Tuesday, November 09, 2004

About Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Sabah is a state that is truly made for an adventure eco cultural and scuba diving vacation. It was once known as North Borneo, under the British colony rule from the late 19th century to early 20th century. It changed its name to Sabah after gaining independence through Malaysia on 16 September 1963.

Sabah is the second largest State in Malaysia behind its Borneo neighbour, Sarawak. With a land mass of 76,115 square kilometres, Sabah is home a host of invaluable touristic wonders such as the highest mountain in Southeast Asia — the majestic Mount Kinabalu — which stands at 4,093 metres, the "Lost World" rainforest at Danum Valley, and the world's only mushroom-shaped island-diving destination, Sipadan.

Blessed with scenic views, an abundance of flora and fauna and cultural resources of multi-ethnic groups, Sabah’s touristic assets have definitely boost the expansion of the State’s tourism industry. Sabah is affectionately known as The "Land Below the Wind", first made famous by Agnes Keith, the famous US writer in the early 20th century. It is also a name appropriately given to the State as Sabah lies below the typhoon belt of East Asia. Sabah is beginning to carve a name for herself as one of the premier nature and adventure vacations destination in the region.

The world famous ecology professor, author, and documentary producer, Ralph Bellamy, has called Sabah, the "Nature Hollywood" of the world. Oceans' greatest ambassador, Jacques Cousteau, fell in love with Sipadan and its surrounding area so much that he decided to let the Calypso's anchor lay there longer than it had on any other expedition to have a longer scuba diving vacation.

Sabah is fast gaining popularity as a world's preferred holiday destination. Blessed with its unique geographical advantage whereby within 76,115 sq km, one can climb the highest peak in the region, get close to the Orang Utan in the largest sanctuary in the world, admire the largest flower in the world, ride the rapids on wide water rafting, trek and be one with nature in the world of million years old rainforests, and dive into some of the world's best underwater wonderlands.

Click here for more info on Sabah.

Check out some of Sabah's diverse eco-treasures below:

http://www.e-borneo.com/travel/tours/sabah.html


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