missing it already...
Hey I'm back to civilization!! hehehe..Kidding..Now..Let me find some good words and sentences to describe my recent trip to Mabul and Sipadan...
The long awaited and much anticipated trip has finally came to reality, I took the flight on Friday to Sandakan where Junior was already waiting for me..We had our lunch, he went back to his apartment to pack his stuffs, picked up two more friends and we off for Semporna..The journey from Sandakan to Semporna was like forever and ever and ever more..I mean, it was damn too long, and there was nothing much to see along the way..Palm trees, estates..palm trees..local villages, rivers, jungles..what else..Seriously, I didn't enjoy a long ride like that..Luckily, we were traveling on a nice car, at least it was much more comfortable than traveling on a bus..and Mr.Sani our fellow diver was an expert driver..Geez, he was driving like 100-120km/h even on a deadly corner..Seriously, I tried my best to get myself to sleep, but I just can't..I dozed off for few minutes and I remained awake till we finally reach Semporna..We spent the night at a friend's house (he went diving with us too)..Had our dinner at Uncle Chang's Restaurant (they say, this area of the town is where all the divers will come for dinner, or lunch)..Even the night felt like forever, since I was really excited to go to Mabul, I was awakened few times..and when I saw the first ray of the sun the next morning, I was the happiest man on earth..
We waited for few more friends who were traveling from Tawau, luckily they came on time..at 9.30 we had our breakfast at the same restaurant, get to know our fellow divers, and we left on a boat ride to Seaventures..The boat ride was fun, and we passed by Vios Island..have you seen the Vios advertisement on TV where the two guys were stranded on an island, and they were granted 3 wishes..and they chose to have a vios, rather than the beautiful girl..???..That was hillarious..That advertisement was shot on that island..hehehe..and now the call it "Pulau Vios"...what a name for an island, huh...The weather was prefect, and the water was crystal clear..Perfect for diving...
Seaventures is a disused oil rig..I was told that, they brought it from Labuan..How the hell could that be possible..???!! Don't ask me..The rig was pretty cool, plenty of space and the rooms (shipping containers with plywood on the walls) were ok..Very basic facilities, but hey..we don't need a 5 stars hotel facilities anyway, all we cared about was the weather condition and the visibility underwater..hehehe..I must say it was nice to get some clean fresh air away from the humidity and ‘heaviness’ of the city..To think about nothing but to enjoy ourselves..and we did..
I am obviously not going to go through each and every dive, that would be too time consuming for you and I, indeed it would also be pretty boring.. But I’ll talk generally for a bit and point out a few highlights and the like..Before I go further, there were 9 of us..Junior, Sani and me were there for 2 days only, the rest spent 3 days there..so the general way of things for the three of us were 2 dives on the first day (we could have done 3 if we came early) and another 2 dives the next day..
I cannot not tell you how my first dive went..it was a bit embarrasing..Hehe..We did our first dive just under the oil rig..The depth was like 15 - 18M..I was a bit if not very nervous, that I didn't quite enjoy it for the first 5 minutes or so..I got panicked..I was having problem with my breathing..ow not that I can't breathe, but I cannot control my breathing and I moved too much, that I consumed too much air, and it lasted me for only 30 minutes..Damn..While the rest were still exploring the world underwater, I have to surface because my air was already below 50 bars..Huhuhuhuhu...and I have to climbed up on the thin steel ladder, with my fins, and tanks..Let me just tell you, it was not fun at all..I surfaced on the other side of the rig, when actually if I completed the whole diving session, I could save energy by using the lift...Hahaha, what an experience..
We were (Jr and I) actually very lucky, because we were diving with those who are instructors to dive instructors, dive masters, and those who have more than 10 years diving experiences..Mabul and Sipadan are just like their second homes..I got lots of diving tips (how to control my breathing, my bouyoncy, how to swim steamline...) from Hassim (a rescue diver)..so, on our next dive at Mabul (micro, and artificial reefs), I completed the whole dive..that was 49 minutes and I have more than 50 bars left..Bravo..Bravo..hehehe..That was on the first day..we spent the whole evening on the sundeck lounge, witnessing the sunset..(but it wasn't spectacular..it was covered with thick clouds)..drinking Chivas and Vodka..(I still can't drink much due to a recent knock down experience..hehehe)..listening to some great songs compiled by Wan in his ipod..(thanks to Wan, if not for his iPod and songs, that evening would be very boring)..and we retreated early that night...
Sunday morning..the sun was shining brightly..A good sign that we would have a hell of a diving session in Sipadan..Well, just let me tell you a bit about sipadan..Recently Sipadan has been protected, the resorts were all kicked off the island and a permit is now needed to come within a mile of it.. Only a hundred permits are issued per day which means getting there can be difficult and requires reservations well in advance..But since we have Hassim in the group, we don't need any permit because he is basically working there as researcher and rescue diver, they know him..so we just registered our names and were in..hehe..
We did our first dive at Baraccuda point..and we were told, we could actually spot turtles everywhere here..we saw an enormous school of barracuda circling around the reef, but hey..I didn't see any turtle..The visibility was excellent..30 - 50 meters (I was told)..and the reef profile was amazing..Now with my breathing and bouyoncy totally in control, I enjoyed every second of the dive..There were friendly white tip sharks everywhere..lots of other fish that I couldn't even tell their names..Ow yess, I know that Moray eel..I saw one, its head was sticking out from between the reefs..the head itself was as big as my knee..Massive..cool..
Our surface interval was only one hour and we did our 2nd dive at the Drop Off..the bottom is unlimited..it's really really really deep..Before we jumpped in, we were told that if anything happen, remember, the wall is on the right side, grab on anything, just don't fall down below..Ooough..That was scary..but then, when we finally did, it was okay, of course it was really deep down there..all I can see was dark...Imagine if you....ooo no..shooo that thoughts away..hehehe..we went to the cave took some pics, more sharks this time, there was one time an average sized white tip shark cruised over, went right passed me and headed away, it wasn't frightening at all, and yooohoooo, I saw one turtle swimming just in front of my eyes..That was really really cool..I have to do the signal to Jr so that he could see it as well, and he did..Damn..at least I saw one..hehe..Jr and I purposedly surfaced earlier, and when we did our safety stop at 5 meters, it felt like we were inside a gigantic aquarium..beautiful, breath taking..grandeur and everlasting...I can't wait for our next trip (next month) to sipadan...I'm missing it already..hehe
Okay..this is a bit too long right..I know..I just can't stop..hehehe..I'm sorry I bore you with my story..hehehe..I'll post the pics on my next entry..
Thanks for reading through...
The long awaited and much anticipated trip has finally came to reality, I took the flight on Friday to Sandakan where Junior was already waiting for me..We had our lunch, he went back to his apartment to pack his stuffs, picked up two more friends and we off for Semporna..The journey from Sandakan to Semporna was like forever and ever and ever more..I mean, it was damn too long, and there was nothing much to see along the way..Palm trees, estates..palm trees..local villages, rivers, jungles..what else..Seriously, I didn't enjoy a long ride like that..Luckily, we were traveling on a nice car, at least it was much more comfortable than traveling on a bus..and Mr.Sani our fellow diver was an expert driver..Geez, he was driving like 100-120km/h even on a deadly corner..Seriously, I tried my best to get myself to sleep, but I just can't..I dozed off for few minutes and I remained awake till we finally reach Semporna..We spent the night at a friend's house (he went diving with us too)..Had our dinner at Uncle Chang's Restaurant (they say, this area of the town is where all the divers will come for dinner, or lunch)..Even the night felt like forever, since I was really excited to go to Mabul, I was awakened few times..and when I saw the first ray of the sun the next morning, I was the happiest man on earth..
We waited for few more friends who were traveling from Tawau, luckily they came on time..at 9.30 we had our breakfast at the same restaurant, get to know our fellow divers, and we left on a boat ride to Seaventures..The boat ride was fun, and we passed by Vios Island..have you seen the Vios advertisement on TV where the two guys were stranded on an island, and they were granted 3 wishes..and they chose to have a vios, rather than the beautiful girl..???..That was hillarious..That advertisement was shot on that island..hehehe..and now the call it "Pulau Vios"...what a name for an island, huh...The weather was prefect, and the water was crystal clear..Perfect for diving...
Seaventures is a disused oil rig..I was told that, they brought it from Labuan..How the hell could that be possible..???!! Don't ask me..The rig was pretty cool, plenty of space and the rooms (shipping containers with plywood on the walls) were ok..Very basic facilities, but hey..we don't need a 5 stars hotel facilities anyway, all we cared about was the weather condition and the visibility underwater..hehehe..I must say it was nice to get some clean fresh air away from the humidity and ‘heaviness’ of the city..To think about nothing but to enjoy ourselves..and we did..
I am obviously not going to go through each and every dive, that would be too time consuming for you and I, indeed it would also be pretty boring.. But I’ll talk generally for a bit and point out a few highlights and the like..Before I go further, there were 9 of us..Junior, Sani and me were there for 2 days only, the rest spent 3 days there..so the general way of things for the three of us were 2 dives on the first day (we could have done 3 if we came early) and another 2 dives the next day..
I cannot not tell you how my first dive went..it was a bit embarrasing..Hehe..We did our first dive just under the oil rig..The depth was like 15 - 18M..I was a bit if not very nervous, that I didn't quite enjoy it for the first 5 minutes or so..I got panicked..I was having problem with my breathing..ow not that I can't breathe, but I cannot control my breathing and I moved too much, that I consumed too much air, and it lasted me for only 30 minutes..Damn..While the rest were still exploring the world underwater, I have to surface because my air was already below 50 bars..Huhuhuhuhu...and I have to climbed up on the thin steel ladder, with my fins, and tanks..Let me just tell you, it was not fun at all..I surfaced on the other side of the rig, when actually if I completed the whole diving session, I could save energy by using the lift...Hahaha, what an experience..
We were (Jr and I) actually very lucky, because we were diving with those who are instructors to dive instructors, dive masters, and those who have more than 10 years diving experiences..Mabul and Sipadan are just like their second homes..I got lots of diving tips (how to control my breathing, my bouyoncy, how to swim steamline...) from Hassim (a rescue diver)..so, on our next dive at Mabul (micro, and artificial reefs), I completed the whole dive..that was 49 minutes and I have more than 50 bars left..Bravo..Bravo..hehehe..That was on the first day..we spent the whole evening on the sundeck lounge, witnessing the sunset..(but it wasn't spectacular..it was covered with thick clouds)..drinking Chivas and Vodka..(I still can't drink much due to a recent knock down experience..hehehe)..listening to some great songs compiled by Wan in his ipod..(thanks to Wan, if not for his iPod and songs, that evening would be very boring)..and we retreated early that night...
Sunday morning..the sun was shining brightly..A good sign that we would have a hell of a diving session in Sipadan..Well, just let me tell you a bit about sipadan..Recently Sipadan has been protected, the resorts were all kicked off the island and a permit is now needed to come within a mile of it.. Only a hundred permits are issued per day which means getting there can be difficult and requires reservations well in advance..But since we have Hassim in the group, we don't need any permit because he is basically working there as researcher and rescue diver, they know him..so we just registered our names and were in..hehe..
We did our first dive at Baraccuda point..and we were told, we could actually spot turtles everywhere here..we saw an enormous school of barracuda circling around the reef, but hey..I didn't see any turtle..The visibility was excellent..30 - 50 meters (I was told)..and the reef profile was amazing..Now with my breathing and bouyoncy totally in control, I enjoyed every second of the dive..There were friendly white tip sharks everywhere..lots of other fish that I couldn't even tell their names..Ow yess, I know that Moray eel..I saw one, its head was sticking out from between the reefs..the head itself was as big as my knee..Massive..cool..
Our surface interval was only one hour and we did our 2nd dive at the Drop Off..the bottom is unlimited..it's really really really deep..Before we jumpped in, we were told that if anything happen, remember, the wall is on the right side, grab on anything, just don't fall down below..Ooough..That was scary..but then, when we finally did, it was okay, of course it was really deep down there..all I can see was dark...Imagine if you....ooo no..shooo that thoughts away..hehehe..we went to the cave took some pics, more sharks this time, there was one time an average sized white tip shark cruised over, went right passed me and headed away, it wasn't frightening at all, and yooohoooo, I saw one turtle swimming just in front of my eyes..That was really really cool..I have to do the signal to Jr so that he could see it as well, and he did..Damn..at least I saw one..hehe..Jr and I purposedly surfaced earlier, and when we did our safety stop at 5 meters, it felt like we were inside a gigantic aquarium..beautiful, breath taking..grandeur and everlasting...I can't wait for our next trip (next month) to sipadan...I'm missing it already..hehe
Okay..this is a bit too long right..I know..I just can't stop..hehehe..I'm sorry I bore you with my story..hehehe..I'll post the pics on my next entry..
Thanks for reading through...
0 comments:
Post a Comment