Good day, everyone! It's been a long time since I've updated a post; Due to a coronavirus lockout in March 2020, we have been asked to stay at home and were unable to travel between districts. The Sabah government states will eventually open up a little after a year, in February or March of 2021. We can now move freely within the zone as the government has mandated. So, my friend and I agreed to take a short vacation to KOTA BELUD.
It takes around 1h30m to 2h to travel from Kota Kinabalu to Kota Belud. We arrived at Pekan Kota Belud for lunch, then resume our journey to Cabana Retreat after an hour rest. Cabana Retreat is in Rampayan, and it's very easy to find on Google Maps. It takes about 50 minutes to drive from Pekan Kota Belud to Rampayan. We walked in at the front counter reception, and the front officer explained everything to us, including the rules.
We reserved one tent with two single beds ( stay and dine package) Breakfast, a BBQ dinner, a Fireflies Tour, Splashland (a water pool activity), and one hour of non-motorized water sports are all included ( Only includes paddleboards, surfboards, and bodyboards. If you want to play for the rest of the water sport, you'll have to pay extra). We were exhausted and rested in the tent until evening , when we went out to see the sunset, which was breathtaking.
Following that, we took a lot of sunset pictures. We drove 15 minutes to the spot where the fireflies were seen. This tour was only attended by a few people. The number of fireflies was lower than usual due to the slight breeze. Nonetheless, this tour was one of the most valuable experiences of my life; I'd never seen so many fireflies. We'll return to the cabana retreat after the tour, which will last only 30 minutes.
The staff prepared food for us to bbq after we return from the fireflies tour. Our neighbour noticed that we were trying to light the charcoal and generously offered us some used charcoal to help us heat things up faster. The most amusing aspect was that the food was completely devoid of seasoning. I have some spices and herbs in my pocket, fortunately. Our dinner would be bland if we didn't season it.
Day 2, we went to the counter before breakfast to claim our water splash ticket, but the front officer informed us that the ticket had been burned because we had not claimed it the day before and the water splash counter was only open at 14:00. As a result, we completely missed it. So we moved on to another activity, where we were told that there was only one hour of non-motorized water sports left and that only paddle boats was available. We went to a non-motorized activity after a light and simple breakfast. The guard handed us a life jacket and a paddle boat, boat were extremely heavy and must be carried by two people.
I had just replaced the battery with a third-party and forgot that my phone was no longer waterproof, so I took it to the ocean, tried to unlock it, and discovered it couldn't turn on anymore, so I took it in for repair, and the repairman told me it couldn't be fixed and that it was completely broken. OPPO R15 PRO, RIP. Many watersports photos had vanished. Only memories remained.
So, here's an overview of my impressions of the Cabana Retreat.
Services: 3/5star
Food & Drink: 3/5star (either worth it or not worth it, hopefully, it will get better next time)
Cleanliness: outside tent 4star, washroom 4star, tent room 3star Overall is 3.5/5star
Price: RM 245 is very worth especially the fireflies tour
Activity: 5/5star There are numerous activities available.
Will we definitely go back ( yes or no): Definitely Yes
THE NEXT TRAVEL UPDATE WILL BE IN MAY 2021.
