^^ Main entrance to Borneo Highlands
^^ Flagpoles behind the entrance
^^ The lorry we used to go up the mountain and around the highlands
^^ The view on the way up
^^ The Road Which Leads Up The Mountain
^^ The One And Only Clubhouse on the highlands. It's facilities include a spa, the only restaurant/cafeteria up there, golfing shop, conference rooms, hotel rooms, lookout point, lounges, shower rooms, golf cart parking area and karaoke lounge (Pictures are located towards the end of this entry)
^^ Clubhouse Lobby
^^ The clubhouse's restaurant's dining area. Since that Borneo Highland's big boos is a vegetarian, he is trying to encourage all of its inhabitants to be vegetarians by making the only restaurant/cafeteria up there a vegetarian restaurant. But, not to worry, all guests/residents are allowed to bring all the meat they want up there to eat.
^^ The View From The clubhouse's Balcony.
^^ One of the many ponds up there
^^ Part of the huge golf course up there.
No!!! The blur image isn't caused by my fungus infested camera but the thick fog at the Kalimantan view point.
^^ The fog was so thick that i could barely see my hands infront of me.
^^Here we are....the Kalimantan view point. According to the sign that my parents are posing with, this part of the mountain is 600 metres tall which is about 200 metres shorter than the 800+ metre tall Burj Dubai when completed. This shows how short the mountain is but it sure is tall enough for a windy and cool environment which allows plants, flowers, and trees which can only grow in cold countries to grow here like the ones in some of the pics in this blog entry. It sorta gives you the feeling that you are in a western country but it isn't quite there yet as commonly found trees in Malaysia are still found there. I'll say that the environment is still far away from what you will get in erm....say....Australia. The temperature was around 24C when i was there but it can drop to around 16C at night....well, at least that was what the guide said. Haha
According to the sign, this lookout point provides a view of southwest Kalimantan which looks something like what is illustrated in the sign but instead....we got this:
^^Darn that thick fog!!!!!
^^ there is a viewing platform there too.
^^ Me and the foggy view of Kalimantan
^^Grapes can actually grow up there but they are so small. I don't think that they taste good. The grapes look unhealthy to me.
^^welcome to the flower gardens....This used to be a beautiful place but unfortunately, no one here has the right skills to maintain it properly. Most of the flowers look like they are gonna die or something.
^^ Needs more maintenance lah!!!
^^ We stopped at this tea house for a break and enjoy the view.
What view? This nice waterfall view (looks a little small from up here):
Ok.....so how does the company which manages Borneo Highlands earn the big bucks? Is it from the spa? the golf course? the hotel and chalet rooms? the vegetarian restaurant? the flower garden? the camping sites? or is it the karaoke lounge???
None of the above!!!!
Instead, the company earns the big bucks from selling land lots on the highlands to millionaires. If you want to enjoy this so-called erm....1/2 paradise on Earth, you can buy one of the many small land lots up here. A small piece of land will cause you millions!!! Erm....actually...the smaller ones are just over a million...haha. the main attraction up here is the cool and windy weather and GOLF of course. Cool, windy, and foggy weather plus a fine golf course = a dreamy golfing experience. So, if you do not play golf, I’ll think twice before buying a piece of land up here. Aside from playing golf, there is nothing much left to do but kick back and lie down all day to enjoy the cool and windy weather. Well....some people who do not play golf owns a house up here too to simply enjoy the weather and enjoy the other activities that I’ve mentioned above like spa and karaoke. Be warned that the pricy amount that you paid is only for the land. For a house, you'll have to spend millions more to construct it!!! Just imagine the cost that you have to bare to transport all the building equipment and material up the steep mountain road.
Speaking of houses, let's take a look at the first house we visited. Take a look at the view from the house first and guess who owns this house:
^^ Beautiful Golf Course (The house’s Front view)
^^ A tranquil Lake called Swan lake (The House’s Side View)
^^ There really are swans swimming in swan lake! (click to enlarge)
The owner of this house is none other than Tun Dr Mahathir.
^^ The front view of the house
^^ Me standing in front of Mahathir's house
^^ Me sitting on one of the balconies
^^ The house's backyard. Just look at that perfect western style green green grass lovely!!!
^^ Just look at that lovely backyard. Wouldn't you just die for it? Let me tell you something, this area is just so shady, cool and windy and when you add in that perfect green lawn, it's just perfect for a morning BBQ or you could just lie down on the grass all day and dream all your troubles and stress away
Do you know what I like about the houses here? Apart from being beautiful and luxurious, all the houses don't have fences and gates just like in western country. If only the land lots were cheaper or if i am lucky enough to win the lottery, I’ll buy a piece of land here and build a house on it for sure!!! Here are a few pictures of some of the other houses.
^^ The owner of this house is an architect who designs buildings and houses up here
^^ Other Houses
Now, let's return to the clubhouse which doubles as a hotel, restaurant, spa, and entertainment centre.
^^ inside one of the many hotel rooms
^^ The only swimming pool up there. I don't think that anyone would swim in that algae infested pool. The guide said that the boss wanted everything to be as natural as possible.
^^ The karaoke/theater room for guests and land owners
^^ The spa's foot message area
^^ The spa's body message area
^^ The beautiful corridor which leads to the spa
^^ The beautiful garden outside the corridor
^^ Two round hot tubs
^^ A beautiful cool pool beside the hot tubs
^^ A really huge bug I saw up there.
^^ The chalets up there
I'll give Borneo Highlands An Overall score of 6.5 out of 10
The End
