price :) Then we walk slowly to our hotel. If you guys are into night activities, I think there were a few shops that open up until late at night. 

I've paid, okay? :P

Toooo hungry to smile properly..haha

So that was the end of day 2 in Semporna. The next day, it was suppose to be another day trip to some other islands (Sorry I forgot the names!), but we decided to cancel it and changed our plans to discover Tawau instead. Luckily I have a friend over there and she was free to take us around town :) So, I think I will continue about that in the next post. Until then, bye!

Thank you for reading!

Travel: Semporna Day 1

Assalamualaikum...

Hi guys! It has been what..? A year? Haha that was freaking loooong. I know :P hehe I had just been caught up with works, family, friends aaaand a lot of cafe hunting. But no worries, I have never forgotten you guys. No fret ;) hehe. So back to the topic, I decided to share my travel experience with you guys since I missed this place a lot!! Semporna is like the lost heaven in Sabah, even Malaysia I think! So please bear with all the awesome eye torturing picturesss because I kid you not, it is like literally having sex with your eyes, feasting all the good view and the sea flavoured air. Haha that was too much information. Sorry! Hehe

So it was kind of a short get away with le hubs. We decided to go to Semporna, because well we just had a thing with sea and its kind. Hehe. So since I'm already in Sabah, only le hubs are flying from KL-KK and we went to Tawau the earliest flight the next day. Tawau is the adjacent district beside Semporna and the nearest airport to Semporna. You can opt to either land in Sandakan or Tawau, but Sandakan is waaaay farther to Semporna compared to Tawau. It's a little too much geography, I know.. haha. But just in case guys. Who knows when u accidentally bought a ticket to Sandakan and didn't know where to go kan? haha

The flight was early morning guys, excuse our panda eyes :P

We took MasWings flight to Tawau from KK and you can also choose to fly with Air Asia, no worries. The flight time is roughly 45 mins? I think? or lesser than that. Tips 1: You get to view the majestic Mount Kinabalu if your seat is on the left side of the plane. This was my first time flying to the east coast of Sabah so I am a little jakun. Haha. Anyway, a few naps after that, we safely landed in Tawau. From KK we have already arranged a designated driver (that sounds too fancy it seems wrong) haha. We booked like a chartered car la that comes along with the driver for about RM 100 from the airport to Semporna town. We have been conned actually but I will tell you about it later. You can get cheaper rate, if you bargain enough. Just don't take a taxi there because it will obviously gonna make a very big hole on your wallet. Don't say I didn't remind you :P The journey from Tawau Airport to Semporna town took us about 2 hours and 30 mins. Tips 2: Just sleep all you want because there is nothing much to see along the way. There were acres of oil palm plantation along the journey since Tawau is known for that. People down here are rich because of it, so don't underestimate them..hehe

Cheesy, I know :P

Tawau Airport

The designated driver *ahem* took us straight to the company that we book our trips with. I had made a booking earlier to stay in Mabul Island for 2 nights with an agent thorugh a Facebook page and thought that everything had settled and, boy was I wrong! Tips 3: Boat trips to the islands in Semporna leaves early in the morning (around 8-9am). We arrived in Semporna around noon-ish so obviously we didn't make it for the early boat! If we really want to go to Mabul that day, we have to pay charges for the boat which will cost us around RM100. So we discussed and decided to just stay in Semporna town and went for a day trip instead to Mataking Island and Timba-timba Island. The owner was really dissapointed with the agent because she didn't really tell us the truth about it. Luckily I just paid a little amount to her (about RM50) as a deposit, but hey money is still money, kan? huhu. But anyhow, the day trip cost us RM150/pax inclusive of return boat trip, halal lunch, snorkeling gear and insurance. 

Sipadan Mabul Lodge & Tours

Then we search for a place to stay, together with the owner for the island trip, and oh yes, Sabah people are kind like that :) Finally, decided to stay in Ocean Inn and it cost us RM 68/night. The room was spacious, bathroom was clean with hot shower and hair dryer, there were instant coffee and tea, and also water heater. We just rest in our room for the day and decided to explore the town during the evening. 

Semporna town is just a small town with enough facility to accommodate the town's people needs. There is one Giant hypermarket and also one Guardian Pharmacy to buy your necessary medications. We went to Giant to buy some bread for the fish tomorrow. Tips 4: Place small bits of bread inside a mineral bottle container so that you can feed the fish easily a.k.a many fishes will some to you..hehe. We had our late lunch+dinner just behind our hotel where you can choose from the many stalls there. We had our dinner in a steamboat buffet restaurant cost about RM35/person (if I'm not mistaken. Sorry, lupa!) If you preferred fine dining and wanting some exclusive feel to it, I would suggest to dine in the restaurant inside the famous Dragon Inn. Price wise: $$$. 

Semporna Mosque

Kids playing beside the mosque

The famous Dragon Inn. This is taken from our hotel. Underneath on the left is the many eating place you can choose from

For the trip tomorrow, I will continue in another post because I think this post seems like an essay already :P hehe. The total cost and itinerary will be posted in another post, so stay tuned guys..good things comes with patience :P :P :P Until then, bye!

Thank you for reading!