Menara Tun Mustapha (Sabah Foundation Building)

Menara Tun Mustapha or formerly known as Sabah Foundation Building is one of the tourism destinations located in Kota Kinabalu (Capital City), Sabah Malaysian Borneo.

This building is not far from the city of Kota Kinabalu. Located at nearby Likas Bay about 6.7 kilometers or 15 minutes away from the City Centre.

 

This circular tower of steel and glass stands 30 storeys high in the Likas Bay area and is instantly recognizable as a Sabah icon. It has a central core with steel brackets supporting each floor. When completed in 1977, it was one of the three such buildings in the world based on this design concept.

How to get there?

Take the UMS bus No.5A from the bus stations in front of the City Hall or Wawasan Plaza in KK and indicate your drop-off point to the driver. Fare is RM2.00 to RM2.50 one way. Any taxi will take you there for RM15.00 - RM20.00 one way. 

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Top 10 Luxury Hotels in Kota Kinabalu

In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, you will find some of the best luxury hotels in Asia. Your choice depends on budget, taste and season. Most of the Kota Kinabalu´s business hotels are downtown. 

But, for those who want to escape the busy city of Kota Kinabalu, you can find many Hotels located in the beach side, outside the city.

Here Top 10 Luxury Hotels in Kota Kinabalu. Hope you enjoy your vacation! 

Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort
Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa
Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu
Sutera Harbour Resort
The Pacific Sutera
The Magellan Sutera
Nexus Resort & Spa Karambunai
Ming Garden Hotel & Residences
Grand Borneo Hotel
Hyatt Regency Kinabalu

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Top Hotels and Resorts in Kundasang, Ranau

Kundasang has many hotels, resorts and homestay for those who want to spend a few days for holidays while enjoying the fantastic view of the Mount Kinabalu. Here the list of Hotels, Resorts and Homestay in Kundasang, Ranau, Malaysia. 

• Sabah Tea Garden 
• Poring Hot Spring & Nature Reserve Ranau 
• The Cottage Hotel Kundasang   
• Kinabalu Pine Resort Ranau 
• Mount Kinabalu Holiday Home Haleluyah Retreat Centre
• Mount Kinabalu Heritage Resort & Spa  
• Mesilau Nature Resort  
• Celyn Resort Kinabalu
• Kinabalu Park Kota Kinabalu
• Poring Hot Spring & Nature Reserve Ranau
• Kinabalu Mountain Lodge
• KK- Suites Residence at Kinabalu Park
• Slagon Homestay Puncak Borneo Resort 
• Jungle Resort
• Dream World
• Mesilou Atamis Homestay
• DVilla Rina Ria Lodge
• Strawberry Garden Cottages & Restaurant
• Kinabalu Rose Cabin Sabah
• Bayu Kinabalu Lodge

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7th Sabah International Folklore Festival 2012

Once again dance troupes from around the world gather for the seventh edition of the Sabah International Folklore Festival 2012. The 7th Sabah International Folklore Festival will be held from July 8 to 17. 

For information, the folklore festival is a celebration to provide opportunities for culture vultures to enjoy and see the beauty and uniqueness of dance performances by various ethnic cultures of the world beside to promote peace through music and dance.

OBJECTIVE OF SABAH INTERNATIONAL FOLKLORE FESTIVAL 

SIFF provides the opportunities for the culture enthusiasts to enjoy and witness the beauty and uniqueness of cultural dances performance by various ethnics of the world. SIFF is truly meant to be an East-West Cultural rendezvous in promoting peace through culture.

The main objective of the Sabah International Folklore Festival is to promote culture tourism among participating countries and to introduce the state’s rich and unique cultures. The objectives of the event are as follow:

• To promote understanding and goodwill; 
• To celebrate mankind brotherhood through cultures; 
• To promote culture tourism among participating countries; and 
• To promote Sabah as an attractive tourists’ destination in Asia: Malaysia Truly Asia 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SABAH INTERNATIONAL FOLKLORE FESTIVAL?

Folk dance ensembles around the world are invited to participate in this Festival. This annual event is organised annually in the month of July. Participating groups have only to pay their travel expenses to and from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia. Other expenses, which include accommodation, local transportation and food throughout the festival, are the responsibility of the organiser. The information, details and updates including terms and conditions of participation, and on-line registration (for ensembles), are available at http://www.sabah.gov.my/lks.

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The Magic Fresh Water Spring

Magic! Mystery! Strange but it's true! Perhaps it is the feeling and the words that will be expressed when I first time visited and witnessed the unique freshwater springs coming out from between the rocks located in a salty environment, being by the sea. A real story behind the myth of Cursed Ship of Supirak and Mystery of Batu Gerawang in Kampung Malubang, one of the villages in Pitas, Sabah (Sabah is a state of Malaysian located in the northern Borneo island).

The magic freshwater spring located on the beach near Batu Gerawang. If you look at the photo below, you can see a square concrete beside the rock and there is the freshwater springs that I mean. 

The villagers told us, the freshwater springs was first discovered by one of the villagers here, Mr. Abdul Kassim Kagia (excuse me if the spelling is not accurate). According to them, he (Abdul Kassim) had a dream; an old man came to see him and then tell him there is a magic freshwater springs in the village that have not been found by anyone. The old man also tell him where is freshwater springs location.

The next day, he went to the location that was told in his dream and was found two holes in the rocks and there is water flowing from inside. He felt the water and he was surprised because it is really fresh.

It is quite hard to believe because the freshwater springs located about 5 meters from the beach. This means it is located in salt water and will only appear on the surface when the water has receded. That is weird with this spring. Although always covered with salt water above and around it, this spring will be producing fresh water.

Since there are two holes (springs) that can produce freshwater, on the initiative of the Pitas District Officer, concrete wall was built around the spring to prevent salt water covering it, so the visitors can take the freshwater even during high tide. However, less strong concrete wall causing salt water still entered and permanent stagnant in the barrier, so the water in the concrete walls are also still salty. Means, if you want to take the freshwater, you have to wait until low tides.

I also ask question to the villagers if there is something "special" or magic with this spring. They said, of course there are a number of benefits! In fact, tourists from China and Korea have come here just to get water from the spring. However, I refuse to mention here to avoid any conflict of beliefs and understanding. If you are interested to know more, come here to find out whether there is magic or not.

To reach the Kampung Malubang where the freshwater spring located, you need traveling about 2 hours from Pitas town. You can choose between two types of transportation; by road using four-wheel drive or waterways using motor boat down the Bengkoka River. If given the choice, I would like to prefer waterways because at the same time I can enjoy the natural scenery along the river.

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My Travel Photo #2

Here are some more pictures that I took during our holiday in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak. All These pictures were taken using Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 16-85mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED lens and build-in flash.

To produce these pictures, I also use the same technique with my first travel photography; edited by using some type of software to enhancing the photos. However, for the picture below, I did not change or edit much except for the hue and saturation.

Hotel Hilton - Kuching, Sarawak

For these pictures, I use the preset that found in Color Efex Pro, including Cross Balance, Color Stylizer and Darken/Lighten Center. To get a trace of smoke in the picture, I was spraying some white color. The main idea is to create a classic and historic photograph, since there is a lot of history at the Kuching city.

Perhaps, my editing techniques are incorrect or not follow the concept. However, the meaning of a picture is subjective and it depends on the individual. As a beginner, I need to try several techniques to get me interested in color tone. 

Historical Monument & Building in Kuching Sarawak

Kuching Waterfront - Bazaar 

Kuching Waterfront - Sarawak State Assembly Building

Of course, produce pictures like this is not an easy job, especially when the picture is quite poor quality. This is where I learned one thing; I'm supposed to learn what's best for taking pictures, not learn what is best for editing the pictures!

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The Mystery of Batu Gerawang

Batu Gerawang is a stone shaped like a gate that has its own story. If you visit the Supirak island, you can also come to visit the Batu Gerawang in same day because it is located on the beach, not far from the island. The beach is also known as 'Torong Putih' (White cape) because the beach is clean and shiny.

I was the first stop in that place also quite impressed with the natural phenomenon at this place. The Batu Gerawang is not only unique and exotic look, but there is another story behind its existence.

The villagers who took us there told, Batu Gerawang also has related with the myth of Supirak Island. They claimed that this stone is an old woman called 'Odu Gerawang'. Odu Gerawang was the mother of Supirak, a sea captain who was cursed by his mother for his unfilial manner (read the story here).

Odu Gerawang was very sad and chagrined after cursed Supirak and his entire crew. She then knew that her life is meaningless without Supirak and prayed to God that she also turned into stone.

Another interesting story about this place is the freshwater springs coming out from between the rocks located in a salty environment, being by the sea. The people in this area believe the freshwater spring is Odu Gerawang's tears. I will write about that in next post.

Actually, there are many and various interesting sites in Pitas district that can be of great interest to tourists. However, only a little information is available online. For example, before writing this post, I tried to find some information about 'Batu Dulang Kampung Malubang' using search engines. The search results show there is only several blog or website has write about Batu Gerawang. So, I would like to remind that there may be a picture or description on this blog with another blog. Copyright issues will not arise because both are owned by the same person.

For those who the first time visiting this blog and would like to know how to come to Kampung Malubang, just read the Cursed Ship of Supirak.

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My Travel Photo

I took this picture when my family and I visited several places in Peninsular Malaysia. The idea for these photos is very simple. Just take a photo while enjoying the beautiful architecture and natural environment without any planning or preparation. I didn’t care about light, equipments and other setting.

What's really missing here is composition and focusable lights, whereas both are basic and general rules. It can attract audience attention to our subject and make our picture speak to them. I realize that without good composition and focus my picture is less meaningful. So, I used some type of software to edit and enhancing the photos. Crop the image to hide any part of which is less important, then to make a picture looks good, I have tried several different shades and combinations of a color, also change picture tones.

The results, it is slightly different from the original image.

Sunway Lagoon - Pyramid

I-City, Shah Alam

Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan

Genting Highland

Taking picture like this gives me new experiences. Anyone can point a camera and click a shutter, but not everyone can produce pictures that attracted others to look at it. In short, any picture may be worth a thousand words, but only a few rare photos tell more. I will not stop to learn more about photography that can help me produce better photos.

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Supirak Island (Cursed Ship of Supirak)

Perhaps some of you have never heard about the "Supirak Island" or "Cursed Ship of Supirak", but for Malubang villagers and many local people in Pitas district (Sabah), they not only can show where the Supirak Island, but also can tell the story of how the origins of incidents an island resembles like a ship.

What I remember, the first time heard about that island in 1988, through schoolmate, who hails from Kampung Malubang (Malubang village). It has long been tempted to come to a place with many stories yet to break the mystery, but still not able to set foot there. Recently, I am lucky has been given the task to carry out monitoring at several locations in Pitas district. One of the must visit is the village Malubang. So this opportunity has given space to me and several colleagues to visit that place.

Back to the story of the island, according to Malubang villagers, this island is actually a large ship belonging to the Master Supirak, a ship captain. However, due to the curse as a rebel against his mother, the ship, Supirak and the entire crew turned into stone! In short, the story of Supirak Island is not much different to a popular Malaysian legend, 'Si Tanggang, the Ungrateful Son', just different names and places.

To reach the island, first you need to come to Pitas, which is located 171 kilometers and takes about 2 hours 30 minutes - 3 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu. From Pitas town you need to take 4-wheel drive to Kampung Malubang, where the journey will take nearly 2 hours. After that, take a boat from the jetty of Kampung Malubang located near the school. Ask the villagers who can take you there, because there a no public transportation.

We have a good luck that day because one of the villagers there willing to take us to his boat. Only takes about 5 minutes to get there.

When the boat approached the island, we were well impressed with it shape looks like a ship. Not only that, according to the villagers who took us there, in the past there are many other stone shapes that resembles the human shape, ropes, tables and other equipment. Unfortunately at the present time the shapes are no longer visible due to physical changes on the island. However, it did not dampen our spirit to continue the exploration.

I'm not sure what the island height above sea level, but to reach the top is not difficult because of the Pitas District Office has been providing facilities for the jetty and climb stairs. There are also two rest huts on the island. We spend about 30 minutes to enjoy the natural beauty on the island before heading to another location.

 

This place is beautiful. It is an ideal place for snorkeling, sea bathing and basking on the sun kissed beach. However, currently there are no resorts here, but visitors can find homestay for short periods of service (one night or a weekend).

 

 

Apart from Pulau Batu Supirak, Malubang also known for several interesting locations that also has its own story, including Batu Talam, Fresh Water Wells in the middle of the sea, Batu Gerawang (stone), Batu Berunsai, Batu Talam and a lot more to get the attention. The Sabah Tourism has announced those places as one of the tourism attractions in Sabah. I will share the stories that later.

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