Kudat Marina and golf resort

• LOCATION:

Kudat Marina & Golf Resort is located on Jalan Urusetia just outside Kudat town centre. At the second roundabout if you are arriving from the main road, take the 10-o-clock turn into Jalan Urusetia. There should be ample signage along the way to lead you into the Resort compound within the Kudat Golf Course.

It is recommended that you hire a car to get to Kudat as the flexibility offered by self-driving trip from Kota Kinabalu seems to be more advantageous. I managed to secure a car rental for RM100 per day which I used to drive to Kudat from Kota kinabalu.

• DESCRIPTION:

The completion of Kudat Marina & golf resort could have not come at a better time. As Kudat is fast becoming a major tourist attraction in the state of Sabah, the need for an international-class hotel emerges and the resort provides just that. The resort is built in a traditional-inspired architecture and sprawls over a section of the Kudat Golf Course. It also fronts the Kudat Marina as well as the ocean at Marudu Bay.

There are 88 rooms in the 3-storey building  of the resort, separated by two distinct sections, namely the North wing and the south wing. In general, there are four room types offered by the resort, namely Superior gol view, Deluxe Sea View, Executive Golf View and Executive Sea View. All room types come with two bedding configurations, namely two single beds or one king or queen bed. In general, each room is appointed with air-conditioning, mini fridge, IDD telephone, coffee and tea making facilities, writing desk, dressing mirror, bedside control panel, wardrobe and lugagage rack, colour television with ASTRO satellite channels, ensuite bathroom that comes with standing shower cubicle, etc. This review will cater mostly on the superior golf view room.

The resort hosts a selected number of guest facilities. At the spacious main lobby, a nice lobby lounge is available with good views of Marudu Bay and the marina. One floor down the lobbyis the swimming pool which is well-maintained and adequately landscaped by tropical green foliage. The pool area also comes with a small kid's section for the children. As for the F&B outlets, there are a few of them hosted by the resort. The main outlet is called D'connutt cafe (somehow I feel that it was meant to be spelled as D'Coconut, but whatever) which is located on the ground floor. The restaurant is nicely partitioned into an indoor dining and outdoor terrace. The latter is also known as D'connutt coffee house as it sits by the swimming pool and overlooks the ocean in the distance.d"connutt coffee house is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is actually an entertainment outlet within the resort compound, namely fortune corner, which is actually more of a night pub. 

Kelambu Beach

LOCATION:
Pantai Kelambu is located some 35 kilometres to the northwest of Kudat town. As the road signage is extremely poor in the area, you will need a local map like I did. To be exact, at the split road that points towards Tanjung Sempang Mengayau on the right, you will need to go straight. After some 5 kilometres of wondering if you have taken the correct road, a tiny signage is buried on at an intersection and it points towards 'Pantai Kulambu'. Take the road and you should be at the beach in no time.

In general, Kudat is located some 3 hours to the north of KOta KInabalu. It is best to rent a car from Kota KInabalu for a self-drive tour to Kudat and its vicinity. Otherwise, the only option to get to various tourist attractions in Kudat is by chartered tours which are not exactly economical and does not offer travel flexibility. 
DESCRIPTION:
Finding pantai kelambu is like searching for a needle in a hay stack. After getting an informative tip-off from the friendly guest personnel at Kudat Marina & Golf and geared with what seems to be a very detailed map of Kudat and its surrounding areas, I attempt to find this elusive beach, which according to the guest personnel, is much better than Pantai Bak Bak near to Kudat town.

One thing to note when driving all over Sabah is that the road signage is rather poor and inadequate. the road  to Pantai Kelambu is no exception as I almost make a U-turn in exasperation that no sign of any beautiful beach seems to be ahead of me.

While The beach is slightly less comparable to Pantai Kalampunian, Pantai Kelambu is a very unique beach, to say the least. There are actually two streatches of white sandy beaches at Pantai Kelambu, each on the opposite ends of a small island or promontory. In fact, you can get closer to the promontory (or rocky cape) and can claim to have the unique experience of having  2 Beaches within a short opposite span of each other.

The area is actually marked as a public park but there are not many facilities to boast, save it for one or two resting pavilions and some BBQ pits. Nearby is the guarded entrance into the development of Kudat Riviera, which shall consist of multi-million ringgit mansions and villas overlooking beautiful Pantai Kelambu. Actually, I had written to the developer to feature the Kudat Riviera development in this website, but the reply that I received from the white girl was none too receptive. Be that as it may, I hope the pretentious development will not close down this public beach. Their rice-barn villas are probably off limit to mere mortals like yours truly, but this beautiful beach should remain in possession for the people of Sabah. 

Esplanade Kudat

 Sidek esplanade is located just outside Kudat town centre along the way of Teluk Marudu.

In general, Kudat is located some 3 hours to the north of kota kinabalu. It is best to rent a car from kotakinabalu for a self-drive tour to Kudat and its vicinity. Otherwise, the only option to get to various tourist attractions in Kudat is by chartered tours which are not exactly economical and does not offer travel flexibility. 
DESCRIPTION:
As Kudat is naturally graced with beautiful ocean escapes all around, the construction of an esplanade is probably a given. sidek esplande can be regarded as the centre of congregation among the locals especially at night. There is an iconic clock tower that marks the entrance into the esplanade area, along with some other buildings and structures.

The esplanade was opened to the public rather recently, in April 2002 to be exact. Its opening was officiated by the then Chief Minister of Sabah. In general, there are not many features along the waterfront, save it for some resting pavilions, landscaped garden, and the likes. There is a section in the esplanade that consists of floating houses where local fishermen rearing commercial ocean fish in cages. A rather unique sight to see I must say.

The esplanade come alive at night as a number of eating joints become operational. The area is known for its fresh seafood which come at rather affordable prices. During my visit here, I had a decent meal of steamed fish with rice and vegetables. There are options of picking up the fish to be cooked from the cages or the containers to ensure their freshness.

Christiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, born 5 February 1985), commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese National team. Ronaldo is the most expensive player in football history after moving from Manchester United  to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (Euro94m, US $132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest-paid football player in the world, and values him at €1 billion as per his buyout clause. Ronaldo holds the distinction of being the first player to win the FIFA Puskas Award, an honour handed by FIFA to the best goal of the year. He scored that goal from 40 yards out against FC Porto in an UEFA Champions league quarter final match, while still playing for Manchester United.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to national In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting club de portugal. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA cup, and played at Euro 2004 with Portugal. Ronaldo scored his first international goal in the opening game of the tournament against Greece, although Greece won 2-1. Portugal reached the final, which they again lost to Greece.

In 2008, Ronaldo won the Champions league with United, and was named player of the tournment. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year and the FIFA World player of the year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d Or winner in 40 years.Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Besz and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United.

Marty Friedman(Musician)

Marty Friedman (born Martin Adam Friedman, December 8, 1962) is an American Guitarist, most widely recognized and best known for his tenure as lead/rhythm guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeath, which lasted close to ten years. He has resided in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan since 2003, and has hosted his own television programs, Rock fujiyama and Jukebox English on Japanese television.

Kaamatan festival

The Kaamatan festival is an annual event in the cultural life of the Kadazandusun of Sabah since time immemorial. In its deepest sense, Kaamatan festival is a manifestation of creator and Creation relationship, as well as Inter-Creations relationship. It embodies the principal acts of invocation of divinities, appeasing, purification and restoration, re-union of benevolent spirits, and thanksgiving to the Source of All. It is part of a complex wholesome Momolian religious system centered on the paddy rites of passage and the life cycle of Bambarayon - the in-dwelling spirit of paddy.

Appreasing is done in respect of Bambarayon, Deities, Divinities and Spirits, who may have been hurt by human wrongful, acts. Purification is performed in respect of human and spiritual needs for forgiveness followed by resolutions to make themselves worthy of the gifts of life from God. Restoration in necessary to ensure the health and well being of SUNIL, mankind and other spiritual beings. Re-union is realised in respect of human needs to be integrated in body, mind and spirit within the concept of the seven-in-one divinity in humanity, as well as re-union of Bambarayon with human Sunduan. Finally Thanksgiving is observed as befitting for all creations to express their gratitude and appreciation for the gifts of life (through Huminodun) and all life supportive system on earth that their Creator lovingly and generously gave them.

Titanic

 Titanic was a passenger liner that struck an iiceberg on her maiden voyage from southhampton, England, to New York city, and sank on 15 April 1912. She hit the iceberg four days into the crossing, at 23:40 on 14 April 1912, and sank at 2:20 the following morning, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

The largest passenger steamship in the world, the olympic-class Titanic was owned by the White star line and constructed at the Harland and wolff shipyard in belfast, Ireland. She set sail for New York City on 10 April 1912 with 2,223 people on board. The high casualty rate resulting from the sinking was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship carried lifeboats for only 1,178 people. A disproportionate number of men died due to the"women and children first" protocol that was enforced by the ship's crew.

Titanic was designed by experienced engineers, using some of the most advanced technologies and extensive safety features of the time. Adding to the ironic nature of the tragedy is the fact that the liner sank on her maiden voyage. The high loss of life, the media frenzy over Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes in maritim law, and the discovery of the wreck  have all contributed to the enduring interest in Titanic.