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Helen and I say cheery bye to Yankee Roger when we're left at the village near the jungle camp. There just so happens to be a local bus sitting waiting to take us to Lahad Datu. Its brand new and we think this can't be private transport just for us!! Low and behold 10 minutes down the road families start to fill every space inside with us now being squashed into 1 1/2 seats. The 70km journey isn't the most comfortable and the air con doesn't seem to work. What can you expect for a brand new van. The driver takes us to 3 different bus stations in Lahad Datu before we get the right one for the onward journey to Semporna. As we wait at the bus station a wee kid is running up and down trying to sell us cigs from his wheelbarrow. Funny kid and gave us a nice pose - That pic is for you Roger the customs dodger!! We wait for another hour or so for the bus to fill up before we are finally on our way.

Padi and the Turtles

Gareth Penpraze
2007-04-21 00:14:43

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you with confidence. Basically Sipidan is a tiny island with almost the best diving in the world. within 2
minutes of being in the water we see turtles, sharks, amazing coral and god knows what else type of fish. Its a divers playground here but were soon to realise there are pretty strong currents. I just thought you had left and right currents but here you have up currents (that will send you to a decompression chamber) and down currents (send you 50metres in a matter of seconds where the air becomes toxic). Either way you are more likely to die!! I'm glad we had no pre-warning about this.

Each day is 3 dives and after a lunch on the beach the last thing anyone wants to do is get into the water. We go to Turtle cave where the local legend George lives. George is a 2-3 metre long baracudda. No one ever seems to see his growling face but just shadows in the darkness. You can always feel his stare in the cave. Its absolutely amazing in the cave when you turn round to see the light streaming in but is dam scary looking in from the outside. as we leave there are about 15 white tip reef sharks swimming just below us - Dave informs us he's never seen that many in his many years of diving. Lucky they never attacked!!

Day 2 and I'm only meant to have 2 dives, one a drift dive (which I'd been doing all day the day before) and a navigation dive (that you can't do at Sipidan). So i get an extra 2 for nout making the Advanced Open Water very good value for money there. I was going to go to Sandakan the next morning just to break up the travelling but I foolishly decide on the night bus to Kota Kinabalu - where my flight is from - and spend the next day diving again.

I'm at a different island with the Open Water Students - Sibuan. Amazing to chill on and get a nice bit of colour, too much in my case. The diving there is much different. You have time to look at smaller things and the currents don't mess you about. Not as much exciting things to look at but was quality none the less - stuff like frog fish (ugly bastards) that barely move even if you poke them, sea erchants. Me and Kai, dive buddy get real close to
one of the turtles. We sneak up on it and easily within touching distance before the dopey thing wakes up. We just let him be cos he'll tell his makes and they won't come back!!

So 3 days at Semporna, a new qualification, shit loads of turtles and sharks and I'm off on the night bus to KK for my flight back to mainland Malaysia. Totally worth going to Borneo even though I didn't get a stamp in my passport - I did ask the customs guy but he said Tidak!!

On to the Cameron Highlands for a decent cup of tea!! Yak shamash

Gareth Penpraze
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/ASBO-Holidays/