Tawau/Semporna - Day 2 (Tawau Town - Kapalai Dive Resort)

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Our stay at the LA Hotel, Tawau includes a complimentary breakfast for two persons. They served simple breakfast such as nasi lemak, fried noodles, chicken rendang, potato curry, baked beans, hash browns, sausages, porridge, toast and fruits. A lovely bowl of porridge with a fried egg is exactly what I need to get my day started. We checked out of the hotel at 8am, and the van from Kapalai Dive Resort was already waiting for us to take us to the Semporna Jetty.

The van ride from LA Hotel to Semporna Jetty takes about 1 hour 45 minutes (108km). We were the only guests picked up from the hotel to Semporna Jetty, and the ride was pleasant with a few bumps. We arrived at the jetty at 9.50am, and half an hour later, we boarded a speed boat to Kapalai Dive Resort with four other guests. It's a smooth 50-minute boat ride. We were greeted with a welcome drink, and after completing out the guest information form, they gave us a quick overview of the island.

Lunch is served from 12.30pm to 2pm and we can only check in after 2pm. It began to rain but thankfully stopped after lunch. This time, their lunch did not impress me. The food was decent but not outstanding. The red beans are not entirely cooked and remain firm. Apart from that, the fish dish no longer tastes good, lacking in flavour and freshness. Although tuna soup is delicious, the soup's element - fish and chicken are bland.

They had a limited supply of red dragon fruits, which are all taken by other guests after we finish our lunch. In fact, we spotted a table that had not eaten the dragon fruits and had left them on the table to be thrown away. What a waste of food! When I approached the staff to inquire if they had any more dragon fruits, they answer no but later returned with a platter of them. It's very sweet that they went out of their way to find one for us.

We check in at 2pm, and our friend's chalet is just next to us. We wandered around the resort and took a tea break at 3.10pm. They served donut, pisang goreng (banana fritters) and sponge cake. There is not enough cream filling in the donut. The banana fritters are unripe and it's cold. I'm glad the sponge cake tasted good. After tea, we continued exploring the island and spotted a sea turtle. We were too tired to walk back to our chalet and requested a buggy service. My partner and his friend went for in house snorkeling session till 5.30pm. Since our chalet is so near to the small artificial island, I waited for the sunset at 6pm but too bad the weather was too cloudy.

We had our dinner at 7pm. The majority of the China tourists rushed to get the food, and some even cut the line. I'm not sure why there's such a rush when there's plenty of food. The dinner theme is BBQ, but the food is cold. Fish doesn't taste good as well. I'm a big fan of corn on the cob but sadly the kernels are slightly tough. Somehow, we didn't feel like having a second serving of all the food.

On our way back to our chalet, we noticed a few guests looking at one of the resort's plants. Feeling curious, we went over and it appears that they spotted a sea snake making its way to the tree plant! We spotted two more sea snakes and informed one of the staff. He tried unsuccessfully to shove the snakes back into the water. He eventually just left the snakes on the plant.

We all end the night by relaxing on the small artificial island and sipping beer. There was a clear sky and plenty of stars, but no meteors were seen that night.



Rafflesia Cafe


Nasi lemak and fried noodles


Chicken rendang and potato curry


Baked bean, hash brown and sausages


Porridge and condiments


Salad and mixed fruits


Bread and cakes


Cereal section


Drinks, coffee and tea


Fried egg with baked beans


My breakfast


Semporna Jetty


Semporna Jetty reception area


Semporna Jetty lobby


Our speed boat to Kapalai Dive Resort


Goods to be delivered to Kapalai Dive Resort


Our speed boat to Kapalai Dive Resort


Semporna Town


Spotted another speed boat


Welcome drink


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Free flow of coffee and tea


Free flow of drinking water and cordial juice


Corn custard kuih, pancakes and glutinous rice with sweet coconut topping


Buns and brown sugar kuih kosui


Buns


Waffles


Bread section


Bao (steamed buns with assorted fillings) and a small corner selling snacks


Buns


Fish soup tuna


Sauce


Chopped chili pepper, calamansi and chopped garlic


Salad


Pickled vegetables


Cucumber salad


Ulam


White rice


Fried rice


Chicken


Squid


Beef


Crispy fried enoki


Water spinach


Long beans


Vegetables


Fish


Chapati


Dhal


Watermelon and dragon fruits


Honeydew


Coffee jelly


Mango jelly


Pudding


Red bean soup


Butter cake


Marble cake


Fish soup tuna


My lunch


Freshly cut red dragon fruits


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Futsal, basketball and volleyball court for staff


Futsal, basketball and volleyball court for staff


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


The stairs going to the beach (high tide)


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Kapalai Dive Resort


Donuts


Banana fritters


Staff fixing the roof top


Kapalai Dive Resort


Lookout tower


Kapalai Dive Resort


Spotted a sea turtle


Sunset at Kapalai Dive Resort


Sunset at Kapalai Dive Resort


Sunset at Kapalai Dive Resort


Chopped chili pepper, calamansi and chopped garlic


Cucumber salad


Salad


Macaroni and cheese


White rice


Fried noodles


Chicken wings


Grilled lamb


BBQ squid and prawns


Baked potatoes with curry powder and cheese


Sausages


Chicken and beef satay


Gado-gado (Indonesian salad)


Crackers


Crackers


Vegetables


Sambal stingray


Honeydew and watermelon


Corns


Custard


Pudding


My dinner


Small artificial island


Chill

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