Buzz
In my eyes, Sipadan rivals Maldives in beauty. Swimming with sharks and frolicking with thousands of fish truly make unforgettable memories.
A Vietnamese girl visits Sipadan Island, swims with sharks, stays at a luxury resort, and enjoys a lavish buffet for a week, all for 12 million VND.
After reading an article listing the top 10 most beautiful diving spots in the world, my friends and I, unable to resist the wanderlust, decided to choose Sipadan Island (Malaysia) as our next destination. The journey to Sipadan was not simple. You have to buy a plane ticket from Saigon to Kuala Lumpur, transfer to Tawau, take a 2-hour bus ride to Semporna, and then a 1-hour canoe ride to Mabul Island. In addition, you have to register online in advance to obtain a permit for diving/snorkeling at Sipadan because the authorities only allow 120 people per day to enter the water to preserve the coral reefs and minimize changes to the marine environment here.
Nature's Wonders
It takes a whole day to travel from Vietnam to here, consuming time and involving multiple transfers, but it's worth it. As soon as the boat reached the island, our group couldn't stop cheering because we saw dolphins swimming alongside the boat, the water was crystal clear and azure. The water color that was only seen in advertising photos of Maldives turned out to be real, and it turns out I don't even need to go to Maldives. With only a third of the cost, I can also experience the paradise-like sea.
We chose Uncle Chang's resort on Mabul Island for its stunning views and super romantic jetty. During our 4 days here, we spent every moment at this jetty. Watching the sunrise, practicing yoga, admiring the sunset, and late at night, gazing at the starry sky with the sound of the ocean waves. The moment we stepped onto the resort, we were extremely excited to see a school of thousands of fish swimming right by the resort, prompting us all to eagerly snap photos.
The next day, we began our first dive at MaTakin Island. As soon as we entered the water, we were overwhelmed by the vast and gigantic school of fish here. The fish are as big as a girl's thigh, the sea turtles are as large as a dining table, and the squids are even bigger than a thigh. Perhaps due to the good conservation of Sipadan Island, the marine life in this area is very large, except for the sharks, which are small. Perhaps they are baby sharks because large sharks live at deep depths and rarely appear at depths of 20m or less.
Swimming with Sharks
I'm an avid swimmer, I've been to the beach many times, but this is the first time I've experienced swimming with sharks. The baby shark is larger than my body and swims right beside me, just reaching out my hand to touch it. The moment I looked into the eyes of the shark next to me, my heart seemed to stop beating, and my whole body froze.
Although I knew beforehand that humans are not part of a shark's diet and that this type of shark is very gentle, never attacking humans, I was still afraid. After it swam past, I calmed down and began to crave that feeling, whenever I saw a shark, I followed it to swim together. It turns out that sharks are also as gentle and cute as other fish.
A special thing when diving in the Sipadan area is that you won't see the bottom because this area has a seabed of 600m deep with numerous currents, you'll experience the feeling of diving with reverse currents like in Finding Nemo movie. In areas with reverse currents, you can distinguish them with the naked eye because the water in this area feels thick and rolling, as well as there are many fish in this current.
Sipadan's specialty lies in its abundant currents. At the intersection of two currents, hot and cold, you'll see the water churning up like smoke on land, and then you step into the cold current area, it's terribly cold, like ice water. However, in the cold current area, there are many larger and more colorful fish species. You'll see stingrays, sharks, sawfish... and hundreds of other fish species in unimaginable numbers when diving in Sipadan.
Dining in Sipadan
As this is a Muslim area, almost everyone follows Islam so they don't eat pork. Most of the food consists of chicken and beans, if you have difficulty eating, you should bring shredded pork or instant noodles from Vietnam because the instant noodles here only have curry flavor.
You can also stroll around the village and enjoy some super cheap snacks. Like grilled chicken skin costs only 2.5 thousand VND per skewer, grilled fish or noodle soup costs 5 thousand VND... The noodle soup here is very unique, packed in a small bag like a tea bag and only contains noodles and broth.
In addition to various fish, there are also plenty of mantis shrimps sold in Mabul at extremely low prices. The shrimps are still alive and kept in a bottle of spring water, almost as big as the bottle of spring water, costing only about 25,000 VND each. But not all bottles have the same size shrimps, and the seller said they challenge so remember to bargain. Also, remember to buy fruits from the supermarket in Semporna before boarding the boat to Mabul Island because fruits on the island are expensive and there's only one type, which is bananas.
Furthermore, because the resort we stayed at (Uncle Chang) included meals and accommodation, they would prepare buffet for us 3 times a day. If you want something extra, you can buy it at the market on the island or from the street vendors, and the kitchen will cook it for you at a cost of 20rm/kg (about 100 thousand VND/kg).
Cost and Things to Know
The total cost for food, accommodation, transportation, and scuba diving for 7 days for our group is 12 million VND per person, excluding airfare. If you don't scuba dive, the cost will be much cheaper, around 6 million VND per person.
When is the Best Time to Visit Sipadan?
Sipadan is beautiful any time of the year, but you should go in April, August, and September because there are many types of fish to see during these times. In August and September, it's the turtle nesting and hatching season, if you're lucky, you'll see baby turtles swimming out to sea and swim with them.
How to Get to Sipadan?
Currently, there are many airlines from Saigon to Kuala Lumpur such as Airasia, Vietjet, Malaysia Airlines... You should buy tickets during the airline's promotions to get cheap airfares. Then you buy another flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau or Semporna. If you book a resort on Mabul Island, they will have a boat to pick you up from Semporna to the island.
3G/ Internet
One thing to note is that there is no wifi on Mabul, so you should buy a 3G sim card at the airport. There's a tourist sim card priced at 30rm which allows free usage of social networks like Instagram, Facebook... Based on personal experience, Maxis's 3G has stronger signal than Digi's, so you should choose Maxis.
According to Afamily
***
Reference: Travel guide from Mytour
MytourNovember 24, 2017
