Tunku Abdul Rahman Park lies just half an hour beyond Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah State. After a half-hour boat ride, you can throw yourself into the turquoise waters on the tropical island with its white sandy beach and rainforests.. I remember the days when I could only go a few kilometers in half an hour in the crowded traffic of our big cities… Kota Kinabalu must be a lucky city in this respect.
There are 5 of these tropical islands in the city of Kota Kinabalu.. To visit the islands called Mamutik, Manukan, Sapi, Gaya and Sulug We packed our tent in my backpack and went to the ferry port, which is a 10-minute walk from our hostel called Jesselton Point.. There are ticket offices of companies providing transfer services for Tunku Abdul Rahman Park islands.. When we said we would visit all of the islands, they directed us to the box office number 7.
We made plans together with my travel mate, Dutch Farid, saying that we would stay in a tent for 2 nights.. Our first stop will be Mamutik Island, located in the far west, after camping there with a tent for one night, then at 10 am the next day, we will cross over to Manukan Island and from there to 2′ in the afternoon. We will then proceed to Sapi Island. We will return to K.Kinabalu after 1 night tent camping in Sapi.. We paid RM10 for the national park entrance. I paid RM17 for each island transfer fee and RM51 for the 3 islands.
We immediately jumped to the pier and took the boat that would take us.. Our boat first dropped off the passengers at Sapi Island, and after picking up some passengers, took us to Mamutik Island. I paid RM10 per person, which is the park entrance fee at the pier at the entrance of the island, and RM5 for our tent.. Surrounded by 300 meters of white, white sand in the south and east of the island. Maybe 200 people, mostly Chinese, lined the tables strewn under the trees.. Except for the Orang puti (white people), there is no one sunbathing.
We set up our tent at the bottom of a tree away from the crowd, and we had the tomato, cucumber and tuna fish that I brought with us for lunch.. We rented snorkels and threw ourselves into the sea to watch the fish among the corals.. Best place for undersea snorkeling on the east coast of the island. You can also go to the west end of the island with the cliffs on this shore.. Care should be taken as the rocks are slippery and a bit sharp due to the seashells on them.. This north-east coast is quite windy, while on the south side there is no wind.
Thousands of fish cluster there, using their piers as shelters.. Barracuda and other large fish are patrolling their surroundings, trying to hunt them.. The view that occurs when they attack from time to time is exquisite.. At that moment, the silhouette of the sea looks like waves.
When it was 5 o’clock in the evening, all the tourists on the island left, the open market and restaurant were completely closed, and only the employees and we were on the island.. Electricity is obtained from the generator on the island.. While we took our book and read our book in the light of the camellia, we moved our tent under the camellia due to the sudden rain.. We went to our tent and slept on the island, where it was completely dark and there was nothing but the sound of waves, rain and the forest.
The next day, after breakfast, we went to the other island, Manukan Island.. This island was mesmerizing with its beauty. We will not be able to stay here because it is a resort on the island.. When I took a look at the resort’s room rates, it was not surprising to see that it reached as much as RM2,000.. Mamutik Island, the most popular of the other islands, is also covered with rainforest and has 1.5 km of white sands.
Mamutik Island, although not as much as snorkeling. it was nice. In addition, for those who wish, you can take tours under the sea and watch the fish with a device called a submarine scooter, which you can use without any experience, with a head that you can sit on and breathe in.. an interesting activity. There is also an exhibition of a few bombs left over from the World War II on the island.
After lingering here until 2 o’clock, we took the boat that picked us up to Sapi Island, where we will last visit.. Between Sapi and the Gaya Islands lies a shallow strait in sparkling green and turquoise colours.. I set up our tent on the east coast of the island, with a view of Gaya Island.
From here you can walk across the water to Gaya Island. In places, the depth was 1.80s.. I made an attempt to cross, but when I crossed the designated border, I received a warning from the officials to return.. From that point on the bots’ gateway and I had to go back. However, my intention was only to set foot on Gaya Island.
There are lifeguard services on all 3 islands.. Although it is not like Indonesia, it is quite normal to find plastic bottles and garbage around.. The cleanest was Mamutik Island.. When my Dutch travel friend Farid learned from his e-mails that he had a last-minute tax due, he returned to K.Kinabalu by evening boat, just like other tourists on the island.
Unlike Mamutik Island, this time apart from the island workers. I was only on an island as a single foreigner. Peace seemed to surround my whole being and the island.. I threw a chair in front of my tent and read my book until it got dark. It was dark now. While I was watching a movie with my Samsung Tablet in my lap, I heard an unfamiliar crunch to the sound of wind, waves and forest.. When I got up, a silhouette was watching me about 10 meters away.. It looked like a dog but was quite large.. When I started the flashlight program on my mobile phone and kept it dark, when the silhouette started to run towards the forest, I realized that what I saw was a bearded pig.. And it’s a huge pig.
As the air got chilly close to sleeping at night, I went to my tent, and the wind got stronger.. When it started to drizzle a little, I moved the tent under the camellia on the island in case it rains heavily like yesterday.. Since the bottom of the camellia is made of concrete, I sprinkled the tablecloths and newspapers under the tent.
Do you know what it means to be lonely when you don’t feel lonely? That’s what I felt at that moment, and the interesting thing was that it gave a kind of intoxication of happiness.. The moment and moments when you find yourself smiling, it’s a beautiful feeling. Island workers sleep in the huts on the island, but I felt completely isolated from the world and people in the lap of nature on this tropical island.. I wasn’t alone, there was the sound of the waves and the wind, the drizzle, the pig circling around me rummaging in the trash. Mother nature was all around me. There was also facebook and twitter that connected me to my hometown.. You are not alone but also isolated and connected… Then a sound sleep…
Day 428: Borneo:16, Sapi Island, 6 October 2011
