[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]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi