The island was just beautiful as it is home to many tropical rain forest. From our resort we had an amazing view of five islands in the distance; Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Sulug and Mamutik. The resort itself had everything you could ask for including a wonderful water play area for the kids (complete with slides) and the main pool had reclined benches in the water where you could look past the infinity pool off into the distance and see the islands.
On a sunny morning we decided to visit Mamutik Island which was reachable by a short 15 minute boat ride. The island had white sandy beaches and clear crystal water. It is here we enjoyed the warm clear water by swimming, snorkeling, searching for shells and also went parasailing.
One day within our trip we visited an Orangutan Rehabilitation Center that aims to assit this endangered species in Sabah. The Center is located on the grounds of the other Shangri-La resort wihtin the island. The Nature Reserve has been established in collaboration with the State Wildlife Department and has a 64 acre ecological space. The center takes in injured or orphaned Orangutans, as well as those that have been confiscated from the illegal pet trade. They are then nursed back to health and released into the reserve. They spend most of their day in the forest however the center feeds the Orangutans where we were able to watch from several platforms.
Another day within our trip we visited the Mari Mari Cultural Village. Here we went on a tour visiting the different homes of Sabah tribes. Each home was built by descendants of the tribes they represent and offered us a genuine experience of how these people lived back in time. While on this tour we were treated to demonstrations along the main houses in which daily activities of old times came to life. For example the boys witnessed how to start a fire (from Polod tree) without the help of a lighter. We also witnessed native dancing, received tattoos symbolic of the tribe, shot a blow pipe and also learned about food preparation. Cooper was even selected as our leader, representing us as we visited the local tribes. It was a great way to spend an afternoon in the rain forest.
Of course our trip would not be complete with shopping. On every country we visit we try our best to bring back some authentic art work or things representative of the people in the region. This way we will have a great reminder of our trip. Without fail we were able to find some great artwork which we will proudly display in our Michigan home upon return.
In summary this was another wonderful vacation for our family and a terrific opportunity to learn about another culture!
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