My Heart Soars: Mabul & Sandakan : Part 3

20.01.2015 - My boat ride from Semporna took an hour and I arrived on Mabul Island at 3.30pm. It was hot and I could feel the heat. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by a Ms Patricia, the staff leader in the guesthouse. As my ears were still ringing from the boat's engine, I told her to slow down her speech as I could not catch her words. She laughed. She told me the house rules which I only remember one - no electricity from 6.30am till 6.30pm. The generator kicks in after 6.30pm and good thing I brought my power bank. I was the only guest that day. It was a Tuesday. I don't suppose many people will come during a weekday. But it felt good to be a solo guest. I enjoyed the peace and quiet and the solitary environment.

I was brought to my room. The accommodation costs RM80 per night which includes meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) too. There is a standing fan in the room which is sufficient especially since it gets cold at night. The balcony has some hanging dead corals as wall decorations. I walked onto the balcony and saw my neighbours - the Bajau Laut or known as the Sea Gypsy. They live on the boat and does everything on the boat. If they do go on land, they get dizzy. But there are Sea Gypsy which has led modern life now where they stay on land which is just behind the guesthouse.

There are many dive sites in Mabul Island. I went to 6 dive sites during my stay. Mabul diving spots is famous for macro viewing i.e requirement to use macro lens to spot the marine life. I learnt of the term 'Nudibranch' which I informally call them as sea slugs but they are colourful mollusks. I saw turtles, eels, schools of fish, squid, lion fish (poisonous) but no sharks (I did hope to see sharks). I shall post some photos soon. But not in this post.

Now, I had a culture shock in Scuba Jeff Guesthouse - the staff set up the diving equipment and return the equipment back. So, you need not carry anything. Which I am thankful for because I don't have a strong back to carry the oxygen tank from the back of the guesthouse to the boat. Therefore, there is a 'Diving Crew Tip Box' at the front to thank them.

I did not dive on the first day of my arrival. The dive instructor tells me my dive starts tomorrow. Hence, I laze around on the hammock. Enjoyed the view. Absorbed the surroundings. Felt the heat and the breeze. Amazed by the greenness and the clarity of the water.

At about 4.30pm, I decided to go for a walk around the village. There were many sundry shops around and massage center too. I did not go into any and hence, I have no idea on the price. I walked for about an hour and saw a mosque, a school, a private and posh resort which I found out the name is Sipadan Water Village (SWV) - they have a sign to warn trespassers but I entered just for a SHORT while. The fascinating thing that intrigued me in the village is the villagers make their own boats. I saw many boats in the building process. The Sea Gypsy has the best original boat. They empty a tree trunk its contents and carved a boat. You can see the boat in the above photo where the Sea Gypsy kids are seated inside.