Semporna and Mabul Island

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After making the mistake of returning to KK from Kinabatangan (after leaving our luggage here) we decided to fly to Semporna to save some time. The flight was meaningless and hardly got off the ground before landing but it served a purpose, so it wasn’t meaningless. We hadn’t organised anything here so we managed to hitch a ride from the airport to Semporna.

The bus dropped us off outside some stilted huts hovering over the sea. This place is full of them. Some of them HUGE. Anyway – this seemed like the tourist hub and there was a queue of people trying to book accommodation and trips to Sipidan and Mabul. We were not expecting this and this brought on a bout of panic in Laura especially after being told there was no accommodation left and that the accommodation on Mabul island was booked up for the next few days. We finally got told there was a room available. We got in a pick up truck and were taken through the horrible centre to a disgusting looking building. The door to the available room was gracefully swung open to reveal a HORRIBLE room with the biggest cockroaches I have seen. One was on the wall next to the pillow of the bed.

For a split second we thought we would have to take it but then realised this would be MAD and we could surely fund somewhere nicer. We were dropped back at the tourist office and ended up getting in at Uncle Changs resort on Mabul island the next evening for 2 days. So we only had to find a place for the night. We decided to take things into our own hands and set off with back packs on to find a nice place – it took 2 minutes!! Don’t be fooled by these tourist places. There was a nice hostel and dive operations just down the road! With plenty of space! We booked an air con dorm for next to nothing.

We dropped our stuff in went in search of some beauty – there must be some here surely? It’s the gateway to one of the best dive sites in the world?! Well it appears they havnt caught on here yet. All the resorts and accommodation are on the islands themselves. This place was quite horrible actually. Sorry if you disagree but there was nothing here to like. On the way out to get some food I saw a pack of stray dogs jogging towards me. After getting slightly worried they parted and passed me without hassle. On the way back I saw them eating another smaller, younger stray dog and the next day I saw another fully grown stray dog half eaten on the side of the road. Maybe I was just there at a bad time.

Anyway! We arrived at the docks early in the morning to get on one of uncle changs boats to the resort on Mabul. It looked like there were two options – a plush new speed boat with uncle change logo’s all over it – one might call it the flagship – or a larger, older boat with no cover, full of diving tanks. We got the latter. And it was raining heavily. We were told to throw our bags into the middle and they were covered by a waterproof tarpaulin. We, on the other hand, got seriously drenched.

Take the time to admire the floating villages on the way over to mabul/sipidan. These are full of people who have lived in the middle of the ocean all their life and know no other way of living. Apparently there are families here who have lived on the water for so many generations that their bodies show signs of adaptation. I don’t mean gills on the ribs but better sight and no need for ear drums.

Uncle Chang’s was a nice little resort. It spanned across a retorted looking set of stilts hanging off the edge of the island itself. There were many of these upon exploration – some of them looking very pricey. The interior of the island still housed a local population and there was even a little school that we walked into one day and helped teach English! The island isn’t that big – but it seems to be home to a lot of people. This can cause the odd trash mountain or 2 but other than this the island is a delight.

We didn’t do any diving here in the end. We went on a lot of snorkelling trips and the density of marine life was probably the best I have seen. If you want to dive the Sipidan then book a month or so in advance! For the rest of the time we just relaxed and lived with the tide. I say this because the tide is high in the morning and then goes out at about midday where the whole of the stilted structure becomes exposed. I joined the local kids on both days, exploring the shallows underneath the stilted structures and chasing crabs and small fish. We even saw a mimic octopus! At night there was always good entertainment. We just so happened to be there when a member of staff was leaving and so uncle chang bought everyone a bottle of Tanduay Rum!! This was all I drunk in the Philippines so this was a welcome sight. It didn’t even touch the sides J

Everyone leaves to the goodbye song. Played by the staff on a makeshift set of drums and a guitar! It was a good couple of days away from it all on Mabul and the snorkelling was amazing. I probably wouldn’t stay there for much longer though. Now it is time to go and see some Orang-utans and to stay in a place that used to house the highest population of millionaires…

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