Shian's Mess: My 20 Awesome Experience Backpacking Sabah (11 to 20)

Check out 1 to 10, click here.

11. Lost in Liwagu trail, Kinabalu Park.

I blame the misleading sign and my own adventurous heart for getting me lost in the Kinabalu park for almost 2 hours. But thankfully I end up with an interesting story to tell you. It was when I blazed down Liwagu trail, the longest trail within Kinabalu Park measuring up to 5.6 km. While I can smell the end of the trail just a kilometer away, I went down a trail that lead to the Liwagu river. I was misled into this when I encounter a confusing sign. The lost trail was not easy to blaze through, thick jungle vegetation and poor marker signifies that this trail had not been used for long. Thinking that there must be a way out down the road, I continue on, when the right choice was to turn back. Then the trail got harder and harder to blaze through, there was this fast running water and slippery rocks I need to overcome, and there was this gorge only connected by two very slippery thick steel pipe was only the few ridiculous obstacles I need to brace through. The Liwagu river was the main water source for the people of the mountains. My thought was if I followed the main supply pipe line, and follow the flow of the river, I believe I could get out of the jungle soon. This thought was slowly disappearing as I moved further inside the jungle and further away from the river. But my determination to get myself out of this situation push me harder overcoming those knee deep mud and uphill climb.

Must I say, that was awfully lots of cracks and burst on those aged supply pipe! They never failed to keep me wet all the time. When I reached the top of the hill, and miraculously there was phone reception!

I tried to call the park office. Disappointingly, nobody answered. Then I tried Google maps, which point out that I was not far from the main road! The only thing was to find an accessible way through the jungle. And very Fortunately just another 10 minutes of climb up the hill, I encountered a patch of red soil road, and some fresh Tyre mark.

My first instinct was to further investigate this lead, and it led me to a bunch of workers building some villa like establishment. They was surprised to see a chinese male like me, emerging from the jungle. I asked one of the supervisor on how the way to the main road, which he gladly pointed out. After another 30 minutes grueling walk up a series of steep uphill, I finally reached the main road. Some two kilometers away from the park entrance! After a well worth late lunch ate among some very curious eyes, I reach the park office and let the ranger know about the confusing signs. When I claimed that I was lost for two hours, I was ridiculed when the ranger explained that the real meaning of getting lost in the park was for at least two days. We do had a good laugh after that. After this interesting experience, I do truly believe, that with the right mind and attitude, we can overcome basically anything. Amazing!!

12. Star gazing at Kinabalu Mountain Lodge.

Kinabalu Mountain Lodge was a great place, tranquil, peaceful and some one kilometer away from the hustle and bustle of the main road. Tug nicely at the side of a the mountain, with Mount Kinabalu as its backdrop, definitely worth the stay. Beside from the great view, minimal noise, close proximity to nature and the great people there, the starry night sky here was to die for. I forced myself to wake up at three in the morning for the best time to view. And that was indeed, a night to be remembered. The whole night sky was dotted with countless tiny white shimmering lights. It seems that those mesmerizing stars was trying to tell me a story that was long forgotten. A display that words could not be able to describe. And then, just barely three minutes into the spectacle, a comet! With it signature long tailed, it slashed the night sky in half as I stood there in awe. And in just another few minutes, a meteor, then another, and another! They brought the already wonderful night, to another level of awesomeness! While we wrap ourselves in the blanket romantically and stay warm despite the very cold mountain temperature. I will never forget that night.

13. Sandakan Heritage Trail.

Sandakan, that was famously known as 'Little Hong Kong', was a town thickened with history. Almost all significant events of the British era and the Japanese era for the state of Sabah, happened here. However, Sandakan was a town most travelers opt not to stop by. Mostly due to its lack of interesting place to make the effort worthwhile. But I believe each town has their beauty, and deserve to be slowly discovered. What better way to do that than taking the Sandakan Heritage Trail, which takes you to historically significant spots in town. I started of strolling by Masjid Jamek, and head towards my first stop, Sandakan Heritage Musuem. It was a boring museum to be frank with, but I was amazed by the very old school toilet they still operate with. There was one interesting hall at the ground floor of the museum, displaying the adventure of an american couple named Osa and Martin Johnson who spent most of their lifetime discovering Borneon Jungles. I did spent quite some time there, chatting with a very generous lady who mans the tourism information counter. She warned me to better report myself to the Sandakan police station just across the road, just to let them know I was taking this trail. It seems that cases had occurred that travelers was mugged along the trail. The police soon reassured me that they had caught the culprit.

I am still a bit nervy going up the hundred steps staircase which would take you up the hills. The trail was surrounded by eerie vegetation which sparked off my humbly imagination as I race past the trail. I finished the steps and in hope to visit the Japanese cemetery and the Chinese memorial, that was surrounded by graves further down the road. As I ventured further in, fear got the best out of me. Feeling very eerie, I turned back and head to my next spot, Agnes Keith house. Walked past the famous English Tea house of Sandakan, you can find this two story humble house, painted in pale yellow, The house belongs to the wife of a British Forestry official. It was a house that had stand the test of time, being restored many times before, stood high up at the hill, seemingly witnessing the tragedy that had struck Sandakan when the Japanese came invading. It was another eerie experience wandering the corridors and rooms, alone. Where many ghost sighting had been reported. However, that did not damper the beauty of the elegantly designed interior and exterior of Agnes Keith house, and visitors still find this place a worthy visit. After a long walk downhill, passed the Sandakan Clock Tower, visit the overstated, much damaged Ancient staircase, pray in peace in a almost 200 years old Guan Yin Temple, I stood in awe in front of the St. Michael's and All Angels Church. It was a well worth RM 5 entrance fee, to stand inside the church was a wonder. The lights penetrating in over the beautiful stained glass, the huge and heavy benches, the whole design of the church, it was truly a grand experience. The best time to be in the church was at around 4.30pm and at clear weather. Is then when the sun will be in the right position that the rays will lit the whole place up via a duct at the ceiling. Sad to say it was a very cloudy day that soon turned into a heavy downpour, which forced me to find shelter and ended my trail early. There was still a few spot left which I manage to explore after a few days. I was left happy that I had took on this trail. Sandakan had more, if only if you want to discover it.

14. Kinabatangan River Safari.

There is no other place like this in Sabah to witness the abundance of Borneo wildlife. The longest river in Sabah twisting and turning from the interior of Sabah to the sea at the east. I took on this trip for one purpose only, to see the pygmy elephants herd curing their thirst along the river. I stayed in a wonderful lodge, opposite of the small village of Bilit, one and a half hour drive away from Sandakan town. The lodge was closely built behind a thick jungle, offering me a great sense of totally immersing myself into the nature. Upon arrival, I was put to our first river cruise with excitement. Kinabatangan river never ceased to amaze. We had numerous encounter with Probosis monkey, eagles, kingfishers, different species of primates and the highlight of that cruise, a pair of wild Orang Utans, a mother and her son. Sadly, no pygmy elephants. My bad luck was further proven during the night walk, when I saw all the nice birds and interesting insects, I failed to spot any Western Tarsier - a mammal with huge eyes - that only could be spotted at night. One memorable trip down the jungle was the treacherous four hours hike to a place known as Ox Bowl Lake, a sitting big pool of water in the middle of the jungle. During the trip, me and my fellow adventurers was constantly haunted by the knowledge that we might get chased down by wild Orang Utans as just a day before us, one small group of travelers just manage to survived such encounter. The wild Orang Utans here had the reputation to chased and beat down anyone who trespass its habitat. Every steps we took was a cautious one, where everyone seems to react with a small bit of movement in the bushes. Eventhough deep down inside me I wished I could encounter the Orang Utans, I too planned inside my head where should I run to if they really come for me. Plus the tiring knee deep mud did not help at all.

We eventually reached Ox Bowl Lake without any surprised encounter but with a very sweat dampened T-shirts. We took our rest while admiring the calmness that is the lake while the bird watchers keep ranting out names of birds that flew by. During resting, one of the guide explained that the lake had some small fish that would bite away your dead skin like those they use in any fish therapy outlet in the city. My childish self took control and I ran down to give my hand a test with no hesitation, and man they did tickled me well! On the other hand, not so interestingly, one creature you could not hide from the Borneo jungle was them blood thirsty leeches! And they are everywhere! I recalled back one fellow traveler flipped out when he got one in his hand, he was jumping up and down while trying to remove it. To his delight, that blood sucking creature got off his body with the guide's help. And that was when the caution to wild Orang Utans turned to extremely cautious to leeches. I remember hastely flicking a few away from my arms and shirt. The trick was to detect them fast before they got to the selected 'hotspots' in your body. I am glad that we eventually reached the lodge unharmed. I must say this trip was a rather disappointing one, because after a few cruise and another night walk, still no pygmy elephants, no western tarsier and not even one crocodile! But I was left delighted that I made a few good friends during the stay.

15. Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre.

This was my second time here, and boy this time round was way more eventful than the last. Barely fifteen minutes into waiting for the entrance to be open, there stood three adolescent Orang Utans in front of me. Playing merrily among the bamboo tree just beside the centre cafeteria. I felt guilty laughing when the Orang utans joked around and one manage to fell down from the bamboo tree. A loud 'thump' and he manage to get up in an instant. They were so playful and one almost, out of curiosity, tried to come to me and some other travelers. Only to be stopped by one of the volunteers crying out her name loudly. The joyful three was then escorted back to the jungle by the rangers. The inside of the observation deck was even more eventful. With the two male dominant Orang Utans came out from their habitat to enjoy their usual late lunch. I even get to feast my eyes on a couple of Orang Utans lover kissing and hugging each other on the hanging cable. In between them I too spotted a few Rhinoceros Hornbill chilling up high on trees around the observatory deck. Nature never ceased to amaze me.

16. The Lahad Datu Adventure.

My dream to travel the east coast of Sabah includes Lahad Datu as one of my stop. Many travelers will avoid this town that was the settlement for many palm oil planters and sea harvester with no interesting place to visit. Its tourism value lied in it being the place to plan your Maliau Basin or Danum Valley expedition. I was spoofed off from many lodge owners or fellow travelers to not go to Lahad Datu, until I met BJ, the owner of Kinabalu Mountain Lodge. But he warned me to not expect any comfort of a lodge or even basic necessity if I was to take up this adventure, which I accept without hesitation. He introduced me to a guy named Pablo that would promised me a stay at his humble home, a good 30 minute boat ride across the sea from Lahad Datu. Being one of the early immigrants that was brought into Sabah from the Philippines to build roads, Pablo had made this wooden made floating house, situated just in front one of the many inhabitant island around Lahad Datu coast, his home for 25 years. Staying here with Pablo and his beautiful family was a life changing experience. His home have no power and water supply, and food was made from what they catch for the day. Him working as a sea cucumber harvester do not get him much money to feed a family with seven kids, where the youngest being just one year old. But he got a bunch of very good kids there, one being the eleven year old who drove the speed boat that picked me and Pablo up from Lahad Datu to their home. Their neighborhood was made up of six houses, with Pablo's being the largest and of the outer most. I was Introduced to all of his kids who till now I still find it hard to remember their name. He had six sons and one daughter, whom all are truly the kids of the sea. The sea was their playground, and their childhood. They spend most of their time playing gleefully in front of their house or in the sea, all not one bit camera shy. All experienced boat rower, except for the two youngest one who amazed me with their amazing swimming skill. Amidst it all, is sad to say education was something where many families here could not afford. In Pablo's place, I go back to the basic way of living, I ate with my hand all together with them in the kitchen, go to the loo in open, bath with rain water in front of everyone, and I slept on mattress in a room shared with his eldest son.This experience had taught me how much I need to appreciate my life even more.

I had some crazy experience. One being Pablo and his eldest son, brought me out island hoping around the region. We braced through the open sea with his small motor power Sampan boat, we went to visit many wonderful unexplored islands. One notable island being a small island smack in the middle of the open sea, with one of the clearest water, and one side having mangrove and white sand, while the other being majestic rock face. Then we go snorkeling at the site where the only dive center available in Lahad Datu operates courtesy of Pablo's acquaintances. Then the long trip back was a rough one, when we are running away from a brewing storm cloud. Another crazy experience was when I asked Pablo's eldest son to teach me how to drive a motor boat and how to properly row a boat. Being fearful of knocking any structure or worse, anyone, I started off very slowly. Soon my childish self took over, I started turning the accelerator harder, thanks to the mocking of the 11 year old motor boat kid wonder. Man it was fun! There was also one experience where I harvested my own shell fish under the hot sun and savoured upon them after. Fresh from the sea indeed! The view at Pablo's place was truly amazing. The sunrise was supremely peaceful, without any hustle and bustle of a town. The night was even more serene, with the full moon at its most glorious while Lahad Datu town can be seen glimmering for afar. The night before I leave Pablo's place, I made all the families living there my self proclaimed superbly delicious bogolonaise spaghetti. It brought smiles to my face when everybody enjoy my cooking with joy while we laughed all night long. Is sad to bid goodbye to Pablo and his wonderful family after my four day stay at that wonderful place. I left with a heavy heart, but I know I will return again, I will.

17. Fun filled Celebes Sea.

The blue sky, the clear water, the beautiful beach, the immensely abundant marine life, the wonderful people and the relaxing ambiance. What could I asked more. I just figured I spent about four days at Semporna to just do some snorkeling around the surrounding exotic islands. However, I ended up staying for almost a week, and did more than just snorkeling. When I went scouting for good deals for snorkeling at dives shop around Semporna town, I was mesmerized by the idea of being able to dive. I had tried Discovery Scuba Diving (DSD) a few months before and it does not worked out. I hyperventilate, panic and did not manage to go under. Since that day, I was determined to make myself be able to dive. And when opportunity came knocking on the door with a good deal, I was attracted, but still fearful because of that previous horrible experience. Thus I signed up for a snorkeling trip in hope it would get me used to the sea and to help me decide. The next day we went to Sibuan Island, one of the island of Tun Sakaran Marine Park. It was a small island with very beautiful beach, a few palm trees, houses a military outpost, and inhabits by a handful of indigenous people. It was a wondrous snorkeling trip with its coast jam packed with marine life. One divemaster named Jack corrected me of my snorkeling technique which had been wrong throughout the years. With his help, I went on snorkeling with better results, I was more relax, I can snorkel longer and my movement was effortless. The Sibuan snorkeling trip was rewarding, the coral reefs was just a stone throw away from the beach, with a few sighting of sea turtles. I came back to Semporna town with a nasty sun burn, a wondrous experience and a decision, to go ahead to take up my diving license.

The next day was a boring one. I spent my whole day sitting in my diving theory class watching videos, with a test that I need to pass came later that day. Which I did, and with flying colours. The following two day was when my adventure starts. And we start off from getting my basics right at Mataking island, another crazily beautiful island reserved only for the rich (because one half of the island was owned by a rich dude who built his high class resorts there, which amount to more than a thousand ringgit per night). Mataking island was made up of two island, Mataking besar and Mataking kecil, connected by a slim beautiful stretch of sand. I spent my first hour with my diving gear at the shallow waters, to ward of my initial fear and panic, and to learn some essential basic of diving. And thanks to the patience and guidance of divemaster Jack, I ace the first hour and the test after. After a quick lunch, we went on the deeper side of the island to learn and performed even more skills and techniques. The pitch dark water when you enter the water, still never failed to strike fear on me. 30 meters under my feet was the infamous sunken ship of Sipadan that was purposely sunken for tourism purpose. It was not as big as most sunken ships I saw on TV, but it was still a great sight to behold. It was a great first day of diving, as I had successfully overcame my previous fear. And I had came to be fond of this great adventure.

After a good night rest, We hit Mabul island the next day for my second day of test diving. Diving had now became an effortless and very enjoyable activity for me. I had three magnificent dive that day, one was to test on my basics and the other two was purely fun diving. Ironically, we went diving on the site called 'Paradise', where I had previously failed my DSD. It was there that I encountered some very huge Leatherback sea turtles and one bad ass lonely Barracuda showing off its razor sharp teeth. The whole site was teeming with marine life and not short of divers. It was difficult trying to identify your dive mate among the congestion, luckily Jack stands out with him wearing his signature Santa hat. There was this one time when I was floating, my instructor, Danny pull my fin down, called me to turn around and pointed me towards a gigantic 80 kilogram fat lip grouper which was a rare sight at the site. He later explained to me that the fish was actually just watching me behind my back before he pulled me down. The day ended fruitfully as I was being given the license, as a PADI certified Open Water diver!

I was not satisfied, I wanted more. I initially thought that I would spend my money on a day trip to Sipadan Island after I got my license. But the drive to get further down into the sea got the best out of me, thus I decided to go for an Advanced license rather than the Sipadan trip. I went to Sibuan island and Mataking island to take up my Advanced courses. Me and my instructor spend a lot of time in the water guiding me on some advanced diving skill like navigation, peak buoyancy, deep dive, and drift dive which I performed admiralty on the test. I remember clearly when I descend deep into the ocean holding a rope attached to the sunken Sipadan to do my deep dive test. I was struck again with awe by the shear sight of the ship. My first sunken ship experience! We navigate ourselves around the wreck, took some photos and kid around. I still can recalled back vividly of this magnificent experience. For our next dive site we chosen one that was rarely dived by divers, my first exploring a new dive site called 'Turtle Point' and it turned out to be one of the most marine life filled dive site I had dived. We float inches about beautiful corals, swam with green turtles, saw a rare angel nudibranch, saw a live cuttled fish who mesmerized us with its colour changing ability and other wonderful marine life. Another exciting experience was when I enrolled myself to the night dive course. Diving at night was a whole new experience, a mix of fear and excitement. One thing we did during the night dive was to switch off our torch, and allowed ourselves to immersed into the dark. Unbelievably, when you fan your palm at the water surrounding you, there will be some minute glow flickering around your palm caused by tiny bioluminescent creature. After that, I ended up with a paper certified me a PADI Advanced Open Water diver.

Diving with them lads was some crazy experience. Danny my instuctor was one skinny dude that looks like he will be crushed by his gear any time. Jack the divemaster was one selfish ass who only know how to care of himself. And should I even mention all the pervert boat man and staffs that was my best mate when checking chicks out? The first thing we always do when we came aboard the ship after any dive, was to compete among our selves to see who consumed the most compressed air or how much water was trap in our suit. There was never short of laughs, fun and fooling around on the ship. Which made the farewell dinner during my last night at Semporna even bitter. Diving was something I had conquered and will continue do so in the future. As one instructor told me, 'If you do not dive, there is half a world you did not see'. (It was in fact 3/4 if you see the ratio of water over land on earth...). Go dive!

18. Sandakan and Tawau food hunt.

Two wondrous city filled with loads and loads of mouth watering local delicacies! Both famed for it cheap (Tawau ones cheaper), fresh and delicious seafood. One best was in the Sim-Sim water village, the other at the seafood avenue downtown Tawau. One of Sandakan must try was the thousand year egg dumplings, it was literally a smash of flavour in your mouth! Go for 7 heaven near Bandar Indah if you crave for desserts in Sandakan. Fancied chilling out at a spot where you can check out the night view of whole Sandakan town? Go to Balin roof garden above Hotel Nak who serve adequate variety of food and drinks. Or wanting an early morning kick of sugar rush, go to Kim Fung Market at mile 4 for its silky smooth tau fu fa and crunchy yau cha kuew. Its sweet counterpart at Tawau was perhaps the tasty goreng pisang cheese and mango sago at Indo Cafe that would surely delight your crave for sweetness. Or perhaps reward yourself after a walk under the hot sun with a serve Ais Batu Campur at Jalan Chester, sure to immediately cool you down. Nasi Penyek was a must try in Tawau region with its big piece of chicken, delightful spices, crunchy crackers, vege and rice that was originally from Indonesia. My food hunt at both the cities would not be successful if it wasn't for the help of both my dear friend, Mahani and Eni. Stomach indulging, success!

19. Staying at backpackers crib.

Staying at backparkers crib was perhaps the wises choice I made. Other than paying less for more, I get the chances to mingle with fellow explorers, in my case, all foreigners. Some of my stay had been interesting, some was not. Paying less for more was perhaps the fact that most of my stay, I was occupying the whole dorm room that was meant for more people. Most likely because of the low traveling season of Sabah. The one month stay at TDA offers me close proximity to nature and a chance to meet interesting people. At Kundasang, I went on to stay at Kinabalu Mountain Lodge which was a magnificent place fill with peace and serenity if you could overlook the creaking of their steel bed. At Sandakan Backpackers I was being given the wonderful cool breeze of an air-conditioner to sleep with that was considered a luxury for backpackers. On the other hand, the natural cold breeze at Natural Lodge Kinabatangan offered me the same luxury for a good night sleep.

One of the most memorable stay was at Paganakan Dii, Sandakan. It was located up a hill smack between palm plantation and dense jungle some three kilometers away from Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. It was so highly recommended by fellow travelers that I took the effort to go spent a night there. And they were right! Paganakan Dii was an innovative lodge build out of wood and furnished with recycled materials. The 12 bed dorm where I stayed was so naturally ventilated I felt straight into a nap the moment I arrived. The dorm had doors, window and openings which can be opened and closed at will. Out from its balcony was the dense jungle canopy which too can be observed lying on your bed with the window opened. Its common room was nicely decorated and perfectly lighted at night to provided me a comfortable environment to relax after a hard day of exploring, and a good chat with fellow travelers. Paganakan Dii had an observatory platform made to observe the palm plantation and dense jungle from a high point, definitely gave me a good place to just chill and read my book. I had a very delightful stay at Paganakan Dii and I highly recommend you to give it the appreciation it deserved. Hop on it if you happen to be at Sandakan.

Semporna gave me a headache on where to stay, pay less but be surrounded by blood thirsty mosquito, or pay more for less mosquito trouble. I chose the latter and stayed at Borneo Global Sipadan. A small lodge located beside Sea Fest hotel that I pay considerably less than its counterparts, but again I get a eight person dorm for my own again. It was a fair sleep as the bed was almost collapsing and the bright lighting from the street. But overall still good given the price that they charged me. My comfortable stay at Sipadan Inn at Semporna was way out of my budget and the backpacking mindset, but luckily that was covered by the diving package I applied. My Kota Kinabalu stay was always be Kinabalu Backpackers that was a small lodge previously owned by BJ. The fantastic location was the reason I stayed there. Close enough to go visit the city, but far enough from any buzzy noise coming from performance at bistro dotted around Kota Kinabalu. My stay at all the places left me with wondrous experience accompany by a good night sleep and the complimentary breakfast. All mostly done under RM 30, would not leave a big hole in my wallet. Great stay indeed!

20. Meeting people.

Was perhaps the best thing to do while traveling. The diversity of the people I meet was astonishing. There was this one guy named Tad, a 60 years old Indian-Polish borned- Australian who married a Phillipino. He was a computer genius who had worked for 30 years with Linux, that could turned a piece of scrap he bought for RM 5 into a piece of machine that you can facebook with. Believe me or not, he sailed all the way from Australia for four months to Kudat with his yacht. Or at TDA where I met someone who she claimed was the niece of James Brooke, one of the White Rajah of Sarawak. Or one nice lady named Lorreto who had been a great lady to chat with whom I met at Kinabatangan River. Along with two couples, one from Sweden, the other from Switzerland as well as Eric the lucky chap who got chased by wild Orang Utans and saw the Western Tarsier! Lucky him! Another interesting person was a French who I shared a bus with at Sandakan, he presumed that RM 30 for bed and breakfast was expensive, and made a U-turn at Sandakan town to go to Sepilok. He was definitely one very casual traveler as he only equipped himself with nothing but a local map, I truly admired his adventurous mindset. There was this couple from Netherland, Lizet and Henri who was so captivated by TDA, they choose to come back a second time after their Kundasang trip. Other than that, there was this bunch of Americans who taught English in South Korea, opened my eye on their profession when we chat over dinner at Kinabalu Mountain Lodge. At the same lodge I met a French couple who taught in a French school in Beijing. I was impressed that they was able to backpack around Sabah, believe it or not, with their one four year old son and one six year old daughter. They told me they would not leave them in any circumstances including going on a budget backpack travel. I truly admired their patience and their determination to be with their love ones. I did a bit of good for TDA when I heavily promoted the place to a pair of Canadian whom I shared a dorm with, whom was very interested in beaches. I felt happy when Howard emailed me that the Canadians was there and they had a very good time. Surprisingly, along my travel, travelers I met was mostly western single lady while men like to travel in pairs or in a group. I met so many westerner that the only time I met asian was when I was at Semporna, I met Mr. Pau and his four ladies friends whom treated me to a nice dinner supposed that I helped them plan their trip to Sandakan. I was too very happy when Mr. Pau actually send me a thank you note after they done the Sandakan trip.

There was still so much interesting people that I met. Including the friendly locals that help me, laugh with me and told me some of their stories, was truly an eye opener. Meeting people was perhaps the best fun I had during my travel in Sabah. And I was glad with my choice to take up the backpacker route that I be able to do this. I can't wait to meet more people during my next backpacking travel. Anticipating!

And that was all people, my 20 awesome Sabah experience! Hope you enjoyed it.

It was quite unfortunate that I could not go to even more places that I had originally planned. Places like Long Pa Sia, Danum Valley, taking the North Borneo railway through Southwestern of Sabah, to the royal city of Brunei, and to the Kelabit Heights at Sarawak. I guess that left me with more reason to return to that land that I truly felt in love with. Borneo, what not to love.

Last but not least, it had been a very awesome traveling most of Sabah. Sabah had gave me more than I had ever imagine, all because I took the step that matter. It had taught me well, challenge me good, groomed me to become a person I longed to be. I thank you, this Journey to Realization. =)

Now I give you my favourite shot along my travel. It was a sunset evening at Simpang Mengayau, and the the local boys were throwing out line trying to catch some fish among the waves.