3rd Trip to the Tip of Borneo

On 25.09.2024, we visited the Tip of Borneo for the third time. The first was on 30.05.2006 (Read here) and the second on 05.06.2015 (Read here). Coincidentally, the second trip happened to be the very day Sabah suffered the worst earthquake she had ever experienced. On that fateful day, sixteen people were confirmed dead (Read here).

Since that disaster, we did have plans to re-visit the Tip of Borneo again but somehow the plan has not been activated. The plan to re-visit was finally activated when my SIL (my wife's oldest sister, Yong Kiow) came with a group of friends to tour the surrounding of KK. When the tour ended and she and another of her friend decided to spend another three extra days in KK. With them as company, we decided to take them to the Tip of Borneo - one of the places she has yet to visit.

Yong Kiow (Right) and her friend, Teresa.

Since our last trip in 2015, significant improvement has been made at the site. This includes providing more directional signs and information at the Tip of Borneo. 

But sadly, the final stretch of the sealed road leading to the Tip of Borneo is in very deplorable condition as we have experienced first-hand in this trip. If a concert is to be held this year, the top priority will be a major road repair exercise before the event!

Quite a number of visitors came hoping to see the sunset view. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day and the western shoreline was only splattered with patches of mild orange!

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On the way back to the car park, we detoured to the site where the annual sunset concerts are held. Quite to my surprise, other than the mildly overgrown grass, the stage and the terraced seats are still intact and reasonably well maintained. Trees behind the stage have grown much taller blocking off significant sunset views!

The Sunset Music Festival also known as the Sunset Concert, has been held annually at Tanjung Simpang Mengayau or the Tip of Borneo. It was first held in 2006. The one we attended in 2015 is the 10th. 

However, there was no music festival or concert from 2017 to 2022. This was only revived in 2023 after a gap due to the pandemic and other interruptions. The festival offers a unique open-air experience featuring local, regional, and international performances with breathtaking views of the sunset over the South China Sea and Sulu Sea. 

The concert is normally held in June. So far with three months left in 2024, there is still no sign or news to confirm whether it will be held this year.

A beautiful bay next to the open concert site.

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A piece of new information in the form of a signboard about the highest point of the Tip of Borneo has been added after our last trip in 2015.

The highest point, called Tomanggong Kurantud is named after a renowned warrior and chief of the Rungus people. Rungus is the dominant indigenous people residing in the northern region of Sabah. 

Story has it that Tomanggong Kurantud led a fight in a battle against invading pirates in the area around Tanjung Simpang Mengayau. In 1881, he signed an agreement of cooperation with the British representative of North Borneo Chartered Company to maintain peace in return for the promise of development and prosperity in this region.