My Best Holiday Contest ~ Sabah the land below the wind

You might not heard of Sabah but you definitely heard of where it is located ~ The Borneo Island
It's a gigantic island which is consist of different country. Two large state of Malaysia is on it and today I am going to share about my unforgettable vacation in Sabah which is the north and the tip of Borneo.

If you are a nature lover, this is that one place you need to be!!! Like seriously, you will be drunk in the beauty and almost everywhere is a gem. All photos are taken by me with my old iPhone, but trust me it never really fully capture the wholeness of this awesome place!

Last year, me and my partner decided to had a break and do a road trip, diving trip and also a mini hiking trip all at once! And there is no other places that can fulfil these demanding needs other than Sabah with a extremely low budget.

So first we landed in the capital of Sabah which is Kota Kinabalu. People are super nice and friendly they can speaks basic english and the food was super awesome! If you are a fan of sea food dont miss out the Filipino night market. Over there they have fresh seafood and you can just handpick whatever you and they will cook for you in the style of your choice. But whats more impressive is the sunset!!! Literally one of the best sunset i have seen. We had a stroll over the famous Tanjung Aru Beach, watching local play with their pet, lover falling in love again, i knew it was the perfect start of the trip.

Pic taken at Tanjung Aru Beach with no filter and editing done

The next day we rented a car (about 35 USD/day) and start driving up north planning to visit Kudat, which The tip of Borneo. But before we reach we stop by at Kota Belud. Kota Belud is a very small town but very famous of its crystal clear river -Melangkap . The water was icy cold and so unpolluted. Its not a popular spot for tourist but it just felt so good breathing the fresh air and had a bath in the river.

Looks at this, isn't it tempting? There are also campsites where people can rent and camp by but we did not stay-over but head straight to Kudat.

Kudat town size is more or less like Kota Belud. We had simple dinner in the town and head over to our sea front chalet which is where I took this picture. Don't expect a five star accommodation but it was clean and comfortable. The rate was quite reasonable, 30-40 USD per night. But what surprises me was the night stary view, because it's facing the South China sea , all stars were bright and we can see the milky way with bare eyes. Its a shame that my phone could not capture the stars.

The following day we went back to Kota Beluk and started our diving trip. We went with Bigfin dive center but honestly i will not recommended. The dive was not bad but the staff were not polite, we gave some feedback about our dive master and the owner just straight away defend the DM without investigating. He even threaten us not to give a bad review. It did affect our mood a little but we were soon cure by the incredible sunset.

We stayed 2 nights and had 3 dive and soon continue our road trip to the highlight of the trip (a total of 150/pax). This is the view of our ride towards Kundasan where the famous Mount Kota Kinabalu is located. We was quite a windy drive but we entertained ourself with all the local food sold along the road.One of the must tried is the Sinalau Bakas which is BBQ wild boar

We visited the local market and also went to the cow farm. The ice cream was good and the weather was chilling but not too cold. A simple wind breaker is enough but dont froget your sunblock. You might not felt t but the sun was strong. I overlooked and had quite a bad sunburn.

There is literally nothing at night so we entertained ourself with some BBQ. The hotel staff were kindly enough and provide us basic seasoning like salt, oil and pepper but we need to rent the BBQ untensile.

The next morning we woke up early and were blown away by this view! The magnificent mountain view. But it wont stay all day long, by late morning it usually will be mask by the cloud so don't sleep late if you wish to witness this ! We were not prepare to hike up this mountain but me and my partner is a lover of waterfall so we decided to visit the Langgangan fall. It took us 3.5 hours to reach. By the time we reach we were so tried but fulfilled, we had our packed lunch and started walking out using the same trail we came in.It's slightly challenging but as long as you continue waling you will reach.

We did not stay one more night but drove back to Kota Kinabalu where we board our plane the next day. As a nature jungkie we are fully feed and no words can describe how we felt about this unspoiled nature. We hope people help to preserve and don't over develop it and one day we are coming back again!

Last but not least Thank you very much @steemit, @belenguerra, and @fendit for this very wonderful contest