Discover: MALAYSIA

[Republica]

The devaluation of the pound has made every pound I spend now in Malaysia the same as about 66p i spent when I lived in KL. Its a lot more expensive and tourism from the UK to just about everywhere may be effected. However, Malaysia may be an attractive option for people from the UK looking for alternatives to the Eurozone.

[nazrey]

Carlton Fooball Team To Promote Tourism For Malaysia
January 26, 2009 11:29 AM
By Neville D'Cruz

MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- The Carlton football team flew into Penang yesterday to begin a five-day visit arranged by Tourism Malaysia office here.

Tourism Malaysia is a major sponsor of the club in the Australian Football League this season which begins next month.

The Carlton website said the visit would provide the team with first hand experience of Malaysia.

"This is a great opportunity and we are looking forward to our visit and the chance to see some of the attractions that are helping to make Malaysia an increasingly popular tourist attraction for Australians," coach Brett Ratten is quoted as saying.

"Importantly we will be ambassadors for our club in Malaysia and look forward to improving their knowledge of the game," Ratten said.

While it is a promotional visit, the players will have daily training sessions in Penang to ensure the players continue their pre-season conditioning.

"As well as training and the promotional programme with Tourism Malaysia, this trip is also about assisting the development of our leadership team," Ratten said.

Carlton chief executive Greg Swann said the visit to Malaysia was an important part of the new sponsorship with Malaysia.

"I have no doubt the players will become ambassadors for Malaysia following the visit to Penang and this will further enhance our relationship with Tourism Malaysia," Swann is quoted by the website as saying.

"We also believe this will provide Tourism Malaysia with an even greater understanding of the tremendous exposure and impact within the community such an association with Carlton will provide."

The club is to forward the players' diary and photos on carltonfc.com.au when they return from Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA

[nazrey]

Originally Posted by Republica

The devaluation of the pound has made every pound I spend now in Malaysia the same as about 66p i spent when I lived in KL. Its a lot more expensive and tourism from the UK to just about everywhere may be effected. However, Malaysia may be an attractive option for people from the UK looking for alternatives to the Eurozone.

Originally Posted by nazrey

Tourist arrivals up 5.1% to 22.05m last year
Updated: Friday January 16, 2009 MYT 3:03:57 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia registered 22.05 million tourists last year, surpassing the 21.5 million target set by the government under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, according to the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board.

It said on Friday the 22.05 million tourists was an overall increase of 5.1% compared to 2007. Of the 22.05 million, Singaporeans accounted for 11 million.

The month of December registered the highest number of tourists with arrivals of 2.06 million tourists, an increase of 9.2% from 2007.

The board said the top 10 tourist generating markets for December 2008 were Singapore (1.03 million), followed by Indonesia (251,118), Brunei (166,043), Thailand (122,776), China (including Hong Kong & Macau) (71,566), India (49,175), Australia (45,724), the Philippines (39,684), Japan (37,776) and Britain (36,131).

Singapore registered the largest number of tourists in 2008, contributing 49.9% of the total arrivals. This was followed by Indonesia (11.0%), Thailand (6.8%), Brunei (4.9%), China (including Hong Kong & Macau) (4.3%), India (2.5%), Japan (2.0%), Australia (1.9%), the Philippines (1.8%) and the United Kingdom (1.7%).

In terms of region, Europe recorded the highest growth of 21.8% in 2008 compared to 2007. The other regions that showed significant increase were Northern America (18.6%), Eastern Asia (15.9%), Southern Asia (15.7%) and Oceania (10.4%).

Tourism Malaysia acting director general Amirrudin Abu said: “We have achieved an all-time high figure of 22,052,488 tourist arrivals. This is certainly an accomplishment considering the fact that 2008 had been a very trying time for us and a very challenging one as well”.

No Natherland tourist yet lah !!!

[nazrey]

YTL set to expand further
Saturday January 24, 2009
By ANGIE NG



The sea villas at Pangkor Laut Resort hover over an inviting shore

DESPITE the gloomy global climate, YTL Hotels & Properties Sdn Bhd plans to expand its current portfolio of 13 hotels and is on the lookout for acquisitions in potential growth markets.

It also helps that its parent company, YTL Corp Bhd is sitting on a huge pile of cash reserves of over RM10bil, which will make it easier for the company to shop around for quality assets. According to YTL Hotels president Datuk Mark Yeoh, the next stage of growth is the global arena.

“There is value proposition from new asset acquisitions now following a depreciation in their values as a result of the fallout of the global financial crisis.

“A window of opportunity is available to us over the next three years as the global recession is expected to last for two to three years. Our strategy for growth will be through acquisitions. There is now a lot of restructuring going on around the globe and it is time to go bargain hunting for good assets,” Yeoh, who is also YTL Corp executive director, tells the StarBizWeek.

Given the company’s familiarity with Singapore and Australia, Yeoh says the company is scouring for good buys in these markets.

“Besides their proximity, these markets are very transparent and it is very easy to do business there,” he points out.

Presently, YTL Hotels has 11 assets in Malaysia and one each in Bali and Phuket with a total of 2,495 rooms.

He says all the hotel property, whether moderately-priced hotel rooms to luxury trains, have the hallmark of the YTL Hotel identity. In addition, the 31-room Spa Village Resort Tembok, Bali has just been voted the Best New Spa Destination in Hong Kong.

Yeoh says locally, there is good growth potential for the hotel industry as the room rates are still much lower compared with those in other countries.

Citing the five-star Pangkor Laut Resort, which is fetching about RM900 a room a night, Yeoh says a similar property in the Caribbeans would command around US$900 a night. An additional five hotels are under construction for completion in the next three years, two of which are in Sabah and another one in Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and France.

YTL Hotels’ latest hotel in Europe, located in St Tropez in south France, is scheduled for opening next year. The property was bought in 2007 and is being refurbished into a boutique hotel.

“It will be the most interesting and exciting project by YTL Hotels when it opens and further build value to our hotel brandname,” he adds.

In the current quarter, the Eastern & Oriental Express Luxury Train service will also add Laos in north Cambodia to its current routes of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Bangkok.

About 60% of the customers for its luxury resort hotels are foreigners, he says, adding that there are plans to improve the critical mass of its high-end customers, especially Britons, who comprised 20% of the total foreign market.

The company is also doubling its efforts to promote growth in arrivals from the East Asia market, including India and China.

Formed in 1988 as the hotel subsidiary of YTL Corp Bhd, YTL Hotels has expanded from just one property, the Pangkor Laut Resort to 13 assets currently, including popular escapades such as Pangkor Laut Resort, Tanjong Jara Resort, The Eastern & Oriental Express Luxury Train and The Estates at Pangkor Laut.

[nazrey]

German visits Penang again and again
By IAN MCINTYRE



Pearl of the Orient fan: Tun Abdul Rahman presenting a plaque
to Budke. With him is his consort Toh Puan Majimor Shariff.

GEORGE TOWN: To octogenarian German Wilma Budke, Penang is her very own “Fantasy Island” and it is like paying “homage” whenever she flies to the island for her annual vacation.

The 81-year-old widow has created a record of sorts by holidaying in Penang every year since 1978 - she is now the longest returnee foreign hotel guest in Penang’s hospitality industry.

Budke, from the industrial city of Osnabruck, is also the longest foreign guest returnee at two Shangri-La Resort properties here. To date, she has chalked up 4,159 room nights at the two resorts.

For her loyalty, the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas and his consort Toh Puan Hajah Majimor Shariff granted her an audience at their official residence Seri Mutiara here yesterday.

The occasion was more meaningful as it was her 81st birthday and Abdul Rahman presented her with a plaque as a gesture of appreciation on behalf of the two hotels, Golden Sands Resort and Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa.

On what lured her to keep coming back for 31 consecutive years, Budke said: “Friendly Penangites, food and fine weather”.

Budke used to come with her husband Friedrich Budke. They came to know about Penang through a travel brochure.

After her husband passed away in 1997, she continued to visit. The couple did not have any children.

[nazrey]

How much is Malaysia ‘Truly Asia’?
QUESTION TIME
By P. GUNASEGARAM

Small things at times highlight disturbing, distressing shifts that have moved values, attitudes and actions over the years by incremental, almost imperceptible, changes.

I LIKE the slogan “Malaysia Truly Asia”, which has been used by the Tourism Ministry in numerous advertisements internationally to promote the potpourri of culture, language, religion and food of its varied people.

The idea is that Malaysia is a microcosm of Asia where the major cultures and races of the most populous continent are represented and practised freely, with its inhabitants coming from all corners of the Asian continent into one happy country.

But how happy is “happy” these days? And how much tolerance do we have these days for the different racial and religious attributes of our diverse people who collectively make up what some people proudly call the Malaysian race? Indeed, is there such a thing as a Malaysian race in the first place?

How much is Malaysia “Truly Asia”? I am afraid my own answer is not terribly positive although it holds out hope for the future. For me, the inescapable conclusion is that things have deteriorated – and by a lot, and they are crying to be turned around.

Let me highlight that small event that is a sign of what we have become, which ironically took place at the Tourism Ministry’s Malaysian Tourism Centre or Matic, a historical building on Jalan Ampang with a number of delightful facilities.

It was here that inauguration of four of Malaysia’s kings were conducted. TV Malaysia was launched here in 1963.

Currently it has a number of halls, meeting rooms, theatre and amphitheatre, a restaurant and shops.

On Jan 17, at a theatre here, Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman, an Indian classical dance performance – of the Bharatha Natyam – was scheduled in the evening. Just outside this hall is an amphitheatre where a Sara*wakian cultural performance was also scheduled.

For the Indian dance performance, among the decorations in the foyer of the hall, separated by a glass door from the amphitheatre, was a statuette of the Hindu deity Lord Ganesha, commonly known as the elephant god. Ganesha is revered for his ability to remove obstacles and the statuette is symbolic of his presence at the function.

The eagle eye of an employee at Matic spotted Ganesha and the employee told the organisers that a dignitary was opening the Sarawak cultural performance later.

His boss, he continued, did not want the dignitary to see Ganesha and he wanted the statuette removed!

What kind of an unreasonable demand was that? The hall had been booked months in advance and in fact a reception during intermission had been scheduled to take place in the amphitheatre area. It is traditional for Indian classical dances to have such an image of Ganesha present.

Despite protests by the organisers, the Matic employee instructed the decorators to remove the statuette ahead of the dignitary’s arrival.

Since when have we become so intolerant that an official of no less than the Tourism Ministry which proudly promulgates the “Malaysia Truly Asia” slogan all over the world has to remove a Hindu deity from the view of a (presumably) Muslim dignitary?

How have we got into a situation that there seems to be so little respect, tolerance and acceptance for the beliefs, practices and rights of other religions in Malaysia when there was so much goodwill before?

What has got into us that we stress the differences and let that drive wedges between us Malaysians rather than enjoy and celebrate the diversity among us which brings so much richness into our lives as we experience other cultures intimately and daily?

Three days later, I was watching US president Barack Obama’s inauguration speech live on TV, where he mentioned that he – a black - became president although 60 years earlier his father may not have been served in a restaurant.

So much has happened in moving forward race relations in the US but here in Malaysia, it has worsened from the time of Independence in 1957.

The unity of purpose which brought all the races together in one front to press for Independence from British colonial rule rapidly deteriorated over the years, as racial and religious differences were whipped up by politicians to keep themselves in power.

Racial and religious tolerance declined over the decades as policies and politics emphasised the divides. Post the May 13, 1969, racial riots, new policies to redress racial inequalities, which were poorly implemented, exacerbated the situation and gave rise to patronage politics.

Now not a day goes by without Barisan Nasional members quarrelling over racial issues.

And one official in Matic deemed it necessary that the statuette of Ganesha at a private performance of Indian classical dance should be removed lest a dignitary catch a fleeting glimpse of it through glass doors and take offence.

To what depths have we descended over the years! If this is what we have come to, how on earth are the problems of abuse and discrimination against some communities going to be sorted out?

Even as we write, there are reports of a Indian Malaysian who died under questionable circumstances while in police custody.

Signs are that Malaysians of all races, creeds and religions are getting tired of this bigotry and policies that divide instead of unite. The results of March 8 reflect the frustrations of the people.

On the night of the dance performance, the Kuala Terengganu by-election results came in. No, it was not the choice of candidate that lost Barisan the election – it was that after March 8, Barisan had nothing fresh to offer, nothing new.

Incoming Umno president and future prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said in the wake of that loss – again – that Barisan needed to change: “If we fail to deal with these challenges (meeting people’s aspirations) effectively, punishment awaits us in the 13th general election.”

And as Obama said humbly after his inauguration as president of the United States, without a doubt the most powerful position in the world: “The world has changed and we must change with it.”

But will anyone listen?

> P. Gunasegaram is managing editor of The Star. He is happy to report, that despite that incident, his daughter Shobna’s dance performance that night went very well.

[nazrey]

2008 Malaysia Events
Kazakhstan and Swiss teams the first to arrive for Le Tour de Langkawi
Saturday February 7, 2009
By NG WEI LOON



Early birds: The Kazakhstan national team going through a light
workout outside the Palace of the Golden Horses in Seri Kembangan.

THE participating teams and officials for the upcoming Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) will be calling the Palace of the Golden Horses in Seri Kembangan their temporary home.

They will be based at the hotel as a build-up to the opening stage on Monday followed by the fourth and fifth stages scheduled on Feb 12 and 13 respectively.

This season, 160 cyclists from 20 teams will be featuring in the tour covering a total distance of 1,031.7km over seven stages from Feb 9 to 15.

The hotel’s general manager, Ondre Lim, said they were delighted to keep the momentum going in hosting high profiled events.

“Although it is the first time we have been appointed as one of the official hotels for the most prestigious cycling event in the country, we have coped well to cater to the needs of the teams.

“It is a chance for us to showcase our warm Malaysian hospitality to the world with the facilities as well as the charming architecture that we have to offer here.

“We will ensure that our guests will have a good experience staying here,” he added.

And the scene of cyclists from different outfits zooming around has created a different ambience at the hotel as teams began to check in on Thursday.

The two early birds were pro continental team Cervelo Test Team from Switzerland and Kazakhstan national team.

Kazakhstan team manager Alexandr Nadobenko said they came early to acclimatise to the hot and humid weather after a two-week training stint in Kunming, China.

“This is their first race of the season for our under-23 team. It is going to be a challenging outing for the youngsters as they will be up against established teams. The climb up to Genting Highlands will be an interesting affair,” said Nadobenko, who also had the experience competing in the tour in 1997 and 1998 before retiring in 1998.

The strong field includes four pro teams - BBOX Bouygues (France), AG2r La Mondiale (France), Garmin Slipstream (USA) and Fuji-Servetto (Spain).

Four other pro continental sides are CSF Group-Navigare (Ireland), Diquiguiovanni-Androni (Vene-zuela), ISD (Italy) and Vorarlberg-Corratec (Austria).

Among the continental teams are Seoul Cycling (South Korea), EQA-Meitan Hompo-Graphite Design (Japan), MNCF Cycling Team (Malaysia), Le Tua Cycling Team (Malaysia) and Doha Team (Qatar).

Besides hosts Malaysia, other national teams in the fray are Australia, South Africa, China and Iran.

The hotel has allocated 360 of the 480 rooms to accommodate 600 guests, keeping a keen interest on the proceedings of the race.



Support crew: A total of 220 official
vehicles will be part of the upcoming tour.

In addition, workers in the hotel’s food and beverage department are also getting ready to keep up with the pace, dishing out high carbohydrate energy food to the cyclists.

Sous chef Muhammad Nasri Dorahim anticipates that potato salad is going to be a popular dish among the foreign guests.

“We have to provide them with a healthy and balanced diet. We will be offering between five and six variations of salad. The main dishes will be a combination of rice, pasta and potatoes served with meat and vegetables,” Nasri added.

Tomorrow, the participating teams will be introduced in a ceremony at the hotel’s East Garden.

“It is going to be a big carnival atmosphere at the open-air area.

“We will be adding a special touch to the occasion with an orchestra entertaining the guests,” Lim said.

[nazrey]

Sabah’s orang utans to feature in National Geographic
Updated: Saturday February 7, 2009 MYT 4:31:27 PM
By RUBEN SARIO

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's orang utan conservation efforts will be featured in a National Geographic channel documentary that is scheduled for screening to potential international audience of 260 million households in November.

The documentary is being produced by Kuala Lumpur-based Novista Sdn Bhd that was engaged by the National Development Film Corporaration (Finas) for the project.

Novista director Lina Teoh said filming of the documentary would begin in the middle of the year at various locations around the state.

"We feel there has been a lot of positive work done in Sabah to conserve the orang utan and this is among the things the documentary will focus on," said Teoh after briefing State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjum about the documentary on Saturday.

Teoh said about 10 people would be involved in the filming work following their research into Sabah's orang utan for nearly a year.

She said Novista's plan was to invite an internationally renowned Malaysian artiste to narrate the documentary.

"We are in the midst of identifying and discussing with some artistes to see could be involved in this project," said Teoh whose company had produced a documentary on the Kuala Lumpur Smart Tunnel for the Mega Structure segment on the National Geographic channel.

Masidi said the state government, through his ministry, would be supporting the filming of the documentary, which he said would create more international awareness about Sabah.

"This project is good from the perspective of our conservation efforts and tourism sector as well," he said in adding that his ministry would support the filming in terms of logistics as well as ensuring Novista obtained the necessary permits and clearances as quickly as possible.

Sabah's orang utan conservation effort is focused at Sepilok in the east coast Sandakan district where orphaned and displaced primates are sheltered and rehabilitated to prepare them for life in the wild.

Wildlife experts estimate that the orang utan population in Sabah is about 11,000 and consider it a vulnerable species.

[nazrey]

Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre

The oldest Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre is located at Sepilok, which is a 20-minute drive from Sandakan, Sabah. An area of 11,000 acres of virgin equatorial rainforest has been set aside as forest reserve and orang utan rehabilitation centre. Here, you can experience a close encounter with the "Wild Man of Borneo."

Orang Utan
Feeding time



by Paul Middleton

[nazrey]

Sipadan Island
BEST DIVING SPOT IN MALAYSIA
by Henry & Tersia
http://flickr.com/photos/69919391@N0...7606145151111/









Fusiliers



Devil Firefish



Batfish



Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray



Anemonefish



Kapalai Island

[nazrey]

Terengganu
Pulau Redang Adventure [Laguna Redang Resort]
by sIMANG
http://flickr.com/photos/dangerouswi...7608049446664/

[2206]

The Sabah Experience: Land Below the Wind
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...=530285&page=2


ECO TREASURE
............FROM MOUNTAIN HIGH .......................TO OCEAN DEEP



Welcome

Sabah Tourism

Sabah Travel Guide




world heritage - Mount Kinabalu Park
world class dive paradise - Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai, Mataking, Lankayan, Layang-layang, more...
world top ten turlte nestling area - Turtle Islands Park (Selingan, Bankungan kecil & Gulisan)
world famous Survivor island - Pulau Tiga Marine Park
one of the world most complex ecosystem area - Danum Valley, Maliau Basin, Tabin Wildlife Reserve
world largest wildman rehabilitation centre - Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary
world largest flower - Rafflesia
world best managed edible birds' nest cave - Gomantong Caves
one of world only four single column structure tower - Menara Tun Mustapha (Yayasan Sabah)
world top three sunset spot - KK city
world class resort & golf club
Sutera Harbour Resort
Shangrila Tanjung Aru Resort (STAR)
Karambunai Nexus Resort
Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort



diving paradise

golfing paradise

[2206]

NEO cps


click for more picssssss

[2206]

[nazrey]

Australian tourist numbers to Malaysia to rise
2009/02/21

MELBOURNE, SAT: Malaysia has started the year with an impressive 47,228 Australian tourist arrivals in January, a 21.5 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

This follows the 33.3 per cent jump in Australian arrivals in 2008 to 427,076 from the previous year.

Tourism Malaysia Sydney director Shahrin Mokhtar said, Australia remained among Malaysia's top 10 tourist generating markets.

"Our performance in this lucrative market is reflected in the double digit growth in tourist arrivals from Australia to Malaysia over the past year," Shahrin said.

"Australians recognise the excellent value for money they get from visiting Malaysia," he added.

Tourism Malaysia''s newly-opened Melbourne office had much better Aussie tourist figures than out of Sydney.

Last December the Melbourne office handled more than 6,300 departures and Sydney around 4,800.

"We in Melbourne expect to do even better, when our sponsorship of the Carlton Football Club goes into full swing next month," Tourism Malaysia Melbourne director Putra Hilmy Elias said.

Carlton club executives and players who recently spent a few days in Penang are most impressed with Malaysia.

"The club's website features glowing reports of the recent Penang visit and club executives are excited about our sponsorship. We will keep in close touch with Carlton to facilitate tours to Malaysia,' Putra said.

Tourism Malaysia Deputy Director General (Planning) Azizan Noordin who was here this week for the two-day Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meeting Expo (AIME)said he was pleased with the outstanding work from Tourism Malaysia officers and staff in Australia.

Azizan said a key objective would be increase the average length of stay by Australian travellers in Malaysia from 8.9 nights to 10 nights.

"We will also be introducing and promoting many smaller, unexplored areas around the country, especially on the east coast of Malaysia. These will appeal to many niche and soft adventure markets including fishing, sailing, homestaysand eco-tourism," Azizan said.

[MALAYSIAN]

Nobody who dives off the Borneo island of Sipadan wants to leave.

By Martin Spice
Last Updated: 4:44PM GMT 24 Feb 2009



Approximately one hour's flight from my home town of Kota Kinabalu in Borneo lies the small town of Tawau.

From there it is a further hour by bus to the estuary town of Semporna and from there less than one hour by boat to the jewel in the east Sabah region's crown: the island of Sipadan.

By general consensus it's one of the top 10 dive spots in the world. And I'd venture to suggest that by cognoscenti consensus it might rank as the very best of all.

Nobody who dives Sipadan wants to leave it. The island Jacques Cousteau made famous in his underwater TV documentaries is a real treasure.

Jump off your boat, put your mask underwater and gasp. If you don't see a turtle in the first sweep of a gaze that can take in tens of metres of clear water it will be only minutes before one passes.

Look straight below you and there is a good chance you will see a shark sleeping on a ledge. Look in front of you into a cloud of brightly coloured fish that twist and turn in the light – but beware of the one that looks like a child's cutout of a fish.

The manic look in its eye will tell you that this is a trigger fish and almost every diver has their own story of a close and sometimes toothy encounter.

Sipadan is not just for divers. My wife dives; I don't. But I can put on a snorkel mask and float. And that's just what I did for three wonderful days of a recent short break.

Three times a day, we left our resort island and tore across open water, twin outboards screaming. The dive spot was not always Sipadan but the area is so rich in marine life that there is much to see elsewhere.

Diving Sipadan itself is not as easy at it used to be. Once there was accommodation on the island, albeit of a very basic kind. Nowadays the only people based there are the army and Sabah Parks Authority officials.

The new regulations are mired in controversy. Everyone wants to see Sipadan protected but the apparently random allocation of dive permits means you can set off in the early morning only to be turned back by officials.

Frustrating – particularly if you have travelled across the world to dive there.

The desire of Sabah, one of the two Malaysian states on Borneo, to protect its wildlife runs straight into the face of its propensity to make money from the exploitation of that wildlife's habitat.

Thirty years ago much of the rainforest was logged over and a lot of people became very rich on the proceeds. Now the cash cow is palm oil, the green gold of our times.

But the palm oil estates destroy the variety of vegetation, replacing it with a soulless monoculture that is habitat to very few of Sabah's indigenous animals.

On the great Kinabatangan River, the estates extend almost to the banks and have all but destroyed the corridors used by the pygmy elephants as well as damaging the orangutan's habitat badly enough to threaten its survival.

Very recently the issuing of licences to longline fishermen caused controversy in Kota Kinabalu as the environment lobby publicised the dangers this indiscriminate form of fishing poses to sharks and turtles.

That tense chilly dawn wait off Sipadan is a microcosm of Sabah's dilemma. It wants to exploit its natural resources to satisfy its cash hunger but the tourism trade it is so anxious to promote demands access to an unspoiled environment.

The desire to protect and the desire to exploit run counter to each other. In three days we got permits once. One permit means two dives. So is it worth it? A thousand times yes.

What makes Sipadan special is its drop off. There are plenty of islands in the South China Seas and the Celebes Sea but none of them share Sipadan's geological good fortune.

Go a very short distance from the island's tree-fringed shores and you hover over thousands of feet of water. And this drop off is sheer.

One minute you are snorkeling over a hundred varieties of coral three metres below you and the next you are staring into deep sea space.

Visibility is so good you can see dozens of metres down. It is an extraordinary feeling – hovering over a void. For a moment it is terrifying then wonder takes over. For with the depth come the big fish.

Barracuda Point is one of Sipadan's most famous dive sites. Thousands of barracuda shoal here.

If you are lucky you will see them packed together into a wall of fish. If you are very lucky, you will witness one of Sipadan's most famous sights, the swirling vortex of chevron barracuda.

The lack of accommodation on Sipadan is no great loss. Our home for our extended weekend was the sunken island of Kapalai.

Once it was proudly above water; then the villagers started to take away the sand and slowly the sea eroded the rest of the land until it was all under water.

Now Kapalai is a stunning resort built on stilts that rest on the sea bed. Our room was built directly over the water, as were the walkways and the communal areas.

Sitting on our balcony one evening we spotted a turtle come up for air only metres away, tracked blue spotted sting rays as they skimmed above the sandy sea bed and watched the thin and streamlined pipefish as they hung in the spotlights thoughtfully fixed to the underside of the balcony.

As the sun burned down to the horizon, it was hard to believe there was anywhere finer to sip a glass of well-earned sauvignon blanc.

-telegraph.co.uk

[2206]

Lok Kawi Wild Life Park, SABAH


The Lok Kawi Wildlife Park was officially open to the public on the 17th February 2007. It is located along the Penampang-Papar old road and is fully developed by the Sabah Wildlife Department.

The park consists of two components: zoological and botanical. The main objective of the park is to become a family-oriented park and the emphasis is put on the Children’s Zoo.

Among the inhabitants of the zoo (zoological component) are the Borneo Pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinoceros, Orang Utan, Proboscis monkey, Malayan tiger, as well as some different species of deer.

The botanical component, on the other hand; offers visitors the opportunity to go jungle trekking along the botanical trail. The paved trail is about 1.4 kilometers long. However, for leisurely strolls, visitors are only advised to walk halfway along the trail.

Getting There
The journey to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park takes 30 minutes to an hour’s drive from Kota Kinabalu, the estimated distance is 20 kilometers. For transportation, visitors can either drive or take a taxi from the city centre.

[2206]

future world-class leisure and tourism spot

The 2km long Waterfront development
@Kota Kinabalu, Sabah




Kota Kinabalu City Waterfront http://www.kkcwaterfront.com.my/

JESSELTON WATERFRONT http://www.jesseltonwaterfront.com/

Suria Sabah http://www.suriasabah.com.my/

KKTIMESSQUARE the mall http://www.asianpac.com.my/kkts/themall/location.html

Harbour City http://www.harbourcity.com.my/

South China Sea Place http://sudc.com.my/?p=163

[2206]

Climbing the Majestic Mount Kinabalu
SABAH

by ynwa2005
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ynwa2005/with/3333893291/




sunset@Mount Kinabalu



reaching top at early morning





Poring Hot Springs and Canopy Walk

[ethan]

Pulau Pinang (Penang) UNESCO Heritage Site

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=41805097413