I’m back with another “adventure”. This time it’s Labuan. It was not a holiday trip, it was work related. I was there to link up my project site office to my HQ in Shah Alam. The site is Sumatec’s RM36 Million Megamethanol project. This project is actually is an extension to the existing plant. According to the Project Manager, once completed, it will be the largest Megamethanol plant in the world! Damn, if anything happens to that plant, Labuan will cease to exist on this planet (touch wood).
I’m not going to write about my whole “adventure”, but kind of to give you a brief insight of Labuan . So here we go.
Labuan Island
LABUAN :- The only thing I knew about it is that it’s Federal Territory and near Sabah. After years of living in this country, I honestly didn’t know Labuan was an island!! *sigh* it’s a small island. If you drive, you can cover the whole island, I think, in 1 hour. Very layback town. Occupied mostly by expats.
The road in front of the hotel. That's the Labuan Council building.
Mariner Hotel: Where I Stayed
DAYLIGHT :- There’s no time difference between West & East Malaysia but the sun rises much earlier. I’m not really sure of the time but by the time I woke up (6:30am) it’s as bright as 8:30am over here. Work in Labuan(site) starts at 7:00am & finishes at 6:00pm. By 6:30pm it’s already dark. On both the nights when I was having dinner, I looked at my watch & realized it was not even 7:00pm! but it sure felt much later than that. Have not gotten used to the dusk & dawn thing over there.
HIGH RISE :- A brown Apartment, a silver office building with a 3 story shopping centre called Financial Park and ….THAT’S IT! If you’re lost, just head towards this two buildings. Another interesting landmark is the mosque with a unique design.
7:30am : The only high rise building you can see in Labuan
The An’Nur Jamek Mosque : Looks like a spaceship
THE TOWN:- IT’S SMALL!!! On the 2nd night, after walking about the shopping centre with Jo for 1 hr or so, I went back to the hotel & it was only 8:40pm. I was bored, so I decided to go on an “adventure walk” around town. Only a few shops were opened, Pubs and food stalls. I didn’t know where I was heading - I just walked, wherever there was a road, I walked. It felt like it was 1 a.m. cause the town felt “dead” and it was just 9:00pm. There were so few cars on the road. I practically covered Labuan town on foot in 1hr! Yup that’s how small the town is. Back at the hotel at 10pm.
8:30pm: It's very quite
CRIME :- Based on my “sources” there’s no such thing as snatch theft there. There better not be cause…really WHERE can you hide after the getaway??? So it’s safe to move around. Pedestrians “own” the road so we have to look out for them when we drive instead of the other way round.
FOOD:- I had seafood at a golf resort (not bad), Indian food at Krishna Curry House (very nice) & Indian Muslin restaurant, can’t remember the name that served a variety of Indian cuisine and I was told it is the ONLY place in Labuan you can get Roti Canai!! Poor Labuanese !
VERDICT:- Great place to work for 3 days and alcohol consumers "*ahem* ok no names" & it's cheap.
Sunset at 30,000 feet is breathtaking
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