Labuan is a small island. It's about one sixth the size of a Standard International Island Unit (as everyone knows, one of these Units corresponds to the land area of the Isle of Man). Labuan's population, though, is about 100,000.

It's part of Malaysia, and it's located just off the coast of Borneo, but curiously it belongs neither to Sabah nor Sarawak. Instead, it is one of Malaysia's Federal Territories, which means that it is directly ruled by the Federal Government of Malaysia, along with Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. A separate tax regime gives it the designation of "duty-free area", although I get the impression that this status is not what it once was.

Our journey from KK yesterday was totally problem-free. Admittedly, it would have been easier in the old days, when a ferry went straight to Labuan from the heart of Sabah's capital. Nowadays, you have to take a bus to Menumbok (about 2.5 hours), and then a ferry to the island (about 1.5 hours). Both can be booked online (the bus via Easybook and the ferry via Labuan Ferry). But you can't book very far ahead, so it's a question of regularly popping back to see if the booking window is open.



Before you board the boat you need to swap your e-ticket for a paper ticket. Then you can spend your time snapping until it's time to go:






The sea was very calm, and it was a pleasant ride:








From the port it's only a short walk to our accommodation:



Today was orientation day:









The island, like much of this part of the world, used to belong to Brunei. The story of how it came to be held by the British Crown comes in various versions:



The coercive reality is laid out in some detail here.

The sea breezes draw you to the beach, and there's plenty of shipping standing off the coast:




So, a day in, and we've found a beach, a mall, a couple of decent coffee places, and a couple of supermarkets. I think we'll do very well here...