NORTH BORNEO ADVENTURE

Mabul is an island nearby to Sipadan island. A few years before, there were few resorts in Sipadan, but the government close down all the resorts in Sipadan, thus most of the operator build their new resorts in Mabul island. It take about 45 minutes boat ride to get to Sipadan from Mabul island. Currently, there is only army base and Sabah Park office in Sipadan. To enter Sipadan, you will need a permit. There is only 120 permits issued daily, which are divided among few resorts and operators.  Turtle of Sipadan The first time I went to Mabul is on November 2015. We were staying in Borneo Divers Mabul Resort for 4 days 3 night, with one day Sipadan permit. Shamefully I have to admit, I was never a diver, and I am even terrified to snorkel, all I do in Sipadan is drink coffee all day. Though they're very lucky to dive with the blue whale who decided to join the party during their second dive. Sadly, we didn't get that on camera, the divemaster only realized that I...

Entrance to Mataking Island Reef Dive Resort Mataking is one of the islands located in Semporna. I have been lucky enough to get the opportunity to visit the island twice, first time on November 2015 for 3 days 2 nights, and we make another visit on 26th July 2017 for another 3 days 2 nights trip. If you book a package with the resort, their service will include return land and boat transfer. From Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), the flight to Tawau will take approximately 50 minutes. The best seat on the plane? Of course on the left side, because the plane will fly by Mount Kinabalu and you can see how majestic and beautiful it is. For Mataking Resort, there are 3 boat transfer daily, the last one will be around 4.30 pm in the evening. There is no boat transfer later than that due to the ESSCOM dust-to-dawn curfew in order to curb cross-border kidnapping and other crimes. If you reach Tawau Airport before or by 2 pm, you can still catch the last boat transfe...