Chinese New Year Influx

Datuk Masidi Manjun,the Sabah Minister of Tourism,Cultures and Environment has disclosed that visitors from China,Hong Kong and Taiwan has continued to increase tremendously.The increase last year was 34.4% over the previous year. Over 5000 visitors from this sector are expected to arrive during the Chinese New Year season alone.They will arrive in 22 chartered flights.Therefore there is a lingering fear that there might be a shortage of hotel rooms during that period considering there are also visitors from other parts of the world.

Sabah domestic flights to be handled by MAS again

For years MAS had been complaining that domestic flights within East Malaysia (Sarawak & Sabah) are causing her to suffer a huge loss. Then she manages to pass the burden of running these operations to the privately owned Air Asia which has stunning records of reaping huge profits in recent years. Air Asia runs the E. Malaysia operations through her subsidiary,Federal Air Express (FAX). But Air Asia has bitten off a piece more than she can chew this time.She does not have enough aircrafts to support the operations, if any aircraft experiences a technical problem, all the subsequent schedules will be upset because she does not have back up aircrafts for such incidences. Therefore delays and cancellations are the norm of the day. FAX has no choice but to call it quit. MAS has to take it back, just to fullfill her obligation (as a national carrier) to service the rakyat. The operations in E. Malaysia will be handled through MAS Wings, a newly formed subsidiary of MAS. Best of lucks,MAS, hope your wings woun't be clipped this time.

Events completed

Three of the major tourists pulling sports events had successfully completed.They are namely:

1. Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon
2. Sabah Tea Plantations Cycling Championship
3. Kinabalu 4-Wheel Drive Challenge

The response from participants were very good, better than previous year. However, some of the top ranked participants of the Climbathon were absent this year due to the fact that the event was held in August and not in October as in past years. It was also scheduled as the 5th leg of the High Latitude Run 7-series circuit and not as the last leg as in previous years.Apart from that the numbers of participants from overseas had increased, and successfully held. Hope we will have a good year again next year!

Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon To Be Held On August

The 21st Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon will be held earlier than usual, in the middle of August this year.This event was usually held in October every year in the past. The Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon is one of the 7-Series Buff- Skyrunner World Series Federation For Sports At Altitude circuit, and is chosen as the last leg of the series in previous years. However, Spain is chosen as the last leg for the series and Malaysia the 5th this year. This is the reason why The Mt Kinabalu Climbathon has to be held on August 25th & 26th instead of October 6th & 7th as planned. It was learned that the participation of the event has already capped at 150 as of yesterday, including participants from 16 nations.The highlight of this year will be the return of the Gurkha Regiment of Nepal who dominated the event for 6 straight years from 1988 to 1993.However, there is no response from both the reigning champions in the male category (Ricardo Mejia of Mexico)and female category (Anna Pichtrova of Czech Republic) so far. But the organizers are confident that they will come out to defend their tittles soon. There are officially 148 participants, including male and female, registered as of yesterday:

	Country		Participants
	Brunei		1
	Columbia		1
	Germany		1
	England		9
	HongKong		1
	Italy		1
	Japan		6
	Malaysia		93
	Mexico		1
	Nepal		6
	Philipines		5
	Singapore		13
	Spain		1
	Sweden		1
	Thailand		1
	USA		4

KK Adventure Park

Category : Adventures The KK Adventure Park is 35 minutes drive from KK city center, at 26.5 km New Papar Road. It is ideal for family outings,corporate events, school groups, birthday parties and various social clubs.

The facilties in the park enable visitors to carry out the following activities:

• Quad Bikes - Go for a wild ride on a quad bike (bike with 4-wheels!) on the challenging track of the park. Safety helmet and helmet liner, jump suit, gloves and shoes are provided.
• Beach Buggies - Cruise along the beach with a companion beside you, make sure you try it.
• Bungee Trampolines - 2 in 1 bungee jump and trampolines jump. Only one in Sabah.
• High Rope Challenges - 7 platforms secured to the trunks of tall palm trees, 25-feet above the groung, all connected with ropes. Try to travel from each of them through the high ropes.
• Kayaks - Paddle your way along the shore line,enter the Kawang River and head upstrem. Cruise through pristine mangrove and spot beautiful wild life.
• Flying Fox - Climb to the 40-foot tower in the park. Descent at a unblievable speed with the pulleyed cables.
• Wall Climbing - There are 3 wall faces towering at 30-foot above ground offer challenges to beginners and experienced climbers.
• Low Rope Course - Though not at high altitudes, these obstacles are equally fun and exciting.
• Giant Chess - Show your skills with these giant chess.
• Ken's Hiden Treasure - Join your kids for a fun-filled treasure hunt.
• Ken's 10 hole minature golf course - Practice your putting strokes here, while members of your family are having fun nearby.

Contact:

Tel: 088-750959

Fax: 088755959

Extremely rare Borneo rhino caught on video

Take a closer look at the rare Borneo rhino seldom seen by human. The total number of this rhino on the whole of Borneo island is estimated between 20 - 50 by researchers. The video recorder is planted by researchers at paths believed to be used by these animals. After months of patient waiting their efforts finally yield the video shown here. Rare Borneo rhino seen on film

Borneo Safari 16th 2006 International Off Road Challenge

Site Category : Adventures/Sports Tourism, Cultural and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Karim Bujang flagged off the event in front of the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) office in Jalan Gaya on 29 October 2006. Chairman of STB, Tengku Datuk Zainal Adlin and Chairman of the Kota Kinabalu Four Wheel Drive Club (KKFWDC), Mr James Wong were also present at the flagging off. There are 75 vehicles altogether participating in the event, but only 14 vehicles are actually competing in the special Stages (SS) and other events. The rest are only support teams and observers/journalists. The 8-day event will pass throught the following places: Tuaran,Telupid,Deramakot Reserve, Tongod,Kg. Sinua and Trusmadi. The convoy will swing back after reaching Ranau and head back to KK passing through Tambunan. The number of vehicles is much lesser than those of the previous years because the organisers have to limit the number this time as the convoy will be passing through the Deramakot Reserve, steps are being taken to reduce the possible damages to the environment. Limiting the number of participating vehicles being one of them. The huge number of comments to this post are advertisement which are not relevant to this aricle.Read them only when you have nothing better to do.

Nexus Hotel/Karambunai Resort Golf Club

Guess it's high time to start introducing some luxurious places found in Sabah in order to cater for visitors who do not mind paying extra for first class facilities. Let's start with the Nexus Hotel/Karambunai Resort Golf Club which lies leisurely on the shore of the South China Sea, and is approximately a 30-minute drive from the city center and a 40-minute drive from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport. The resort has a white sandy beach and the surrounding rainforests are well preserved to give the guests a comfortable sense of serene and tranquil, away from the hassle and bustle of the city. Luxurious accommodations at Nexus Resort include the 235 room Borneo Villa, nestled within a cluster of 7 two-storey buildings, amid a lush tropical garden. The 5-storey Oceanville offers tastefully stylish accommodations, with each guestroom unveiling private balconies that afford panoramic vistas of beach and cobalt blue seas wing was built to compliment the serene kampung charms of the Borneo Villa guestrooms. Apart from the 18-hole golf course, Nexus has the following facilities : RESTAURANTS & BARS: Penyu All Day Dining The Kingfisher Olive Mediterranean Restaurant Noble House Darlin' Entertainment Club The Horizon Lobby Lounge Golfer Lounge OTHER HOTEL FACILITIES AND SERVICES: Sports & Recreation : 3 swimming pools, an outdoor jacuzzi, a gymnasium, tennis, and squash court, cycling, aerobics, horse riding, archery, beach volleyball, mini soccer and Tai Chi lessson. Rainforest nature walks in the hotel 75-acre nature park. Karmabunai Resorts Golf Club : The 18-hole championship course designed by Ronald Fream Design Gropu Banquet : 1 Grand Ballroom, 3 ballrooms and 8 meeting rooms, catering up to 2,300 persons reception-style, 1,080 banquet-style and 800 classroom-style. Rates : From RM 440

Winners of 20th Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon Men Open

Ricardo Mejia of Mexico retains his title for the Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon by beating more than 130 runners from 21 countires on Sunday. This win also enables him to take the crown of the 7-series Buff- Skyrunner World Series Federation For Sports At Altitude 2006, after collecting 400 points in all. 43-year old Ricardo had won the title (Mt Kinabalu Climbathon) on 2001 and 2005. The second place goes to a local runner, Mius Balinting, who is a mere 500m behind Ricardo on the asphalt road at home stretch. 37-year old Mius plants vegetables in his own small plot of land on the foot hill of Mt Kinabalu when not competing. Incidentally, Mius is the first local runner who comes closest to clinching the title after 10 years. The title was won by Guianus Salagan, (who is in 9th position this year), 10 years ago when there were not so many competitors from overseas. Another Sabahan, Safrey Sumping (a moutanin guide), wins the third position. The excellent performance by Mius and Safrey has spurred the local sports authority to sit up and starts to organise programs to revive the interests of this sport and to relive our past glory, hopefully. Below is a list of the top 10 of the event :

Position	Name	Country	Clocked
1	Ricardo Mejia	Mexico	2:50:52
2	Mius bin Balinting	Malaysia	2:51:44
3	Safrey Sumping	Malaysia	2:53:22
4	Tadao Yokoyama	Japan	2:54:02
5	Dapit Fulvio	Italy	2:54:43
6	Agusti Roc Amador	Spain	2:55:44
7	Marco Rusconi	Italy	2:56:08
8	Jessed Hemandex Gispert	Spain	2:58:23
9	Guianus Salagan	Malaysia	3:03:48
10	Madamin Ghun	Malaysia	3:04:37
11	Sapirin Sumping	Malaysia	3:04:54

Winners Of TM 20th Mt Kinabalu Internatinal Climbathon

Reigning champion Anna Pichtrova of Czech Republic ,wins the Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon Women Open category title for the fifth time this year. Her team mate Iva Milesova wins the second place. Briton Dr Angela Mudge is in third place, while French Corine Farve is fourth, missed by merely one second. Nonetheless, this result enables Dr Angela to win the title for the 7-series Buff World Skyrunner Circuit. Mt Kinabalu Climbathon is the last and decisive leg of the series. In the Men Veteran category, Sarun Sadi is the champion. Francis Lane Cosgrave is second and Taising Bukolong is third. The Men Open Category will be held tomorrow. Below is a list of the top 10 of the Women Open event :

Position	Name	Country	Clocked
1	Anna Picthrova	Czech Republic	3:08:48
2	Iva Milesova	Czech Republic	3:14:42
3	Dr Angela Mudge	Great Britain	3:28:25
4	Corrine Favre	France	3:28:26
5	Daniela Vassali	Spain	3:33:34
6	Merlita Vailoces Aria	Philippines	3:38:30
7	Ester Hernandez	Spain	3:39:55
8	Danny Kuilin	Malaysia	3:44:04
9	Estaphanie Jimenez	Andorra	3:47:56
10	Han Zhenying	China	- -

Top 10 results for Men Veteran category not available. Will update as soon as it becomes available.

Travel To Sabah Will Be Easy Again

Flight arrangement to Sabah will be back to normal soon, making it easy for people to visit Sabah again. Read more...

Borneo 4WD Cross Country Challenge

Site Category : Adventures/Sports The Kinabalu Four Wheel Drive Club (KFWDC) is making plans to shift the racing grounds for this year's event namely, the 16th Borneo 4WD Cross Country Challenge, to a new location. The Chairman of KFWDC, James Wong, said the new venue will in the heart of Sabah. It is at the upstream of the Kinabatangan River in the Deramakot Forest Reserve. He said this change is due to the requests from the off-road enthusiasts who prticipated in past events. They find that passing through oil palm estates and jungles year after year is no longer thrilling enough for them. There are also other changes beside changing the venue, the registration fees will be raised to limit the number of participants because the event will be held in a forest reserve and damages to the environment need to be kept at a minimum. With a large number of participants this will be difficult to achieve. The number of vehicles will be limited also. More tests and challenges will be introduced and this time they will be passing through virgin jungles. James and a team who acted as path finder had ventured into the planned venue to mark a new route for this event. They were very excited at they found. The reserve covers an area of over 55,000 hectares, many wild life habitants were encountered. There are estimated at about 1,000 orang utans, wild bears, deers, elephants and many species of fauna and flora. Another team of path finder is currently try to establish a route to link the forest reserve to Donggu then connect to Keningau. So far they have come across some small streams, but they will expect to discover a few unpoluted rivers in Tongod during the next trip the team explores the reserve again. The 16th Borneo 4WD Cross Country Challenge is tentatively fixed at October 29 to November 5 2006. Teams from Japan, a regular in this event, have indicated that they will bring along their own vehicles. Teams from West Malaysia and Sarawak are likely to do the same too. Please register early to avoid disappointment!

Tabin Wildlife Conservation Conquest

Site Category : Wild Life Reserve Tabin is near Lahad Datu which is about 45-minutes travel by air away from Kota Kinabalu. Malayisa's largest wildlife reserve is located at Tabin.In order to attract visitors and make the public to be aware of the importance of wildlife reserves, an interesting and action-packed competition is held within the largest wildlife reserve in Malaysia.Fun filled activities including :

• Test of skills on traditional weapons
• Jungle running with obstacles
• Treasure hunting
• The unique mud man parade

This 2-day 1- night event has specially designed a race route that allows participants to discover the many facet of Tabin’s beauty and raise their awareness on environment and nature conservation. Requiring only moderate degree of physical fitness, contestants are requied to cover their bodies and faces, decorating their hairs with flowers and leaves. Several of the contestants were foreign visitors from countries like the UK, France who initially intended just to watch the events but were tempted by the promises of great funs and persuded to take part eventually. When asked they admited were glad that they participated because it was good fun. The conquest crowns the annual Tabin Mud King, Mud Queen and Mud Warrior as the best contestants..

The 20th TM Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon 2006

Site Category : Adventures/Sports The 20th (TM) Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon 2006 is open for registration now. All local and overseas high altitude racing enthusiasts are urged to register early to avoid disappointment Acclaimed as world’s toughest racing on high altitudes event, The 20th TM Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon 2006 is fixed to be held on September 30 and October 01 2006. The event categories on the first day will be the Men Veteran category and the Women Open category, while that on the second day will be the Men Open category. Please note that there will be a new restriction to be introduced this year, that is: the climbathon will cap at 150 (one hundred and fifty persons only). This is to prevent excessive damages to the fragile vegetations on both sides of mountain path leading to the summit that may incur if too many people tramping on the path at any one time are allowed. The Secretary of the organizing committee, Zachary Mobijohn, disclosed the above new rule and reiterated that late comers will be rejected once the maximum number (150) of participants is reached. This annual race, which tests one’s courage and ultimate body strength, attracted many world’s top high altitudes racers to face the challenges offered by this 4095.2 meters high Mt Kinabalu yearly. Another important reason for them to take part in this event is because it is sanctioned by the 7-series Federation for Sport at Altitude’s (FSA) Skyrunning World Championship. This happens to be the final leg of the 7-series circuit, hence the deciding and crucial race. It is learned that Mt Kinabalu is one of the few mountains, which does not require special kills and equipment to surmount, in the world. The distance for each race category is 21 km which has its starting point at the Kinabalu National Park, up the summit and return back to the finish line also at the National Park. The competitors will face challenges from the nature such as wet grounds, precarious cliffs, wooden stair-steps, bridges, steep high grounds etc. On top of that, this event is held during the rainy season each year, making it a true long torturous test for all the contestants. Therefore only the fittest and strongest willed challengers will become the final victors. The new sponsorer, Telekom Malaysia (TM), which replaces the previous long-time sponsorer, Malaysia Airline System (MAS), will donate RM30,000.00 cash prizes and RM10,000.00 worth in kinds. Those who are interested to participate please obtain the registration forms from the counters of

• Sabah Tourism Promotion Board
• Sabah Sri Tours Sdn Bhd

Or from this URL : http://www.sabahtourism.com/climbathon06/index.html For further information please contact through phone : 6088-232121 (Mr Zachary MobiJohn) Or E-mail balwant@sabahtourism.com

Sabah Tea Adventures Race (STAR)

Site Category : Adventures Sports The 4th Sabah Tea Adventures Race (STAR) organised by the Sabah Tea Plantations Sdn Bhd was a great success. It attarcted participants from the neighbouring countries like Australia,Japan,Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines. As this race was held in the cool and scenic settings of the tea plantations at Kundasang on the foot hills of majestic Mount Kinabalu, family members of many competitors accompanied them here. They will explore the scenery and rainforests while their loved ones are testing their cycling skills and speed amongst the green hills. The Culture, Tourism and Environment Minister, Datuk Chong Kah Kiat, suggested that the organising committee should consider holding a mini carnival on the side, showing performances by cultural groups, putting up stalls of handicrafts, local cuisines and fruits to attract more family memebers to come with the competitors.

Sipadan Project Scrapped

Good News! The Sabah state cabinet has decided to scrap the RM4.5 milion project on the Sipadan Island which caused damages to the surrounding environment, especially the coral reefs. The authorithy concerned claims that this amount was planned to provide the barest minimum of facility for divers. If that was true the planned wash-room will be most expensive one in the whole world. Imagine, a RM4.5 millions wash-room! Guess it will be costlier than purchasing a few decompression chambers. The authorithy should understand that tourists are attracted here by our natural senery, unique multi-racial cultures and the variety of local exotic cuisines, not by man-made posh hotels and facilities. Definitely we are in no position to compete with reputable hoteliers in other parts of the world in offering high quality hotels services and facilities. We should know our limitations as well as strong points, stop wasting money on building expensive hotels and resorts, use the money wisely to improve and protect our nature and environment, in turns attract more visitors who bring in revenues to us.

Layang-layang Resthouse Cum Restaurant Project Scrapped

The Sabah state cabinet met last week and the abandoned resthouse cum restaurant project 9000 feet up on Mount Kinabalu was also discussed, and it decided to terminate the project permanently and the site is to be reverted back to its original state. It is a big relief to nature lovers in Sabah because it was disclosed that the project would have put up a 2 1/2 storey high building requiring balsting on the mountain's granite to lay the foundation of the building. It is insane! Moreover, the allocated cost is RM4.3 millions. Surely there are better ways to use this kind of money, like building better bridges or roads which do not collapse easily during raining seasons. Mother nature has been very kind to us Sabahans, blessing us with wonderful tourist spots, but we do not know how to appreciate them and to treasure them. It is really sad. What the authority should consider doing is to build several zinc-sheet huts at strategic spots along the climbers' trail. It will be much more cost effective, environmental friendly and convenient to climbers. After the Sipadan Island case and now this one, how many more surprises are in store for us?

Masilau Natural Resort

Site Category : Mountain Resort Masilau is also situated on the foot hill of Mount Kinabalu. But it is different because there is a golf course nearby, which obviously is not owned by the resort because there is no mention about it in the resort owner's website. Nestled at the foot of the magnificent Mount Kinabalu at 2,000 metres above sea level within the World Heritage Site, Mesilau Nature Resort promises to enchant visitors with its cool temperate climate and serene surroundings as an amazing nature's paradise. Climbers especially repeat climbers, may now try the new and challenging trail to Mount Kinabalu from this point. The bio-diversity of the flora and fauna found here makes Mesilau a haven for naturalists. The world's largest pitcher plant, the "Nepenthes Rajah" grows in abundance here. Cool and refreshing, Mesilau is an ideal venue for motivational training, seminars, meetings and even meditation.

There are many choices of accommodations available here :

1. Rest House
   • Dormitory Bunk Beds Common Lounge, Common Bathroom, Kitchen Cooking Facilities (upon request)
2. Lodge
   • 3 bedrooms with heater Living Area, Attached Bathroom, Heater Shower.
3. Lodge
   • 2 bedrooms (1queen-sized bed / 1 king-sized bed) Living & Dining Area, Room Heater, Bathroom, Heated Shower Kitchen

Activities arranged :

• Nephenthes Rajah Natural Trail (9:00am - 4:00pm) - subject to fee
• Guided Nature Walk within the Resort - subject to fee
• Monday to Friday - 9:30am, 11.00am, 2.00pm
• Sat, Sun, School & Public Holiday - 7:30am, 11.3am, 2.00pm
• Outdoor Games for Rental: Volley ball & Sepak Takraw - subject to fee
• Indoor Games for Rental : Carom / Scrabble / Chess / Checkers
• Others : Souvenir Shops, Renanthera Restaurant, Function Room (accommodates up to 120 persons Theatre Style)

Here's a view of Mount Kinabalu from the resort :

Picture by Doris Doris's photo website

Tour Operator :

Sutera Sanctuary Lodges

Good News : Sipadan Remains Open

The Sabah Culture Environment Tourism Minister, Datuk Chong Kah Kiat announced that the world-famous diving spot - Sipadan Island is open to visitors until the relevant authorities meet and decide on the next course of action to take regarding the running of the island.
As a precaution, please double confirm with your tour operator before flying in. You will never know, the stands of our officers here are as changable as the local weather!
And please, please obtain a permit for visiting the Sipadan island. This is actually the responbility of your tour operator, but be aware that this is the most important prequisition for your visit.

Sipadan Island Closed Indefinitely

The Sipadan Island will be closed to all visitors indefinitely due to extensive damages to the eco-system caused by an unauthorised barge carrying heavy building materials meant for construction works on the island. Read more....... (View Sipadan Island)