Day4 (last day) :: Labuan - Muzium Labuan, Labuan Square, the Chimney

W.P. Labuan & Brunei Trip 2013

Date: 10 (Sunday) - 13 (Wednesday) February 2013

Last day in Labuan. Since my flight was in the evening, I still had time to  continue exploring the island. Quick stop to the nearby morning market at Labuan Walk for breakfast. Luckily this market is just across the street from the hotel. 

Honestly, I was expecting some kuih or nasi lemak or fried mee there but no no no.. There was no such thing. If I remember correctly, they had cakes, drinks and more cakes. Very odd.. No choice, I ended up with milo and cheese cake for breakfast hahahaha.

Muzium Labuan & Labuan Square

From Labuan Walk, if u walk towards the opposite direction from the hotel, u will reach a roundabout and a big field named Labuan Square.

I guess this is where official big functions like marching for Merdeka celebration and such are celebrated. One side of the field is a small garden for people to laze around. Easy said, it looks like Merdeka Square in KL.

Across the street from the garden is Labuan Muzium. Front of the museum is very serene with big old trees and some monuments.

Bazar Labuan

Since I don’t have any bags to check in, souvenir of choice for this trip is just fridge market. Best place to find all those are here in Bazar Labuan. Unfortunately, most of the shops were closed due to Chinese New Year holiday. But in short, u can find magnets, pearls, clothing and few tailors as well.

Nearby is the daily market. The market mostly sells seaweeds and some local snacks. As for seaweeds, there are few types and u can buy either readily packed or ask the aunties to pack as per requested weight. RM14 for 1kg of seaweed.

Patau-patau Water Village & Lunch at Kina Benuwa Mangrove

Nasi lalapan for lunch. I’m not a big fan of sambal belacan but the sambal belancan here was superb; balanced mixed of belacan and chillies.

The Chimney

Deemed as a mystery structure due to unidentified background for bulding such structure is the Chimney. In the compound u can find the information center, historical complex and the chimney itself. 

“This chimney was built in the year of 80's and the usage of it is still a mystery. It is stated that there is no traces of smoke and whatsoever that indicate that it works like any normal chimney. However, the locals believe that it was used as a ventilation shaft. Still, there are many people that have other thought. Some say that it is just an unfinished mansion built in those days while others claim that it is a light house to be. Until today, no one knows the right purpose of this chimney and this is why it is such mysterious.”

Labuan War Memorial

“Labuan War Cemetery is a Commonwealth World War II graveyard. Many of the personnel buried in this cemetery, including Indian and Australian troops, were killed during the Japanese invasion of Borneo or the Borneo campaign of 1945. Others were prisoners of war in the region. This graveyard was erected by Commonwealth War Graves Commission.” - Wikipedia

Tanjung Purun Beach

One of the non-famous beach in Labuan.

All in all. It was worth a trip considering I have never set foot in Labuan before. The town is pretty quiet and driving around the island would probably take less than 3hours.

However, I will definitely be back for wreck-diving, another famous activity here in Labuan :)

Day 3:: Labuan - Surrender Point & Anjung Ketam

W.P. Labuan & Brunei Trip 2013
Date: 10 (Sunday) - 13 (Wednesday) February 2013

Woke up late today since I had to wait for my friend to finish work in the afternoon before going out around Labuan Island. Don't feel like going out alone anyway. Destinations for the day were mostly on the other side of the island.

Surrender Point Memorial

Located at the West side of the island, near Pantai Layang-layangan. Pantai laying-layangan is a 2008 UN Beach. In other words, it was awarded to its cleanliness and view. Surrender Point is the location where the Japanese surrender North Borneo to the Australian at the end of WWII

Nearby is the Peace Park, a Japanese garden. The garden is quite big and a great place to take a stroll or jog.

Sunset view

This side of the island is the best point to see the sunset. We purposely chosen the time so that we would be able to see the sunset. There are a lot of places to view them along the way, either at the beach or at the wave breakers along the beaches. I had my view at Pantai Batu Manikar.

 Anjung Ketam

Being in Labuan won’t be completed without eating seafood. This time our dinner is located at Anjung Ketam, Tg Aru. There are few other restaurants along the road but I think this place is one of the most popular one.

Ordering is typical at other seafood restaurant. U choose ur sea creatures and they’ll cook for u. I ate my favorite food – tempura squid, chili crab and some veggies. Pretty simple but very filling. Compared to the place I ate at Labuan town, the taste is almost similar. But take note, there are minimum weight when ordering. E.g crab has to be at least 1kg, squid has to be at least 250grams.

By the time we're done, it's almost 10pm. Being in Borneo, 10pm here is practically more like 11pm so it's straight to the bed.

[Product Review] Palmer's No Blade Cream - Cocoa Butter Hair Remover

Note: Now and then, I will start including some of the product review that I feel like writing. Pardon me if u feel that it's annoying :p

This will be my 1st ever written review. I do appreciate those who make time writing their opinion of the products they have and it really helps a lot for people who wanted to have few says of others in making their decision whether to try and buy a product or not.

So here's the star of the entry.

I was looking for hair remover for my legs. I had previously try using Veet Wax Strips but i found out that the strips stick to each other after I have opened them for a while. Let me explain if u don't understand what I mean. In a box, there are 20 strips. I usually use 3 strips every time I was. Due to I only wax maybe every 3 weeks, I ended up keeping the balance of the unused strips for a while. The trouble comes when the glue on the strips stick to each other. 1 strip can be separated into 2 sides. When I peel the strips apart, some of the glue on 1 side sticks to the other side. Leaving patches of glue, which makes it ineffective when waxing.

So, I went for a hunt for hair remover. Just for the sake of trying. I know hair remover doesn't remove the hair from the roots so the hair will grow faster but I'll give it a try. I was looking around the shelf on Watson when I saw Palmer's No Blade Cream. It was actually on sale. Can't recall how much it worth exactly, but it was around RM16 for a 125g of tube.

The product is PINK in color and heck, the smell stinks. Well.... it has the same smell as other hair remover in the market.

From the box:

For softer, smoother skin. Longer lasting results. 

From Palmer's, an advanced hair remover cream that effectively dissolves away unwanted hair. * This fast-acting formula, enriched with moisturizing Cocoa butter and vitamin E, works in as little as 4 minutes and leaves your skin soft and smooth with longer lasting results than shaving. 

Use on legs, arms, underarms and bikini areas.

DIRECTIONS:

Wet area thoroughly where hair needs to be removed. Apply evenly with spatula over hair, covering completely. Do not rub in. Leave on for 4 minutes (maximum 10 minutes). Remove with spatula or washcloth. Rinse thoroughly. Pat Dray.

WARNING:

It is imperative to test the product before each use, following directions, on a small area where hair is to be remove. Wait 24 hours. If irritation or rash occurs do not use. Do not use on recently tweezed areas or on irritated, inflamed or broken skin.

INGREDIENTS

PURIFIED WATER (AQUA), CETYL ALCOHOL, CALCIUM HYDROXIDE, CETETH-20, THIOGLYCOLIC ACID, MINERAL OIL (PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM), SODIUM HYROXIDE, LITHIUM HYDROXIDE, POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE, THEOBROMA CACAO (COCOA) SEED BUTTER, TOCOHPERYL ACETATE, LINONENE, GERANIOL, CINNAMIC ALDEHYDE, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, FRAGRANCE (PARFUM), TETRASODIUM EDTA, QUATERNIUM-15

How I use it:

I use the product as per direction before I take my shower. That is put the product on, leave it for about 6mins and then get ready for shower.

Start removing the product from the skin (starting from the 1st leg that I put the product on) using the given spatula. Remove it in a vertical line starting from your ankle up to your knee. I use with DRY spatula. Repeat until your done on 1 leg and move to the other.

Finally, have your shower ; )

I use Lux Shower Cream so I would lather up especially on the area I use to make sure the smell goes away and later on put some Vaseline lotion on to make sure my skin won't dry off.

Result: (sorry no pics here)

This product works really good. It actually removed 98% of my hair. Not sure whether I got the % right but it really works! Do note that during removal, I do felt some kind of sensation on my feet where the product was still there but it's not painful nor itchy. Something like when ure scratching your legs.

I think the reason why I lather up my shower cream was to remove the product residue entirely from my legs as I have read in other people's review that their legs becomes red with burning sensation when the product stays too long.

Conclusion:

Would I repurchase? Yes!

I don't know how long will it take for my hair to grow back as I just removed them 2 days ago. As of now, no hair yet :)