The Bajau Laut (also known as the sea gypsies or the ‘sea nomads’) have been roving freely in the borderless Sulu Zone, including north-eastern Borneo and southern Philippines. They normally live on houseboats or on houses built on islands or in the middle of some reef or some shallow part of the sea… And are pretty fascinating… And someone suggested that since I was heading to Semporna, I should try one of the resorts that was build almost like how the Bajau Laut lived.. So it was decided that we tried staying at Lato-Lato Mun Resort, off Pulau Bum Bum in Semporna, Sabah

To reach Lato-Lato Resort, it takes about 20 to 25 minutes of boat ride from the Semporna Public Jetty.

When I arrive at Lato-Lato Resort, I was definitely mesmerized by the panoramic views. The crystal clear blue sea water is just under beneath your feet. We spotted dozens of chocolate chip starfish and corals can be seen everywhere, and even a lionfish lazing under my chalet…

Lato-Lato Mun Resort let you experience how the Bajau Laut kampung is like with basic amenities and accommodation, simple Malaysian food and limited use of power supply (1800PM – 0800AM) but you are rewarded and can enjoy the priceless panoramic view and the serenity of living above the reef… believe me it is really so tranquil and lulling, once you get used to it..

Well, for the first hour I was pretty nervous, because everytime a boat passed the resort, the whole resort seemed to go through a mini earthquake.. It’s not that bad.. Just little tremors but after a few times, it was pretty fun…. And pretty lulling…. Don’t worry, the resort is pretty sturdy and while I was there we encountered a storm too but well, we are all unscathed, and comfortable in our basic rooms…

Admittedly some parts of the resort seem a bit rundown but, if you think about it, we have all just gone through a tough phase of lockdown with many people having no businesses for almost 2 years, so do give them a little break…

Back at Lato Lato Mun Resort, I was just delighted to get my room keys and headed to my room to shower… Only to pause for a moment out of guilt.. The shower waste water was channeled directly to the sea… So since I always believed in being respectful of my surroundings, in this case – nature, I did not feel good showering and shampooing… So, all I did was just rinse my hair and used some organic soap from Aesop to bathe… while praying that the soap does not harm the sea creatures below.. (remembering the chocolate chip starfishes and the fishes)

My room was basic but it was clean and can fit up to 3 people (Queen bed + Single bed).

We also had a balcony with a sun lounger at the balcony so you could just laze outside and get hypnotized by the waves…

The view of the sunset (even on a stormy day) was lovely and so was the evening view of the resort…

The resort is Muslim-friendly with the Qiblat direction provided in your rooms…

The food at the resort is pretty good in my opinion and Muslims can rest assured the food is Halal… the kitchen also replenishes the food when it is finished..

Lato Lato Mun Resort package starts from as low as RM150 per person including boat fees for snorkeling, insurance, islands’ license and entrance fee.

The package price also includes food for 3 times with tea time and boat fees to and from the resort.

In the morning, we checked out early from Lato Lato Mun and headed back to Semporna jetty where we were transferred to the Sipadan Kapalai private jetty…

For more info, check out

www.instagram.com/latolatomun

For accomodation at Lato Lato Mun Resort and island hopping at Tun Sakaran Marine Park, check out http://www.latolatoresort.com/

This trip was made possible with the kind assistance of www.sabahtourism.com