Borneo Lady: Borneo by road- Brunei ,Kudat and Sandakan

On the 21st April,2013, our teacher from the creative writing class in AMC, talked about writing a travel story. She said "Think of a place that you really really want to go." When I chose to travel in Borneo by Road, the teacher didn't seem to look impressed. She thought there isn't much to see in Kudat, Sandakan, Kuching as they are all the same in Malaysia. I felt she was wrong.

In the past I have been to many countries abroad. Then, I started to go somewhere nearer to home such as Johore, Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Butterworth, Ipoh, Alor Setar in West Malaysia.

Later I began to get tired of travelling by plane so I start exploring places by car around my hometown and that's Borneo. I was born and raised in Kota Kinabalu (formerly known as Jesselton), the capital of Sabah formerly known as North Borneo before 1963. Sabah also known as the Land below the wind, together with Sarawak, Land of the Hornbills formed the East Malaysia. East and West Malaysia are separated by the South China Sea but still under one country, Malaysia.

I was glad I made that decision and didn't regret it. In fact I was surprised there were many beautiful places that I was not aware of in my own country.

Initially, I have never thought of Borneo as a holiday destination in my list. I guess it's just part of my "taking for granted" attitude. Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world. I believe it has so much to offer and there are so many advantages and adventures I could think of. Most of all, driving in our own car to see places, gave us a lot more freedom to move about. I didn't need to exchange currency for holidays except in Brunei. There is no language barrier since its my own country and even in Brunei, we speak the same language.

In 2009, my daughter flew to Brunei for a week's posting.

So I decided to drive to Brunei on my own with my 5 years old grandson. It only took us 6 hours to reach Brunei from my hometown Kota Kinabalu.

My daughter booked a twin - bedded room for a 3 nights stay for us at Rizquan Hotel in Brunei. It was a five star hotel with clean good size swimming pool and my grandson spent lots of hours in it.

Below the hotel, there was a shopping mall and food court.

During our spare time, we drove to Jerudong Park which looked so run down but it did not stop us from having fun. We had a go with the Bumper Car and Merry Go Round.

While we were in Brunei, we also drove to Miri, Sarawak as a day trip😅.

We had a great time together and everyone was happy. My daughter was able to see her son after work. It was an inspirational and enjoyable travel experience.

View at the end of Sabah trip and going into Sarawak border, passing through jungles routes to connect to the Brunei route

My grandson on the ferry. It was the shortest 2-3minutes ferry trip in the world!😅🤭 There was a deep river and the ferry just need to swing 180 degrees to reach the other end. 😂 Looking at the distance how the ferry reached the other end of the river, looked hilarious 🤭🤣 and I had been wondering why couldn't they just built a short bridge across? Whatever it was, they may have their own reason. 🙄

Our car, Betsy was only a few months old, when we set off for this trip

Jerudong Park Merry Go Round, Brunei

Child's pool at Riqzuan Hotel, Brunei

Playing in the pool too long, so by the time he finished playing in the pool, he was stiff cold and shivering!😂😁

Sleeping like a log after the long 6hrs ride from Kota Kinabalu to Brunei and the visit to Jerudong Park.

Travelling in Borneo is different from travelling in other countries.

Unlike the road from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur which are all good with good sign directions, some roads in Borneo were unsealed or gravel, some routes you needed to pass through jungle areas in order to cross over to another country like Brunei.

You have to experience it to understand what I am trying to say. I must admit that holidays like this can be very tiring and exhausting unless you have a lot of time to spare. By taking your time, you will be able to feel and appreciate the beauty of mother nature in our country. Some travelers said a holiday in Borneo by road is like wine tasting, you look, smell, and 'taste' slowly to feel the best of it. It would take months to complete the whole Borneo Road Adventure but we had nothing to lose because we have all the time we want.

In 2010, my husband and I started our first trip to Kudat and went to the tip of Borneo. It took us about 3 hours to reach Kudat from Kota Kinabalu. The view was magnificent. The sky and sea were so blue and we took some photographs. Our photos turned out beautifully. One month later we drove to Sandakan on the eastern side of Borneo and visited the Orang Utan rehabilitation center. I must not forget to add my road trip to Sandakan on the blog too😜

Hopefully my future road trip will inspire me to continue writing about my travel stories in Borneo. I had plans to drive from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching. But due to certain circumstances, I was not able to do so. With the Pan Borneo Highway, it is now possible to reach Kuching by road.

A few kilometers before Kudat town, there is a junction with a signboard showing "Tanjung Simpang Mengayau" which will lead you to the tip of Borneo.

It took us about 30 minutes drive from this junction..

Beautiful beach in Kudat.

This photo was taken on our 1st visit to kudat, year 2010. The tip of Borneo is on the right side of this photo.

A short walking path from the parking area to the tip of Borneo.

Breathtaking view at the tip of Borneo with clear blue sky and sea.

The tip of Borneo

Stepping onto the tip of Borneo!

Golf and Marina Resort Hotel in Kudat- Year 2013

My grandson going for a dip in the pool.

Photo taken from our hotel room, year 2013

We stayed overnight. Room rate was about Rm120 per night.

Sea view from hotel lobby.

Swimming pool next to the sea

Photo taken from our room

Update on the tip of Borneo beach, May2020

This photo was taken by a friend, Jennifer as contribution to this topic in my blog.😊

Beautiful clean beach in Kudat

Photo contributed by my daughter in April, 2022

If you notice the photo earlier which was taken by me in 2010, this view still remains the same. This time, this photo was taken by my daughter in April year 2022! 😂

Crystal clear sea water😊

Snorkeling is a good idea😂

Magnificent Sunset at Kudat beach.

Witnessing the changing of the lights in the sky within seconds was amazing

A great way to end the day after sunset and welcoming the night at Kudat beach 😂

Then on the 29th May 2010, we drove to the east side of Sabah, that's Sandakan.

Took us 6 - 7 hours to reach Sandakan from Kota Kinabalu on the road at 60-80 Km per hr.

We stayed at Sabah Hotel for 2 nights. During our stay we took the opportunity to visit the Orang Utan at the Sepilok Rehab Center and also enjoyed the fresh lavish seafood at the popular restaurants of Sandakan.