Moving around in Labuan is relatively easy. A 24-hour radio taxi service is available at Tel: 6087- 411878 / 422878
By Plane
Malaysian Airlines (Tel: 1 300 88 3000) and Air Asia (Tel: 1 300 88 9933)flies daily from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Bandar Seri Begawan to Labuan. Royal Brunei also flies direct to Labuan from Bandar Seri Begawan.
By Boat
Optionally, high speed air conditioned ferries operate daily to Labuan from Kota Kinabalu, Sarawak and Brunei. The ride from Kota Kinabalu takes about three hours and from Brunei, about one hour.
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The Botanical Garden, located behind the old airport, is a recreational park with old trees and beautiful landscaping."
The Labuan Botanical Garden is a recreational park with old trees and beautiful landscaping. The huge perimeter houses a hibiscus garden of different species, a herbal garden with a variety of herbs and spices, a reading corner, a manmade lake with an arched bridge, a reflexology pathway, a tai chi ground and many more.
Where the Botanical Garden now stands used to be a site for the Government House built in 1852, locally known as Bumbung 12. It was a building with a long and low structure, as well as an interesting roof designs. However, the house was completely destroyed during the Second World War and today it left only a water storage tank. Bumbung 12 and its surrounding ground was believed to be kept by Hugh Low, the Colonial Secretary and many of the trees that still stand today were planted by him.
On the grounds can be found two graveyards that are believed to be the oldest on the island. One of them which is very overgrown, has graves dating back to 1847. These graves were transferred from Ramsey Point along the beach, where repeating tides resulted in the erosion of old naval grave sites. One of the two graves relocated was that of Commander James A. Gordan of HMS Wolf, present at the handing over of Labuan to the British on December 24, 1846 and who assisted in the construction of the grounds. Of this era, today, only the water storage tank remains, along with a small grave of a much-loved foxhound named 'Jim'.
The Labuan Botanical Garden is situated at Jalan OKK Abdullah, about a 5-minute drive from the Labuan town.
The chimney is an artefact from Labuan's coal mining era (1847-1912). During that period, Labuan was used as a coaling station for ships sailing in the Far East area. Coal was transported by single rail track to Victoria Port.
The Peace Park was built as a memorial and renunciation of the horrors of war. It is dominated by the memorial mound which is surrounded by landscaped gardens and pavilions.
"I enjoyed my visit but missed the educational element. It would have been good to see the trees and plants labelled with their scientific names, and maybe some storyboards about the local ecology." by Crispin Jewitt
