Mabul and Sipadan

I was standing in the highway junction somewhere in the middle of palm oil plantations, waiting for a bus that would take me to Semporna. There were a couple of other guys, locals, waiting too and when the bus came they made sure I got on it safely, helped with my backpack and were so helpful in every way. As off we went again. The bus ride from Sukau junction to Semporna costs 40RM on an AC bus and takes around 4 hours, very comfortable and easy. When I arrived to Semporna, comfortable and easy wasn't anywhere to be seen anymore. I had exactly 3RM left in my purse after spending a week in the mountains and the jungle with no chance to use the ATM, so I desperately needed to find one. A guy came to ask if I needed a taxi and I explained to him I had to go to the ATM first and then to the clinic to get some antibiotics for my wounds and then find a place to stay, he told me he'd take me for 15RM and we agreed on the price. He dropped me to the first ATM and said he'd go park the car. I asked him kind of half seriously: "but how do I know you're not going to run away with all my stuff?". He looked straight at me and said: "Miss, please trust me." And I did. So he went to park the car and I went to the ATM. Out of order. Fuck. I wade back to the street where I ought he went to park the car but couldn't find the guy anywhere! I cursed in my mind and tried to search for him with no results for a while. My mind is swirling with thoughts, what was in the bag and what do I have with me in my handbag, how to contact my insurance company etc. Then suddenly the guy walks from around the corner and tells me he had to park a bit further away because there were no places closer. I feel relieved and ashamed. He really is trustworthy.

We drive to the next ATM. Doesn't accept foreign cards. What the ef? Well, luckily there's a third place with 3 ATMs close by. All of them are out of money. &,,!!?@&%¥#!! At this point I'm sweating, hungry, my knee hurts and I'm starting to reach my limits. We go to the last ATM in the town and I cross my fingers, as the locals always tell me to do for good luck, and take a place in line that's way longer than I would like for it to be. Well, after waiting in line for ages I get in and get my cash. Whoaa! Finally I get to go to the clinic. I walk into one small local clinic and tell the girls at the counter that I need antibiotics for my wounds and instead of telling me to go see the doctor they hand me the antibiotics and ask for 6RM. Ridiculously easy and cheap. 

After that we try to search for Billabong scuba, which is not very easy to find. They only have a very shady little office in Semporna, their accommodation is on Mabul island. I decide to stay eith Scuba junkie, in one of their dorms. I really wanted to go diving with Scuba Junkie, but they didn't have the Sipadan permits for the dates I was going to be here, so I had to settle for another option. Billabong was cheap but very sketchy. The accommodation was ok, I was waiting for a dorm but instead they made me share a room with a guy. I wasn't too bothered but it wasn't what I had been expecting. The dive aster told us, her customers, before we even went diving that she wanted to quit her job three weeks but her boss talked her back into it. Unprofessional much? She was very much over weight and was complaining abut having to carry the tanks etc. They don't have to do almost anything there because they make their customers carry their own stuff, set their own gear and wash it too. That didn't bother me too much either, but when it came to the security issues, I was really upset with them. Her briefings were useless, she didn't carry an extra weight and when I tried to tell her that I can't get down and my regulator is giving me 50% air and 50% water, she didn't even come back up to me to help me or check on me, she was just staring at me and telling me to get down. Finally I just changed to my second source ( the other regulator that's made for emergencies) which worked a bit better and decided to just swim down. I did the whole dive with a completely empty BCD and had to hang upside down and swim down the whole time we did the safety stop, otherwise I would've just went back to the surface like a rocket. The people didn't know who they were supposed to follow, the groups were too big, she didn't point out almost anything under water, didn't ask for air before the very end of the dive... Completely useless divemaster! They had some more professional ones, like this one Japanese woman who was very good and gave good briefings etc. Well, despite the useless DM my dives ( after the first one, after I changed my regulator and got more weights) ended up being very cool. 

Mabul is a funny little island. Most of the buildings have been been built on water on these high poles. The weather was perfect until we were supposed to go to Sipadan. Sipadan is said to be one of the best dive sites in the world and I was very excited about going there. The night before my Sipadan it started to rain. I don't mean a little rain shower, oh no, it was a full blown proper storm. Everything was shaking and clanking and I was so worried we couldn't go at all that I stayed awake most of the night. The morning came and it was still raining and the sea was very rocky but they told us it'll be ok to go. I was so relieved to hear it that wasn't too bothered about the weather. 

The way to Sipadan was very bumpy, but I love that! Huge waves and the boat jumping up in the air and smashing back into the water. Suddenly we saw a big fin on the surface, not sure if it was a shark or a whale, but it was cool! We arrived to Sipadan and got off the boat to go sign our permits. Sipadan is a marine conservation area and one needs to book their permit well in advance: they only allow 120 divers on the island in one day. I know many people by now who have gotten their permits on arrival, so that's not completely impossible...  but if you don't want to rely on pure luck, get yours in advance. The permits are quite expensive, but I have no idea where the money is going to. It certainly is not going to the people or development of Semporna. The worst shithole town ever. As I said, I wouldn't recommend Billabong for anyone, really. I've been spending some time with the guys who work for Scuba junkie and they seem to be very good. So if I ever return to Sipadan, I'm going to make sure I'll be diving with them. 

Our first dive was at South Point. We jumped into the water and descended into the blue. During the first 15 minutes of the dive I had seen so many turtles and sharks (black tip and white tip reef sharks) that it would've been impossible to keep a count. A very impressive dive! The second dive we did was at Barracuda point, but we didn't see the big schools of barracuda there... the dive was very good and we saw plenty of other stuff. The currents were really strong on this dive and we had to swim against them in the beginning, which was very difficult. I ran out of breath and had a hard time calming down, luckily I managed to do it after a few minutes and enjoyed the rest of the dive very much. Everyone said after the dive that they struggled with the current, so it really was very strong. 

The third dive is hands down one of the coolest dives I've ever done in my life(: Backrolled into the water and after clearing my mask I out my head underwater. Whoa! There was a huge drop off right underneath us. We started the dive along the wall and went into a cave, around 10 meters inside it was completely dark and you could see the torches of cave divers deeper inside. We just peeked in and then continued the dive along the huge drop off. Saw a small school of jacks first, so many turtles, a few sharks and then finally we found the huuuuuuuge school of jacks! That was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. Thousands and thousands of fish moving in perfect sync around us. We continued diving along the wall, I'd look up and see silhouettes of sharks and turtles everywhere! The wall itself is absolutely phenomenal, makes you feel so tiny. In the end of the dive we found a big school of barracudas that were swimming against the current. I jammed my tank banger into the rocks and held onto it while taking a video with GoPro! I'll upload the videos to Vimeo and post the links as soon as I'm back in Bali and can find a fast Internet connection. 

All in all, even though the day was rainy and I was freezing my ass off on the surface intervals, Sipadan was one of the coolest places I've ever seen and the dive at the drop off was one of my all time favorites! Incredibly beautiful. I strongly recommend every single diver to take the effort to make your way to Sipadan, it truly is worth it's reputation! 

Now I have to run to the bus station and catch a bus to Kota Kinabalu. I'm flying back to Bali tomorrow, can't wait!<3