My Life: August 2009

What can I say about Borneo, I had a fantastic time but only concentrated on the diving on this holiday. I will have to return someday to go and see Mount Kinabalu and the Urang Utangs which is Malaysia's National animal.

I flew into the town of Tawau from KL, arrived at eight in the evening so it was hard to take in any of the scenes as I got wisked off in a taxi to Semporna which is were Scuba Junkie is situated (the company I dived with)...

On arrival I checked into the backpackers - which leaves something to the imagination. The bungalows on Mabul island are a far better option even though there is nothing else to do par from diving, snorkeling and lying on the beach. These areas are truly still proper remote islands. Not like Phi Phi that has been extensively developed over time...

Early morning my diving days began. I had a great time and on and off the boat. The days were usually concluded with nice showers and then off to the bar for pizza night, band night etc.

Most certainly on my list of things to do again.

Next time I'll go for longer so that I can fit in a jungle track, river rafting and climbing the mountain...

The island of Mantabuan (North of Semporna)

Fishing

Bungalow in the water

Sipadan

Sipadan

Captain Abdul, having a lunch break snooze

The resort

According to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea east of the major town of Tawau and off the coast of East Malaysia on the Island of Borneo. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem.

Normally rare diving scenes are frequently seen in the waters around Sipadan: schools of green and hawksbill turtles nesting and mating, schools of barracuda and big-eye trevally in tornado-like formations, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to now be able to say that I have been able to visit one of the wonders of the world and see some things with my own eyes that others only dream of.

Here are some of the Photos from the roughly seven hundred and something that I took.