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Monday morning arrived, and actually .. I still didn’t know if I’d be allowed to be on Sipadan Island. See, the Sabah National Park authorities doesn’t allow just anybody to visit the island for two obvious reasons. One is for the conservation of the corals and wildlife there, and the other is to prevent nice people like you and I be kidnapped by not-so-nice people like Abu Sayyaf the pirate. Hmm.. I wonder if he has an eye patch. Anyhow, you’ll need a permit .. in which the diving guys were supposed to get .. but couldn’t confirm before then. So .. you could call it .. going by faith.

I left the house slightly after 6:15am, to make the hour and a half journey to Semporna. The sun was just coming out, and the drive was just pleasant. Of course, other than travelling alone WITHOUT the mental threshold of speed hovering in my head, or in this sense .. beside me in the form of my aunt .. I truly enjoyed the drive. I sped all the way, and took about a little less than an hour and fifteen minutes. I was supposed to call my uncle and tell him that I’ve arrived, but I didn’t do it immediately. Ehehe. Didn’t want him to know I arrived super early. Shhh…!

I had to wait for all the divers to come, the permit to be approved, and the gear to be loaded up into the boats. I waited from 7:30 am till 10plus! Boy, was the wait long. At first, I was excited and all .. but after a while, I just wanted to get off the wooden planks I was sitting on while everyone’s talking about their diving gear. I did join in their conversations .. with some of the backpackers that were on the same trip. A Finn, and 2 Brits. Oh, and a grumpy German. He was like,”Khow longhh zhu whvee hahve to whait?” [That's .. "How long do we have to wait?" .. for those who don't speak German. Haha!]

Finally, we were “cleared” to go! I found out from one of the guys that we’re just gonna go there and ask permission directly from the coast guard. Now, that’s a way to get a permit. I like. Of course .. to have someone in your boat that knows the guys over there on the island helps. So, instead of the 120 people allowed to visit the island in a day .. there’s 128 now! And I’m one of them!

The boat ride was long though. You’d think after waiting for 3 hours, another hour wouldn’t be a problem right? It would .. on land. The sea was moderately rough, but the boat was going up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down .. you get the point, right?

Finally, we arrive. I had to snap out of my up and down routine and my first impression of the island was .. “Wow.” I’ve never seen such a thing .. I mean when you look down into the water, it’s just dark blue. As you approach the island .. you begin to see corals under you .. and that’s such an amazing contrast between the island and dark blue sea! We first approach the jetty to obtain our “permit” to hang out around the island, and off we went!

First stop, was the most beautiful part of the reef .. as told by the boatman. The divers were going for a deeper dropoff while the German guy and myself were dropped off at the shallow reef section. This was the second time I am snorkelling .. and though I was a little braver now .. I still panicked in the water once. I was swimming around, and when I looked up to check where the boat was .. I got scared! I called for the boat to come and pick me up immediately .. and yeah. Got scared lah. Of drowning. The shore was way off .. and there’s no way I could swim to dry land … like when I was on Manukan Island. I got on the boat .. and the boatman urged me to give it a try .. and told me that there are places where I can stand .. at the shallower parts.

So .. I went back in and this time .. I was able to see some turtles! Tried to chase them .. but it’s amazing how fast they swim underwater .. contrary to how the move on land. There was a big momma turtle .. and maybe a papa turtle .. and there was a junoir turtle .. prolly half the size of the papa turtle. Kinda cool .. to see them swimming around .. and going up to the surface to get air. Ah, it was WAAAAY cool LAHHHHH! I mean .. you’re flapping around in the big blue sea, and a turtle just swims pass you! In slow, gliding motion! Gosh. I gave the German guy a thumbs up .. and he was psyched. I swam around, took some pictures with my disposable underwater camera and headed back to the boat. The cold water was getting to me .. and I couldn’t stop shivering. Dang .. should have asked for a wetsuit.

We headed back to the jetty, and it was time for lunch. I ordered a packet of fried rice with chicken earlier at Semporna, which cost me RM4. So, on top of bringing some Chipsmore chocolate chip cookies, 2 hot dog buns, and some kaya puff thing I bought the night before in preparation for this trip, I had LUNCH! Ah, I filled my stomach well. Then, the Japanese couple [quite aged, in their fifties] told the German guy about some fish ball in the sea .. going on and on about .. “This giant fishball .. near the edge, near the boat” .. I found it kinda funny .. cause the only fishball I’ve ever seen is floating in a sea of noodles .. not in the sea. So I kinda ignored, rested and let the food settle, before going out again. The weather was just so nice. It wasn’t all too sunny, and it looked like it was gonna rain .. but thank God .. it didn’t.

I grabbed my fins and snorkel .. and went out snorkelling on the shore .. when the German guy signals me to follow him. So I did .. and I saw a huge school of fish .. just swimming around .. in smooth circular motion! I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was an amazing sight. What was also amazing was the fact that below me .. was NOTHING! Despite how clear the water is, I couldn’t see anything below me. It was truly .. the deep blue sea! Freaking out … I swam back … to the portion where there was the island. See, Sipadan is like an upside-down cone. The top part is the land .. and as you swim out .. it just drops down to the ocean floor. So all the corals and anemone .. are all on the sides of the wall of the island. How cool is that?!

Looking from afar, I couldn’t help but to be drawn back to that school of .. hundreds and thousands of fish .. so I swam back into it .. and the fish would just swim around you! Then .. the sight of a huge fish, not a huge school of fish .. but ONE BIG HUGE FISH swimming with the school of jackfish. It was a grouper fish, which was prolly slightly less than a meter in length .. and it was FAT! Like really fat! Fatter than a FOOTBALL! Gosh .. that was so cool. I didn’t dare swim close to it .. in case it thought my hand .. or my foot .. or worse still my gonads as .. fish feed. God knows what’ll happen if it takes a snap at me. Hmm..

The school of fish was amazing. It’s a sight that I’ve only been able to see when I watch Discovery channel, but experiencing it was just exhilarating! I guess you can call it my .. fishball in the sea experience! Trust the Japanese to give you the best description, aye? HahaHAHA! The rest of the time was spent hanging out on the beach .. and taking stupid shots like the one you see as the slideshow image .. below. Hahaha.

I thought the boat ride coming to Sipadan was bad. The boat ride back to Semporna was even worse .. cause I was kinda wet from the sea, and didn’t wanna use my towel yet. It was cold, and the sea was mega choppy, and nearing the islands around Semporna .. it started raining! We were in the rain for a full 25 to 30 minutes! By that time .. I had to bring my towel out .. to shield myself from the rain. It was all wet when we arrived at Semporna, but that spared me from being drenched. My bag was spared too, so my Chipsmore was safe. Thank God. Hahaha. I had a change of clothes in the car, so I got into dry clothes and made my way back to Tawau .. another .. hour and a half drive back.

As you might be able to tell, I enjoyed the sunset.

David[hmm]

I knew that Sipadan is one of the must-visit places if you’re ever in Sabah, so while I was in Tawau I wanted to make arrangements for a trip there. My aunt helped in getting information for me, but none of which were useful to me. Her friends and my cousin could only recommend me of the 2D/1N package, where you stay on the nearby island called Mabul for a night, and while you’re there .. they’ll bring you diving or snorkelling at Sipadan Island.

I called some travel agencies, and the prices to go there were in the range of RM4XX to 6XX! I was shocked! I mean, to pay that amount for a one night stay at some hotel/resort on an island and snorkelling .. is definitely too much for a local traveller like myself. I couldn’t justify the price so dejectedly, I called off the plans to visit Sipadan.

Sigh.

I was really looking forward to hanging out on the beach and swimming with the fishies again. Memories of when I was on Manukan Island came back to me, and I was wishing that I went to more islands, or spent more time at the beach. Sipadan was not a public island, and going there involved an application for the permit from the National Park authorities. Unlike Manukan Island, or the other islands near KK where you could just go to the jetty and go there.

My aunt offered to pay one third of the sum, and still asked if I wanted to go but again, the cost wasn’t justified. You tell me if it was worth spending RM6XX for a nights stay and snorkelling? Definitely not right? Truth was .. I didn’t wanna spend the rest of my money just like that le .. Must save a bit. Ehe.

So .. with plans to Sipadan cancelled, I thought for a bit about what I should do for the rest of the 5 days I was to be in Tawau. There isn’t much to do in Tawau, as mentioned by my dad and all, so I actually asked my aunt if Semporna was worth a visit. Well, it’s the least I could do, while I’m in Tawau. Besides … I knew how far it was from Tawau, about 110 kilometers. And I’ve been through half the road before, on the express bus.

Hey, what if I drive there? There’s an extra car around, right? I asked my aunt. After some discussion, my aunt reluctantly decided to allow me to drive to Semporna .. but with certain conditions. She was gonna coma long, and then she wanted to bring one of her aunty friend along, together with her son. I was like … “Wha…?” So much for backpacking, aye? Bringing along 2 aunties and a guy along. Her reasoning was that I wasn’t familliar with the roads there, and that I might get lost or something. Hmm… I’ve just travelled across Sabah on my own, crammed into a mini bus [van] and travelled with the locals all the way .. so I guess driving [which is something that I think I am quite good at ..] to Semporna wouldn’t be a problem le. So, after reassuring both uncle and aunt .. we were to drive to Semporna the next day, which was a Saturday.

On Saturday, it wasn’t until about 10:30 before we left Tawau. It wasn’t before my aunt had the green light from her cleared bowels too! Gosh, had to wait till she went to the toilet .. get some shots from the doctor and all. But you can’t blame her. She had a long stretch of colon removed .. so her digestive system has some serious production line issues you know. It’s extra fast. Don’t mess…

The journey was not too long, about an hour and a half. I drove the MyVi the family bought as the extra car, and it was quite fun! I had been wanting to sit in one .. as I’ve heard of it’s spaciousness and here I am .. driving it long distance! The only gripe I had about it was that condensation happens on top of the center air-conditioning vent. Kinda like .. the car’s perspiring. Hahaha. The road to Sipadan was flanked by palm oil plantations ALL the way! Look left, and you’ve got palm oil. Look right, and you’ve got .. PALM OIL! There are stretches of flat land, and there were some hilly ones too .. about 3:4 ratio. It was a pretty scenic drive, I must add.

The only places worth visiting in Semporna is the place on stilts. There a whole inn built on stilts, together with a restaurant and some huts for diving services. I think the Lonely Planet book .. or some foreigner was saying .. that Semporna is a dead town. It was. Except for the locals, who seem to go through their daily routine fine as it is. Had an unsatisfactory lunch at the restaurant there, because of the rude and imbecillic captain that took our order .. and walked around the place.

The Dragon Inn. One of the two places to put up in Semporna. The other being a boring hard cement building with a lot of floors. Which would you pick? This one, right? EHhehe.

The view from the restaurant to the open sea. notice that the islands .. put together looks like an old man lying down?

Then I had an idea. Actually, I had the idea the whole time I was driving. I thought, maybe I could find a place where they would bring you on a one day trip to Sipadan. So I walked to one of the huts that offered diving courses and trips and enquired. And to my delight, there was! You can’t imagine how excited I was when I found out that I could head out on Monday! And it didn’t cost even half as much as the lowest price I was quoted earlier by some of the travel agents I called the day before!

Oh joy!

Wait for part 2 of .. the road to Sipadan!

David[woohoo!]