The Sunset Musical Fest held at the Tip of Borneo would be remembered with a mixture of happiness and sadness. It was held on 5 June 2015, the day Ranau in Sabah was struck with the most catastrophic natural disaster it has ever faced – the 5.9 magnitude earthquake on Richter Scale.
Soon after we felt the aftershock tremors in the morning of 5 June 2015, we did not think much of its severity and decided to proceed with our driving to our destination, Kudat to attend this Concert which was planned quite some time ago.
In fact, while we were on our way to Kudat, our friends in Sarawak and West Malaysia had been trying to contact us via the Whatsapp Chat to check whether we were affected by the earthquake. However, I was not aware of it because I was busy on the wheel concentrating on my driving. We were finally contacted through a phone call from a friend in Sarawak when we were about to check into the Resort in Kudat. We wasted no time to keep our friends informed that we were alright.
Sunset Music Fest held annually at the Tip of Borneo is Sabah’s biggest open air concert. Since its launch some nine years ago, it has allowed music lovers to be serenaded with classical music, songs and contemporary tunes. This concert used to feature both foreign and local artistes. But for the concert we attended, all performers are locals.
As the concert name implies, the stage is set in such a way to allow audience to enjoy simultaneously the music as well as the panoramic sunset view of the northern most point of Borneo where the Sulu Sea meets the South China Sea.
The artistes are all well known local singers. But since we are not great fans and followers of local singers, they were all newbies to us. They sang a great variety of songs in English, Malay, Kadazan and even Chinese. As far as I am concerned, the most impactful among them is a group of young men who called themselves "The La Cantabile". They did well when they performed “The Phantom of the Opera”.
Photo's from Sabah Tourism Board - What it is liked to be a spectator of the Concert.
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| Waiting for the concert to commence. |
We last visited the Tip of Borneo in 2006 (Read here). There was hardly any noticeable change in the area. But the fact is, we have changed because we are definitely much older after a lapse of nine years!
In Kudat, we stayed in a new little beach resort called North Borneo Biostation Resort which is owned and run by a Russian. This Resort is situated at quite a distance from Kudat town centre. Unless one has a car, it would be quite inconvenient to stay there. We chose this place when we browsed through Agoda.com for a place to stay a night after the Sunset Music Fest. This location is quite ideal as it is only about 13 Km southeast of the Tip of Borneo.
Even with our faithful Garmin, we still had some difficulty in locating this place. This Resort is tucked inside a coconut plantation and is built on a beach front at an elevated platform some 30 feet above the sea. This hide-away place is ideal for people who want to totally get away from the city and spend a couple of day in “isolation” to enjoy nature and the sea. However, people who hate hot weather and high humidity may find this quite unpleasant and even annoying.
The restaurant is huge probably because the owner expected all guests to eat-in rather than travel great distance to look for food outside. I found the food reasonably good and charged at very reasonable price.
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Unusual rock formation at the adjacent Bak-Bak Beach
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After the Concert, we had our dinner at a place called the “Howard’s Place” which is just about one Km from the Tip of Borneo. This outlet is also operated by a Caucasian whom I believe loves sunshine and the tropical sea. I believe he chose this strategic location because of its proximity to the famed Tip of Borneo and the equally famed Beach of Pantai Kalampunian which is also not very far from the rear of his restaurant.
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