Aug 2007

We woke pretty early for breakfast and found out we were diving at 8 am. So after eating we geared up and got in the boat for a very rough ride over to Sipadan. What we were in store for we had no idea.

Sipadan is an island that was a large resort area until 2005 when the government made it a protected area and tore down all the resorts. Now, on the island you are confined to one small area and there are military people there guarding the island.

It took a little while to get there because of the waves, but once there we arrived we got into the water pretty quick. We rolled off the boat and as we were descending, I pointed behind CW to show her a large green sea turtle that was swimming behind her. It was amazing. We continued on to see more green sea turtles and some white tip reef sharks. Courtney says she can die happy now. There isn't a lot more to say about the dives, the reef is really healthy around Sipadan and the diversity of life is incredible.

We got out of the water between dives and waited an hour on the island before we headed out again. While we were waiting, we ate egg sandwiches, walked on th beach, saw a baby monitor lizard and got a pretty nasty sun burn.

The second dive delivered the same great wildlife. The ride back was not as bad as the ride there. Oh wait, we forgot. On the boat ride to the island, we saw some flying fish. What was Mother Nature on? They were great to watch. One glided for at least 30 ft out of the water. Wow.

We got back to the rig, showered, and ate lunch. The meals here are great. There's always fresh fruit for dessert. After lunch we took our time, blogged and napped until the night dive. The night dive was part of my Advanced Open Water course. We did the dive underneath the rig because there was some lights from the rig so it wasn't completely dark.

The night dive was very good. We saw a lot of different wildlife. We saw a lot of lionfish and some cornetfish. We also saw some decorator crabs. Decorator crabs put pieces of sponge, coral or shell on their backs so that they can hide themselves to avoid predators.

After the dive we ate some dinner, showered and sat outside watching trevally and barracuda schooling around the rig, just below the surface. Then we realized we had to be up at 5:30 to go on a dive at 6:00 so we made our way to bed.

It was a very good day of diving and a great place to relax and enjoy the scenery.

-see the post tomorrow for all the photos-

So up again at the butt-crack of dawn to catch yet another plane. This time we were headed to Tawau in eastern Sabah, on the island of Borneo (how very National Geographic of us). Air Asia, despite not refunding our previous, hastily purchased tickets, is an awesome airline. They have a few things going for them:

• a) rush seating - sit where you want, provided you get on the plane soon enough. This website comes in handy with regard to this, because you can check out the seat arrangement on the aircraft you'll be flying on and determine which rows give you a little extra leg room, and which rows lack reclining seats.
  
• b) express boarding for those who want to avoid the rush seating. We opted for this and sat at the front of the plane. Nice indeed.
  
• c) rule enforcement, which is something I have found extremely lacking on most flights in Asia. For example, people tend to get up out of their seats as soon as the wheels hit the ground after landing. On Air Asia, they make you sit back down again. I like it.
  
• d) really really cheap flights.
  

All in all the flight was great. I think I may have actually gotten some sleep between kicks to the back from the kid behind me.

I was so happy to be out of the city; looking down on the island was incredible - rivers, trees, coastline, mountains. Vacation has begun. Got off the plane quickly, service with a smile at immigration, and we gathered our bags and got on teh bus to go to Semporna. There was already a British family on the bus when we boarded, and we were followed by two Danish girls. The roads, we quickly learned, are much better than those in Vietnam. This is likely a result of all the palm plantations that were planted after they clearcut most of the rainforest. But I digress. So sad. Boo clearcutting! Boo plantations!

It took about an hour and twenty minutes to get to Semporna, where the mainland office of the Seaventures dive resort is located. We waited there for a little while as supplies were loaded onto a boat and then we boarded and were on our way to the rig.

The sea was a little miffed at us, I think. I think it wanted to eat Andrew, but I wasn't about to tell him that. It took about another hour to get to the rig. A rough, wet hour, which is less fun than it sounds. So the rig is a little difficult to describe, so I think I will just say that it is a retired oil rig that's been converted into a dive centre and hotel. There's a lift that takes you us to the main deck from the water. When we arrived, there were tropical drinks waiting for us. Yummo. And lunch. Also good.

After eating and drinking, we filled out the requisite "we're off the hook if you die" forms and did an introductory dive under the platform on the house reef. It was pretty good. My mask kept fogging, but I could see a few things (pipefish, some nudibranchs, and a lionfish). Andrew was going through air pretty quickly, so we surfaced early. When we were waiting at the surface for everyone else to finish, we felty as though we were being stung by something. We asked about this later, and were told "Oh, yes. Tiny jellyfish. Don't worry." I wasn't worried, but I have a feeling if I had been told this beforehand I wouldn't have been so OK with it.

After the dive it was snack time. Freshly made doughnuts. Mmmm doughnuts. Still warm too. If I had been hooked up with some strawberry jam, I would have seriously considered making this my permanent home. After chowing down on copious numbers of these little darlings, we went up to our room, showered and napped. After the nap we ate dinner, and after dinner we relaxed before calling it an early night.