2013 today sun sand and safe

7/28/2019 2013 TODAY Sun Sand and Safe

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THURSDAY, 4 APRIL 2013

COAST IS CLEARGREAT FOOD, PRISTINE WATERS AND OTHER

REASONS TO HEAD BACK TO SABAH 54

JETSETTING WITHCONTIKIS MARK HEAP

WILL TAKE YOUAROUND FOR FUN

59

FESTIVE MOODTHERES MORE TO

WASHINGTON DC THANTHE WHITE HOUSE

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SHES THE ONEHIP-HOP ARTIST

MASIA ONE RECALLHER SPORE YEARS

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travel54today thursday 4 april 2013

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Sbh iS S gin So iS im o Sokp iS nl by

he recent troubles in Sabah when the Royal Army othe Sultanate o Sulu wereengaged in a stand-of withthe Malaysian authorities

over the ormers alleged land claim

to the region may have given trav-ellers who were planning a visit to theregion some concern or their saety.

But order has been restored oncemore: The Sabah Tourism Board re-cently released a statement to reas-sure visitors and travel partners thatit is business as usual, and that Ma-laysian security orces have ullysecured the remote coastal villageKampung Tanduo, the ground zero

where armed intruders holed in ora month.

That is certainly good news orthose who want to hop over to thispart o Malaysia or some R&R.

ISLAND HOPPING

On a recent trip to Kota Kinabalu,I was pleasantly surprised by howmuch there was to do there. Whilethe weather on the day we arrived wasgrey and drizzly (Borneo does get itsair share o monsoon rains), the nextday dawned bright and sunny per-ect or a day o island hopping.

While the capital o Sabah is a busyport city with a population o more

ELISABETH LEE

[email protected] 650,000, the sprawling Tung-ku Abdul Rahman National Park is

just minutes away by speedboat romthe central Jesselton Point jetty. This5,000 hectare marine park i ncludesve pristine islands Pulau Gaya, Pu-lau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Mam-utik and Pulau Sulug a ll covered inlush rainorest and ringed with white

sand and colourul coral rees.Our irst stop was Pulau Sapi. It

was once known as Pulau Babi, aterits indigenous wild boars, but theyhave, sadly, long since disappeared.It has two snorkel-riendly beachesof the jetty and is just the right sizeor a small trek. You can hike over tothe other side and back in well underan hour. Even novice snorkellers caneasily take to the gently sloping sandy

beach and see the schools o shiny, sil-ver sh darting about.

Some o us headed over to the neigh-bour ing island o Gaya or a spot osea walking. Kota Kinabalu is one othe ew places in Malaysia where youcan try your hand at this sport it issimilar to scuba diving, but without thehassle o putting on tanks, weights andequipment. All you need to do is justput on your helmet (with its connectedair hose) and, well, walk on. You get totread along the bottom o the sea andsee the tiny creatures youd miss whilesnorkelling on the surace.

We spent the aternoon exploringthe other islands as plenty o speed- be sure t tr fred d, as

Saa vees we ure te festve arets kta kaau.

Sre t ur earts ctet te cear waters f Saa. PHOTOS: DAVID KIRKLAND FOR SABAH TOURISM

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travel today thursday 456

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associated taxes and surcharges correct at time of print and subject to change. Estimated taxes from $159 o $171 per person

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boats ply the marine park and leavefrom every jetty on the hour, mak-ing it easy to hop from one island tothe next. A ticket that includes fourisland hops is just RM53 (S$21) for anadult. By the late afternoon, as mon-soon rains threatened to dampen ourspirits, we packed up our snorkelling

gear and towels and headed back.

CITY HIGHLIGHTS

If the sun and the sea are not your cupof tea, Kota Kinabalu still has lots to of-fer. This former colonial outpost hasa rich history that dates back to the19th century when the British NorthBorneo Company established a set-tlement in the area. Plenty of colonialartefacts remain: There is the ancientClock Tower that has withstood the airraids of World War II as well as the StateMuseum up on the old Palace Hill. Al-ternatively, head for the Signal Hill Ob-servatory Platform where you can get a

birds eye view of the city as well as theTunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park.

The North Borneo Steam Railway is an-other chance to step back in time as thesteam locomotive chugs between KotaKinabalu and Papar, a farming townthats said to be the rice bowl of Sabah.

But as someone who only scrapedthrough O-level history, I found myselfdrawn to the shopping instead. And Ko-

ta Kinabalu has night markets galore.My favourite was the Filipino night

market down by the waterfront. Snackon a little lechon, sip on a young coconutand pick up some of Asias freshest (andhard-to-nd) produce. If youve neverchomped on a l ittle crunchy paku or mi-din two of Borneos delicious, edibleferns heres your chance.

And speaking of food, you cannotgo wrong in Kota Kinabalu no matterwhere you go. This port city is home tosome of Asias freshest and best sea-food. Were talking huge, succulentprawns, delicious crabs, top shells,scallops you name it, we feasted onit. Places like Welcome Sea Food Res-taurant and Ocean Seafood Restaurantare famed for their excellent dishes suchas steamed prawns with egg and rice

wine and clam soup. In fact, its best togo there a little earlier as some dishesand seafood get sold out by 8pm.

If you havent managed to stuffyourself to the gills with fresh seafood,you can even ship it home with you. Onour last day in the city, we stopped at afrozen seafood wholesaler on the way

to the airport. Vacuum-sealed, ash-frozen and carefully packed in styro-foam boxes, the bounty of Borneosocean can be yours at prices youdnever see in Singapore.

And now if youl l excuse me, Ivegot a dozen jumbo tiger prawns to puton the barbeque grill.

The writerstrip was madepossible by

Air Asia forthe launch of

Visit MalaysiaYear 2014.

A view of Mount Kinabalu in the state of Sabah. PHOTOS: REUTERS

Lots of fresh seafood to keep taste buds happy.

2013 today sun sand and safe

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