[Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia] We can hardly believe it, more than 240 days on the road and tomorrow is a whole new year. Today started at 7:30 leaving Semporna by taxi. The airport transfer took around an hour and by the time we got to the boarding gates I was going downhill fast. 3 hours later we arrived in KL. The low cost airline terminal was packed but V was able to find us a spot to sit for the day. With 8 hours to kill and feeling like death warmed up I sat in agony as V made sure I was watered, fed and medicated to the gills. Typical now that we have to spend so much time traveling I go and munch a bad burger and get the worst food poisoning I have ever experienced. Scuba Junkie… You suck !
Our flight departed KL on time at 21h45. We were expecting the worst for a long-haul Air Asia flight but it was fine (not for me). You have to pay for food and drink and there is no in-flight entertainment. Not that it mattered – I swallowed pills to keep me comatose as much as possible. Spending New Years at 30 000ft is suppose to be a little more fun than this !
Nearing midnight (KL time) the chief steward announced “I have no idea where we are at the moment so we’ll count down to the New Year on KL time”. “Just as long as the pilot knows where we are !” I thought. The countdown was a little lame. V and I shared the moment, snapped a photo and then I dove back under my sleeping mask.
[Pictures: “Happy” New Year at 30 000ft. I just want a bed]
[Semporna, Malaysian Borneo] Our departure from the island was scheduled for 4pm so we were expecting a boring day on the deck but luckily there was a boat going when we got up. That led to a mad rush to get our gear together, copy photos from Jeroen and say our goodbyes to everyone before speeding off towards the mainland.
Uncle Chang’s was brilliant and high above our expectations (from what we had read online). We have a few notes/observations for anyone going there.
– Take snacks, fruit, cereal and long life milk. There is NOTHING to buy on the island and the food at UC’s, although good, does get boring if you are there for more than 3 days.
– The rooms were basic but good. We had no issues with the exception of the occasional sewerage smell.
– The staff, although not all English speaking, were always helpful and accommodating (reception staff in Semporna were brilliant) but you HAVE to ask for things – nothing just gets done automatically.
– The gear was old but worked fine and any issues were resolved quickly. Maybe take your own wet-suit – they were a bit manky.
– Things do seem a little disorganized (who is diving with who and where and when etc) The key is ask questions. Once on the boats everything was smooth sailing.
– Uncle Chang seems like a decent chap but is a little tough to warm up unless you are an experienced diver spending a lot of cash with them (He seems to have favorites).
– The view from the long-house is stunning and the new units under construction look like they will raise the bar substantially.
– We would recommend Uncle Chang’s but would not mind trying another operator next time we are there (just to compare).
Back in Semporna we checked into the Dragon Inn (AC and HOT showers – yes please !) and headed into town for food. I could not resist a burger at the Scuba Junkie restaurant after two solid weeks of chicken and rice. It tasted great but by evening I was regretting the decision. Tomorrow we start our 36 hour long mission to get to New Zealand !
[Pictures: V strolling down to the Dragon Inn – larney looking]
[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] The morning started with a torrential downpour and wind so strong that opening our cabin door meant a free shower. By the time breakfast was being serves the clouds were easing off and it looked like we would get another good day (and our last) diving Sipadan. Sipadan was a little less sunny than the previous times and it felt cooler in the water but it was ultimately another brilliant day out.
Our first dive and a new record depth for us at 30.5m. Seems the DM was confident in our ‘Open Water’ abilities. It was a little unnerving being that far down, looking up and realizing our predicament. V was barely bothered – she was just having too much fun. Not to much in the way of big stuff to see but I did spot a Nudibranch patch with 9 individuals. By the end of the second dive we were getting a little cold with the overcast skies but were enjoying the different dive sites. Coral Garden was incredible.
Our final dive was once again back to Barracuda Point. The moment we got in the water A strong current started pulling us away from a huge school of jackfish and back in towards the shallows. We had to fight against the current to get to the drop off where a monstrous school of barracuda were just hovering (no doubt in the same current). We got into a protected position behind a huge boulder and sat watching – they are quite a sight. It was a tough dive with the current but still excellent with turtles and sharks. All to soon the dives for the day were over and we were chasing the flying fish back to Mabul. The tips we picked up from Jeroen and Angela were once again a great help – now the only question is when are we going to get back in the water !?
[Pictures: Check the gallery links. Not to worry. We have cell phone shots coming soon]
[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Back on the local reefs around Mabul today so we were not expecting much but at least we had some idea of what to look for when it comes to the small stuff. Our DM for the day, Coco, was joined by a larger than life local lady named Rebbecca. She was so full of excitement about everything – her mood was infectious. We dropped off onto the ‘Lobster Wall’ site. The visibility was excellent and V immediately set about spotting the little things – a really cool baby morey (bright yellow), an orange and black flatworm some pipe-fish and the odd Nudibranch. Rebbecca twanged on her tank for us to come check out a pinkish sea fan. It took some pointing but we eventually saw what had gotten her so excited. A tiny (10mm long) Pygmy Seahorse on the fan. Coco was ecstatic. Apparently these guys are very rare and delicate. Even Jeroen, who has seen everything, has these guys on his list to photograph. We must have been lugging some golden horseshoes instead of weights!
Our next dive was back out at Kapala. Rebbecca led us this time down to a set of ‘houses’ (artificial reef) where we came across the biggest morey we have seen so far and cute little polka-dot yellow box-fish. Odd creature. Honestly looks like it has swallowed a rubic’s cube. From the houses we descended down and came up on a large fishing boat wreck. It was awesome. Felt like the opening scene of ‘Titanic’ as we came up and over the bow. Our dive profile meant we couldn’t stay long around the wreck. Rebbecca was on top of her computer making sure we were okay. On the way to shallower water Rebbecca pointed out a tiny Orang Utan Crab. We got the first sign for ‘crab’ but when she started making monkey arm movements we were lost.
The third dive was also good but not as memorable. We did see a large cuttlefish and V got caught out trying to adjust from macro to micro – she was looking for something tiny while I was pointing at a massive Scorpion Fish right under her nose.
Back at UC’s we spent a good hour scrubbing the jungle mud off our shoes – I hope the Australian customs guys appreciate it. Not much else to do but chill out and relax on the deck again. In the evening we heard that two Sipadan permits had become available for tomorrow. It didn’t take much for us to throw our budget even further out of the window and take up the offer. Resistance is futile 🙂
[Pictures: Check out the shots linked in the gallery including the stuff that Jeroen took]
[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Three more dives at Sipadan today, and they were unbelievable! Perfect weather again as we skimmed out over the glassy sea to the island. This time we were joined by a pleasant Dutch guy and his Canadian girlfriend and a bunch of Chinese divers. Jeroen (the Dutch guy) had a very snazzy camera setup. A Canon SLR with a macro lens and a monster strobe – V almost had to wipe the drool off my lip 🙂 Since today was going to be our last day at Sipadan I tried to rent a camera. Real pity that none were available (or people were too disorganized) – it was an epic day.
We signed in and immediately descended to around 20m at ‘South Point’. It was a stunning dive. Tonnes of immaculate coral stretching up the reef wall. 30m+ visibility meant you could gaze up the wall and see white tip sharks and turtles circling above. We spotted countless creatures as our small group cruised along with the gentle current. The tea break had everyone itching to get back in the water – who needs tea when the conditions are that perfect?
Next we headed to ‘Mid Reef’ and our deepest dive to date, leveling off at 26.2m. Another perfect dive with more sharks, and a small school of Barracuda. Notable where a huge school of Batfish and a monster Giant Grouper at the end of the dive. The coral at Mid Reef is our favorite at the moment. Absolutely beyond stunning and loaded with critters. One of the Chinese divers in our group wasn’t watching the dive leader or his computer and ended up needing a 26 minute safety stop to avoid decompression sickness. Apparently Chinese and Korean divers are notorious for doing silly things and buying expensive gear they can’t use – he was reading his computer incorrectly! That stunt put an end to his diving for the day. Very silly and dangerous.
For lunch back on the island we had a cool visitor. A 2m long monitor lizard patrolling around the platform and devouring the chicken bones people were tossing his way. He eventually strolled up onto the platform giving everyone something to take photos of. A little entertainment to help pass the time between dives more quickly was welcome. We all just wanted to get back in.
The best, as it should do, came last. Another dive at ‘Barracuda Point’ with lots of turtles (one almost swam into V), and our good friends the white tip sharks. We also spotted a big (very big for us) Grey reef shark passing below us. They just look like a shark. Bullet sharped and ominous. Built to kill. The site isn’t called ‘Barracuda Point’ for nothing. Near the end of the dive we were swarmed by a enormous wall of huge (1m+) barracuda. They snaked their way around our group a few times. A solid mass of fish just meters away. You could feel the water moving with them. It was awesome! I’ll be happy if diving doesn’t get better than today, but apparently it can.
Back at Uncle Chang’s we had a chance to chat to Jeroen and look at his photos from the day. The guy has got serious skills with a camera and vast dive experience – sounds like he has been diving everywhere. We learnt tonnes about the beautiful small stuff that is his passion. While we were all looking for sharks and turtles Jeroen was up close and photographing amazing little creatures. Tomorrow we know what to look for so we have decided that V will try spot the small stuff and I’ll keep an eye on the big ones. Hehe. Seems she drew the short straw.
[Pictures: Military Aircraft and boats patrolling around Sipadan and another shot of paradise]
[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Another beautiful sunny day. Another day at the office for Coco, our Spanish dive master. Because we had changed the earlier dive day there was some confusion so we were not sure we would be diving until the last minute. Things seem a little disorganized here, but as long as you’re patient it all kinda works out. Today was two dives on the local reef around Mabul and another on Kapala island around 15 minutes away. Unfortunately the visibility was not very good and after the experience of Sipadan yesterday the sea felt barren.
The dives were more about little critters hiding under rocks and some odd shaped bottom dwellers – the kind of stuff that we are not used to looking at. Things like the wacky crocodile fish, frog fish and leaf fish had us staring confused at random lumps until Coco outlined them for us. Divers seem to cherish spotting these guys but being new to it all we are still just looking for the big or colourful. There was some more familiar sea-life – blue spotted ray, moreys, sand rays (name?) and even a really long banded sea snake cruising the sandy bottom.
A VERY different experience but we are looking forward to getting back out to Sipadan tomorrow to search for some big stuff.
Seems we’re just writing about the dives. That’s pretty much all we have been doing. The food here hasn’t been too bad but we are looking forward to a meal without rice sometime. There are a couple of manky looking kittens that live here. They are friendly and get very excited when you fuss them and feed them and one of them really seems to like my lap.
[Pictures: Nothing on the phone. Will have to upload]
[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] or ‘Merry Christmas’ if you prefer. No better gift than to go diving at Sipadan.
Lucky the weather was great for our first dives here. We were up early for breakfast and to sort out our gear. Uncle Chang’s is a ‘budget’ operator and you can see it in the equipment – well I guess as long as it works. V had a bit of fun finding a wet-suit amongst the manky selection. She was adamant that she should be in a small sized one and after trying (and failing) to persuade a few to fit she was left with raw knuckles. Who knew that wet-suits could be so dangerous 🙂 We loaded up and proceeded to test our gear before setting off. The first tank I tried didn’t have an o’ring and was half empty but there were plenty of spares.
The ride out to the island was reasonably fast thanks to the mostly calm seas and we were both nervous about getting back in the water after a month off. The group consisted of a couple Asian guys and fun bunch of poms who decided to dive with their Santa hats. We pulled in to dock at the pier to register for the day (only 120 divers per day are permitted). It is a stunning spot. A tiny idyllic island surrounded by clear waters housing only a small army base. Years ago a group of Philipino terrorists took a bunch of tourists hostage on the island and since then the resorts have been removed and replaced with a military outpost. The upside is that the marine environment is thriving.
Our first dive site was ‘Mid Reef’. V was particularly nervous – having never done a back-roll entry before wasn’t helping. From the reef around 10m we cruised out over the edge of the wall – a 600m drop to the ocean floor below and a lot of big creatures with sharp teeth – scary as! The dive went along the reef wall at around 20m. It was beautiful with a slow current moving us along the teeming coral. To be honest we were just getting the hang of everything again so not much stuck in our memories (besides a mid sized school of barracuda in the distance) and all to soon the dive was over and we were heading back to the island for a tea break.
After tea we headed for ‘Barracuda Point’. As we were kitting up there was a loud pop and the hiss of air from V’s regs. One of the hoses had popped off. Yikes. That would have been fun underwater. Barracuda Point was excellent with some big (for us) white tip sharks and loads of oblivious turtles amongst the countless other fish.
Back to the island for lunch and then back in the water but this time just a few meters from the jetty and another 500m+ drop off. Undersea pinnacles and huge overhangs made it feel like something out of ‘The Abyss’. Our guide led us into the mouth of ‘Turtle Tomb’. A dramatic cave system where some poor turtles get lost and end up dying. It was eerie looking out from the dark. The rest of the dive was along the reef wall popping up onto the reef amongst a huge school of Jackfish.
Quite a day. An amazing location with great visibility and hardly any current to speak of. Sensory overload trying to take as much in as possible including the odd undersea Christmas carol thanks to the poms. Good thing there is more to come!
[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Apparently (I had my earplugs in) there was a huge storm during the night that had V a little worried. At high tide and with a little choppy sea the water almost touches the deck so a storm or tsunami and we’re in some trouble. When we got up it was still drizzling incessantly so we decided to postpone our diving to another day (we have the time). I spoke to the staff and to Uncle Chang about it and was told it was not a problem but you do get the sense that nobody really knows what is going on. So our first dives here will now be at Sipadan – and the weather better be good because we can’t change the permit dates!
We spent the entire day relaxing around the ‘resort’, enjoying the cooler weather and watching the preparations for the evening festivities. The extra chairs and live band suggested it was going to be epic. As evening approached the weather cleared giving us a great sunset. We were joined by UC’s office staff and some others for what I guess was their company Xmas party. The kitchen staff pulled out all the stops for Xmas dinner. Instead of the usual (and by now extremely dull) three bowls with rice, chicken and fish we got an assortment including salad, turkey! even a choice of desert. It was a real feast.
From the sound of Uncle Chang’s speeches it seems that he is heavily involved in charities and does a lot of work for orphans. He’s genuinely proud of his ‘kids’ accomplishments boasting about their performance in football and basketball. It was heartwarming. The band cranked it up – ‘it’ being vaguely familiar and badly rendered covers – but it is their second language. The staff joined in as the guests looked on with grins and Uncle Chang went around distributing cool drinks to the kids and bottles of 80 proof rum to the staff and guests. Not sure what to do with ours we had a little rum and coke but it’s not really to our taste. No problem there – one of the boatmen emptied our bottle into his mug and with a big smile bid us ‘Merry Christmas’.
Sitting on our piece of porch we had more visitors in the neon lit water. A monster turtle cruised by. Beautiful creatures. Although our room is the closest to the common area the band did not play on too late. I think after a day of diving most people are just too tired for all-nighters. It was a pleasant evening but we are missing our friends and families, we’ll have to make friends with some fish tomorrow 🙂
[Pictures: Another shot from around the island. The fancy resort on the other side. Beautiful]
The staff and kids at Uncle Chang’s enjoying their xmas party
[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Our first dives here are tomorrow so today was a chance to relax and enjoy the place. It’s been a ridiculously chilled out day.
V has been reading for most of it either in the hammock or in bed and I’ve been writing posts or fidgeting with our stuff and doing chores (apparently I can’t sit still for more than 5 minutes). We managed to haul ourselves to the food tables for meals but other than that didn’t do anything until late this afternoon.
We decided to go for a walk around the island. It’s probably smaller than one square kilometer with resorts all the way around it. On the far side are some fancier resorts (very fancy in fact) but what stands out most is the converted oil rig that has been plonked just offshore as a make-shift dive resort. We wandered around the ‘coastline’ as much as possible but there are a lot of fences and ‘private’ areas. Our side of island is definitely the poor cousin but we like it. Some of the resorts are huge – I can’t imagine having to fight over 50 people for dinner.
The inner part of the island was a bit of a shock. It’s a maze where the locals live and the first thing you notice is that there are way too many people in such a small space. The vast majority seem to be kids. It’s really nothing more than a shanty town but walking through everyone is friendly and most didn’t give us a second look. One of the missions of the day was to find a WiFi access point but we had no luck (that’s why nothing has been posted for ages).
After dinner V was watching the water from our deck and spotted amongst the hoards of fish and star fish, lots of pipe fish, a cuttlefish and a huge turtle. What a place. We can’t wait to get In the water tomorrow.
[Pictures: V multi-tasking, chilling and reading at the same time. The oil rig resort – got to stay there one day]
[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] A short walk from Uncle Tan’s to the main road got us on the next passing bus headed for Semporna. The hostel had booked seats on a bus but it wasn’t necessary. A mind numbing action movie got us through the first couple of hours of the 5 hour trip. At least they supplied water and a nibble on the way – it was an easy and relatively comfortable trip.
We arrived in Semporna around 1 and after spending a minute dismissing scuba centre touts V led us off to find ‘Uncle Chang’s dive centre’ (yip, Malaysia is full of uncles). Semporna is tiny, more of a village than a town, and the Google map pin wasn’t very precise but thankfully the people in Malaysia are friendly and kind. A security guy at a store left post and walked (without asking for or expecting money) us the 800m through town and across some piers to Uncle Chang’s. How decent is that? The staff at the UC office, a small spot compared to the flash looking Scuba Junkie outfit, were brilliant. Sing Sing (the lady we booked through) arrived just after us. She had been at the bus station looking for us but we just missed her. We had to go back into town to get cash and supplies so Sing Sing offered us a lift. Once again the jewels of Malaysia are it’s people.
We loaded up with an obscene amount of munchies and supplies having been warned that the inclusive food would be bland. The transfer to Mabul in the small dive boat took around an hour. A little longer than usual due to the low tide making it tricky to get through the sand banks. Once past the obstacles the driver floored it on the choppy seas giving the 6 of us in the back quite a ride. We were pleasantly surprised with Uncle Chang’s when we arrived. A long-house built on stilts out in the crystal clear water. We were expecting a grotty mattress on the floor and a shared bathroom but got a double room with bathroom, actual furnishings and beautiful views. More than acceptable for us even if there is a nasty smell at peak loo times.
Eight full days here in this paradise should be great. Just look at the Google images of Mabul or Sipadan and you’ll see what I mean. We’ve booked diving around Mabul on 24th and 28th and Sipadan for Newton-mas and again on the 27th with the possibility of a night dive (cash permitting). I suspect we are not going to want to leave.
[Pictures: Uncle Chang’s Long House and deck on Mabul]
[Sepilok, Malaysian Borneo] Here it is in writing – V has promised that we never have to go to another rain forest again… EVER! Unless of course it’s a 5 star lodge with air-conditioned trails and our own personal assistant to follow us around swatting mozzies. In fairness, this has been by far the best jungle experience we have ever had and can highly recommend Uncle Tan’s. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable (this makes the biggest difference compared to Mulu), accommodation basic but good and the food more varied than expected. River safaris are also, in our opinion, the only way to see a rain forest (okay… zip-lines are cool too… combining them would be awesome).
This mornings 6am River safari was good too. V spotted an Orang swinging majestically along before disappearing in the leaves and we got to watch some Silver Leaf (with wicked hairstyles) and Red Leaf monkeys launching from tree to tree. Also got up close to a 3m croc on the way back to the jetty – swimming here would be a bad idea!
After the transfer back to civilization V and I spent the rest of the afternoon at the ops base camp soaking up the Internet and abusing the shower. It still seems nuts to us that our room here has aircon but the showers are cold water only. Oh well. When in Sepilok…
[Pictures: The PC’s at ops base are locked up tight. Won’t even let you connect a USB stick – so no pics yet]
UPDATE
Sylvie was kind enough to upload and provide a link to the photos they took at Uncle Tans. You can view them by clicking here
[Kinabatagan, Malaysian Borneo] 6am is not a good time of the day for us but V was up in a beat and off to the ablutions (no showers btw) some 400m away – not fun in the middle of the night I can assure you. A quick cup of tea and we hit the river. These river safaris are the best and most comfortable way to see the jungle in our opinion.
As we headed down stream the sun started to chase the clouds away. We didn’t see much for some time – mostly birds (Kingfisher and Fish Eagle) and more macaques. The jungle here is not primary rain forest and is dotted with the evil palm oil plantations (but we like marge a lot) but most leave corridors connecting the pockets of jungle – I assume they supply the animals with maps. Sightings improved dramatically: a troupe of Gibbons, some Proboscis monkeys and three Orang Utangs. The gibbons are the coolest of the lot in our opinion. Such amazingly long arms and impeccable skills. One was showing off swinging around the trees with one arm. The Orangs were off in the distance perched on their nest high in a leafy tree. We were lucky to see them – a youngster, a mother and her baby (that was only visible after zooming in on the photos). The Proboscis sighting wasn’t too good. Hope we get a closer look at the ‘Dutchmen’ later on.
Back at camp we munched a large breakfast around the swam of bees that were desperately trying to reclaim the honey on our pancakes. Our little group is pleasant and chilled. A Frenchman and a French-Dutch couple. Joep (the Dutchman) used the ‘off’ time to school everyone, including the staff, in table tennis. The guy is a master. Our next activity was a jungle walk. Knowing what to expect we were not looking forward to it. Jungle walks mean muddy shoes, mozzies, sweat and sightings of plants and insects. The walk lived up to expectations but the guide was knowledgeable and interesting – we even learnt a few things in between swatting mozzies (the mozzies here are so viscous that they even go for V).
An afternoon snooze with a table tennis ‘World Jungle Championship’ going on in the background and we were keen on getting going on the evening boat safari. We did get to see the Proboscis Monkeys up a little closer but not much else and in the fading light photography was useless. The flying foxes however, were impressive. Thousands of them heading off overhead to feed. With a wingspan of up to a meter they are the largest flying mammal. The ride back to camp was interesting – speeding along the river in the dark – lucky the moon was out!
After dinner we were scheduled to go on a night jungle walk around 9. With the rain setting in and weighing the chances of seeing something interesting with the discomfort level, V and I decided to opt out and headed to bed early. Good call I think. The others came back drenched after spotting one frog and a bird sleeping with it’s head under it’s wing 🙂
[Pictures: Will Upload]
Some Flying Foxes and a lot of boring clips from the river safaris
This morning we joined the other guests (a couple of very young and very Australian girls and a French chap) for the outing to the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary a couple of kilometers down the road. We love the idea behind the place. They rehabilitate and care for Orangs in need and then re-introduce them to the wild. Going as far as teaching the babies to climb and tempting them further and further into the jungle with feeding platforms. They don’t want them returning to the sanctuary and it appears to be a truly noble endeavor.
The morning was overcast and muggy as we sat waiting on the causeway near to one of the feeding platforms with at least 50 other tourists. Various types and sizes of macaque (the equivalent of vervet monkeys) started arriving stirring up a bit of noise and mischief. Precisely on time two men climbed onto the feeding platform with two large buckets of bananas. The macaques were frantic but the guys were having none of it, continuously chasing them away. It didn’t take long for an Orang to come cruising in along the cables. A mom with her baby buried in hair under her arm. They are amazingly cool animals with those big arms. Beautiful to watch swinging along. Mom politely took 3 bunches of bananas (one in each foot and one in her mouth) and headed off to a nearby platform to enjoy breakfast. A cheeky macaque managed to steal a few bananas from her but she seemed content. She ate and then just as gracefully swung onto another cable back into the jungle. Unfortunately that was that. No more Orangs arrived so I guess the sanctuary is doing it’s job very well.
After lunch and a chance to hammock out for an hour or so before we bundled into a minivan with three others for the transfer to the jungle camp. An hour and a half in the van and another chilly hour on an open boat heading upriver and we arrived at Tan’s camp. Not bad at all. Not as snazzy as Mulu National Park but the staff seem more jacked (and their website is cool too www.uncletan.com) Guess that’s the difference between government and private. The overcast weather that had been threatening all day thankfully didn’t amount to much – just a few drops as we headed out after dinner for our night river safari. We didn’t spot much. Typical… Some baby crocs thinking about having a go at a large Night Heron, some owls and a lot of sleeping Macques. Something we didn’t know – monkeys can sleep on branches because of their tails but apes (like the Orangs) have to build a nest. Anyway we got back to our hut around 11 – it was a long, hot and humid day. Tomorrow we have a morning safari, so up at 6am. Yay.
[Pictures: Huts + water = mozzies… Yikes! We’ll upload more pics as soon as we can]
Six hours of bus travel for us today to get to Uncle Tan’s operations base camp near Sepilok. We grabbed a taxi to the long distance bus station outside KK with the intention of getting a bus around 10am. Before we could get out of the cab touts had seized our luggage and were arranging our seats on the next bus. Normally that would have annoyed us but in a Malaysia it’s not an issue.
Having slept less than 3 hours last night most of the bus journey was a slumbering blur to me. I did wake long enough realize that the road was very windy as we passed Mount Kinabalu. The views of Kinabalu were spectacular. Perfect weather exposing the black peaks. We were really unlucky with our ascent.
Six hours later we were deposited at an intersection on the main road from KK to Semporna. A short (sign says 150m, but Malaysian distances are always optimistic) walk down the road got us to Uncle Tan’s. The place was pretty deserted and of a reasonable standard (WiFi, Aircon but not hot shower – go figure!). It’s our first experience with ‘all meals included’ accommodation in Malaysia so we were not sure what to expect. Dinner was good and basic. Tomorrow we go back into the jungle.
Our flight was only at 15:30 so we had most of the day to kill before leaving the park. We spent it lounging around in the cafeteria. A very old local tribesman arrived to collect supplies from the kitchen stores. Traditionally and practically dressed he also carried a serious looking machete. He shouldered a massive load in a hand-woven reed pack and headed off into the jungle – tough looking guy!
We eventually decided to walk to the airport. Only about 1.5km – still enough to break a sweat in these hot and humid conditions. There really is nothing here besides the national park. It’s a chilled out spot where the control tower guys hang their washing out the windows and the x-ray and metal detectors aren’t even manned. We had another few hours to wait at the airport – it was painfully boring. The plane ride was uneventful (always a good thing) and we were once again thankful for the Milo and muffins.
We are back at Kinabalu backpackers for two nights. If they had a membership programme we would be at ‘gold’ level already. After a full day here in civilization we’re heading back into the jungle!
Our flight departed KL on time at 21h45. We were expecting the worst for a long-haul Air Asia flight but it was fine (not for me). You have to pay for food and drink and there is no in-flight entertainment. Not that it mattered – I swallowed pills to keep me comatose as much as possible. Spending New Years at 30 000ft is suppose to be a little more fun than this !
[Semporna, Malaysian Borneo] Our departure from the island was scheduled for 4pm so we were expecting a boring day on the deck but luckily there was a boat going when we got up. That led to a mad rush to get our gear together, copy photos from Jeroen and say our goodbyes to everyone before speeding off towards the mainland. 
We signed in and immediately descended to around 20m at ‘South Point’. It was a stunning dive. Tonnes of immaculate coral stretching up the reef wall. 30m+ visibility meant you could gaze up the wall and see white tip sharks and turtles circling above. We spotted countless creatures as our small group cruised along with the gentle current. The tea break had everyone itching to get back in the water – who needs tea when the conditions are that perfect?
We decided to go for a walk around the island. It’s probably smaller than one square kilometer with resorts all the way around it. On the far side are some fancier resorts (very fancy in fact) but what stands out most is the converted oil rig that has been plonked just offshore as a make-shift dive resort. We wandered around the ‘coastline’ as much as possible but there are a lot of fences and ‘private’ areas. Our side of island is definitely the poor cousin but we like it. Some of the resorts are huge – I can’t imagine having to fight over 50 people for dinner. 
After lunch and a chance to hammock out for an hour or so before we bundled into a minivan with three others for the transfer to the jungle camp. An hour and a half in the van and another chilly hour on an open boat heading upriver and we arrived at Tan’s camp. Not bad at all. Not as snazzy as Mulu National Park but the staff seem more jacked (and their website is cool too 