Sipadan, Mabul & Kapalai

7th - 11th November 2007

Sipadan was indeed awesome! I came back on Sunday night, and whilst my body might be here in KL but I feel like my mind's still there. Perhaps my mind and soul will remain there for some time now until I gather them all back together in KL!

It has been a mere 3 days and I'm already planning another trip to dive at Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai again next year.

I stayed at a brandnew homestay at Mabul Island called Mabul Island Backpackers. They began operations in early November 2007. Being the first guest there, I had the privilege to choose the room I wanted, to be the first to use the toaster, the first to make a cup of coffee there, and also the first to use the bathrooms there.

Mabul Island Backpackers, for RM50 per person per night, offers basic homestay facilities with 3 meals a day, free-flow of non-alcoholic and non-carbonated drinks, and electricity from approximately 5pm daily (available on request if required day-time). Carbonated drinks are of course available at a minimal price of RM2.40 per can from the counter. Meals provided are simple local Malaysian cooking which includes steamed rice and at least 3 dishes for each meal, not forgetting the cut fruits after dinner each night. The homestay offers a perfect view of Sipadan right from the washing area. The dining area (depicted below) is equipped with the necessary and is accessible 24 hours a day, with a beautiful view of the ocean, Sipadan Island, Semporna, and Seaventures at one end. For those into stargazing, bring your own mat and enjoy the stars as night falls right in front of the washing area.

In the afternoon when you are not diving and do not have anything on your agenda for the day, there are hammocks for you to rest on while reading or simply enjoying the cool breeze that you get throughout the day at the dining area. Future plans include a dive centre operated by Big John right in front of the homestay, improved showers for divers and a proper washing area for dive equipments. Besides that, airconds would also be installed for the rooms facing Sipadan.

Rooms are, at this point in time, reasonably equipped. The rooms are suitable for twin-sharing as there are only two single beds in one room. Hooks are available for you to hang up your clothes and towels, and the rest you can place on the floor as there is ample space for you to place your gear bag. Only thing missing from the rooms are shelves or small cabinets where you can place smaller items. That, amongst other smaller details, have been brought to the owners' attention they have noted our suggestions for improvements.

Overall, I find Mabul Island Backpackers a reasonably-priced and comfortable homestay. The owners of the homestay and the staff were all very helpful and friendly. The dives there were also superb. My buddy and I did 14 dives in total over the 5D4N trip, including 1 night dive at Mabul Island itself, which was spectacular as there were at least something for us to photograph at every spot, not to mention the variety of moray eels that were available. The dives, of course, I would talk about in my next post. Given a chance, I would choose to stay there again when I dive at Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai in the future. For reservations of rooms at Mabul Island Backpackers, please contact John Lim at 019-5884 060.