BREAKING NEWS

Visit Year 2007 Kicks Off

January 2007 marks the official launching of Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007. Themed ‘Celebrating 50 Years of Nationhood’, the VMY objectives are focused on promoting Malaysia as a leading holiday destinations in the region. An assortment of events and activities was planned by Tourism Malaysia and Tourism Board for all year round. In view of the special year, we append the highlights of the 2007 Sabah Calendar for your reference:

Event/ Activities Date

Chinese New Year 18 th – 19 th February Sabah Agriculture Park Anniversary Day 17 th – 18 th Mar 14 th Regatta Semporna – Water Festival 21 st – 22 nd Apr Anzac Day (World War II Memorial Day for 25 th Apr Australians & Army Servicemen) Tadau Kaamatan (Harvest Festival) 30 th – 31 st May Sabah Fest 2007 – Cultural Extravaganza 4th May Sabah World Museum Day 2007 18 th – 23 rd May 22 nd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 17 th June Memorial Day 15 th Aug. Merdeka Day (Independent’s Day) 31 st Aug. Ramadhan 21 st Sep Hari Raya Aidilfitri 13 th – 14 th Oct Christmas Day 25 th Dec Sandakan Memorial Day

For more details on the events, please click www.visitmalaysia.ws and www.sabahtourism.com .

New Terminal Two Airport (Adapted( from Daily Express, 29 th Dec 2006)

The new RM60 million Terminal Two of the International Airport (KKIA) is being hailed as a gift for Sabah in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2007. It will begin full operations Jan 1 and is ready to accommodate up to 1.8 million passengers a year. Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) Senior General Manager of Operations Dato' Azmi Murad said the number of passengers would be an increase from one million this year. "This terminal can accommodate 2.5 million passengers a year. As of December this year, we expect one million passengers to be using the Terminal Two compared to 800,000 in 2005.

"For 2007, we expect 1.6 million or 1.8 million passengers to use the terminal 2. The opening will be a gift to Sabah in conjunction with VMY 2007," he said," he told reporters during a visit to the airport here, Thursday. He said the terminal, completed in a record seven months - or 29 months earlier than scheduled - will have 26 registration counters for domestic and international passengers and six aircraft parking areas for Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 aircraft. The terminal, equipped with seven scanners, VIP lounge and 13 immigration counters, can handle up to 1,200 passengers during the peak period. The terminal also provides 750 seats, 500 trolleys and 176 parking bays for vehicles. According to Azmi, the terminal is part of MAB's commitment to provide comfortable service to users of the KKIA.

"We believe passengers and the public who use the KKIA will be comfortable. We will keep monitoring our service to make sure it is always at the best level. He also said the main terminal is still being expanded with completion expected in 2009. 1

PRODUCT UPDATE

New Package

BB15 Explore Sabah One of the latest addition to our new tour packages, the 8 days itinerary offers our clients the best experience ofexploring the fascinating north Borneo. Our guests will enjoy the best mixture of city, culture, beach, nature and wildlife programme as they come along to discover the wonderment of Borneo with us.

Please click www.borneoecotours.com/tours_view.cfm?THE_ID=50 for further details.

New Postcards Launched Sabah Handicraft recently launched 12 new designs of postcards featuring images of and . To date, there are almost 200 types of postcards available for sale at Sabah Handicraft. Purchase can also be made online. For more details on the postcards and our other merchandise, please send an email to [email protected] .

Osman ~ Senior Tourist Guide

This month we feature Awang Saman Majingah or ‘Osman’, our longest serving tour guide based in Kota Kinabalu. Having been attached with the company for 13 years, Osman is undoubtedly the most experienced guide we currently have. Holding a blue badge, Osman’s main interest is bird-watching but he too conducts a lot of guiding for nature, culture and other tour categories.

Despite his long working hours, Osman is a happy family man. He is married with six children still schooling. Osman’s motto is ‘work hard and stay healthy’. “I see that we need to have these two facets of life to be balanced. Good health is essentially an asset for one to do well in his job”, said Osman. In response to the company’s quest to reach world-class status, Osman said “We must work with the right attitude. Only with such trait we could render extra mile service to our guests. On top of that, we must be knowledgeable and flexible with change. If it is our intention to expect guests’ return visit, we must do it with the right product and right information”.

Osman commented that team work is important when it comes to serving guests. “It is our responsibility to cooperate well with all our team members, be it captain, Operation Manager or the Tour Consultants. We must leverage on each other as to maximize our work capacity”, added Osman.

Osman is certainly the best person to reveal the secret of long service achievement. “I attribute my achievement to ‘patience’ and ‘perseverance’. To counter the ceaseless challenges through the decade, it was my patience and 2 perseverance which led me through the undulating working conditions”, said Osman. He agrees that one must have interest in his job in order to get the job well done. He sees a lot of positive change within a decade. “Nowadays, Borneo Eco Tours is expanding rapidly and our operation is getting more systematic. Cutting-edge and environmental- friendly technologies were brought in to support and facilitate our business”, he noted. In the years to come, Osman intends to focus more on bird-watching tours, but he is more than happy to guide other tours when his service is needed. He enjoys working in Borneo Eco Tours and there’s no surprise when he is getting increasing requests from repeat guests to use his service.

Adapted from The Times (UK) article following Sukau Rainforest Lodge’s nomination in the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards. My nomination is the www.sukau.com , set on the Kinabatangan River in the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. In an area where many other lodges also operate, this lodge stands out in many ways that support the local community and the environment: it employs almost solely local people, who are incredibly knowledgeable and skilful guides; they attain most supplies from local people; no electric lighting is used for aesthetic purposes; the boats used for 'River Safaris' all use electric motors only, helping the environment through the obvious avoidance of oil-based fuel, but also minimising noise pollution with the additional benefit for tourists of increasing the likelihood of seeing more timid wildlife. I hope it continues to provide visitors with a great stay regardless of whether it wins an award.

- Satbir Gupta, London

Source - http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,26015-2443761.html

Wendy Dowling

Wendy Dowling has been a frequent traveller with her husband, Professor Ross Dowling to Borneo particularly Sukau in recent years. Wendy is recognized for her contribution towards the Rungus community in Kudat, where she helped the Terongkongan villagers to set up a library in September 2006. To date, she had contributed reading materials worth more than RM3000 to the library, ensuring that good learning materials are accessible to the locals. To get to know more about Wendy, this month we dedicate a special column to highlight Wendy’s profile and her insights about Borneo.

Born in Timaru, South Island, New Zealand, Wendy currently resides and works as a Naturopath at a Women’s Health Clinic in Perth, Western Australia. Together with her husband Ross Dowling, Professor of Tourism at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Wendy undertakes lecturing on board Silverseas Cruises, a six star US cruise company. In January 2004 the ship visited Sabah whilst we were lecturing. In addition she has been a tour guide to the Antarctic and in July 2006 she conducted tour guide training in Sabah and Sarawak.

Wendy is the current President, Coeliac Society of Western Australia. Back home, she is a happy mother of three adult children and grand mother of three.

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Below is Wendy’s comment on her many visits to Sabah and Sukau:

“I have visited Sabah three times and Sukau twice. Each occasion has been different. On my first visit in 2004 I was lecturing on board the Silver Shadow and spent a day in Sabah travelling to Mt Kinabalu World Heritage Region. In 2005 I visited Sabah to take part in Albert Teo’s Borneo Ecotourism Conference. Prior to the conference my husband and I visited Sukau Rainforest Lodge and were literally blown away by the lodge, its staff, and of course the five star setting. In September 2006 I once again travelled to Sabah with 20 Tourism Students from Edith Cowan University. During our stay we saw a lot of Sabah but the highlight for both me and the students was our time spent at Sukau.

Sukau Rainforest Lodge is a fabulous place and one of my favourite places on the planet. The setting is one of the most pristine rainforest environments on earth and the diversity of plant and animal life is amazing. I personally like the proboscis monkeys and I could spend all day on the Kinabatangan River watching them go about their business in the trees. The bird life is prolific too and I really enjoy the large variety of birds which inhabit the region. However, it is the Lodge and its staff which makes this area what it is for me. I believe that interpretation is the key to understanding ecotourism and the guides at Sukau are amongst the best in the world. There is probably no-one else in the world who has Winston’s knowledge of the Bornean Rainforest and visitors to the lodge are lucky to have someone of his calibre interpret the rainforest for them. Wendy (L) with Prof. Ross Dowling (R) and Albert (Middle) at Sukau Rainforest Lodge

I believe that both Albert Teo and his rainforest lodge, are unique. Albert truly is a person making a difference to the planet by not only showcasing the Tropical rainforest habitat of Borneo, but also because he is giving back to the environment and community. I particularly like the way Albert employs local people and purchases local products. His ongoing support for the local people has made a huge difference to the way in which they live and is an exemplar for building communities anywhere in the world. In addition Albert not only cares for the environment but actually does something positive for it. Whilst we were there in September our group was involved in tree planting along the river bank in an environmental education project which will help return an area of degraded land to native forest. It is projects like these that sets Sukau Rainforest Lodge apart and places it at the forefront of sustainable ecotourism globally”.

Special Report

‘Borneo as Honeymoon Destination?’

By Willie Ki

Believe it or not, Borneo is increasingly dubbed as a paradise for international honeymooners. It is fast emerging as a popular honeymoon destination with the advent of budget airline like Air Asia, state of the art accommodation, honeymoon packages and the latest, completion of new infrastructure like the new Terminal Two Airport (don’t forget Kota Kinabalu International Airport is undergoing major expansion).

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Honeymooners who are tired of cold weather and hubbub of the cities can find something special in Borneo. Here, you have almost a complete set of fun packages ranging from wildlife, culture, adventure, trekking, nature, diving, botanical, river cruise, shopping or even lazing at the white sandy beaches. Coupled with the sprawling number of affordably priced accommodation here and there, honeymooners find more pleasures in their honeymoon on this alluring island.

Here is a newly wed couple relating their sweet memories following their honeymoon in Borneo October last year.

NICOLA JONES & ROBIN GIBBS, Wed in September 2006 Career: Nicola is the editor for Footprint Travel Guides while Robin is engineer for Rolls Royce Country: UK

“We found Sabah to be small enough to travel around easily but with lots of things to do and see. The people are very friendly and helpful and don't try to rip you off. We felt very safe and comfortable in Sabah and wished we could have stayed longer.

In Sukau, boat trips on the river are an excellent and relaxing way to experience the wildlife of Borneo. In the jungle itself, most of the animals can only be heard rather than seen, but from the river you have a clear view. Sukau Rainforest Lodge was very beautiful and peaceful, with a strong emphasis on eco-tourism and environmental awareness. The staff at the lodge, such as Winston, were very knowledgeable and interesting and happy to talk about their experiences, answer questions and have discussions. Mark, our guide, was really excellent. He was very personable and knowledgeable and made the trip very enjoyable. We learnt a lot about the wildlife in Borneo and were lucky enough to spot wild orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, a maroon langur, rhinoceros hornbills and a Malayan sun bear. The night cruise was particularly enjoyable as you can get up so close to the sleeping animals and the colours are incredibly vibrant.

Other highlights of our trip included climbing Mt Kinabalu (and being in Kinabalu park) and diving at Sipadan - we stayed at the Kapalai Resort in the middle of the ocean with fish all around, a wonderful experience.

Trekking in the 'lost world' of Maliau Basin was also a fantastic experience. We very much enjoyed our 5-day trek. The walking was tough but camps that we stayed in were comfortable without being intrusive to the environment, and you really get to experience what living in the jungle must be like. We also learnt a lot about the jungle from our guide JC, who was able to explain lots about the plants and animals that you find there. Emerging from the jungle to suddenly be able to see the Maliau Falls was a wonderful experience, they were particularly impressive because of the heavy rainfall”.

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WHY YOU SHOULD USE BORNEO ECO TOURS AND SUKAU RAINFOREST LODGE?

11. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Since you only have our word on how good Sukau Rainforest Lodge is, we will take the risk for you by offering a Money back guarantee on any tour staying there. If upon arrival at Sukau Rainforest Lodge you are not satisfied, we will return you to Sandakan at the earliest possible scheduled transfer and refund the cost of your SRL tour. (Internet Bookings through Borneo Eco Tours Only)

To read other reasons why you should use us, please click the following links: www.borneoecotours.com/why_bet.cfm and www.sukau.com/public/whyus.asp .

Budget Accommodation in Kota Kinabalu? Borneo Backpackers, strategically located in the heart of Kota Kinabalu city is doubtless an ideal choice. The 48-bedded accommodation is increasingly gaining popularity from budget travelers worldwide. Priced from US$7 per bed, it is probably the best offer in town! Facilities include common bathroom, central reading lounge, laundry service, 24 hours security and FREE internet access. Please click www.borneobackpackers.com for more details.

Learning Bahasa BORNEO eZONE COMMITTEE Place – Tempat Advisor : Albert Teo Airport ~ Lapangan Terbang Board of Advisors : Baton Bijamin, Susan Bus Station ~ Stesen Bas Soong, Charles Heng, Leslie Lau, Agnes City ~ Bandar Lawrence, LN Choi, Datuk Markus & HH Chang Jetty ~ Jeti Text : Willie Ki Design : Willie Ki Toilet ~ Tandas Photos : Susan Soong, Prof. Ross K Dowling,

Nicola Jones, Albert Teo, Suriyati & Willie Ki

We look forward to your feedback on Borneo eZone. Please forward your feedback to [email protected]

Borneo Eco Tours Sdn Bhd (226853-W) KKKP 2277 Lot 1, Pusat Perindustrian, Kolombong Jaya, Mile 5.5, Jalan Kolombong, 88450 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Contact Number: 60-88-438300 Fax Number: 60-88-438307 Email: [email protected] Home Page: www.borneoecotours.com

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