Diving @ Mabul Island part 1

Mabul island, located south east of Sabah Malaysia, sister island of the world famous Sipadan island. It is not too far from the Philippines, which explains why the water and marine life resembles that of my Bohol trip 2 weeks ago. Waters are clear and turquoise, just like in Bohol. Our dive operator and accommodation, Sphere Divers Lodge.

That's me, Fong, Nad and Sham. A weird combi, some might say. 

First fish we saw....were on a plate. 

This dive trip should not be treated like a holiday, but an expedition. Firstly the other 3 members of the group - all Outward Bound instructors, being outdoors and roughing it out is 2nd nature to them. Boat trip from Tawau to Mabul island, about 45mins in a small speedboat in the rain. By the time we reached our destination we were drenched from head to toe, and the clothes in my bag (they were in mesh bags!) were not spared either. Welcome to an adventure, expect the unexpected!

Getting ready for the wet boat trip, with PFDs on. 

Wet arrival at Mabul island....

Our accommodation was basic affair, traditional kampong (village) houses on stilts above the sea. No electricity in the day, no wifi (or so we were told) nor hot shower. If you are expecting a holiday, you would think this is unacceptable. But expedition mode....thank God there's a bed and a roof over our head! Look there's even a working fan at night! There were some other guests around, a family of Malays who were leaving that evening, 2 Chinese Malaysian divers and 1 Chinese PRC diver. The Malaysian and China divers were doing Advance dive course with Sham and Nad. 

First check-out dive in the afternoon. We had the intention of going Sipadan to dive, but we learnt that the permit is a hefty 700RM per person (not sure per day or per dive, still exorbitant either way). Heck Sipadan, we shall stay in Mabul. While the rest were doing advance course, Fong and I went about doing our leisure dives. 11 dives are quite a lot to do in one location that had about 6 dive sites, we had to repeat. 

By now I was no longer excited about seeing turtles. Nor clown fish in anemone, although I would still snap a shot if my camera was with me. We have yet to see the elusive manta ray, that would be the highlight of the trip! I thought I was more comfortable now with buoyancy control, breathing and using just 1 or no weights. Sometimes there was nothing to see, I just entertained myself with floating around.These are some of the more interesting creatures we saw for the first few dives. 

Turtles are a regular sighting in Mabul.


Red tooth triggerfish, aggressive! Stay away!

Longfin batfish, aka teira batfish.

Unknown fish, anyone can help? 

Trumpet fish 

Moorish idol 

Squid

Some of the stuff that were on the reefs and seabed. 

Sea cucumber! 

I finally found out the ID of these mysterious eggs....they are known as bubble corals.

Cute starfish!

I like this coral, looks like a wind instrument.