diving

We went to the airport in KK since Anns luggage was not delivered during the night. Her bag was sitting down in the lost luggage office. So grabbed it and flew to Tawau. At the airport in Tawau we hitched a ride with a fancy hotel bus to Semporna, that is the little beach town where all the Sipidan dive operators are set up. We struck a deal with Uncle Changs Diving and spend a night in Semporna. That night on the way to get something to eat, outside on the corner there was a guy set up grilling fresh chunks of tuna. We ordered up some delicious fillets grilled with butter and garlic, some little egg rolls, and calamari. We took our $4 meal into the next door bar and joined it with a couple of beer. Easily the best meal in Malaysia.
The next day we took a 40 minute boat ride out to Mabul Island. Uncle Chang has a backpackers lodge out there amongst the local fishing village. A bunch of shanty shacks up on stilts over the water. We got there and had breakfast, all the meals are included, geared up and went out for our first three dives. We saw many big sea turtles. The reef has been hit pretty hard by fishing and there is too much trash floating in the water, but we still saw plenty of good stuff. When diving you are taught not too touch anything, coral, fish sea turtles. I was a little bit taken a back when our dive masters would prod and poke with their little sticks, of course with the prodding and poking they uncovered some cool stuff that we would not have seen otherwise.
There is a funny little drum kit that someone made out of five gallon buckets and water jugs, the stands are all bent and welded rebar. They dragged that out along with an electric acoustic guitar and one of the dive masters and another couple of guys rocked out all night. Most of the workers are Filipino and have come down illegally. With them they bring pints of rum, if you know the know or are in with the in, you can acquire a pint of rum for $3, and it is good rum at that. I did not drink too much because i knew we would be diving Sipidan the next day and i wanted to be clear in the head.
Sipidan Island is protected from fishing by the government. The island is very small but the reef extends out pretty far, it is known as one of the healthiest reefs in the world. You hit the water and you are in complete awe. It is hard to explain, within just a couple of meters (we speak metric underwater) there are 50 different species of marine life and coral. The sun was shining that day so the colors were vivid. It is like swimming in a fish tank. Whenever the dive master sees something interesting he will tap his tank with his prodding and poking stick to get your attention. it was a non stop orchestra of 'tink tink tink' The gov. only allows 100 people a day to dive Sipidan, and no one touches, prods, or pokes anything. We saw tons of turtles, turtles that you could swim right up to, or that would gracefully swim with in centimeters of you. We dove Sipidan the next day and it was just as good, but you could tell that a storm was on its way in. That night it poured down rain and has not let up until last night. Six days later. Ann was getting sick and durring her second day in Sipidan decided not too dive any more, because you can't dive with a head cold without causing permanent ear damage. She sold her last three dives in Mabul to a cool Swiss guy, so he and i and the dive master hit the water outside of Mabul Island for our last day of diving. It was raining and a little cold, but you could still see plenty of good stuff under the sea. After my last dive we headed back to the mainland and got pelted by rain the whole way home. Josh and Lori had left the day before, and we were going to meet them in the town of Sandakan. Ann and i Spent the night in Semporna and then hoped a bus back to Sandakan the next day. Our bus trip to Sandakan was fine until about 20 miles out, when the bus stopped behind a line of traffic. It took a while for us to understand what the driver meant when he said " Bridge is out from rain, you can wait here till tomorrow or the next day or walk" Wait here, like in the bus for two days????
walk 20 miles in the pouring down rain, and what cross a muddy river that is strong enough to tear down a bridge?????
"No" he says" there are mini busses on the other side and you can cross the river, maybe up to your knees"

Ann and i were both a little warey but we started walking. less than a mile, we came across the problem, it was not a bridge that got washed out but the entire road, It had to have happened a while ago since there were police directing traffic and a tractor down in a hole where the road used to be. We tracked through the mud and jungle and crossed the little river of mud, maybe up to my shins. The hardest part was not slipping in the mud on the way down to the little river. Every one was walking, We were the only foreigners around and everyone thought it was funny that we were out. I was the first to venture across then set my bag in the mud on the other side. There was a little Malay who i helped by grabbing his bag then i told him to climb up on my back and i would take him across. Instead of climbing he jumped up onto my back, i was not ready for this and the momentum got me going through the river a bit too fast, i did not fall, but i hit the muddy bank on the other side, mudded up my shorts as the guy jumped off safely, then he grabbed my wrists and pulled me up. Everyone around was laughing and Ann was wishing for her camera. We got ann across and then hiked up the other side to where a mini bus was waiting. In Sandakan we found a decent priced hotel, and took a well deserved long hot shower. The next day we hooked up wit Josh and Lori and moved into their hotel. It is the same place i stayed last time i was in Borneo. It is owned and run by a very anal and stern Chinese guy. The rooms are great, air-con and big flat screen TV's with cable and dvd player. There are a bunch of DVD's to chose from. You must leave your key at the counter, then upon arival back in your room after being out in town, the beds are made, all your stuff is organized. my ipod is placed neatly on the counter with the headphones cord wrapped up with a rubber band, a rubber band that was never on there before, my clothes a neatly folded. Everything in the lobby is labeled and overly organized. It is actually kind of nice after being in the mud and the rain, to have everything clean and organized