Tawau/Semporna - Day 2 (Mabul Water Bungalow Resort)
Day trip to Sipadan from Mabul Water Bungalow Resort is available and price per trip is RM 520 per person per day. However, there's a special reopening promotion from the resort and price per trip is RM 200 per person per day from August to December 2020. During peak season, only guests who stay from 5 nights onwards are allowed to have a one day diving guarantee at Sipadan Island and priority will be given to divers. Visitor requires a permit for diving and snorkeling at Sipadan. There's only 176 permits per day and it's divided among the dive resorts and dive centers. The resort has to submit guest's details to Sabah Park for approval. Our Sipadan day trip was approved and majority of the resort guests selected the 6am slot. So we woke up at 5.15am on our 2nd day in Mabul Water Bungalow Resort and get ourselves prepared for the half day trip. The resort prepared simple breakfast (bread, coffee and tea) at the dining area before our early departure.
While we waited for everyone to gather outside the Divers store at 6am, we saw sunrise out of the horizon even though the weather was a bit cloudy. There's twenty of us excluding the dive guide in two separate boats. All of them are divers except me and my partner. We departed from Mabul Water Bungalow Resort at 6.15am and reached Sipadan Island 20 minutes later. We saw a beautiful double rainbow on our way to Sipadan Island.
There's a registration counter in Sipadan Island and we registered our name after our temperature screening. The divemaster gave a short briefing before we proceed to the 1st dive at Barracuda Point. There's 13 dive sites in Sipadan Island - Barracuda Point, Turtle Tomb / Cave, Drop Off, North Point, West Ridge, Hanging Gardens, Lobster Lairs, Staghorn Crest, South Point, Turtle Patch, Mid Reef, White Tip Avenue and Coral Garden.
Barracuda Point is the most popular dive spot in Sipadan. If you are lucky enough you may spot a huge shoal of barracudas often making a tornado-like formation. I followed our boat to the 1st dive point at 7.15am. The divers went down first followed by my partner. He's the only one that snorkeled. My partner followed the snorkel guide and he pointed out different marine life for him. The waves was rough due to the bad weather and despite the fact that he's wearing a life jacket, he still need a lifebuoy ring. I waited for them on the boat and it rained so heavily. I managed to stay dry thanks to the large towel provided by the resort staff.
We went back to Sipadan Island 1 hour later and had our breakfast. They served simple breakfast - fried flat noodles, sausages, hard boiled egg, bread and watermelon. There's free flow of coffee, tea or drinking water. The divers were exhausted and they took a break until 9am before they went for their 2nd dive. They didn't manage to see the huge shoal of barracudas but they saw plenty of fish.
Finally the rain stopped and they went for the 2nd dive at South Point. This is the best snorkeling spot based on my partner's opinion compared to Barracuda Point. South Point is famous for its wall of coral. Even though the rain has stopped, the sea is still very rough. Luckily I didn't get seasick on the boat. All of us went back to Sipadan Island to rest until 11.45am before their final dive at West Ridge. This dive site is a famous spot for turtles. In fact I saw two turtles swimming right in front of our boat!
Basically, if you're not into diving or snorkeling, there's nothing impressive about Sipadan Island except for the crystal clear water. It's just a small island and no divers are allowed to stay on the island after 3pm. After their final dive, we left Sipadan Island around 12.50pm and 20 minutes later we are back to Mabul Water Bungalow Resort. The timing is just nice for our lunch. They served us rice with ayam masak merah (chicken in spicy tomato sauce) which is good, lady's finger which is undercooked and flower crab. The rice's texture is slightly better today and not too hard compared to yesterday.
We went back to our room after lunch and took a short nap since two days in a row we woke up so early. We had our tea break at 4.30pm. They served fried sweet potatoes which is crispy and sweet. We decided to check out the sunset bar located on the island after our tea break. We took a buggy ride as we're too lazy to walk. The weather was cloudy hence we couldn't see the sunset at 6.20pm. Since it's still too early to have our dinner I decided to try and take some Milky Way photos in front of our chalet. The photos turned out beautifully.
Tonight's dinner was a bit special because a group of CID (Criminal Investigation Division) police from Bukit Aman were here. So, the resort prepared BBQ and Karaoke session for them. There's grilled lamb, beef, prawns and chicken wings. Apart from that, they served fried rice and fried noodles as well. Sadly, fried noodles tasted a bit salty for me. Grilled beef was too tough and grilled chicken wasn't well marinated. After our dinner, we went back to our room and I continued with my star gazing activity. I was lucky enough to spot a falling star. Besides that, I saw two sea turtles swimming underneath our water chalet.
Comments
Post a Comment