Diyana, Client Success Specialist at BrioHR
“Covid-19 really changed everyone’s life, including mine. I always went on a beach holiday whenever I was feeling down or needed to recharge. But for the past two years this wasn’t quite possible and not being able to go anywhere was really challenging for me personally.
A beach holiday is a way for me to free my mind from my daily routine. In early 2021, I had to deal with heartbreak, mental burnout from my previous job, and I wasn’t able to see my family. I was going through a rough period and felt unhappy on most days. I knew I had to do something about my situation so I decided that the best thing for me to do was to take up another job with a lesser workload and move back to my parent’s house.
Meanwhile, the tourism industry started to open up and we were able to travel once again after two years of lockdown. I took this as an opportunity to do what I love - go on a beach vacation! I decided to go on a trip to Sabah with my cousin. It started off with a simple chat of ‘Sabah jom!’ and she replied almost instantly, ’Ok onz!’. It felt like we both really needed a good break.
Before this, I’ve been to the Perhentian Islands, Kapas Island and Tioman Island. When I was still studying, I went to Tioman Island on a solo trip. It was such a random plan. I went on that trip without making any bookings or anything. So much happened on that trip and I had unforgettable memories.
My cousin and I decided to go to Semporna — a good way to escape from the city for a while. We planned our trip in early February this year and here’s our simple but meaningful experience.
Day 1 — Tawau–Semporna–Singgahmata
We arrived in Semporna after an hour’s drive from Tawau Airport. We checked into our hotel in Semporna town. After resting for a while and having lunch, our boatman picked us up and we headed to Singgahmata and Kampung Labuan Haji to meet villagers from the Bajau Laut community. We had the opportunity to explore their village and spend some time with the kids from the village. It was such a wonderful and warm feeling. The day ended with us watching the beautiful sunset from the jetty at Kampung Labuan Haji. It was such a peaceful moment.
Day 2 — Timba-timba Island–Mataking Island–Pom-pom Island
We started our second day with a trip to Timba-timba Island. Here, we spent some time on the beach and took many pictures and videos. Then we moved on to Mataking Island for lunch and did some snorkelling. What I love about snorkelling is that I feel so relaxed being in the water and experiencing life in the underwater world. It’s a whole different world. It just takes my mind away from all my worries and enables me to just admire the beauty that life has to offer. After that, we moved on to our last island for the day which was Pom-pom Island. We snorkelled here too and then had some time to sit back, relax and enjoy the sunny day.
Our island hopping and snorkelling trip ended at 3pm. My cousin and I weren’t in the mood to go back to our hotel although we were pretty exhausted. We felt there was so much more to discover in Semporna town itself. So we asked our friendly boatmen, Sam and Wong if they could show us around Semporna town. We were actually pretty lucky as they didn’t have any other trip that evening and were happy to show us around. Sam took us to his home where he lived with his family and his village. It was an experience I treasured as it was different way of life from what I’m used to in Kuala Lumpur. Later, we went to Kampung Tampi-tampi, or as they called it, ‘Bintara’. Basically, Bintara is like a water theme park. The local villagers usually go there over the weekends with their families. It was such a great experience as we could see how the villagers here spend their free time and we got a chance to know their stories. After having some coconut water and pisang goreng, we were looking for a nice spot to watch the sunset. We went back to Kampung Labuan Haji’s jetty again. But today, the sunset was more beautiful than it was the day before. It reminded me of a quote: “Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully.”
Day 3 — Bohey Dulang–Mantabuan–Sibuan
Our third day started off with a hike at Bohey Dulang Island. The different shades of blue of the water was really amazing! Really beautiful! It felt like I was in heaven and I certainly didn’t feel like going back to KL.
Soon the hike started, it didn’t feel like heaven anymore! It was pretty exhausting but I was determined to reach the top as I wanted see the view from there. I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity as I knew the view will be a worthy one. Once we arrived at the top, all the tiredness suddenly disappeared. The view from above was absolutely stunning! We spent about half an hour up there before going back down to Mantabuan Island and Sibuan Island to do some snorkelling. On our last night in Semporna, we also visited the water village.
To sum up this trip, I felt like this trip was very different from all my other trips as it wasn’t just a holiday, but more about discovering myself and healing. My mind was so free – away from all the unpleasant times that I was facing. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on what was most important to me. I met some amazing people on this trip and getting to know their stories made me appreciate what I have. Freeing my mind made me appreciate the simple things in life such as the people I was surrounded with, the beautiful scenery that nature has to offer and most importantly, appreciating myself. It made me realise that I am, but a mere human trying to stay afloat in this sea of emotions.”
Diyana Kaseharom is currently working in BrioHR as a Client Success Specialist. In her free time, she enjoys attending book and art events or conferences. She also loves going to the movies, gigs and concerts of her favourite singers and bands. Other times, she just sits at a cafe with a book or writes in her journal while sipping a cup of coffee.
“Covid-19 really changed everyone’s life, including mine. I always went on a beach holiday whenever I was feeling down or needed to recharge. But for the past two years this wasn’t quite possible and not being able to go anywhere was really challenging for me personally.
A beach holiday is a way for me to free my mind from my daily routine. In early 2021, I had to deal with heartbreak, mental burnout from my previous job, and I wasn’t able to see my family. I was going through a rough period and felt unhappy on most days. I knew I had to do something about my situation so I decided that the best thing for me to do was to take up another job with a lesser workload and move back to my parent’s house.
Meanwhile, the tourism industry started to open up and we were able to travel once again after two years of lockdown. I took this as an opportunity to do what I love – go on a beach vacation! I decided to go on a trip to Sabah with my cousin. It started off with a simple chat of ‘Sabah jom!’ and she replied almost instantly, ’Ok onz!’. It felt like we both really needed a good break.
Before this, I’ve been to the Perhentian Islands, Kapas Island and Tioman Island. When I was still studying, I went to Tioman Island on a solo trip. It was such a random plan. I went on that trip without making any bookings or anything. So much happened on that trip and I had unforgettable memories.
My cousin and I decided to go to Semporna — a good way to escape from the city for a while. We planned our trip in early February this year and here’s our simple but meaningful experience.
Day 1 — Tawau–Semporna–Singgahmata
We arrived in Semporna after an hour’s drive from Tawau Airport. We checked into our hotel in Semporna town. After resting for a while and having lunch, our boatman picked us up and we headed to Singgahmata and Kampung Labuan Haji to meet villagers from the Bajau Laut community. We had the opportunity to explore their village and spend some time with the kids from the village. It was such a wonderful and warm feeling. The day ended with us watching the beautiful sunset from the jetty at Kampung Labuan Haji. It was such a peaceful moment.
Day 2 — Timba-timba Island–Mataking Island–Pom-pom Island
We started our second day with a trip to Timba-timba Island. Here, we spent some time on the beach and took many pictures and videos. Then we moved on to Mataking Island for lunch and did some snorkelling. What I love about snorkelling is that I feel so relaxed being in the water and experiencing life in the underwater world. It’s a whole different world. It just takes my mind away from all my worries and enables me to just admire the beauty that life has to offer. After that, we moved on to our last island for the day which was Pom-pom Island. We snorkelled here too and then had some time to sit back, relax and enjoy the sunny day.
Our island hopping and snorkelling trip ended at 3pm. My cousin and I weren’t in the mood to go back to our hotel although we were pretty exhausted. We felt there was so much more to discover in Semporna town itself. So we asked our friendly boatmen, Sam and Wong if they could show us around Semporna town. We were actually pretty lucky as they didn’t have any other trip that evening and were happy to show us around. Sam took us to his home where he lived with his family and his village. It was an experience I treasured as it was different way of life from what I’m used to in Kuala Lumpur. Later, we went to Kampung Tampi-tampi, or as they called it, ‘Bintara’. Basically, Bintara is like a water theme park. The local villagers usually go there over the weekends with their families. It was such a great experience as we could see how the villagers here spend their free time and we got a chance to know their stories. After having some coconut water and pisang goreng, we were looking for a nice spot to watch the sunset. We went back to Kampung Labuan Haji’s jetty again. But today, the sunset was more beautiful than it was the day before. It reminded me of a quote: “Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully.”
Day3 — Bohey Dulang–Mantabuan–Sibuan
Our third day started off with a hike at Bohey Dulang Island. The different shades of blue of the water was really amazing! Really beautiful! It felt like I was in heaven and I certainly didn’t feel like going back to KL.
Soon the hike started, it didn’t feel like heaven anymore! It was pretty exhausting but I was determined to reach the top as I wanted see the view from there. I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity as I knew the view will be a worthy one. Once we arrived at the top, all the tiredness suddenly disappeared. The view from above was absolutely stunning! We spent about half an hour up there before going back down to Mantabuan Island and Sibuan Island to do some snorkelling. On our last night in Semporna, we also visited the water village.
To sum up this trip, I felt like this trip was very different from all my other trips as it wasn’t just a holiday, but more about discovering myself and healing. My mind was so free – away from all the unpleasant times that I was facing. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on what was most important to me. I met some amazing people on this trip and getting to know their stories made me appreciate what I have. Freeing my mind made me appreciate the simple things in life such as the people I was surrounded with, the beautiful scenery that nature has to offer and most importantly, appreciating myself. It made me realise that I am, but a mere human trying to stay afloat in this sea of emotions.”
Diyana Kaseharom is currently working in BrioHR as a Client Success Specialist. In her free time, she enjoys attending book and art events or conferences. She also loves going to the movies, gigs and concerts of her favourite singers and bands. Other times, she just sits at a cafe with a book or writes in her journal while sipping a cup of coffee.
