Labuan – Rusukan Besar Island, Papan Island and places of interest in Labuan

The first part to this post can be found here…

https://livelifelah.com/2018/05/09/labuan-kampung-layang-layangan-and-palm-beach-resort-spa/

Our 3rd day in Labuan began right after breakfast and like any kid on a field trip, we were all gleeful with anticipation…

We got onto our designated shuttle bus with our luggage after saying good bye to the beautiful palm Beach Resort & Spa.. which brought us to the Labuan Marina and clambered onto the long speedboat which took us to Rusukan Besar Island…

Remember, I did tell you that if you love Vitamin Sea…, Labuan and its islets are practically answers to your prayers with breathtaking panoramic views of the South China Sea…

Rusukan Besar Island is just that… it is a seemingly secluded island with white sandy beach and pink chalets… err… pink chalets?? !!! Hahah… they are the only chalets on this island..

Rusukan Besar Island underwater life is also under the care and monitoring of the FT Labuan Marine Park Department, so we were briefed before being allowed to go snorkel without fins /bare feet…but with two guides who supervised and watched out for us and were warned to be careful of fire corals..

I am not such an excellent swimmer nor am I a good diver yet.. so this was great.. we got to enjoy the magnificent view underwater world for a bit… and it was with the guides who pointed out interesting areas and also pulled me out of harms way when I was swimming a bit too close to some rocks..

We were definitely peckish when we got out of the water and headed to the meeting site for a beach BBQ lunch… a simple but super yummy lunch..

After lunch we got back to the boat and headed back to the main island and our next hotel… the Tiara Labuan Hotel… where we rested for a bit before heading out…

Our destination this time was of course to the Labuan International Sea Sports Complex where took a peek at the busy event area…

We visited the Labuan Marine Museum and getting amazed at how super spoiled the sea life were there… damn… more manja then my cat !!!

Imagine the horse shoe crab and the moray eel are being petted and hand fed…!!!

Anyway, the Labuan Marine Museum showcases marine heritage include artefacts from ahipwrecks, live and preaerved aquatic plants and the preserved skeletal remains of huge real Indian Fin whale…

Now Labuan hosts their International Sea Challenge in May every year here at Labuan’s International Sea Sport Complex, and there is no difference this year as well… The International Sea Challenge comprises of four events, which are the Labuan Round Island Kayak Challenge, the Jet Ski Challenge, the Cross Channel Swim Challenge and the Big Game Fishing Tournament…. and you really have to admire the stamina and will power of the participants.. some who are just as young as 10 years old!!!!

We then headed to Ramsey Point for some snacks… or rather a heavy tea.. lol…

The food here is soooo good you’ll find it hard to resist… *sigh, there goes my diet*

Halfway indulging in our tea… someone asked if we wanted to take a ride in the “Parahu Larai” and it was a hell yass…….

Parahu Larai reminds me somewhat of Moana’s (Disney’s Moana) sailboat… it is pretty similar and I think the idea was brought back from Boracay…

It was pretty fun as four team members clambered on each side of the “wings” of the parahu and we set off… what was not suppose to be a wet ride turned out to be very wet indeed with waves splashing all over us… setting of peals of laughter as well as slight panic for the safety of handphones and cameras brought along…

It was a great and fun ride, one that made me want to break out in a Moana song… and we had the most amazing view of yet another Labuan sunset…. before we headed back to our hotel…

Dinner was BBQ dinner served at Alfresco, Tiara Labuan Hotel…

When dinner was over… we were so knackered and turned in for the day….

Our 4th day in Labuan began with yet another boat trip… this time to Papan Island… this time in a different boat.. and the island was pretty shady with trees and extremely fascinating..

We got to go on a little hike to check out a very old/antique light house as well as a little hut which could have been a torture chamber or even a place the army kept their ammunitions… the rumoured story was that about 16 unfortunate people were tortured and locked in there until they died…

When our hike was over, we headed out for another Parahu Larai ride…Like who can resist….hahahaha

the 2 pics above are credit to www.instagram.com/zahariz

I also got to try the sofa boat ride …. since it was supposed to be safer then the Banana Boat which had a higher tendency of overturning….

I actually wanted to go snorkelling but sadly time was running short so had to skip it.. and we had our 1st lunch before heading back to the main island…

Our next stop was at Mr Crab Seafood and Steamboat Restaurant for our 2nd lunch…

And what an amazing feast we had there…before we headed back to our hotel for a rest…

We commenced our Island tour with a trip to the Labuan History Museum, as well as the World War 2 Memorial….

The Labuan Museum is housed in a pre war colonial styled building and the museum chronicle the history of Labuan from World War 2 to British colonial days and to the moment it was declared a federal territory of Malaysia… there are 4 trees planted in front of the museum, each by a different enthnicity… as well as historical plaques to commemorate important visits and events..

The Labuan World War 2 Memorial is the largest memorial in Malaysia and is the final resting place for some 3998 war heroes from Australia, Britain, India, New Zealand as well as Malaysians or rather the army from Malaya… this place is regularly visited by war veterans abd family members…and on a Sunday closest to 11th November, Remembrance Day is held to honour the soldiers who lost their lives during WW2 as well as those who died during the Death March from Sandakan to Ranau…