WELCOME TO SABAH – “HERE DREAMS COME TRUE”!

Location of Sabah
South East Asia encompasses the largest archipelago of islands in the world. Situated among these islands is the Island of Borneo, the third largest island in the world. All of our tours are focussed on the state of Sabah, perched majestically on the northeastern corner of Borneo. Sabah's coastline of 1,440 km, washed by South China Sea on the west and the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea on the East, encloses an inland area of 74,500 sq km. Sabah, lying north of the equator, means that its climate is tropical and pleasant, and it is warm all year round.

Brief History
Austronesians have occupied Sabah for at least 5000 years. The broadly classified Murut and Dudun/Kadazan settlers tribes are said to be descendants of these Austronesians. As early as the 9th century A.D., Sabah was trading with China and later the Portuguese and Spanish. In the 1800's, several merchant adventurers secured grants of territory from the local rulers and 1881, the British North Borneo Co was set up to administer the state. This administration changed in 1942 when the Japanese invaded the country. After the world war II, Sabah was turned into a Crown Colony by the British and in 1963, it gained independence and joined Malaysia.

Populations
Sabah is a land of only 2.5 million people. Sabah's population is as diverse as its terrain. Apart from Kadazan/Dusun, Chinese and Malays, there are more than 32 ethnic communities in Sabah who speak 55 different languages, 100 dialects, 140 traditional dances and a host of cultures, beliefs and traditions. Making one-third of the population, Kadazan-Dusuns live in the interior plains, and were originally paddy farmers, although many have ventured into other trades. The Muruts who live in the interior region near the borders of Sarawak state and Kalimantan, are agriculturists and hunters and were once dreaded headhunters and many still live in longhouses. The Bajaus live mainly along the coasts. East Coast Bajaus are sea nomads, fishing for their living, while the West Coast Bajaus are farmers and are famous for their skilled horsemanship.

Climate

Sabah's climate is tropical and it varies from 32 degrees Centigrade in lowland areas to 21 degrees in the highlands and does drop to 15 degrees around the foot of Mt. Kinabalu. At the summit, the temperature goes down to freezing point. Rain can occur at any time of the year, however, the Northwest monsoon, from November to April, brings showers and the occassional strong winds to the east coast region. The west coast remains relatively dry all year during this period. The conditions are reversed during the southwest monsoon from May to October.

Language
Bahasa Malaysia is the national language but English and Chinese are widely spoken.

Currency
The Malaysian currency is Ringgit (RM). You can change money or travellers check in any banks, official money changers or hotels though most establishments accept major travellers' cheques and credit cards

Tipping
A service charge of 10% and a government tax of 5% are added to bills in all hotels and restaurants within the hotels. Elsewhere, tipping is not mandatory

Electricity & Telecommunications
Electricity voltage is on a 240 volts AC/50--Cycle system. There are good telephone communications available throughout the island. Public phone booths can accept either phone cards or coins and are widely available. International calls can be dialled directly from private phones and some phone booths using phone cards. The country code for Malaysia 06 and the access code for making international calls is 00. For telephone directory information, the number is 103 for local directory and 108 for international.

Local Time
Standard Malaysian time is 8 hours ahead of GMT.

Health
The only vaccination requirements are yellow fever for those from infected areas. Cholera, small pox and malaria ahve alrgely been eliminated. Those who are visiting the remote villages are advised to take malaria prophylactics, prior to their visit to Sabah. Also, it advisable to visit your own doctors for further advice before your departure.