I recently came across to this nice stamp in ebay, bearing a supposedly rare postmark. The first thing that you'll notice is the oval of bars postmark at the top right corner, which means that the stamp is originally cancelled-to-ordered.

I don't know the exact date but it is likely to be Oct 192_. This date is problematic because the stamp is released on the 1st of July 1909 and overprinted with "20 cents" on the 7th of September 1909 (only after 2 months of its release). The town is probably Kuching because the third letter resembles C more than D. However, because Kuching is a 7 letter word, while Kudat is a 5 letter word, the K would be much lower in the circle if it was Kuching.

There is a similar stamp here (Silamstar's). Compare the postmark, particularly the town and date.

This week has been a great week where one of the rarest North Borneo postmarks of Labuk & Sugut apperead in ebay. It's nice to know that the final price of the stamps reached $316.00, making it the single most expensive cds of North Borneo in ebay so far this year.

Labuk and Sugut district, which forms part of the Sandakan Residency, is of vast extent and embraces the country drained by the Labuk, Sugut and Paitan Rivers. It joins the district of Marudu in the north and the Interior Residency in the west. The head-quarters of the district were at Klagan (on the Labuk River), seven hours from Sandakan by launch, but owing to the difficulties of the bar and the fact that the station was continually being flooded, it was moved to Beluran in Labuk Bay. With some exception, almost all of the travelling to Klagan HQ has to be done by native boat. The country, a region of vast, gloomy forests, is sparsely inhabited save in the river area, where Orang Sungei (River Folk) are found.

Finally I'm back in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. If you are thinking of visiting Kota Kinabalu, don't forget to visit the Tanjung Aru beach (pic)!!!