Mabul, Sabah - Part II

It's been so long since I was here.

I have taken sooo many pictures that makes picking the right one for this post a pain! Before you started scrolling down, this will be a wholly picture post where not much description(s) will be written - the beauty of this island is beyond what words could describe!

Unlike Kota Kinabalu, Mabul is more of an island than a beach at a 'city'. Read my post about Sutera Harbour here.

Here, there's nowhere you can go around hunting for food. You are basically 'trapped' in an island where no late-night entertainments are available. So what do people do here? You come here to dive, to snorkel and not think about anything else. The best thing about being here was that you get to keep a healthy lifestyle by sleeping as early as 9-10pm throughout your stay!

Pictures below were mostly taken around Water Bungalow.

The Bajau kid.

The kids here'd turn rather defensive if you refuse to pay them before snapping their pictures.

It is not advisable for tourists to pay the kids for pictures because this would spoil the 'originality' of the culture here.

The houses not far away from our resort where the Bajau stays.

You can rent all your snorkeling as well as diving equipment, including diving camera/video camera in this little booth.

These were fishes!

They jumped out of the surface every dusk.

The water was so clear that sea creature(s) can be vividly seen from the bridge.

And Mr. Monkey who hates the camera.

Of course, he don't live under the water.

I saw him almost at everywhere I stopped. Not too sure if its the same monkey but I think it is because he squealed at me fiercely each time he sees me. You have no idea how much he hated the camera.

A collage of scenes taken underwater.

You're not supposed to touch them!

*I don't like my hairstyle here that's why :P*

Watch out for all the dead corals and sea urchins, they might hurt your feet!
Make sure you are a good swimmer before you take off your safety jacket and swim across the reef.

They feel jelly-ish and ticklish!

I can't compare the corals here to those in other islands around Malaysia but from the result of my research, Sabah has one of the most beautiful coral reef in Malaysia. We have visited a few small islands nearby, one of them were Kapalai. Kapalai has one of the best underwater scenery. For beautiful corals, I would recommend Scuba Junkie. For diving, Sipadan is a musn't missed!

We saw many kinds of marine creatures like turtles (they are as huge as a huge rock!), starfishes, many different kind of fishes. These can be seen without the need to dive under the sea. Of course, you get to explore more if you hold a diving license. You would see sharks and seals if you're lucky enough. I thought bumping into sharks would be a disaster but according to the dive guide, they are harmless (in general) if they don't feel threatened.