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!