Holiday in Labuan

Some people think Labuan is a part of Sabah. There are some who thinks Labuan is a part of Brunei. Actually Labuan is a part of Bruneian Empire but due to internal strife over royal succession and piracy has weaken the empire. The European powers began their colonization and started to take opportunity on the weaken Bruneian Empire, Spanish took over their territory in Philippines, Dutch took Southern Borneo while the British, James Brooke was more interested with Labuan because he was intended to make this place better than Singapore. In 1963, Labuan became a state of Sabah and has joined together with states to become Malaysia. In 1984, the Government of Sabah ceded Labuan to the federal government which later been accessed to a federal territory. It was declared an international offshore financial centre and free trade zone in 1990. 

So after a short history about Labuan, you should able to know more about Labuan. Either you have once thought that Labuan is a part of Labuan or a part of Brunei, you are better than people who is a Malaysian but doesn't even know Labuan exist. I have seen these people really exist especially when I told them that I went to Labuan for holiday.

I had a great time in Labuan with my family. We stayed at Palm Resort Hotel which is the one and only 4 stars hotel that owns a private beach. 

Their rooms looks a little run down but I can assure you that the room is the biggest I have been so far for a 4 stars hotel. It is so big that my son got to enjoy running around the room without the risk of bumping on the furniture. What is even more worth it is the price for the room is hardly more than RM250/night with breakfast included.

The food here is absolutely delicious. The food price is reasonable for a hotel like this. Basically we had almost all our meals in this hotel. 

There is a kid playground which my 2-year old son loves it so much. However, there are mosquitoes here so it is better you have mosquito repellent to be applied on your kids before you let them play here. 

They owns a private beach but there is no one using the beach because of the sand flies. Sand fly is as irritating as mosquito because it will suck your blood too. I had to put a lot of insect repellent on my son to prevent him from getting those. We had a good time playing the sand and let him experience the sand for the first time.  

If you do not like insects, just stay inside their swimming pool. Their swimming pool is quite big and clean because they clean the pool every morning. There is a kids pool too but it is a little too small and do not have anything fancy facility on it. However, my son loves it as long as there is water inside.

There is a bad beside the pool where you can get a cool drink while soaking yourself in the pool. What a relaxing moment!

Renting a car is very cheap because of their free trade zone status. Do not be surprised that their car rental is cheaper than Langkawi. I rented a Nissan Almera for only RM80/day. I can get it even cheaper if I am staying longer. So do not hesitate to rent a car there so you can travel around to see how Labuan is like. One of their most popular tourist spots is this Muzium Chimney. Charcoal mining was once the main economy in Labuan before being replaced by oil and gas. So this museum is showing you the history of the charcoal mining in Labuan. No entrance fee is required which means you can visit this place for free. 

Just a walking distance from the Muzium Chimney, you will find yourself a small bird park. Entrance fee of RM3.00/pax is required while for foreigners will need to pay a little more which is RM5.00/pax.

Even though the bird park is not that big but it is a great exposure for your little ones in your family to understand and get near to them.

Due to the place is small and unpopular, they do not get a lot of visitors so you can have your own sweet time get close with the birds.

The most fruitful experience on that visit was we got to see the newborn of the birds. Look at the little ones which just hatched from their eggs.

Botanical Garden is another place to visit. This the best place to get near to the nature while you are exercising by jogging around it. 

We didn't really jog here but we were busy chasing our boy around the park. He is the one who was jogging. He was really happy and enjoying himself at the park. Without a doubt, as his parent, we did enjoyed ourselves too.

When you are in an island, seafood is always the must eat food because the freshest seafood is always comes from the fisherman island. There is a large number of local population in Labuan is working as a fisherman especially the eastern part of Labuan.

Anjung Ikan Bakar is one of the famous seafood restaurant in Labuan. This restaurant is built on top of the sea water. It consists of 4 different stalls selling about the same thing. 

They are all selling seafood but the different is some seafood can be found in one stall and the other stall might have some seafood that other stalls doesn't have. At Anjung Ikan Bakar, we can have a mix order in all the restaurants except stall no.4. Not really sure why is it but that's what the staff told me.

Another similar concept restaurant along the same road of Jalan Tanjung Aru is known as Anjung Ketam. It is not easy to find this restaurant unless you notice a big giant replica crab beside the main road. 

It is the same concept which is having 4 similar stalls in the same restaurant. At this restaurant, they are quite reluctant to have mix order with other stalls. When I decided to cancel order from their stall, they began to give in. They are not really good in doing business. Very rigid and inflexible. If you allowed mix order, you will get more order instead of customers choose the most stall with more customers dining at or a stall with more seafood variety.

They have crab, seashells, crayfish, stingray and fishes. Once you have decided which seafood to choose, you can choose your favourite cooking style. Below are the dishes that I have ordered. 

Labuan is a nice island to be potential one of the famous destination in Malaysia. However sadly to say, I do not see any effort of development and tourism funding effort on this island. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed very much with my stay at Labuan especially staying at Palm Beach Resort. This resort is really a great family resort where family gets together and enjoying the sweet time. Basically this resort already got what you need so you can choose not to drive out to anywhere else. So do not hesitate and start planning a trip to Labuan with your family during this upcoming school holidays!