Sheila and I had chatted with a fellow traveler in an earlier adventure who told us about Borneo, which included pygmy elephants and orangutans, so it had been on our radar for awhile. Sheila recently started scuba diving and heard about the incredible diving at Sipadan, off the coast of Borneo. It all came together this year, and off we went.
The travel company Scuba Junkie had been recommended to her, so we went with them. They had a “sister company” River Junkie that organized trips to the jungle, and we used them for the second part of our trip.
Borneo is the third largest island in the world, located near southeast Asia. It has three countries on it: Indonesia, Malaysia, or Brunei. We stayed in Malaysia for this trip.
I had terrible keeping all these places beginning with ‘S’ separate, so here they are in order of our trip:
- Sabah: The state we spent most of our time. It’s northwest in Borneo.
- Semporna: A not-terribly-impressive seaside city in Sabah where Scuba Junkie departs for Mabul island, where their diving resort is located.
- Sipadan: An island with one of the richest marine habitats in the world. It is a marine park, so access is strictly limited. Mabul Island is nearby.
- Sepilok: A small town in the state of Sabah. It’s home to two wildlife sanctuaries (Orangutans and Sun Bears) and the Rain forest Discovery Center.
- Sandakan: large city in Sabah near Sepilok
