Mahua Waterfall, Tambunan | My Sabah Road Trip

by Daniel Chiam

Water buffalo and its calf

Bad hair day?

Offered to take photo for a bunch of friends who was on vacation

Sign of visitors

Mahua Waterfall, Tambunan

Mahua waterfall located not far from the town of Tambunan. It will take less than 30 minutes car ride to get to the place, and I've been here long time ago with my school mates and teachers. Back then the road was still gravel and it took us more than an hour ride just to reached the place because of the road's horrible condition. Well, that was the past and today, even with an ordinary sedan car, you'll have no problem reaching the place.

If you ever feel like getting away from the hustle and bustle of your busy life, or just a short weekend gateway with your family/friends, this 17 meter high waterfall just might be the right choice. You can even forget about internet reception here, as it always comes and goes, and mostly its just not there. So posting your selfie here would just have to wait until later. Aside from just the waterfall, you can actually go for jungle trekking here, but you'll need to hire a guide for that.

You can even plan to stay overnight here as they also provide accommodation and food. Most importantly they have clean toilet! I've asked before and it is okay to bring your own tent and camp there for FREE. Not sure if they will start charging if many people are starting to do the same, but as for now, this place was absolutely a budget gateway for a budget traveler like me.

[More photos]

My other stop:
Batu Punggul, Sapulut, Nabawan
Sabah Tea Plantation, Ranau
Luanti Fish Spa, Ranau

Batu Punggul, Sapulut, Nabawan | My Sabah Road Trip

by Daniel Chiam

Under the bridge

Under the stars

The limestone, Batu Punggul

On top of Batu Punggul

The tajau shaped limestone

The folklore has it that Batu Punggul was once a Rumah Panjang (long house) belong to one of the Murut tribe in Sapulut. The tribe and their long house was cursed and was turned to limestone for making fun of a leech by making it drink the rice wine and getting it drunk. They were laughing and humiliating the leech and thus it offended the spirit or guardian of the forest. 

On your way to the top of Batu Punggul, you will come across a cave which believed to be the entrance to the long house, and in it you will see a huge tajau (traditional jar) shaped limestone which believed to be one of the remaining of the long house. 

I would also like to thank Mr. Lantir and his whole family from Kampung Tataluan for the hospitality and for taking good care of us when we were there. Thank you for the shelter and for the freshly caught wild board for dinner! We really had an awesome time there.

[More photos]

My other stop:

Mahua Waterfall, Tambunan

Sabah Tea Plantation, Ranau

Luanti Fish Spa, Ranau

Selamat Hari Raya 2014 to Everyone

Photographed by Farah Paul

A simple and fun photoshoot with the girls from FmX Photography and Keningau Model Community for the Raya occasion. Girls just wanna have fun right? Also, on behalf of everyone, we would like to take this opportunity to wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin to everyone! Please drive safely when you're on the road to balik kampung and back.

Milky Way - My First Attempt

by Daniel Chiam

This was my first attempt in order to take photo of the milky way. I'm still trying to improve my skills in order to take the whole thing. The amount of time spent for taking the photos and also the post processing just to make sure you get what you want... everything is so agonizing but I love the challenge! Hopefully I can get a better one soon before the full moon appear again :D

Reliving School Days

by Daniel Chiam

I attended a school's event, and I got bored half way from all the speeches. So, I took my camera and went out of the hall for a few shots to relive my school days. Student's life sure looks simple enough if compared to what the adults had to deal with everyday. For that, I wished all these young kiddos that's full of dreams and promises, all the best for their future.