World will appreciate Gaya Island Resort

Kota Kinabalu: The multi-million ringgit Gaya Island Resort - a project by YTL Corporation Berhad due for completion by mid-next year - will be a pride for Malaysia and especially Sabah, as it will be something that the world will appreciate, said YTL Corporation Berhad Managing Director, Tan Sri (Dr) Francis Yeoh.

He said once completed Gaya Island Resort would not be competing but complementing YTL's most well-known property, Pangkor Laut, which was voted the World Best Resort in 2003.

Speaking to the Daily Express in an exclusive interview, Yeoh said YTL is investing a substantial amount of money to develop the resort.

"It takes a lot of money to do what we do to make sure that there is no environmental destruction, to build the things without machines actually.

Just like Pangkor Laut, hand-built literally, you don't want to raze all the trees down. You have to do it very sensitively," he said.

As a young man while studying in England, he said he saw the destruction of beautiful coasts and also in Spain where he found years later had been turned into a concrete jungle.

"I was quite sad that things were not the way it was. For me, since I always say, God gave me the opportunity to do something to preserve the jungle.

I want to do something about it," he said, adding that was how it started with Pangkor Laut in 1985.

Despite being a unique and beautiful island, nobody dared to touch Pangkor Laut because of the social stigma since it used to be leper colony.

"But this island was so beautiful É the abandoned facilities when I first walked on the islands and just cried, just thinking of all the lepers there.

"Then I went on my knee and said 'God, give me a chance to develop the most beautiful island on this earth and I will preserve it for you," he said.

Continue reading at: World will appreciate Gaya Island Resort
.
.

Gilt-edged adventure in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

"EAT some chocolate," Nathan Wedding says, thrusting four squares from a bar studded with hazelnuts in my direction. "It's really important for you to eat more chocolate," he says again with an uncharacteristic note of venom in his voice.

Under normal circumstances it is not necessary to force-feed me chocolate but this morning is anything but normal.

It's 4am, the temperature is just above freezing and I'm at 3800 metres on an exposed mountainside in a biting wind. I have an altitude-induced headache, my pace has slowed to a shuffle during the 90 minutes I've been climbing and it's probably going to take me another hour to get to the top of Borneo's Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in south-east Asia at 4095 metres.

Wedding warned us this would happen. "It's the altitude. You probably won't feel like eating but it's really important to keep your energy levels up," he said to us in the cosy confines of our four-bunk room in Pendant Hut the night before.

Wedding's specialty is putting ordinary mortals into extraordinary places. Correction: ordinary mortals with deep pockets who are ready, willing and able to take on some of the most remarkable experiences in the world of travel.

The visionary and chief guide of Seven Skies, Wedding has cherry-picked the best of local culture, wildlife, cuisine, accommodation and guides in select parts of Asia to stitch together a concept he calls "luxury adventure travel". Usually backpackers are the pioneers of the sort of trek he's offering but Wedding serves up the experience when it's still close to its raw state and then edges it with gold.

Our Borneo adventure begins with a sea-kayaking trip through Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, off the coast of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah's capital and gateway. Wedding began his adventure career as a sea-kayak guide and paddling comes naturally. After a quick introduction, including how to wear the spray skirts that look like neoprene tutus, we launch our kayaks in the shallow waters off the beach just south of Tanjung Aru.

First stop is Mamutik Island, which is crowded with day trippers from Kota Kinabalu. But when we beach 40 minutes later at the comma of sand extending from Sulug Island, it's completely empty. The only sign that anyone has ever been here is a table that awaits us at the water's edge and is loaded with tropical fruit, iced drinks and cold towels.

As pampered paddlers, we're accompanied by a boat carrying our overnight gear, plus snorkels and masks and a grinning crew of three.

Wedding escorts all his trips, a level of commitment that you don't often find in the travel business. Group sizes can be anything from two to eight but six is about a perfect number, according to Wedding. On this trip there's Nancy, who cycles, hikes, paddles, does an hour of yoga each morning and climbed Kilimanjaro last year. The trip is a present from her son, Adam, who works for a London fashion label.

On the second day, we paddle around the seaward side of Gaya Island, the largest in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Gilt-edged adventure in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

.
.

RM75m resort for Pulau Gaya

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has announced 19 more Entry Point Projects (EPPs) under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) which will generate almost RM67 billion in investments, RM36 billion in gross national income and create 35,000 new jobs.

Since the launch of ETP on Oct 25 last year, 18 EPPs have been previously announced.

He said said the 19 EPPs and development projects would come from 10 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs), led by four EPPs under the oil, gas and energy NKEA.

Under the Tourism NKEA, he announced that the YTL Group would build the Pulau Gaya Resort, Sabah.

"Set amidst a rainforest, on the idyllic island off the coast of Kota Kinabalu, this RM75 million property will be a deluxe family resort that will certainly boost tourist receipts in Sabah," he said.

He also said Malaysia is recognised globally as a leading tourism destination and this sector is the fifth largest contributor to the country's gross national income (GNI) at present.

He said ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc, together with its production sharing contract partner Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, planned to invest over RM10 billion in new oil and gas assets to help ensure reliable and sustainable energy supplies for Malaysia.

This was a follow-through from the announcement of new tax incentives under the Petroleum Income Tax Act in November 2010, said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.

Continue reading at: RM75m resort for Pulau Gaya
.
.

Kota Kinabalu Islands - Take a walk on the wild side

Just a 15-minute boat ride from Kota Kinabalu, capital of the state of Sabah in Eastern Malaysia, aka Malaysian Borneo, exists a tropical paradise. Mouth-watering barbecues, beautifully clean seas and wide, open spaces are just a few of the perks of an afternoon's island-hopping.

The five islands off Kota Kinabalu, and the surrounding waters and coral reefs form the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Established in 1974, and named after Malaysia's first prime minister, the park is the visual embodiment of bliss with rich sedimentary rocks, virgin tropical forests and the most spectacular views of Kota Kinabalu's skyline.

The islands have many cliffs and caves, and are honeycombed with deep crevasses along their shores. For reality television buffs, this has been the breathtaking setting of many broadcast adventures including the Amazing Race Asia 4 and Survivor Borneo, which was filmed on the nearby Tiga Island.

The islands are a popular destination all year round, for both locals and foreign visitors who are attracted by the area's crystal clear waters, with fish and coral reefs often visible not far from the shore. This has made the islands off the coast of Kota Kinabalu a mecca for snorkellers and divers, and hiking and parasailing are other popular activities.

Visitors can get to the islands from Kota Kinabalu's ferry terminal at Jesselton Point, named after a former trading settlement dating back to 1882. Ferries stop at each of the five islands regularly throughout the day. Passengers prone to seasickness should beware - lambat (slow) may be an important word to remember to tell your boat's driver at the start of your trip, otherwise he's likely to take you on an amusement park ride. Also, bring a plastic bag for your belongings; a large amount of water is likely to splash inside the boat. Pulau Gaya, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Mamutik, Pulau Sapi and Pulau Sulug are an interesting mix of uninhabited forests and heavily-developed areas.

Pulau Sapi, or Cow Island, is a perfect example. During the day, the island is busy with sunbathing tourists, but after the last ferry leaves at around 4pm it becomes very quiet.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Kota Kinabalu Islands - Take a walk on the wild side
.
.

Ironically, Sabah tourism threatens islands

Sabah’s islands are popular with tourists because of their pristine waters, according to Masidi Manjun, minister of tourism, culture and environment. More than half a million tourists make a beeline for the islands of Manukan, Mamutik, Sapi, Sulug and Gaya which make up the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.

They are attracted to the stunningly colourful corals, fish and other marine animals. But pollution from rising plastic trash, lavish feeding of fish with commercial fish food and tourists’ penchant for eating shark fins are killing corals and other marine life.

The problem is grave enough for Masidi to ban tourists from feeding coral fish with food pellets and discourage them from bringing plastic bottles of drinking water to the islands and eating shark fins cooked in soup, an Asian delicacy.

“We don’t know whether the fish feed is safe for the environment,” he says. “The fish can feed themselves.” But tour companies say tourists are thrilled by the experience of seeing the fish eating voraciously in the clear water as they feed them from their boats.

Three-quarters of Malaysia’s corals are found in Sabah. And they are dying from a process known as “coral bleaching” during which they lose colour and die. There are many reasons for this. But warming of sea because of increased chemical pollutants is one, according to marine biologists.

Twelve popular dive sites of the peninsular Malaysia, notably those of Tioman and Redang, have been closed from July until the end of this month to allow corals to recuperate. About 60% of them are found to be dying. The situation isn’t so bad in Sabah, according to Theresa Tham who heads a marine environmental awareness campaign.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Ironically, Sabah tourism threatens islands
.
.