2nd April 2012
It's been quite a long time since our last family vacation. We had our school holiday last week and at the same time mummy also took two weeks off from work (the thought of putting all four of us under our grandparents' care was unacceptable to her).
As a last minute plan, our parents decided to go to the Malaysian island of Labuan. Mummy remembered that the last time she went there was with my grandparents approximately 23 years ago. Wow... such a long time! Another driving factor for us is that now we can go to Labuan by car on board the Shuttle Hope ferry.
The initial plan was to go on a day trip, but nini laki suggested that we spend a night there so that we will not be rushing to catch up the ferry back home on the same day. We found a nice accommodation online and managed to book a 3-room apartment, right above a shopping complex. It's not a walking distance from the ferry terminal but since we had a car, that was not a problem for us.
Once we arrived at Labuan, we checked into our place of stay and rested for a little bit. We then went shopping whilst our grandparents stay a bit longer. Apparently nini bini got a bit sea sick because she was mistakenly led to believe that it was better to travel by sea on an empty stomach to avoid throwing up. Lesson well learned; never do that! Make sure you eat before travelling - in moderation of course.
In the afternoon, we ventured around Labuan to locate our long-lost relative. Helped only by GPS, we managed to find their house and had our afternoon tea there. Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures! Oh well, perhaps next time.
Then, we made a stop at Tanjung Aru to have our dinner. Acting on his friend's advice, daddy made a reservation a day before via phone call. Never have we tasted such fresh crabs before, and it was definitely worth the trip! We had chilli crab, buttermilk crab as well as the signature barbeque chicken famous to Tanjung Aru. We also took some pictures just before sunset.
The next day, we did some more shopping and then went back home to Brunei on board the 4pm ferry. That time, nini bini was feeling okay throughout the journey.
