Taxi Fare in Borneo Expensive?

There’s one thing about taxis in Borneo, particularly in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah — the fares are more expensive than what you normally pay for the same distance in Kuala Lumpur.

For instance, taxi fare from Kota Kinabalu International Airport to the city, which is less than 10km away, could set you back about RM30 (or about USD9.52).

For the same distance in Kuala Lumpur, you’ll pay only about half that amount.

Part of the reason for this is that, unlike taxis in Peninsula Malaysia which run on natural gas, taxis in Borneo are running on RON95 petrol which costs a lot more.

The fare charged by airport taxis are based on standard price. For city taxis, you can expect some variations in the manner taxi drivers calculate their price.

Most taxis in Borneo are not metered. In Malaysia, taxi fares are regulated by the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board, a Federal Government agency.

According to the information available on their website, taxi fares in Sabah are set at RM10 for the first 3km and 12 sen for the each 100 metres thereafter.

Whether taxi drivers will actually charge you at that calculation is another story; as they seem to have a standard fare guideline of their own.

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Borneon tourist package proposed

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Brunei Darussalam should collaborate to reinforce the Borneo brand in promoting their tourism products.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said this on Sunday at the closing ceremony of the Trans Borneo 4wheel Expedition.

“In tourism, we need to work together as a region. Gone are the days where a country may want to market on its own but in this part of the world, I think we need to portray ourselves as Borneo,” said Masidi.

He suggested that Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei could come up with a joint Borneon tourist package to offer travellers with a variety of tourism products.

Such a method is the best and most effective marketing tool to promote tourism in the four Borneon states, said the minister.

Masidi cited the recent partnership between the state government and Royal Brunei Airlines as an example of a successful collaboration.

“Not only were we able to market the two countries effectively but the dividends are far better through such an alliance,” he said.

The minister said that similar cooperation would also expose travellers to the natural wonders found in Borneo, such as the 120 million-year-old rainforest, the world heritage Mount Kinabalu and the world’s tallest tropical tree in Tawau.

“God has given us everything for free. All we need to do is look after it and create facilities to allow access to these kinds of tourism products,” said Masidi.

He also said that Borneo has 668 variety of birds, the largest in a single region. Out of this number, 54 are endemic to Sabah and 14 are endemic to Mount Kinabalu.

Masidi also stated that the turnover for bird watching in the world is about USD2-3 billion. There are 800,000 bird watching societies in Britain and the 10% acquirement of that market is a great potential to the bird watching business in Borneo and the people should capitalize on these kinds of natural gifts, utilizing it fully to generate income, he said.

Continue reading at: Borneon tourist package proposed

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Star Cruise Aquarius returning to Kota Kinabalu soon

Kota Kinabalu: Star Cruise Aquarius will be returning to Kota Kinabalu soon.

Star Cruises is offering a 2 days 1 night high seas cruise, 3 days 2 nights high seas cruise and a 4 days 3 nights cruise to Puerto Princessa, Palawan, Philippines. The tickets are available for sale starting from Sept 2.

Chairman of Matthewpaul Tours and Travel Sdn Bhd, the largest appointed Preferred Sales Agent (PSA) by STAR Cruises and Norweigian Cruise Line in Sabah, Matthew Chin announced that Star Cruises will be offering a 50 per cent promotion to all its cruise destinations.

Chin had personally travelled to Puerto Princessa, Palawan to check on its political stability, ground facilities and local tourist attractions.

This year Matthewpaul Tours and Travel Sdn Bhd has organised a lucky draw which consists of 68 prizes worth more than RM100,000 exclusively for customers who buy Superstar Aquarius cruise tickets.

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Sibu to be promoted as film city

SIBU: The ‘Sibu As Malaysia Film Destination’ campaign will kick off in January 2015 in Kuala Lumpur to promote the riverine town as a film city.

Disclosing this, Sarawak Dayak Filmmaking Association president Benny Zachariah said their modest target was firstly to bring filmmakers from Kuala Lumpur to see what Sibu has to offer, especially for Malay and Chinese drama production.

“We will invite 50 local production houses based in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. In the eyes of filmmakers, Sibu is more than just a timber town for it has many ideal locations for film shooting.

“Some examples of good locations include Bukit Aup Jubilee Park, Bawang Assan Homestay and the surrounding town area (which is good for fast action movie or drama), boat terminal express and Rajang Basin area,” Benny told The Borneo Post after their 57th Merdeka Dinner Concert at a leading hotel here recently.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Joseph Entulu officiated at the function.

Benny believed the timber town could be turned into a film city but would need the cooperation of Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) and Tourism Ministry.

Earlier, the organising chairman and advisor to the association, Patrick Jay Jay, said the association planned to organise a donation drive to purchase an official van.

Patrick added the purchase of the van would do wonders for them.

“The proposed van to carry 16 passengers which costs about RM82,000 will be used for the association’s daily and monthly activities,” he said in opening remarks.

He pointed out that with the availability of the van, they could bring producers and directors around, promoting to them the ideal shooting locations in Sarawak.

He reckoned this would also augur well for the state’s tourism industry.

Meanwhile, he disclosed that the Asia-Pacific International Tourism Awards 2014 which was scheduled this year, has been postponed to 2016.

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Birding workshop for Sarawak tourist and park guides at Borneo Highlands Resort

KUCHING: The Ministry of Tourism Sarawak, in collaboration with Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Selangor and Kuching Branches, held a Beginners Bird Watching Workshop for licensed tourist guides from Sarawak Tourist Guides Association and Sarawak Forestry Corporation staff and Park Guides.

The three-day workshop (Aug 22 to 24) took place at Borneo Highlands Resort, a popular birding destination in Sarawak that is also an Important Bird Area.

Twenty-five people took part in the workshop which was aimed at preparing tourist guides and SFC’s Park Guides and staff for birding tourism which is gaining popularity in the state.

With on-going workshops being organised, it is hoped that Sarawak will be ready for birding tourism with a pool of newly trained and enthusiastic birding guides.

With the basic birding skills acquired over the weekend, spending time birding and reading birds field guide books, the workshop trainers from  MNS Selangor and Kuching branches assured participants that they should be able to identify birds within a reasonable time.

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