North Borneo Adventure: Nagapuri Beach Retreat

Hi there,

The public holiday for the Federal Territory (FT) Labuan island was a perfect day to get a short vacation. Sam and I were on our way to explore Semporna and Tawau. He said that the trip would imprint his presence in the land below the wind. Lols... Since I have never been there, I tag along happily. Thanks to Sam for bringing me to visit all the part of Sabah which I have never been.

Before we head to Semporna, we decided to stay in Beaufort for a night. Since it was still early, we decided to find the hidden gem, Nagapuri Beach Retreat also known as Bukit Naga Aman Puri Beach Retreat. Whichever you prefer! We heard a lot about this place but never get a chance to explore the place for real. With some help from google map, we managed to find the place within less than 1 hour from the Menumbok ferry terminal.

We were greeted by the bushes and a couple of run down buildings. Very much appalled with the almost non existence sign of human being, we tried to make sure we came to the right place. I ring my friend, @sherbasher (Marilyn) since she is a regular client of this place.

Me: Baby, how to go to Nagapuri?
Marilyn: You just park at the end of corner of the road and walk to the other side of the Tempurung Lodge. No other way. Just walk by the beach...
Me: Ok then.. I will try to find the signboard...

At last we managed to find the entrance. It was quite easy and there is no other way than the beach itself. In a blink of eyes, Sam was busy chatting with the owner of the place, the great Uncle Max!!! He shared all about his experiences running the place. The Nagapuri beach reatreat is home to 8 bedrooms.

Currently, the lodge was occupied by one Australian and UK nationals. After a few hours, we were joined by a group of people from France and Germany. They were dropping to say hi to Uncle Max. That is how famous he is among the tourist. On the afternoon, he is also expecting a couple from Kuala Lumpur.

At first, we were discussing on finding a place for dinner around the Kuala Penyu area. Uncle Max has offered us to stay around in the lodge and join them for dinner. It was very nice of him to invite us since the cook will also include me and Sam. Why not? We have all the time in the world and we are in no rush to come back to the hotel.

In between the time for dinner, Sam and I took our time to walk on the beach. It gave me such a serene feelings because this place is very quiet and you can have all the beach for yourself. I can even read my book. If you love to camp, you can always set your tent anywhere around this premise with only minimal payment.

The best part has yet to come. This lodge will not disappoint you on the sunset view. The view was breathtakingly beautiful. No words could describe. Plus, when you have someone to watch the sunset with.

This is certainly a walk to remember which beautifully encapsulated in words. This reminds me of the exerpt from Ed Sheeran's song :

"We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still"