SABAH BORNEO - JULY/AUGUST 2008

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This year we decided to spend 3 weeks in Sabah and have good dives in Sipadan. After the travel I'll never say to a friend to go to Sabah. The problem is that the gouvernment of Sabah control all the touristic areas and you must pass through the travel agency, the prices are very high and the quality very low. For example Sepilok (one of the most famous places in Sabah), is a private park where you have to pay an entrance fee just to stay inside 30 minuts ans see the organgutans "eating", but the park is like a zoo, the organutans has the habitude to have contacts with humans.

After all this things if you're still convinced to go there please think about this informations:

1) the best way to move in Sabah is to rent a car
2) if you buy a tour in some agency in KK let theme write all the tour, everything they you will do, where you will stay, eat ...... everything, because it's easy to have surprise.
3) buy a sim card Hot Link in Sabah tu put in contact with hotels, resort, booking.....it's very cheap, 9 ringit

What to do in Sabah?

1) Kinabalu Park (where you can go by your own with a taxi from KK)
2) Kinabatangan River (close to Sukau), to have an experience in the Jungle, but it use to be expensive, the only way to have a "cheap" experience well organized is with Uncle Tan's (check in google), but you have to book early, it use to be full.
3) Danum Valley (very expensive, it´s private park)
4) Diving in Sipadan

Lonely Planet is very poor on Sabah, informations are very basic (the same that you can receive in Sabah Tourism Office), prices are old and some informations are wrong.

We arrvied at Tawau on the 20th of July. The city is dirty, full of rats in the night and there's nothing to do. Any agency of Tawau will inform you on tours or travel packs. The only interest to pass through this city is to go to Semporna (for diving in Sipadan).

We went to Sepilok, where we stayed 1 nights. The accomodation is very expensive (180 ringit x night), the cheapest are Uncle Tan's, very easy to reach, busses to Sandakan, go down at Sepilok junction, Uncle Tan's guest house is a 200m from the junction. They have this base in Sepilok and the camp in the jungle.

We pay less in the resort, because we booked a simple room in the longhouse and once there it was not more available, so they give us a villa for 80 ringit (good job). To get in Sepilok you must pay 30 ringit+10 for the camera (I didn't pay for the camera).

After Sepilok (very poor park) we went to Sukau.......Lonely Planet write that you can get any mini bus to Sukau from the Junction........all the mini busses were full, finally we took: 1 bus to other junction, (cars with P in front it means like pivate car similar to the taxi) 1 car P, other car P to Sukau B&B, a very poor Longhouse close to the river , we payed for a room with bathroom shared 80 ringit (16 euros), to dinner 10 ringit each. We take a boat with 4 french (cost to rent the boat is 80 ringit) to have a safari in the river, you can see a lot of monkey, some snakes, birds....it depends a what time, early morning is better.

The day after we went by car P and bus to KK. There you can organize tours around Sabah, but the offers are very poor. for example we booked 2d1n in Kinabalu Park and Poring, they put us in a groop of other 3 persons that bpooked for a 6 days tours in Sabah (3000 ringit....very very expensive) and we do nothing, just visiting museum, it was incredible. We were in the middle of Kinabalu Park and the guide hold us in the museum more than 1 hours. We were very disappointed with him, we had some hard moment, the day after the agency sent to us a new guide with a private van.
The 3 peoples that do the 6 days tours the first 2 days they do nothing: 9am depart from KK, 11,30 arriving at Kinabalu Park, more than 1 hours visiting the very poor museum (2 rooms), than going to the resort to have a lunch, at 14.00 coming back to Kinabalu park, 40 minuts "trecking" and coming back to the resort.....end of the day. the second day they just went to visit a monumet of a war (that is very insignificant), to Poring (where we met theme just visiting the butterfly garden and exit), than going to Sepilok...., so before booking a tours in sabah just ask for all the travel very well.

After this we went to Croker park, that is a national park not yet controlled by the government, so it's not "private". We stayed in TVRC (you can find it in google and in Lonely Planet too). You can reach it by mini bus from KK for 15 ringit x person.

The tracking is good, but becareful to the leach.....I had 30 leach in my feet.

You can contract the guid once in TVRC, there's a fabric of wine rice just close and a basic restaurant (with very nice people) close to the river. Here is where we found the nicest people of the travel.

We tryed to put in contact with the ranger, but it was very difficult. Other possibility is to visit Sabah Park Office in KK and book for a 4-5 or 6 day trail around Crocker Park.

In KK you have to visit the Philippines market, have some massage, visit the islands in front (we've found ti very dirty) and have good food.

After KK we went to Semporna to dive in Sipadan, 1 week of sea, wonderful beach and a lot of fun.......In semporna there's nothing, the dive centers are just in 1 street and close to the Dragon Inn. We stayed in Scuba Junkie, the room it was basic but clean, the pizza of the restaurant is awful, there are 3 restaurant in the same street where you can eat.

The day after we went to Mabul to stay there in the Arun Hyatt (the longhouse that you can book with SJ), the island is small and very dirty, 3/4 parts of the island is a village, with a lot of rubbish, we tryed to eat in the only restaurant of this village, but I think it works just for the policemen of the base (there's a police station in Mabul). the Arun Hyatt is very very very poor, there's no a relax zone where to stay, there's a compressor on the longhouse beside working all the day and when the sea is moving is very difficult to sleep.

With Scuba Junkie we had one dive in Mabul just arrived and it was enough, the water was green, no visibility and just a few life, 3 or 4 turtles 1 ray and nothing more. In Semporna we met an english guy (Tim) that tryed to come to stay in Mabul for diving in Sipadan. Scuba Junkie try to convince everybody that diving in Mabul is "amazing", but if you try it......is very very bad, how you can dive good in a island full of rubbish?

The day after we went to Sipadan for 3 diving, the sea it was really bad, it was a storm in the area. SJ use to change your name, it seems that thay use other names to book to dive in Sipadan (they book for snorkel and give you the permission to dive). Diving in Sipadan it was not so amazing, poor visibility and some sharks and turtles.

The day after we had to dive other time in Sipadan, but SJ decided to change our planning (booked 2 months before) and diving in Mabul, whre we already said that is rubbish. After a lot of discussion Paul told me: "I'm sorry, probably I had to advise you before changing, but now i can do nothing", as you must give your passport (is the only dive center that do that) once you register your name for diving at the end you MUST pay what they say. So we where in the rubbish island (Mabul) with SJ that let us without diving and don't know what to do.

We changed to a normal resort: Borneo Divers. Good rooms, bad food, free internet, pool, poor and very old dive equipment (very expensive to rent) and you must follow they're way of diving.

The suite are very old, they have very few mesurements for bcd, boots (have only fins for boots) and masks.

They organize you the first day diving in Mabul (just in front of the resort, very poor diving), 2 day to sipadan 2 dives (that was really better than the first experience with SJ) and 1 in Mabul......yes we confirmed that the diving in Mabul are very bad. Like that you pay 1 night, 2 days rent of equipment just for 2 dives in Sipadan......

This is the normal way to work in Sabah just looking to make $$ and not to satisfy the clients.

We decided to come back to Semporna, to clarify with Scuba Junkie our situation and take back the passports. It was impossible to talk with Ric (the boss), so we had to pay to have back the passports.....I think this is the worst dive center I have ever try....I got more than 200 dives in all the world.

we spent our last night in Sipadan Inn hotel in Semporna, they made discount for divers.

After our experience in Mabul, the better way to pay less and stay well is with Uncle Chang (check google).

Next year....Sulawesi?Madagascar?Nepal?......

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