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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

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