Visiting Labuan... and the best beef burger EVER!

The duty-free island of Labuan, found in the South China Sea north-west of Borneo and a short ferry ride from Brunei, comes under the jurisdiction of West Malaysia.

A small, sleepy island, Pulau Labuan is a strange mixture of very old, Kampong Houses in run down water villages found all over the island and some very modern industries including a Petronas Methanol plant. Much of the local industry is associated with nearby off-shore oil drilling platforms.
There are many duty free shops in Labuan selling to anyone who walks through their door. The duty free goods available are mainly alcohol and cigarettes. The alcohol must be among the cheapest in the world. A case of 24 cans of guineas stout is RM 32 ( about US$11.00)

We arrived at Labuan on a car ferry from Brunei ,a quick, calm sea journey of just under 2 hours.( cost about B$70 one way including car and 4 passengers.
 The first Brunei Car Ferry, MC Shuttle Hope is relatively new on the scene. It initially began shuttling cars from Brunei to a small landing point called Menumbok in Sabah daily,after a journey of around 2 1/2 hours. From there,it is an easy drive of around 2 hours to Kota Kinabalu (KK) .
Sadly, the Bruneian population has not responded well to this service, probably because of its cost. So after 6 months, the shuttle hope now only plies cars and passengers to the island of Labuan. To travel onto KK from Labuan requires another car ferry to Menumbok which takes less than an hour.

Labuan Tiara Resort

Many Bruneians like to drive up to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. Usually taking around 5 hours dependent on traffic at border posts,  the drive can take up to 10 hours in holiday periods due to large numbers of cars all having to use a small car ferry ( holds 12 cars) to cross the Puni River .. so narrow you can almost spit across it . Take into account you have to pass through 6 border posts where your passport needs to be chopped, I would have thought the ferry option to travel directly to Sabah from Brunei would have been a winner.

We are staying a night here at the Labuan Tiara Resort. Having never been here before, its a smallish,beautifully landscaped resort built opposite a beach, only 5 mins drive from Labuan Town. The resort has been renovated fairly recently and the rooms have an attached lounge plus small kitchenette which makes the rooms feel very spacious. The pool and facilities are great.The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful and I have to say, I had the best  beef burger from room service for dinner tonight that I have ever eaten.
The seafood buffet on offer tonight got 5 thumbs up from the rest of our friends.
Tomorrow , we are heading up to KK going via Menumbok on a vehicle ferry service run by Labuan Operators.