We landed in Borneo (Tawau)after the massive confusion of flight changes and delays etc - but got in on time for the diving course we booked - what a relief! The shuttle to the main harbour town (Semporna) was cheap and easy to find at the airport.
Semporna was THE worst smelling place in the world and we couldn't wait to get out of there!!! We don't complain much about some of the conditions we run into - but this was bad! Our first task was to go and get some cash but on the way there, in the dark, a man grabbed Nix arm and tried to steal her watch... And then had he ordacity to follow us around for another 10 mins. We knew exactly who he was but he tried to change his shirt etc to confuse us but we kept an eye on him and eventually headed home to bed (without the money!!) because we were quite nervous! Semporna means place of rest - we found it anything but!
In the morning we chatted to the dive school and managed to get on the early transfer out of the town, instead of the midday one we were supposed to be on, thank goodness! And so we were off to the island paradise of Mabul! It is an island off the south eastern coast of Sabah which has become popular as it is just 15km from the islands of Sipidan, the worlds number one dive site.
We were diving through scubajunkies (very much recommended!) and we had a private 30 minute transfer through them. We had no ideal of the chaos that awaited us...
We strolled off the ferry and were mesmerised by the beautiful beaches and bright blue sea, contrasted right alongside by the tiny local village that houses over two thousand people, over half of them ages 14 and below. Majority of them are immigrants from the Philippines and they live a nomadic lifestyle as they cannot work legally on the island. The conditions are appalling but the children seem to be happy and content...
All of a sudden about 20 children came walking out of the bushes and our immediate thoughts were that this could be a school class, but we were rather confused. I was right at the end of the pier when they reached me and at this point I noticed that the crowd of kids were carrying a baby upside down... which caught my attention, luckily. Within a few seconds they all disappeared into the village but I couldn't forget the image of the little limp boy and it suddenly hit me that he had possibly drowned and they were trying to find an adult in the village to help. I screamed down the pier and the girls came running and went in search of the child.
When Bean found him one of the adults had taken him and was just staring at him, holding him by one foot, confused at what should be done... As Bean deals with emergencies like this often at work she grabbed him immediately and got to work. I ran to the accommodation we were in and told them what was going on and by the time I arrived back the boy was breathing again, but barely.
Long story short, we have no idea how long he was underwater for nor how long ago it had happened but Beanie managed to get him breathing and ran him to the dive school to put him on oxygen. After at least an hour they located his father and they were sped off, by scuba junkies dive school, to the hospital on the mainland. Apparently he was released from hospital the next day, thank goodness.
After the incident we were all in a state, it was the most stressful few hours we have had to dealt with the while trip and we were completely drained. Unsure of the outcome at that point, we were all very teary and emotional for the rest of the day... we literally sat, drank tea and cried.
After pulling ourselves together and having the most delicious lunch at scuba junkies (it's all inclusive so we definitely over indulged!) we went and relaxed in the sun and had a walk around the car free island. The island doesn't offer much, there are no shops and the beaches all have warnings for sting rays and stone fish so unless you're a diver (or happy to sit in the sun and read, though life) I wouldn't suggest the tripe there!
The next day we started our diving but on the way out on the boat we had a first hand experience on the local fishing techniques here. We noticed the dive masters all jump up and shout at a local boat, who sped off immediately as we approached. The sea was topped with a layer of thousands of dead fish ... Apparently, the locals use dynamite fishing and collect all the floating fish of an adequate size. The result is that they not only kill the edible fish but also the beautiful colourful/ small /rare fish and just leave them behind. It was actually shocking, but apparently a frequent occurrence here - we even heard the blasts while underwater a few times.
The diving in Borneo is some of the best on the world, and the one spot we dived in the Sipidan islands (barracuda reef) is ranked as number one in the world - we were so spoilt! In order to dive on the Sipidan islands you need to obtain a permit in advance so it can be quite pricey - but so worth it! Apparently it is imperative to have this in advance and for your permit to match your passport, but after an error Miss Dale got through with a permit of Mr Dale, so maybe they are not that strict ;)
Il put a few pics in below so you can see some of the wonderful things we saw!
We were so sad to leave the island of Mabul as we had been so spoilt with all the dive sites and really wanted to see a hammer head before we left, but alas we had to! We got back to stinky Semporna, but only for a few hours to shower, have dinner and then catch the night bus to Kota Kinabalu.
The night bus was terrible! It was so icy cold and we had a man who was coughing up a lung next to us who kept us up most of the eve! In the absence of this I suppose it would have been so much better but by the time we arrived at the hostel (early hours of the morning) we were completely exhausted!!! Luckily they had room for us and we headed straight up to sleep...
After our power nap we headed out to the local markets, one specifically for curios (where we spent hours looking for magnets/shot glasses) and then onto the local fresh fish market for a BBQ treat! Now I LOVE seafood but the cuttlefish we tried had an full ink sack and other questionable squishy body parts and it was too much for me. After finishing it I couldn't actually stomach anything else... So we resorted to peanuts pancakes and a Starbucks coffee ;)
The next day we started our mission to see the rangas! Unfortunately the main rehabilitation centre was too far away, but there was a smaller one just half an hour from the city at the Rasa Ria hotel. This hotel sponsors a sanctuary for orphan rangas in order to raise awareness on the deforestation in Borneo. The babies are looked after here until they are a couple of years old, in their first stage rehabilitation so by visiting you are contributing to their good cause.
After interacting with them and watching them eat and play (unfortunately they were a good few metres above us) we went to use the hotel pool and spent the day in the sun! Unfortunately the sun wasn't out for long and the heavens opened which sent us scurrying for a taxi!
Not chancing the fish market BBQ again we had the most amazing noodle Laksa soup at the restaurant downstairs from the hostel! I think we have learned that you need to look for the busiest, cheapest, simplest local restaurants in Asia and you are guaranteed a great meal!
In Sipidan Nix had found a lovely piece of coral on the beach (we promise - it was NOT removed from the sea) and she had decided to take it home to add to her fish tank, which sounded harmless until she spotted a sign at the airport saying that any coral removed from the country could attract a 5 year sentence in jail... Again, I won't go into all the details (we can NOW laugh about it) but she got searched, a finger shaken in her face by security about the 'rock' and then sent on her way but of course her life flashed before her eyes and she envisaged 5 years in a Malaysian prison! So by the time we finished customs Nix was in tears and about to faint! It really doesn't help to read books about prison life in foreign jails while travelling, but thank goodness we didn't loose the little one ;)
And we all safely boarded the flight to Philippines! ;)
