Blogs from Mabul, Sabah, Malaysia, Asia

1. My friends and I made an arrangement to meet up in Kota Kinabalu before flying to Tawau (southernmost of Sabah). 2. It was close to mid-night when we arrived at Tawau Airport. We knew it would take another 2hrs of driving from airport to Semporna and we knew the risk of travelling at night especially in this area. Despite all the hesitation, we brave our self to hop on a minibus with local driver which I myself pretty comfortable that he would make our road trip a comfortable and safe ;) 3. Upon reaching Semporna, we quickly checked in at a small lodge located approx 20mins from Jetty. 4. The next day, our driver picked us at noon as our boat trip to Mabul would depart at 2pm. 5. The trip by boat took more ... read more

Well I am almost caught up on my blogging. This is my second down day since diving Mabul and Sipadan. I dove five days in a row, three dives a day and that is very tiring for me. When I got back from diving Sipadan I got a nice hotel, showered and collapsed on my bed. I woke at twelve thirty and thought I probably wouldn't find a restaurant still open. Luckily there is one with good food and good vibes. The men were engrossed in the World Cup soccer tournament re-runs and I took my Kindle with me. I had roti for desert; just plain, but I dipped it in sugar. It wasn't too sweet and so tasty. The trip to Sipadan began when I bought a package, three days accommodation on Mabul, dives and ... read more

Today I was headed for Semporna – gateway to Mabul and the Islands in the Celebes sea, this meant I had to be up early to catch the 07:00 Dyana bus from Sandakan to Semporna (this passes the turn off to Gomantong caves). The journey took 6½ hours and I finished up the day at scuba junkies dive resort (in the loosest sense of the term) in Semporna ready for my snorkelling trip to Mabul the next day. There is nothing to see in Semporna but you need to stay there is you want to dive the northern Islands in the Celebes Sea, a couple of them are fantastic to visit and have crystal clear water such as Mataking and Sibuan. ScubaJunkies advised me that Sibuan was a great place for snorkelling, however, nobody else wanted ... read more

Eerste 1,5 dag in Semporna gezeten voordat ik naar het eiland Mabul ben gegaan. In Semporna is niet veel te doen dus veel gelezen, gegeten en gesport! Mabul is een klein mooi en relax eilandje om mijn laatste dagen van mijn reis door te brengen. Perfect: zon, strand, zee en mogelijkheid om te duiken! Dit is ongeveer het enige van mijn hele reis wat ik heb gereserveerd. Vijf dagen verblijf in Mabul en drie dagen duiken! Twee dagen rond Mabul eiland en 1 dag vier duiken in Sipadan! Erg gave duiken gehad, veel schildpadden, (giant) reef sharks, veeeeel vis en mooi koraal! Een unieke plek om te duiken. In totaal hier negen duiken gedaan. De andere twee dagen heerlijk relax op het strand gelegen, lekker bruin bakken, lezen, muziek luisteren. Ik zeg het perfecte leven. Toen ... read more

A few photos of life in Sabah.... read more