GETAWAY: Day Trip To Manukan Island

By Jchin

Photos by Jchin & TelcaJ

You can't call yourself a Sabahan if you do not know 'what' or 'where' Manukan Island is. It would be a disgrace actually ;p For those who are not sure, Manukan Island is one of Sabah's beautiful treasures. Anyway, we were there recently with my mom, aunties & cousins. Here, 'we' would be referring to telca & myself. You would not believe the number of times Tel, Julma & I postponed this island trip and at the end, Juls could not make it as we told her last minute about it & because she was working that day (Sorry Juls! There's always next time eh).

Allow me to give you the details of this trip. We departed Sutera's jetty around 9am via Summercruise Holidays and boy you can see the excitement on everyones face (yup..including me LOL). The sea was abit rough that day so it kind of feels like we were on the speed boat longer than the usual. Whatever it is, the boat ride was definitely more than 15mins (Mind you, in normal circumstances, the ride would take less than 15mins). About the weather...It was not sunny enough for sure. But everything was good as this was our first 'Ladies' trip after so long, plus my cousin Kim was back in town for a couple of days so everyone was looking forward to this trip. FYI, she's been in KL for ages but at heart, I know she is still a true Sabahan even though she does not show it.

(Sutera Harbour Marina Jetty)

(Mum poses while waiting for our boat ride)

Upon arrival, the beautiful staffs of Sutera Sanctuary Lodges assisted us with the check-in and briefed us on the necessary. Tel & I were only there for a day trip while the rest stayed overnight. Lucky Them! ;p. The chalet assigned was a beach front and as you all know, the accommodations in Manukan Island are all five star rated (For those who thinks otherwise, please feel free to comment). It has been said that rates for the lodges at Manukan Island are insanely high. To a certain extent, I do agree even though breakfast is inclusive. Its not like they are serving gold for breakfast right. For me, rates will never be an issue as long as it could be justified like for instance, the lodges is of 5 star quality; superb service and good edible food.

Accommodation wise, I would give Manukan Island Resort a two thumbs up. Some units have 2 rooms and some only have 1 room. Anyway, it could be that prices are set high in order to maintain the lodges, however, there could be other reasons as well but it is not my place to say right. One thing for sure, We really wanted to get our tan so after putting all our bags in our rooms, we rushed to the beach to enjoy the so called sun and beautiful waters of Manukan Island.

(Cousinly Love (L to R): Me, Kim & Amy)

(Tel, Kim & Amy enjoying the not so clear waters and not so sunny day)

After the swimming and the tanning, I reckon everyone was hungry so we decided to go to the restaurant. Before that, we only ate apollo cakes so it fugures why we were very hungry. To our surprised mum, Aunt Jo & Aunt Ainie were already seated at the restaurant. Hoping that we do not have to spend any money on our food and drinks, we ordered like crazy since the aunties were there. Ice lemon teas for all and nasi goreng cina to be shared among us. Unfortunately, we paid for our own food and drinks LOL Let me quote what Aunty Jo said to me - "You guys are working adults. You can now afford to pay what you consume" (Reality is painful Haha).

Its really sad to see how badly managed the restaurant was. The restaurant staff who attended us got our orders wrong and worst of all, we waited for 45 minutes for the food!! Poor girls. They had to walk all the way to the kitchen to get our orders. Its just ridiculous. People from the kitchen should be sending the food to them so that they would be able to keep an eye on us and the other guests who were dining there. It was just bad service and bad food. We were abit annoyed by the whole situation as we were extremely hungry. Everything was just plain slow. I seriously would recommend training for all the staffs with reason being, Manukan Island is a tourist hot spot, therefore, the island would really need passionate and trained staff to accommodate the visitors' needs. There is this saying 'first impression counts'. No harm done right to impress and to do a good job.

(Peace Out! LOL)

(Aunt Jo & Aunt Ainie waiting for their chicken rice)

(Ice Lemon Tea - Manukan's Signatory drink)

Though the service and food is of a 2 star quality but I must say that the swimming pool deserves to be credited. Clean, private and well taken care of. FYI, only in house guests are allowed to swim in the swimming pool. Rules are rules my friends. This was definitely the highlight of the day.

Well, what can I say. We had a blast and I enjoyed my time with my love ones. Will definitely organize a day trip to Manukan Island again and I hope this time, there would be heaps of improvements with the service and food. A must visit spot people!! ;)