Thursday, May 04, 2006

Scuba Diving at Sipadan

All photos are by courtesy of Weng.

The wonder of underwater world is soon to be unfolded before your eyes. Look no further, it is right here in our home land.
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Sipadan (121 photos) 14 April 2006... please click here
Sipadan (117 photos) 15 April 2006... please click here
Pulau Tenggol (134 photos) 16 June 2005... please click here
Pulau tenggol (143 photos) on 17 June 2005 ... please click here
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I was not quite used to scuba diving the first time with the extra gears: strap a metal tank full of compressed air on my back; stuff an uncomfortable contraption in my mouth; fasten a tight-fitting piece of goggles across my face; fit fins to my feet. Uncomfortable and unskillful, I struggled in my new uniform, wondering whether the effort was worthwhile.


The clumsiness soon vanished as I tumbled below the surface and moved weightless through the water and drifted with currents. I have the chance to observe, often at close distance, creatures of all shapes and sizes that I would never have imagined. It was quite a magic world and it seduced a new diver like me.

Today, after many dives later, I know I had made the right decision when I was having doubts the first time. At times, when I was donning vest and shorts in running, I thought to myself what a world of difference it is compared to scuba diving.


I went for a scuba diving at Sipadan, an Oceanic Isle East of Sabah, from 14 to 19 April. It is a world-class destination for dive enthusiasts. Sipadan Island is like the shape of a mushroom. A light greenish-blue shore indicates the shallow part. However, the turquoise waters abruptly turn dark blue at the edge of a vertical wall which plunges 100 meters abruptly to the ocean floors.

Normally, an organized trip to Sipadan for diving would include diving at the nearby two islands: Mabul and Kapalai which are about 25 minutes apart accessible by speed boats. Sipadan is largely boat diving – divers get on their boats in full gears for two or three dives daily. It is a short ride to the various dive spots, usually 10 minutes or less in speed boats. We covered quite a number of spots of the few days there.


The underwater current, though dangerous and unavoidable, add excitements to diving. Drifting with a 2-knot current offers an outstanding underwater experience. Recognizing the direction of the current, we would swim against the current to a distant spot and later, let the current gently swept us back to the starting point.

Of descending, sometimes we would encounter amidst a school of fishes – big number of them. The underwater world is a beautiful and serene world. The corals, the fish, and the creatures – come in all shapes and sizes and in different colours. The creatures at the ocean deep were relatively undisturbed by the gazes of fellow divers. I was particularly enthralled by the pink soft corals sprouting from the reef like some exotic cotton wool.


I took almost 900 photos with my Nikon camera. Needing a rest, the camera refused to power up on the last day of diving. I was having a wonderful time in this dive trip. On 19 April, my mind partly switched over to the next event – participating in the MMDS1 Duathlon at Dataran Merdeka on 23 April.

BTW, Eric Teo (Penguin-10), is a Dive Master. If you are interested in diving too, you may contact him via email: ericchteo@gmail.com

Recounted by Weng
Written by KC

1 comment:

Steve said...

Wow! I'd love to get there some day, it looks fabulous.

Steve