We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Tawu, then were driven to Semporna. We stayed at the Sipadan Inn 2, a small hotel walking distance from Scuba Junkie’s office.
Mabul
We met at 7am at the office.There were about 20 of us. The process was very smooth. We took a one-hour boat ride to Mabul, got outfitted (I got fins, mask, and snorkel) and went out for three dives (or snorkeling).
The group of scuba diver was an international group (lots lived in Australia – even if they were from elsewhere).
All the sites we done/snorkeled the first day were around Mabul
I was the only snorkeler, so had my private guide. He was good at spotting fish and rays that I totally missed. I hadn’t learned the hand signals yet, but the nice thing about snorkeling is that I can lift my head from the water and ask. The ratio of guides to divers was very low – I think the most I saw was four divers to a guide, but it was usually less.
At the first site (south party of the island) we saw blue spotted rays and turtles, and lots of colorful fish. Suddenly my guide swam quickly back away from an area. There was a Trigger fish — very protective of their area, and would bite you if you got too close.
Second dive was an artificial reef for the divers, and along a reef very closed to a resort. Visibility was bad, and boats going by were distracting. But still – more colorful fish.
The last site was Ray City. We saw lots of green sea turtles. And colorful fish.
(Click picture to see as slideshow)
