Pulau Tiga Resort, Sabah – my mud bath at the mud volcanoes!

Hello all!

I’m back from my “island” holiday! And would you believe it, this is my first ever island adventure in my 30 years of existence! ;-)

I got Firefly Airlines to thank for this fabulous fam trip. There were so much planned out for all of us, and I’ve got a lot to share so expect a lot of posts about Sabah as I go along.
Anyhow, I’m starting the wackybecky Sabah Chronicles with this “muddy” post, simply cos I’ve got some epic pictures that I think you guys will like!

Such as this one:

Haha, that was us heading back to our resort BAREFOOTED after our mud bath at the Mud Volcanoes on Pulau Tiga.

Pulau Tiga is believed to have been formed by the eruption of several mud volcanoes after a large earthquake on the Philippine island in 1897. Since then, the island was expanded and formed into its current size thanks to subsequent mud volcano eruptions.

Thankfully, there is no significant eruptions since the beginning of the 20th century. The only volcanoes the current generation knows about at Pulau Tiga is the loosely-termed “mud volcanoes“. It is not the eruptive kind but a pool of bubbling mud from deep inside the earth.

The mud is believed to be mineral-rich & is good for the skin. Well, since yours truly here is always on the quest for luscious skin (ahem) I couldn’t possibly pass up on such an opportunity right?

The rest (there were 12 of them!) egged me on & stood watching to see if I was going to sink! Chis! ;-)

Oh, did I mention that it’s FREE?? Yea.. that’s why I’m laughing like a hyena in the pic below. :whistle:

This is me after wading pass the first small pool. Behind me lies the big one which is deeper hence the need for the ropes that runs across the pool.

The mud is very sticky and thick. Walking is tough and swimming is impossible! The bed of the mud pool is alike a less scary version of a quicksand, you tend to sink deeper as you make your way around; only thing is it doesn’t “suck” you in & swallow you up!

A bit of assistance can be God-sent when you want to get out of one pool to another!

Anyhow, here’s the group of us who were “adventurous” enough to go into the mud pool. And all are hanging onto the ropes for dear life. Haha..

Below: I don’t what I was doing! I swear! LOL!!

Being interviewed by TV3: (UPDATE! I appeared on Buletin Utama, TV3 on Sat, 12th March 2011 at around 8pm++. Yay! Watch the video clip!)

Mud people alert!
Below: Us goofing around.

Ok, let me warn you first. The mud looks nice to play yes, but it’s a real pain to wash it off!
Awfully gooey, it sticks stubbornly to fabric (even my bikini), and God help you if you are wearing cotton. You’ll never to be able to wash it off clean!
Even for my skimpy bikini, it took me a full hour of scrubbing and rinsing and scrubbing again & again before the colours were recognisable again. Imagine if you are wearing a t-shirt!

Disclaimer: These are not my feet ok! I got prettier ones ;p
Ok ok, the point is, I’m trying to show you the thickness & gluey-ness of the mud. When it dries, it literally “cakes” up on you.

Posers in action! ;-)

It would have been stupid to stain anymore of our clothes with the mud so we walked back like this:

LOL. We really qualified as jungle men & women then!

Oh oh, I LOVE THIS PICTURE! It is not photoshopped but it does gives the effect of greyscale right? ;-)

GETTING THERE: Pulau Tiga is located about 10 km (6 miles) offshore of Sabah near Kuala Penyu town on the tip of the Klias Peninsula. If you are in Kota Kinabalu, it will take about 90 minutes by road followed by a 20-30 minutes powerboat trip from town (a sub-district of Kuala Penyu) to the island and its marine park.
If you are in Labuan, you can take the ferry to Menumbok and then the speedboat to Pulau Tiga. Alternatively, you can also charter a speedboat from Kota Kinabalu or Labuan.

This is us!!

Daily Standard Boat Transfer Schedule

So would you have waded in the mud like I did if you are in Pulau Tiga? ;-)

PS: Another muddy adventure in KOREA – click HERE !

island holiday, sabah, travel