Tag Archives: sunset

Raja Laut

Raja Laut, the King of the Seas

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You know, though most Malaysians can’t afford to buy expensive cars such as Mercedes Benz, they still want to have a test drive to get a feel of it, if there is a chance. So do I. Though I’m prone to seasick (and not rich), that can’t stop my daydream to own a luxury yacht. :-p


Personally I know about Raja Laut, the luxury yacht for some years. Raja Laut means “King of the Seas” in Malay language. I’m so envy whenever I see the beautiful photos taken by their customers on-board. God probably heard me, so I received an invitation from Raja Laut for a tour onboard last week.


Above: Raja Laut stopped at Jesselton Point
Isn’t this 31-Meter sailing yacht sexy? Its body is made of high-quality wood, a classic design with modern taste.


Timothy, the friendly Operations Manager of Raja Laut, invited me on-board and showed me around.


Before I say more, you may look at the layout diagram of Raja Laut that I copy from their website, so you will know all the areas I mention later. The yacht is divided into upper and lower decks.

Upper Deck


Above: the deck area for enjoying sea view and most activities. The yacht can accommodate up to 30 guests, so you can host a small private party such as wedding onboard. Or you can charter the yacht for a seafaring and diving trip as far as India and Maldives. They can assign a divemaster onboard to company you.


Above: the navigation area for captain.


Above: you can lay on this deck for sunbathe *bikini models wanted*


Above: the wooden walkway on upper deck


Above: if you are bold enough, you can climb high up there and dive into water.


Above: the small kitchen


Above: the dining room

The yacht is designed by Carraz / Bosgraaf (from British if I’m correct). I like the little items that give a nostalgic feel.


For example, the copper pendulum that measure the wave level.


I’m not sure what is the thing above but it looks like old lamp to me.


Then Timothy took me to lower deck for a peek.

Lower Deck

In contrast to the warm temperature on upper deck, the lower deck is cooling b’coz of the air-conditioning.


The living room is spacious and cozy. I just love the Borneo-themed wooden interior. This boat is a piece of art! There is a TV for playing DVD and PlayStation.


There is a window on top so you can see the upper deck. The yacht is so stable, and I don’t feel that I’m on the sea.


They have 6 guest rooms (3 double cabin and 3 twin cabin) in lower deck. Each room can accommodate two persons, so they can have 12 guests to overnight onboard.


Above: the Double Cabin room


Above: the Twin Cabin room


Every room has an attached bedroom cum toilet.


You can read some books provided onboard.

Basically, that’s all about my “look-around” tour on Raja Laut, and I never expect I’ll come back again. To my surprise, few days later Raja Laut invited me again for a sunset cruise in the following week. I was really thrilled!

Sunset Cruise

There are a few other guests invited onboard. Among them are Iskandar and Chloe from Breeze Mag.


Shoes are not allowed onboard, so we put our shoes in a basket.


It was raining in the afternoon. Luckily it stopped around 6pm. Everyone was still very excited, even though the weather was not so promising.


Now I have a few gorgeous models for my photos. Thanks ladies! 🙂


The daylight is vanishing fast so Raja Laut departed to chase after the sunset. We still managed to get a glimpse of the fading sunset.



Above: these are how Sabah sunset looks like.


Yeah~ Snacks and cocktail served onboard! I really enjoy every moment on-board.


Above: Kota Kinabalu city looks so romantic and lovely after the sunset.


Thank you Raja Laut for your hospitality and fulfill part of my (day)dream.

If you would like to charter the yacht for a sunset cruise, private function or a sea trip, you may visit their website at www.rajalaut.com and contact them online.

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Horny buffalo enjoying sunset bath

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One year I had a vacation at Beringgis Beach Resort in Kinarut. The weather was nice and a beautiful sunset was approaching. Then I saw there was something else also enjoying the sunset.


It’s a buffalo at the beach. Seeing buffalo in paddy field is a common sight in Sabah, but I wonder what the heck it was doing in the sea. It looks like a depressed blue-collar wanting to end his burdensome life by drowning himself in the water. :-p


Out of curiousity, I walked to this buffalo for a closer look to see if it was sick. It noticed me but my presence didn’t bother it at all, nor did it try to move away. Since it was used to human presence, it must be from the village nearby.


This buffalo is really old and its horns are almost triple the length of other buffaloes! The gold ray of sunset shined on its hairy body, making it looks like some sort of tutelary LOL. But I didn’t dare to go too near.


So I just stick around to see what it would do next.


The high tide started to come in and the water got deeper, but it showed no intention of getting out of water.


The sea level got higher and reached its belly, and it was washed by waves after waves. It looked enjoyable and wagging its tail. Ok, now I see what it was doing. It’s taking a sunset bath! What? A retired buffalo trying to relax and enjoy life? LOL.


Whatever, I wish you all have a nice weekend. We should learn from this buffalo who knows how to have a good time.

Photos taken in Kinarut, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Pom-Pom Island – looking for bom-bom girls

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Pom-Pom Island is a relatively new destination compared to other islands such as Sipadan and Mabul in Semporna, Sabah. Few people know that Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP), also known as Semporna Islands Park, is the most reachable from Pom-Pom. In fact, TSMP is currently the biggest marine park of Malaysia and has richer marine ecology and biodiversity than Sipadan in terms of macro lives, many new species wait to be named and discovered.


Pom-Pom Island is 45-minute by boat from jetty of Semporna town. There are two accommodations on Pom-Pom. I was going to Pom-Pom Island Resort, the one which operates in environment-friendly manner. Without any fishing village and island residents, tourists enjoy more privacy on Pom-Pom. Don’t confuse Pom-Pom with another island named Bum-Bum.



The white sandy beach and crystal clear sea are as spectacular as other islands in Celebes Sea. Under the hot tropical sun, everyone just can’t wait to jump into sea. We even saw lion fishes and many other fishes under the jetty. To say it in a tacky way, Pom-Pom looks like the picture in dream holiday ad. Visitors can swim, dive, snorkel and kayak around the island.


In case you wonder if Pom-Pom Island has many hot pom-pom girls…


Actually Pom-Pom gets its name from the “Pom-Pom” tree (photo above), which is abundant on the island.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Pom-Pom Island


We checked in at their activity hall and restaurant (photo above). Welcoming drink was served (but no dancing Pom-Pom girls). It’s very nice that they sent our heavy luggage to our chalet with mini-tractor. I’ve been hearing positive feedback about the excellent service of Pom-Pom. Basically they take care of everything, so you are worry-free. They can even pick you up at Tawau Airport.

Island Chalets




>> Click Here to see more photos of Pom-Pom Island

Of course the most luxurious chalet is the Water Villa built on the sea, and of course I can’t afford it. Anyway, I was busybody a bit and took a few photos of Water Villa (see 4 photos above).

I remember an incident that a hotel put me and my male colleague in a room with honeymoon setting. There is only a transparent glass between the room and bathroom, so I can see what my roommate doing in toilet. I am not that “open-minded”, so I requested the hotel to give us a “normal” room. Well, even if sharing room with wife, I don’t think it’s romantic to see her wiping her butt after doing number 1?


Though I stayed in Beach Villa (photo above), it’s already a 5-star lodging to me. Yes, the chalet has electricity, hot shower, light, fans and air-conditioning, and the room is spacious.


Pom-Pom is a small island that needs only 40 minutes to walk one round, but it’s big enough to have the soil to plant fruits such as Papaya and Dragon Fruit. After sunset, a large number of fruit bats (flying fox) will fly to this island to enjoy the fruits. The big bats are just everywhere after dusk. By the way, they have jogging and cycling tracks on the island.

I went for a bird-watching hunt around the island. The sighting of Barred Rail is reported on this island. This bird species is common in Philippines but it is only recently spotted and added to the list of birds found in Sabah. I was told that it likes to wander in the grass near the fruit garden, but too bad I didn’t see it. I saw other birds such as sunbirds and kingfisher.

You can find a sense of humor in many little things on the island..


Mr. Bean dustbin?


Kampung House? (Village House)

>> Click Here to see more photos of Pom-Pom Island


OMG, a Plate Warmer? This is the first plate warmer I see in Sabah. I love food to be served on warm plate. One thing that Sabah “kopitiam” (Malaysian coffee shop) always make me mildly pissed off is when they give me the plate and spoon that are still wet. I think it is kind of disgusting.


Pom-Pom Island Resort also invests on reverse osmosis (R.O.) plant to use rainwater. It is the only island in Sabah employs such green technology. They also plan to use wind energy in future.

Below is a 2.5-min video about Pom-Pom:

Click Here to watch bigger video.

BOHEY DULANG

From Pom-Pom, you can clearly see Bohey Dulang, one of the islands of Semporna Islands Park.


According to the legend, a notorious Sultan of South Philippines eyed on Arung Salamiah, a beautiful princess lived on Bum-Bum Island, so her parents hid her on Bohey Dulang island. She vanished few days later and people believe that she was hidden by the spirits on the island and turned into fairy. Locals say they could hear her singing and her dog barking during full moon, and even occasionally see her walking on the island.


The romantic story of Arung Salamiah was even played in Sabah Fest 2010.


We dropped by Bohey Dulang island on the first day, not to visit Salamiah, but to look at the giant clam nursery. I blogged about this giant clam nursery before. FYI, you may snorkel here because they release many giant clams in front of the giant clam nursery.


We also checked out the cultivation of abalone on the island. The species of our abalone is relatively smaller.

Our initial itinerary included a 30 to 45 minutes trekking up to the high point of Bohey Dulang (probably Salamiah stood on this hill before?), to get a bird eye view of Tun Sakaran Marine Park. Due to time constraint, we had to cancel the plan, too bad, next time then.

Mantabuan

Later Pom-Pom sent us to Mantabuan Island for snorkeling. Being one of the islands of bio-diversified Semporna Islands Park, we saw so much in only 8 Meters of depth! Luckily coral bleaching does not affect the cooler Celebes Sea of Semporna, so the corals are in great shape. In merely 1 hour of snorkeling, we saw stack horn, brain corals, blue corals, lettuce corals, thorns of stars, huge sea cucumbers, puffer fish, crocodile fishes and 3 Green and Hawsbill Turtles!!! I was told by my friends that they also spotted turtle when they snorkel near the jetty of Pom-Pom in next morning. A scuba diver also said that she found 13 turtles in the sea in front of the jetty.


Above: Mantabuan Island

The sea current was not strong and the visibility was about 9 Meters. To see more, you can join scuba diving to see the precious black corals in deeper water. It’s about RM365 (USD$110) for 2 boat dives, permit fee and rental of dive equipments. Pom-Pom Island Resort has a dive center.

Night Patrol

Another feature of Pom-Pom is the night patrol for sighting of turtle laying eggs. The staffs of Pom-Pom were trained as the wildlife warden, so they know the right steps and measures on conservation of sea turtles. The nesting records will be submitted to WWF and Sabah Wildlife Department. The guests were offered a night walk with the guides around 8pm.


No turtle nest found during my stay. I only saw a ghost crab on the beach. The luck was not with us that night.


If any turtle nests on Pom-Pom, for better survival rate, the staffs will collect the eggs and move them to a protected turtle hatchery next to the dive center. The eggs will hatch after 2 months and the baby turtles will be released back to the sea. The staff (Sally) told us the number of eggs of Green Turtles and Hawsbill Turtles are nearly equal. FYI, you can sponsor the nest.


Before we departed on second day, two turtles showed up near the jetty, as if they were saying goodbye to us.

To know more about Pom-Pom Island, you may visit their website at:
http://pompomisland.com
They also have an interesting and updated blog.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Pom-Pom Island

Photos taken in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Sunset Cruise

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When I was a kid, I thought only rich people could afford to have a party on a big boat. So cruising with a big boat is one of my small dreams. As sunset cruise becomes increasingly popular, nowadays it is not that hard to make my dream comes true. Last year I organised a sunset cruise party for a group. Since we had nearly 70 pax, we got a deep discount. Usually the market rate is about RM120 (USD30+) per person.


Click Here to see more photos of Sunset Cruise >>

Let me briefly introduce SeaStar (note: I don’t work for them), the boat for our sunset cruise. SeaStar can accommodate up to 100 people and it has 4 levels, let’s call them, from top to bottom, (1) top deck, (2) upper deck, (3) lower deck and (4) basement. Below is an overview of different sections of the boat. Don’t worry if the photos below are too small, you can check out the photo gallery for bigger pictures and more description.


Click Here to see more photos of Sunset Cruise >>
1. Top deck. Highest spot but small space, mainly for sunbathe.
2. Upper deck, area near to captain’s chamber.
3. Front of lower deck. Open space. The Best view is here.
4. You can play Titanic here, but don’t jump into the sea.
5. Basement is a mini-hall. Kids love to look outside through the small round windows.
6. Air-cond dining room of lower deck.
7. Rear of lower deck is buffet area, where food is served.
8. Shelter area of upper deck. Get karaoke and TV set.

My advice to ladies is – don’t wear skirt and high heel shoes. These will make climbing steep ladder difficult. And if your skirt is too short, the guy below you will get free eye candy. Due to monsoon season, the weather was quite bad that day and it rained until 3pm. Luckily the sun came out after 4:30pm, 1 hour before we started the cruise. Even though the sky was cloudy, I was still happy that trip was not totally screwed up. The Mount Kinabalu also showed her face after the rain.

The sunset cruise ran from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. The 4 main highlight are:
1) Cruise around the islands. Feel the refreshing sea breeze.
2) Stop on Manukan Island. Take a walk and enjoy the sunset at the beach for 40 minutes.
3) Dinner Buffet. We had fried rice, chicken wing, seafood, fruits, etc. Free flow of juice.
4) KK City Night View. Seeing the night view from island and also up-close.

I personally love activity no.4, the city night view is magnificent. Coz of high tide, our boat could sail very close to the shore. We cruised along the shore of KK city, up to WaterFront. Our boat was so near to WaterFront that we could see the Murut traditional dance performance inside (see picture below).


Click Here to see more photos of Sunset Cruise >>

Overall, it is an unforgettable experience. Some companies even have their annual dinner onboard. To me, it is far more interesting than having the dinner in a hotel. On the boat, you don’t sit around a fixed table. You can move around and talk to everyone. If you have spouse, you can have a romantic time watching sunset and city night. If you have children, they will really love it. If you don’t want to socialise, you can sit at a corner and enjoy the sea view alone.

FYI, after heavy renovation and construction, the new KK Ferry Terminal is now called Jesselton Point. I admire the design based on historic theme of British colony time, it looks more beautiful, meaningful and classy. I would say it is a welcomed change. They also expand the jetty to turn it into a recreational area, where you can take a leisure walk and watch sunset. You can see more photos of Jesselton Point in my photo gallery. Happy? Forgot to tell you what is the MOST impressive change. The price of jetty fee has increased from RM1 to RM6, an increase of 500%!


Click Here to see more photos of Jesselton Point >>

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia