Sabah

Paradise.

Sabah, a Malaysian state on Borneo, is well known for its beautiful beaches and coral reefs. Also known as Land Below the Wind, it is situated just below the typhoon belt and hence dodges the storms and typhoons that periodically ravages its neighbour Philippines.

As a Malaysian, I must confessed embarrassingly that it took me almost 30 years of living before visiting this little paradise. From my impression the Sabahans are considerably more patriotic than West Malaysians — the locals love their land and sea and mountains, and they are very proud of them. Back in Kuala Lumpur on the peninsula where I grew up, most of the locals would at best think KL is just alright.

Patriotic might not be the right word, as Sabahans have much distaste for the federal government in Kuala Lumpur. It isn't an uncommon problem in which one city in the nation is granted most attention and where resources are pooled, but after travelling to Sabah and seeing how under-developed most places are outside the central city and hearing all sorts of stories such as pirates virtually walking pass the border to kidnap tourists, it is admittedly a little heart-wrenching.

Sunset in town.

Politics aside, Sabah is an amazing place to visit. From whitewater rafting to mountain climbing to rainforest hiking to coral reef snorkeling, the options are limitless. A personal favourite from the trip is the Proboscis monkey river cruise, where we jumped on a little boat and ran around on small village rivers to look for Borneo's endemic long nose monkeys. We only saw a few from a distance, but the whole experience was very memorable. Ah yes, I must not forget that we found a tree full of fireflies after sunset. It was surreal.

Sea urchins! They are lucky the locals don't see them as food...

Monitor lizards roam around on the islands.

Local fisherman at the sea.

River cruise guide — very animated and passionate when he told stories.

Captain of the boat. Despite his age he can spot the monkeys far better than us.

Dusk in the village after the river cruise.