Sipadan Kapalai with crystal clear water .
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By KC
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
I am a land-based fellow focusing only on running, trekking and cycling. As such, I have not been to diving. However, I was truly fascinated to see the beautiful islands and corals in East cost and East Malaysia.
To see those stunning photos on corals taken by Weng, please click at the July 2005 Archives (at the left sidebar of this web site).
To view photos taken by Weng during his previous diving trip at Pulau Tenggol, Trengganu on 5 July 2005, please click here.
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Take a look what it entails in diving:
He likes diving because he finds peace and tranquility in the water. And also admiring the beautiful creation of nature. It is much tedious to dive. Other than the diving equipment, one needs to clock in certain amount of time under water. He needs to go through a series of training in order to dive -- entire different ball game.
Please click at the URL link below to take you to the KL Penguin photo albums maintain at Yahoo server.
How to go to Pulau Tenggol, Trengganu:
Two hours' drive from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan. From Kuantan, another 140km to reached Dunggun Jetty. From the jetty, another two hours' boat journey to Pulau Tenggol.
So far, he has done many diving trips. Among them are:
a. Pulau Tioman
b. Pulau Dayang and Pulau Aur (both near Mersing, Johore)
By Penguin-1 :-))
