Get me out of here......

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Choked down my breakfast after settling up my bill 348RM.... I know it's not a lot in ozzie dollars but I have another two and a half months to go in SE Asia so this did kind of blow the budget a little...however, it can be absorbed, it was a very quiet and peaceful two nights and I met an entertaining group of bird watchers on holiday from Oz and Malaysia.

Caught a minibus from Lahad Datu to Semporna a town described along the lines of the following blurb...."a jewel of a city with its feet in the sea..."

What? First impressions for most people..? A dirty, stinking toilet of a place. Absolutely disgusting and no mistake either. The reason people come here is to dive Palau Sipadan and with good reason - it's listed genuinely as one of the top dive destinations in the world.

Managed to book myself two dives with Scuba Junkie for the next day.

Semporna also has a very noticeable military presence.. this is because a few years ago there were some kidnappings from Sipadan itself by Abu Sayeff...followed the bubbles and grabbed the divers as they popped up.

Oh yeah, Im at the Damai Travellers lodge...right across the road from the towns mosque...6:30pm...the call of the faithful to prayer is belting out from the speakers...can't wait till tomorrow morning....

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