Jacqkie | Travel and Lifestyle

Ever since I posted the photos of me visiting Semporna , some friends have asked me about it. Mainly on where I stayed. I would usually stagger (read: delay) my posts for months but I felt the need to update this particular trip much faster than others.  Simply because it is becoming a very popular Malaysian destination. And I mean very. I also thought this would slowly help Sabah get its mojo back, if not in the near future, fellow Malaysians can plan for next year! 😊 Long story short: I stayed at Lato Lato Resort!  There's honestly no ingenious reason for this choice, I stayed here because it was the only thing I could find on Booking.com or Airbnb 😂 I was browsing through some houses in Airbnb and found this resort with multiple reviews and thought, wow looks good and not bad price!  It's a 360 degree sea view 😍 Plus, remember my first post about getting to know Semporna? I. Really. Didn't. Know. Anything. About. Semporna! Nothing. Not how many islands are there, ...

I can't believe I've never been to Semporna Islands 😱 For one, I am a Sabahan Bornean, born and raised here. Secondly, it's only 45 minutes flight + 2 hours drive away from home, where as I've been as farther as to Europe. How is that possible? There's a term for what's going on at the moment, post pandemic. It's called 'Harga Runtuh' . For Malaysians that understand this, this is basically the time when all prices are slashed down to 90% from its original prices. The time to make some cash flow and not necessarily revenue, because things will never be the same and the earlier we know this the better. But we can minimise damage or cushion the damage our businesses are facing, which most industry players are doing. Slashing prices, adding more value.  That means for the rest of us travellers, BETTER TRAVELS! And I mean it! With the perfect timing and dates, better discounts, and little to no tourists (again, timing) - this is truly the time that trav...

As the pandemic ravages through every little thing, a small community I am part of becomes no exception. For many years, we tried to sustain it with the objective of it being an educational platform. We started in 2013, and have created so many fond memories from. I became a president one term, and a public relations vice president another.  That was the only thing that kept me sane in my workplace. When we're meeting up, we don't talk about work at all . Not about business goals, but about our livelihoods, our friendships and many things that are far more important. It's a distraction, even without having to leave the workplace.  It's the Toastmasters Club 💓 What started as a platform to teach one another English, build confidence and essentially speaking in front of an audience grew much more than that. We became friends, and mentors, both in the club and in life. Everyone was humble and relatable. You drag the walls down of them as colleagues, you begin to see them ...

Last December, the trio decided to check out a place at Gayang, somewhere near Tuaran. I LOVE the stay because it is just a 45 minutes drive from my home and into a beautiful oasis of privacy and relaxation.  Gayang river stretches to the Mengkabong river, a river renown for all other activities including fireflies river cruise, kayak and more. It's a fairly accessible river especially for fishing.  It's a small complex of private rooms, restaurant and fishing place. The only activity we had in mind was to eat for dinner. By the time we woke up from our leisure afternoon nap (YES!) it was just to chow down.  The area starts off from a swamp and stretches down to the Tuaran sea, a vast and beautiful calm river-sea connection. There are plenty of small boats docked, for anyone who would like to fish or canoe. I thought about doing it, but my sister is absolutely terrified of kayaking or canoeing of that sort, lol.   When the three of us go anywhere, we try to sque...

Last year, we decided to do a staycation for New Year's and we chose The Marriott right at the city centre 😎 The most melancholy thing about celebrations these days is that you somehow care less and less about it. Which is kind of sad if you think about it.  When we were kids, we would play with our cousins and drink heaps of grenadine or anything to keep us awake till 12am. These days, we already know we won't be awake by then.  And we already know we would choose to sleep in.  The Marriott KK is connected to The Oceanus Mall, adjacent to The Waterfront complex which was where most of the party goers were during the countdown. We had the sea view, and quite comfortable two very large beds for three of us.  My mum had a party, and we were actually late for the countdown. We ended up running around in the lobby (lol I know) to catch the fireworks. We caught only glimpse of it.  After sending mum to her party, Jessy and I went out to find our own dinner and by th...

Every year, Sabahans enjoy a long two day public holiday for the Harvest Festival on the 30th and 31st of May. I usually celebrate it with my friends, but this time around we decided to check out the fireflies + river cruise through Binsulok River with a local travel agent. Because, it was cheap!  It was my first time seeing THAT, MANY, FIREFLIES!  SO HAPPY!  The tour started around 2.30pm, they picked us up from home and the drive to Binsulok which is around the corner of Kuala Penyu's district took approximately 2.5 hours. By the time we reached there, we were given light snacks and refreshments.  What I really loved about going into the districts was that, most of the jobs (cook, guides, boat drivers) were being managed by the locals themselves. Turns out, the locals are not only hardworking but really, truly  multitalented. By the end of the night, they were also the entertainers and sang songs of all kinds including Korean and Chinese songs! (there were Chi...

The usual suspects decided to spend overnight in an island last August to celebrate Jessy's birthday. I bought the stay for RM 450nett (a slightly steep price than most of the places) but I think it was worth it. We stayed at Manukan Sutera Sanctuary Lodge, a recently renovated resort at Manukan Island. It is like a mini chalet, and the last time I stayed here was probably when I was only 7 years old with my dad. While old memories are slowly fading, the goal is to create new ones and I am happy we did. Each of the chalet has its own small balcony, which is very apt for rest and relax. Only thing is, every once a while a giant lizard as big as a crocodile (!!) comes out and peek at you. Like fk. Every time that happens, I am like HOLY SHIT!!! But everyone in the island is used to it by now, so they now become like a family and permanent resident instead of a scary friend. Lol. This island, post sunset becomes very peaceful and quiet. For many who are not used...

We were supposed to go somewhere for Jessy's birthday, I wasn't quite sure how we decided on the island, but that was a pretty sweet decision. By day, the island was brimming with tourists and families, but by evening as the sun sets colouring the sky, it becomes a quiet isolation and absolutely stunning to enjoy an evening walk by. If you ever had the chance to stay overnight in a small island, please try it. We stayed at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, cost us about RM 500nett for three of us. We woke up slightly earlier around 9am to enjoy the beach and swim when no one was there yet. Well Jessy did the swimming. I had a wedding to keep my tan lines even the week after so I kinda hid from the sun 😌 The unit though, almost chalet like was quite huge! The bathroom itself felt like an entire unit, with unique tiles that go right up to the top. Very luxurious. And. it. has. windows. looking. out. the. room! Each unit has its own balcony, which makes a perfect place ...

Sabah is really on the world's map these days. You can't walk a mile without seeing a tourist frolicking through their phones getting their bearings these days. Which is actually alright, I just hope we are aware of the sustainability of things. Which also makes something about a road trip, so refreshingly untempered. Something about going away to somewhere (even though it is still towards a touristy area) feels incredible. Maybe it's the scenic drive. The more engagement with your surroundings, and the chatter you enjoy with your family and friends in the car. The independence in exploring a new place, instead of going in and out to a place you see so much in pictures. The four of us decided to travel to Kota Belud and stay overnight at Cabana Retreat because one of us is heading to the big city Singapore to work. Kind of like a farewell, and that I almost forgot it was the Ramadan month, so Fat can't eat during the day. I was also still very sick, coughing my lun...