Diving in Sipadan

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I'm behind on this travel blog, but I'll catch up soon. A couple of weeks ago we went to Sipadan--which is one of the top ten places in the world to dive—according to the scuba powers-that-be who determine this stuff. And the diving there IS amazing, partly for its variety and partly for the amount of stuff passing before us at any moment. So many sharks swam by I started looking around for some sea slugs to see something different. What also made this part of our trip so wonderful is that we stayed on an old oil derrick for four days, called Seaventures, converted into a dive shop and hotel. It’s just so cool to be staying in the middle of the sea and to take an open-air elevator down into the water.

Now, I did have a little hissy-fit when we first arrived about how they run the dive shop. I told one of the instructors that I was new to diving and not that great at it. His response is that after five dives I can go out alone with a buddy, so why not? That may be the rule, but I'm a disaster down there at times and knew I couldn't handle that. So, my advice to other divers going there is to understand that here you are kinda on your own. Twelve people per one guide go on one dive—which often results in a lot of confusion. And the guides never talk about the dives afterward and rarely show you anything underwater. So, while we loved the hotel/rig and thought that was run well, the dive shop is one of the worst. But like a lot of traveling, the solution is to adapt to what the situation is rather than trying to change it, which is what we did. And we had fun with the other divers there—and thanks to Anna and Ralph, saw and learned a lot. We miss you all already!

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Photos

Seadventures
Derrick Sweet Derrick. This is where we stayed.

Our Diving Buddies
We are all doing some dive sign--except for the fact that I'm making mine up.

Sunrise
Why do the first dives START at 6 am? Ugh.

The Island and Adam
Gorgeous.

Crocodile Fish
Adam and I did not see this weird fish/sand pile because I was struggling a bit on this dive, but Anna and Ralph did.

Comments

[mama jean]

You are very brave to even think that sharks in sight became almost too common!! AS Charles once said, "When you are in the ocean, you are just fish bait."

[Maisondubonheur]

Hi
Seems we've been around the same places this summer. Sad the dive shop was not that great. On our side, at Kapalai, I can easily say it was one of the best I ever saw...and i saw few of them. Where is your next diving? Let us know if you ever make it to Thailand! Peter