Labuan, my 1st trip...

After so many decades of being a Sabahan, my first trip to Labuan happened just yesterday. It was a business trip, guess I won't pick the location for a holiday trip.

Such a beautiful and peaceful island but all you need is half a day to cover the whole island which is 75 km² in size, my local business friend said. Even criminals won't pick the location to commit crime, my local friend said.

Are you serious or joking? Of course, I'm serious, he said.

Why??? I asked again...

There's no place for them to hide or run away from being arrested.

Oh, I see.....

Okay, since you still have 7 hours before the meeting, I'll be your part-time tour-guide and drive you around for a short tour.

Fine, I accepted his kind offer, as I really didn't have anywhere to go to kill time, it's only 8am and my appointment was 3pm and my flight back to KK was 8.50pm (which was later delayed to 9.20pm).

The Chimney, a landmark of Labuan ... many, many years ago, it was used to burn coal... that's all my tour-guide told me... I later found out that the chimney was a historical remnant of the Royal Navy coaling station.

The island is surrounded by sea as can be seen here.....

The south-western rough seas, now it's not the time to travel by sea, my tour-guide said, unless you come in through Menumbok by ferry.

I was lucky, I opted to fly in, I had thought of travelling by ferry from the Jesselton Point...imagine myself standing on the dock with the sea breeze blowing my hair and carressing my skin, which could very well turn out to be a very sea-sicked me half hanging over the dock vomitting my my stomach out.

Ships anchoring near the wharf...

A beautiful kampung house by the seaside, the famous past-times of the local folks are fishing, barbecue picnic and swimming, during week-ends, the seaside will be full of people, my tour-guide told me.

Modern housing estates are on the rise and the prices are as high as KK's...

IOFC - International Offshore Financial Centre with an under utilized shopping area and office spaces mostly occupied by government departments...

And what's this beautiful park?

This is the Surrender Park, a World War II site.

Wanna get down to take some pictures and take a walk? My guide asked.

Oh, no thanks, not in this hot weather and in my office attire and heels, maybe some other time during my next trip here for holidays......

My guide said he heard that it's in the government's 10th Malaysia Plan to build a bridge from KK to Labuan, then it will be very convenient to drive to Labuan from KK.

Oh, yeah, that will be... perhaps another decade?