IN THE 1980S, Iraq’s Lake Habbaniyah was a tourist hotspot, popular with wealthy newlyweds and so luxurious it was even a haunt of dictator Saddam Hussein and his fearsome entourage.

Top-notch restaurants, flower gardens and pristine lakeside bungalows saw Habbaniyah Tourism City pull in clients from across the Middle East and beyond.

But like much of Iraq, this oasis – located between Fallujah and Ramadi – has fallen into disrepair since the US-led military coalition toppled Saddam 15 years ago.

In the 1980s, Iraq’s Lake Habbaniyah was a tourist hotspot. Today, it’s a shadow of its former glory, the victim of neglect since the 2003 USled invasion. /AFP

“The tourist complex is terribly degraded,” admits 60-year-old Karim Turki, who has spent nearly half his life running communications for the state-run complex.

Standing in front of a bungalow festooned with torn electric wires, he laments a “paradise lost”.

Piles of garbage, drained swimming pools and a merry-go-round featuring limbless horses create the impression of a ghost town.

Under the American occupation, armed extremist groups in 2006 and 2007 installed operations rooms in the sprawling complex’s deserted hotel and bungalows.

Iraq’s police retook control in 2008 and the resort staged a brief revival – amateur jet skiers returned to the still-sparkling lake and families enjoyed picnics on the shore.

In a bid to attract a rush of new foreign visitors, a Turkish firm was contracted to revive the facilities around the vast artificial lake, which was created in 1956.

But it was all in vain.

After a few months, the firm threw in the towel.

The zone became a new theatre of sectarian violence, culminating in the Islamic State group taking control.

During the Iraqi army’s long offensive to dislodge IS, the state requisitioned the resort’s 500 bungalows and 265-room hotel to accommodate some of those displaced by the latest round of conflict.

While the government declared victory over the jihadists in December and Iraqi tourism has begun to revive, the days of access roads to Habbaniyah being clogged with traffic jams are long gone.

But there has been a trickle of visitors – some keen to cool off briefly in the summer heat, others seeking a longer trip down memory lane.

“People come to Habbaniyah today to remember the good old times,” Turki says.

Saad Alani honeymooned on the lake in the early 1990s, during its golden age.

He ventured back last year – a mistake, he says.

“The place has become a dump. There is no water or electricity, and no service.”

A view of an abandoned hotel resort by Lake Habbaniyah, in Anbar province, about 85 kilometres west of the capital Baghdad.

And Alani is not the only one to be disappointed.

“This is the last time I come,” says Hussein Jabbar, a civil servant from Baghdad, visiting with a dozen friends.

“Before, it was great – but everything has deteriorated,” he adds, pointing to the lifeless lake banks where amateur sailors and flunkies once roamed.

A few small unpretentious canteens and lakeside stalls endure, but returnees are dismayed to find that the famed restaurants are derelict and the once immaculate gardens overgrown.

For Alani, the way to revive tourism in Habbaniyah is simple, given that Iraq is the 12th most corrupt country in the world, according to NGO Transparency International.

“We must engage with specialist private tourism companies and retire Lake Habbaniyah from state hands,” he says.

Iraq’s ministries of tourism and culture did not respond to requests for comment.

SEPARATED by the South China Sea, Malaysia comprises two very distinct regions – the Peninsula abutting Thailand’s southern provinces and Borneo Island, which it shares with Indonesia and Brunei.

Some 3,700 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur, the resort of Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah State, is a popular destination with tourists thanks to its verdant mountain ranges, massive farmlands and beautiful beaches. It’s also a bustling business hub and easily accessible for Thai visitors thanks to regular three-hour direct flights from Bangkok.

The Desa Cattle Dairy stands in the middle of the valley. 

Spread over 73,000 square kilometres, this city of 450,000 people has everything you’d expect to find in a modern capital including such leading hotel chains as Hilton, Shangri-La, Le Meridien, Mercure, Hyatt Regency and ibis.

Many visitors, though, prefer to head out of town and discovered the state’s many rural charms. Located some 80km from KK, as the city is known locally, the village of Lingkubang is a paradise for the adventurous sort. Most come for the white water rafting along a 10km stretch of the Kadamain River, which flows down from Mount Kinabalu.

The land is blanketed with black sands and volcanic rocks and the waterway is full of twists and turns. Small stone dikes are built by the locals during the summer months to enhance catches in the bamboo traps they craft for fishing.

The rafting routes are divided into four levels ranging from beginners to veterans and everyone is provided with a life jacket and helmet. Hemmed in by a lush tropical jungle on the sides, we spend two hours paddling and rafting along the river –jumping into the cold water when the levels are low and floating to our heart’s content. Those wanting more extreme experiences can head south to Beaufort and enjoy a full day of rafting along the Padas River.

Tourists stop to take a picture with Mount Kinabalu during a rafting adventure. 

Leaving the river behind, we head to Kinabalu National Park, Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site designated by Unesco in 2000 for its “outstanding universal values”. Covering 754sqkm, it boasts four climate zones ranging from tropical rainforest to sub-alpine, and is home more than 5,000 plant species of Himalayan, Indo-Malay and Australian origin, plus more than 4,000 species of birds and wild animals.

Perched at 1,563 metres above sea level, the average temperature here is about 20 degrees Celsius and the rain falls year round, making it a popular holiday escape. The park offers a selection of 10 trekking trails and visitors of all ages can enjoy strolling through the lush jungle and learning about ecology and the life cycle of animals.

Mount Kinabalu itself stands high above the national park at an altitude of 4,095 metres. The temperature on the peak drops to minus 8 to 10 degree Celsius and it gets its name from the Kadazan word “Aki Nabalu” meaning “the revered place of the dead”. Locals believe that this summit is a sanctuary for their ancestors’ spirits.

Luxurious but surprisingly affordable bungalow style accommodation in the park along with a restaurant serving a variety of local delicacies.

Kinabalu National Park offers a collection of comfortable accommodation at reasonable prices for tourists. 

And staying overnight is a good idea as we discover the next morning on a visit to the Desa Cattle Dairy in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu and just 10km from the national park. Dubbed “Little New Zealand”, it was set up in 1980 and is today a popular setting for pre-wedding photography, with grassland spreading out over 199 hectares and the mountains as the backdrop. The farm specialises in breeding Holstein Friesian cattle, the world’s highest-production dairy animals whose origins can be found in Northern Holland and Northern Germany, and which each year produce some 90,00 litres of milk.

Recognising the potential for agro-tourism, the dairy underwent a major refurbishment between 2007 and 2009, adding a sheep farm to expand the range of dairy products to include home-made yoghurt, ice cream and cheese. The operation is high-tech so visitors expecting to have a go at milking will be disappointed.

Visitors have fun feeding cattle. 

Another popular stop is Luanti, a small kampong on the banks of Moroli River and home is a fish spa. The fish here cannot be caught – only nibble feet – and the kampong itself is the proud holder of the 2006 Malaysia River Care Award.

The Sabah Tea Garden, the only organic tea farm in Borneo, is just up the road and offers an eco-friendly tour through the terraced rainforest along with tea tasting and several recreational activities such as obstacle-crossing and trekking to the peak of Kamunsu Hill. Visitors should make time to sample the home-made tea pancakes at the garden’s cafe.

Sore muscles from the climb are quickly relieved with a mineral bath at Poring Hot Spring, where the water is a glorious 80 to 90 degrees Celsius followed by a vertiginous stroll along the 40-metre-high Canopy Walk to see the jungle from above.

Rafflesia flowers in full bloom. 

As the sun sets, we head to the nearby botanical site to admire the rafflesia flowers, a kind of parasitic flowering plant of Tetrastigma vines that can be found in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Billed as the biggest flowers in the world, they take six months to grow then die within 48 hours of blooming.

The writer travelled courtesy of AirAsia and Sabah Tourism Board.

IF YOU GO

>> AirAsia operates three direct flights weekly (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) between Bangkok and Kota Kinabalu.

>> Check out the best rates at http://www.AirAsia.com.

 The Ocean Park Halloween Fest 2018, to be held from October 5 to 31, will feature 13 all-new unique experiences at 11 haunted attractions to satisfy guests who love different types of scares or fun-filled surprises.

This year, the park will present high-tech elements to enhance guests’ haunted experiences, including Hong Kong’s first ever multimedia and interactive haunted attraction X-Dimension, which creates a frightful alternate dimension with the use of 360-degree interactive projections and 3D mapping technology. Meanwhile, the Devil Seeker’s Tale will offer an interactive game infused with augmented reality technology while Mine Train will provide brand new virtual reality Halloween content. Popular Sanrio characters will host the first-ever “HELLO-ween” party with fun-filled attractions to meet family and friends.

“Guests are no longer asking for just a scary experience. From their feedback, interactivity is one of the elements that they are most looking forward to,” said Timothy Ng, Ocean Park’s executive director of operations and entertainment. “Therefore, we are creating more interactive experiences with innovative technology this year, which will bring more shocks to our haunted attractions and more fun to our family-friendly ones. Among the attractions, X-Dimension presented by Yahoo! Hong Kong boasts advanced technology and a 360-degree interactive projection scene co-developed by the Park and the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, which will provide guests with an immersive and realistic experience.”

This year, Ocean Park is collaborating with Sanrio for the first time to bring the world-famous Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters to the park, staging the largest ever HELLO-ween party in Hong Kong. “Since we have announced news of our collaboration, we have received an enthusiastic response and positive comments on our social platforms by those looking forward to joining our event. We expect the Sanrio-themed attractions will attract a large number of families and young guests, such as secondary and tertiary students, to come to the Park. We will also launch a series of Sanrio-themed gourmet items and limited edition themed merchandise to engage Sanrio fans,” said Vivian Lee, executive director of business development and education.

Hello Kitty, Kuromi, Pompompurin, Little Twin Stars, Cinnamoroll, Gudetama and Bad Badtz-maru will all put on specially-made limited edition Ocean Park Halloween costumes, and greet guests at three family-friendly attractions – Sanrio Characters HELLO-ween Party, Sanrio Characters Trick-or-Treat Trail and Sanrio Characters HELLO-ween Meet & Greet.

For more information and ticket reservations, visit http://www.oceanpark.com.hk.

The discovery was made at a site in Suide county, which falls under the jurisdiction of the city of Yulin. Six grottoes, made of clay, were unearthed. The largest has a depth of 5.7 meters. Sculptures, frescos, and stone door leaves were also found in the grottoes, according to the provincial research institute of archaeology.

These are the first clay Buddhist grotto ruins from the Ming Dynasty discovered in the province. Hu Chunbo, a researcher at the institute, said the new finds offer valuable materials for the study of transportation, Buddhist cultural exchanges, and tribal distribution in the middle of Ming Dynasty.