THE KOTA KINABALU-HANEDA DIRECT FLIGHT

Currently, Malaysia Airlines operates 4 x weekly Kota Kinabalu-Haneda direct and back using their brand and new B737-800. It was our first time flying on this sector last Saturday.

Boarding the aircraft at the Kota Kinabalu International.

Safety demo was done manually instead of using the LCD screen.

 A MASwing ATR was seen taxiing in as our aircraft was lining up for take-off.  

A smooth "take-off" - overflying the city of Kota Kinabalu.  

The economy class seat pitch of 30 inches is narrow.  

Seeing that the seats at the emergency exit were not occupied, we moved over there for more  leg room.    

As the aircraft was leaving the Borneo air space, we could see Mt.Kinabalu fading away in the distance. 

This cabin features the new Boeing Sky Interior with  a higher ceiling, mood lighting and the in-flight entertainment which come with a 9-inch LCD wide screen video on every seat. The only minus point is that  the seats were thinner and not comfortable for long flight as compared to those on the older B737-400.

Meals served on this sector was worst than expected. The selection of main courses were bad - same old meals served on their domestic services. 

 The difference was that they came with a small portion of soba and salad.

The sunset view was beautiful as the aircraft was making it's descend into Tokyo International. We landed at 22:25, 35 minutes ahead of schedule.

Before boarding the flight at Kota Kinabalu, I was told that the new management of Malaysia Airlines in their bit to turn around their losses would be cutting of services to destinations, like Tokyo, Kansai and Seoul from Kota Kinabalu. The airlines would no longer rely on Kota Kinabalu as a hub in East Malaysia. A sad news indeed and if it materializes, the losers will be the people of Sabah. 

THE "KUNANG-KUNANG" RIVER CRUISE

Majority of the Klias wetland river cruise operators use long boats or speed boats for their cruise. For young visitors, riding on these boats could be fun. 

For me, I prefer to enjoy the cruise with dinner on board on the big boat like the double decker operated by Borneo Klias River Tour. It has a washroom with a toilet for the guests' convenience.

The double decker.

3 weeks ago, I joined a group of All Saints class 58 reunion outing and discovered that another operator, OIB, has started to use a 80ft long house boat converted from a fishing boat to do their cruise.   

This boat's name is "Kunang-Kunang" which means fireflies. 

The weather was not in our favour. It was raining when we arrived at the river jetty at about 16:30 in the afternoon. Fortunately, the main deck has a long shade to keep the rain out.

It was time for afternoon snack once everybody were on board - There were coffee or tea and the traditional Malay titbits like fried banana, sweet potatoes and coconut cakes. 

This boat has a capacity of 50 people. For our group size of 31, it was very comfortable.

Fortunately, the rain stopped as the boat started to move.

A group of the Proboscis monkeys were spotted. This dominant male was keeping a look out.

A long boat  moved in to have closer look. 

..........and joined by others. 

The smell of the grilled lamb led me to the small kitchen at the rear of the boat. This lady chef was preparing dinner. 

It's dinner time at dusk.

It's a western buffet dinner consisting of cream corn soup, salad, grilled lamb shoulder, grilled "Hawaiian" chicken, cauliflower fresco, mashed wheat potato, fried rice and fruit slices. 

Dinner on the plate.

The rain returned as we were having our dinner. It was still showering when we were cruising back to the jetty. Normally, guests would enjoy fireflies lighting up the trees along the river. However, it wasn't so this evening because of the rain. Overall it was a great outing for class 58. 

TANJUNG ARU - TENOM BY RAIL

Sabah State Railway operates a daily service from Tanjung Aru to Tenom covering a distance of 134km. It is the only railway in Borneo with a single line connecting Tanjung Aru to Tenom, a small town in the Interior. Believe it or not, the journey takes about seven and a half hours.

This new diesel powered locomotive is capable of doing 100 km/h, leaves Tanjung aru station every morning at 07:45.

Sabah State Railway in their modernisation process, features brand new air-conditioned coaches fitted with comfortable seats. 

It is a scenic ride all the way - from coastline to lowland with rivers, small towns, wetlands, some deforestation, a market or two before arriving Beaufort, a midway station. 

  The old wooden shops of Kinarut town. 

Schedule arrival into Beaufort station is 09:45. The train is terminating here and for those who want to continue to Tenom, they need to change to another train which is only departing  at 13:00. 

A transit time of 3 hours in Beaufort is a bit too long. There is nothing much to do in this frontier town. For some reasons best known to Sabah State Railway management, the schedule is just not right and inconvenient. They should provide through or otherwise immediate connecting train to Tenom.  

To kill the time, there are few things people can do. They can either take a walk to the Beaufort Waterfront, local market, do some window shopping and then have lunch before returning to the station to catch the next train.

Other option is to return to the station early and take a look at the old trains and the coaches. 

Visitors will be surprised that they have to board this very old diesel locomotive with the old  passenger and cargo carriages.   

Comparing to the Tanjung Aru-Beaufort service, it is a total downgrading. Passenger coaches are non-air-conditioned, fitted with only basic seating and ceiling fans.   

For visitors, the ride from Beaufort to Tenom is exciting as the train moves through the forests and along the Padas river gorge. It's a total new experience for some.

The rail tracks run parallel along the Padas river most of the way providing a spectacular view of the river and gorge.

There are four main stops along the way. However the train will make non-schedule stop at certain remote platform to pick-up local passengers. 

  Approaching a short tunnel, before arriving Tenom.

The Tenom Lama bridge, which is just 10 minutes from Tenom town.

 Approaching Tenom station.

 The Tenom Perkasa hotel is seen on the hill in the back ground - a land mark of Tenom.   

Schedule arrival at Tenom is 15:15.

It is tiring to travel by train to Tenom unless Sabah State Railway could provide a better schedule without long transit in Beaufort. Currently, people still prefer to use the air-conditioned Express bus as it takes only 3 hours to Tenom.

The schedule of the return trip to Tanjung Aru is better. The train will depart Tenom at 07:30 arriving Beaufort at 09:50 to connect the Beaufort - Tanjung Aru service departing at 11:00.  

Perhaps, no body should complain as the fare per person is less than RM8 for oneway!

Pictures were provided by Shirley, my office staff who did an inspection tour recently.