Last Saturday (Nov 26) there was a Pesta Nelayan (Fishermen’s Fest) in Menumbok. I took a bus and got there in 3 hours. Usually long distance bus only goes to populated area, so I thought Menumbok was a big town. Actually Menumbok is only a kampung (village). As you can see in the picture below, there are more cars than the houses. At the end of this kampung is the Menumbok Ferry Terminal, where you can take a ferry or small boats to Labuan, which is only 8 KM away. The ticket costs about RM10. Or you can swim across the sea.
Later I found from the locals that the Pesta Nelayan was held at Mempakul Beach. They said it was very near so I decided to walk there. Then I saw the signboard “Mempakul 2.6 KM.” Gee… probably they thought I went by car. Luckily there was a mini bus going there. The people there are very friendly, and they approached me and talked to me. If this event was in city, nobody would bother about my existence.
There were cultural dance performance, silat demo, exhibition, games and sports going on. I tried some local food. I liked the Sambal Fish Cake. It is made of fish meat and taste a bit salty and sweet. But the thing that interested me the most was the beach. I walked around and took some pictures of the beach, fishing boats and village. Mempakul is the intersection point of river and sea, so the “sea” water is in funny red tea color.
Mempakul beach is one of the greatest spot to shoot sunset photos, I believe. I wish to stay overnight but there is no hotel in the village. I wanted to tumpang the government resthouse nearby but it was all full. The only choice is to take a boat to Labuan for accommodation. But I have to take the boat before 5 PM, which is too early. So troublesome, therefore I went back to KK in the afternoon. The photo on top of this page is the fishing village of Menumbok. Hope you like it. It is really a beautiful place. I was lucky to get this shot. The cloudy sky, green trees and blue sea water were so fascinating…
Click Here to see the photo gallery of Pesta Nelayan >>
Photos taken in Menumbok, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
I miss Menumbok… My brother used to study in Labuan so quite often we have to drive to Menumbok for him to catch the speedboat. I love the road to Menumbok, the condition is great and not much cars! Too bad I can’t speed cos my dad will scold lol.
I don’t like the speedboat experience though. It feels like you’re sitting in a 4WD car with very hard suspensions and going through a rough road with rocks as big as footballs. Honestly sitting in there made me feel like I’m an illegal immigrant trying to smuggle into Labuan 😛
However, I did enjoy the Labuan trip with and dad and brother. Maybe someday we can do that again, hopefully by car and ferry this time 😛
SmokeHead, didn’t you have a car or something that can bring you there… If not, get one la… Anyway, the place look like fun. Glad that you are around there to connect us to the events there trough your blog…
yes, i have a car. but it is very old. i afraid it cann’t cope with long distance travel. it will be really miserable if my car break down in remote area.
emily, did he go to school every day? if the round trip costs RM10 per day. the travel fee per month is almost RM300. can rent a room in Labuan already?
It was a boarding school 🙂 He comes home about twice a week back then.
I miss Menumbok… My brother used to study in Labuan so quite often we have to drive to Menumbok for him to catch the speedboat. I love the road to Menumbok, the condition is great and not much cars! Too bad I can’t speed cos my dad will scold lol.
I don’t like the speedboat experience though. It feels like you’re sitting in a 4WD car with very hard suspensions and going through a rough road with rocks as big as footballs. Honestly sitting in there made me feel like I’m an illegal immigrant trying to smuggle into Labuan 😛
However, I did enjoy the Labuan trip with and dad and brother. Maybe someday we can do that again, hopefully by car and ferry this time 😛
easy chicken recipes> haha, i also don’t dare to take the speedboat to Labuan. It looks like a bumpy ride and no life jacket is provided?