Blogs from Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia, Asia
January 29th 2012
Here are our thoughts--voyagers’ thought Here not the land, firm land, alone appears, may then by them be said, They sky o’erarches here--we feel the undulating deck beneath our feet We feel the long pulsation--ebb and flow of endless motion; The tones of unseen mystery--the vague and vast suggestions of the briny world--the liquid-flowing syllables, The perfume, the faint creaking of the cordage, the melancholy rhythm, The boundless vista, and the horizon far and dim, are all here, And this is Ocean’s poem. In Cabin’d Ships at Sea, Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman After getting my advanced open water certification in Taiwan in 2011, I always put Sipadan, Sabah, Malaysia on my traveling shortlist. On February 24, 2012, I finally was one of 120 permitted divers of Sipadan on this day. And ... read more
October 3rd 2011
In a room full of divers with the same dive shop our alarms go off about the same time, but we all get up at different times. That's Monday mornings for you. Breakfast with Roman again. He's full of cold and not sure he'll dive today. Different dive site and different dive master. Roman decides to try diving and he's my dive buddy for today. Mantaking Island is a private island. Well mostly private, there's a strip between the two piers that we can use. It's covered in rubbish. Our fist dive site is The wall (30.9 metres, 57 minutes). Next is Wreck (27.3 metres, 63 minutes), its actually two wrecks; one wood and one steel and they're next to each other. The last site is Sweet Lips Rock (25.8 metres, 60 minutes). S... read more
September 30th 2011
We get into ton about half five. It's dark and quiet. I've had maybe an hours sleep and LP doesn't even supply a map of the town. Netta wants to stay at Dragon Inn so that's where we head first - RM20 (£4) for a dorm room, cold showers, squat toilet and no wi-fi. It doesn't open until half six. I check my dive status at Sipadan Scuba and they recommend I stay at the attached GH. It's RM25 (£5) for a dorm bed, with hot showers, western toilets, wi-fi and a towel. I'm sold, but Netta would rather save the RM5 a night, though she does get a whole dorm to herself (at time of check-in). Netta manages to find a Sipanan dive for tomorrow for RM600 and something. We each grab naps (tough Netta's ... read more
July 5th 2011
Leaving Uncle Tans i took the bus to Lahan Datu and onto Semporna, first impressions - o my GOD - this place is much worse than everyone said, its a complete and utter dump! But when you get into the main street where the dive shops are and hostels its just a dump and not as bad. Checking in to Scuba Junkie backpackers they had lost my booking but by the time i headed over to fill out the paperwork for my dive it was all organised i and checked into my room. There are loads of local cheap cafe's and a very good western cafe attached to the hostel, for the first night i headed to the cheap cafes. And after been at Uncle Tans for three days where there are no showers had an ... read more
March 31st 2011
Leaving Korea was difficult. A year may seem small in a lifetime, but it's huge when living abroad, because the people you form relationships with become your family away from family. Everyone is living far from home, in a foreign land, having similar experiences and emotions; we come to rely on one another more than we realize, that is until one leaves. I started to realize before leaving that it would be tough, which played into my decision to head straight to Borneo to start my Divemaster course. I'd pondered taking a couple of weeks off to travel first, but thought I might be having a tough time leaving Korea, so being alone somewhere in Malaysia could potentially be more lonely than relaxing. I figured, if I head straight to Borneo for a month-long stay to ... read more
November 2nd 2010
Well the adventure is over, in some ways its sad but in others I am ready to go home. I am looking forward to some of the small comforts of home but I know I will miss the freedom and anonimity of the road. My last 8 days have been spent on Mabul Island in the Semporna Archipelago, Borneo. After saying a final farewell to the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City I flew to Tawau, Borneo via Kuala Lumpur, where a local man chatted to me whilst waiting for our baggage and then insisted on having a photo with me, questionable??? I spent that first night in the Skuba Junkie hostel on the mainland, I have to say the port town of Semporna does little to prepare you for what awaits you on ... read more
Zwischenhalt in Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia 25.09. - 08.10.10
Published: October 7th 2010Asia » Malaysia » Sabah » Semporna
October 7th 2010
Zwischenhalt in Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia Flug nach Tawau, dann Bus nach Semporna. Diving Mabul, Kapalai, SIPADAN und Mantabuan. Dann 3 Tage / 2 Naechte in Uncle Tan Jungle Camp am Kinabatang River... etwas Dschungel zur Abwechslung. Tauchen um Mabul und Sempoerna herum war gut, allerdings sieht man die krassen Schaeden von der ehemaligen (der heutigen illegalen Dynamithfischerei) - ein guter Tauchplatz ist wo ca. 50% der Korallen noch intakt sind oder sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten wieder einigermassen erholt hat - traurig aber wahr. Sipadan war dafuer umso besser - eben keine Fischer, da Nationalpark und das sieht man ueberdeutlich. Es hat Haie, unzaehlige Schildkroeten und wir sahen eine Schule von Barracudas und eine Schule Jacks - die sind immer am gleichen Ort... am Barracuda Point. Die Korallengaerten sind der Hammer, eben so die Waende. Geniale ... read more
September 15th 2010
I made it to Semporna and slept for most of the day nursing my painful body feeling like a wimp.. Next morning though I got in the water and felt amazing again! Out of Semporna I dived the northern islands - Sibuan, Mantabuan, Sabangkat etc..and it was lovely! I also did a night dive at Semporna jetty. So much rubbish and scary stuff in the water but the creatures under the water there were amazing!!!! On my 4th day I went out to Mabul and stayed there for 5 nights and dived for 6 days. It was a lovely paradise island with superb diving. I went all round Mabul as well as Kapalai, Sipidan and my favourite - Siamil! I saw so many beautiful things! My first sea horse, and another 30 or so! Over 50 ... read more
March 29th 2010
Semporna - the gateway to great dives! Ok, Semporna, how can we describe it: Lush palm trees covering a boulevard, some sunny beaches (good for snorkeling), some eating places and couple of dive shops. So we arrive there with good hopes. But alas, reality is not the way as we just described it. The description was the imagination we had before arriving. Reality is a bit different: no palm trees, garbage floating in the water. Haven't seen a beach for miles and there are no dive shops.... Instead a small market under a concrete cover, some lego-style blocks of buildings and some dive operators who REALLY suggest you to go to a resort island: Not our budget. So we're at a rat invested floating resort right next to Semporna's shore where the showers are not ... read more
March 12th 2010
Well I believe I left you all at Kuching - what a journey since then, and what a place I’m in! Borneo is … well let me see, it is diverse, full of mediocre food (not nearly as good as india or Thailand) but full of a variety of animals and fish that I have spent the past three weeks trying to see! So. Let me start where i left you, which i believe was hitch hiking back to Kuching from the weird Jong's Crocodile Farm! Well after arriving safely back in Kuching i took a flight to Mulu National Park (and World heritage site) THe flight was amausing as the plane probably only had 40 seats and only about a third of them were occupied and when we disembarked we just strolled across the runway ... read more
