SWV: Part 1

I love the sun. I think a tanned golden complexion is way hotter than a pale end result of being Olay-ed. Mocha over vanilla I say.

But after years of worshipping the sun and sea, I have come to one deadly realization:

I think I'm allergic to the sun.

Uh huh.

After 5 days of frolicking under the sun and in the sea, I come home with some serious burns and rash. Yes, RASH. On both my arms.

They suck. And itch like a bitch. (oh hey, it rhymes!)

Not just this time round. Most, if not all, of my beach/island trips would have me coming home itching and scratching away.

Sunset viewed from Sipadan Water Village Dive Centre, 20 Dec @ 5:28pm

Sunset viewed from Sipadan Water Village Dive Centre, 20 Dec @ 5:30pm

Sunset viewed from Sipadan Water Village Dive Centre, 20 Dec @ 5:44pm

Sunset viewed from Sipadan Water Village Dive Centre, 20 Dec @ 5:56pm

It's worth it, don't you think?

All I Want...

All I want for Christmas is...

... you,

and you....

and you!

Oh dearie me.

It sucks to be back.

Finally!

I'm off!



Updates when I'm back.

Ohmigod. I can taste the salt in the air already!

Sabah Bliss 3

On their website, their tagline is 'Mataking: One Resort with Two Islands'.

The second island is an offspring island, aptly named Mataking Kecil.

Here's looking at Mataking Kecil

Both islands are connected by a sand bar, accessible on foot only when the tide is out.

Opening up

The tide starts to goes out at about at about 9ish in the morning... and by lunch time, the sand bar becomes fully accessible to cross over to Mataking Kecil.


There isn't anything on Mataking Kecil, except trees, rocks and remnants of dead corals and whatnot.

On Mataking Kecil

Sunbathers who opt to chill on Mataking Kecil are advised to make their way back to the main island before the tide comes back up in the evening, else take a long swim back.


It's nice to take a stroll in the morning, just as the tide is starting to recede. You kinda feel like Moses.




And you can take your pick - which side of the water you want to have a dip in.



It's nice to also take a walk in the afternoon, when the tide is completely out.



You and your friends can pose randomly....



... collect pretty looking sea shells...


... make sand turtles...

... erm, pose some more...

... and indulge in your narcissistic tendencies...

Sabah Bliss 2

They say divers are a happy lot.

In water like this...

... who am I to disagree?

Look at me!

See how happy I am?

This trip is the first full-on leisure trip after being certified in Tioman three months ago.

There were more than 20 divers on this trip, and so the gang was formed when we had to be divided into 3 different boats (groups).

From L-R: Shen, Noriko, Lynette, Ee Lin, Albert, me, Grace, Alan with Divemaster Hardy in the centre.

Now you see, it was cool to have Lynette in the same group. She was the one who certified us, and naturally, we felt so much more at ease that she's around. But when you are a new open water diver, and, ahem, drop to 30.1 metres, and your instructor was at 23-ish metres on that very same dive, they erm, remind you. Heh.

On arrival day itself, we all did a check-out dive at the Mataking House Reef. The moment we let go off the rope, we were swept away with the current.

I struggled for a bit, having experienced NO current at all during the last Tioman trip. I remembered thinking to myself, "Daaaamn Doreen, what did you get yourself into?"

Looked around and saw everyone moving in the same direction and therefore allowed myself to be carried by the current. To try and stop and look at something required too much effort, so for most parts, we just drifted, and drifted, and drifted.... You see this, you see that, you see everything, but all zap, zap, zap. Like a movie on fast forward.

Fun ride though.

Mataking is known for its underwater macro-life.

Nudibranch aplenty - though it IS a tad annoying when there are too many people trying to catch a glimpse of these little buggers. Then you realize, hey - these little slugs aren't gonna be moving anywhere are they?

See this one? They tell me it's called the Pikachu nudibranch, and is relatively rare. Cute kan? Like a rubber toy of sorts *squeeze*

The Ship Wreck Post dive site was pretty cool - so we dived here twice. An intentionally sunk cargo ship, a vibrant breeding ground.

The Wreck's resident pair of scorpionfish.

There is also a postbox on the wreck, and mail is actually collected once a week. Cleaner shrimps have made the postbox their home too!

Getting teeth cleaned.

Other things which we saw...

Anemone shrimps

Leaf fish

Robust ghost pipefish

School of jacks under the jetty

Crocodile fish

Stone fish

Plenty of turtles

Spider crab

OK fine, I didn't see the spider crab. Lynette did.

We saw a mandarin fish too - damn shy buggers, and we had to wait for them to come out of hiding from in between the corals. Oooh, and lobsters! Mostly babies, but we did see a big one, big enough to be on the dinner table.

There were tonnes of other creatures and fish, all unknown to me.

Need to get me a book on tropical reef fish!

--------------------------

Pictures credit - Lynette and Bee Yong

Sabah Bliss 1

I had a grin - T H I S size - plastered on my face the moment we stepped out of the boat onto the jetty of The Reef Dive Resort, the only resort on Mataking Island.

It was gorgeous.

Can I just say this again? I love the sea. I fucking love the sea, dammit!

Now, my usual island trips are made solely for the purpose of enjoying the sea, the sand and the sun, and choice of accomodation is usually something basic - clean, attached bathroom and airconditioner, usually about RM80 - RM100 per night. So you can pretty much figure out the kind of service (or the absence of) that I am used to.

The Reef Dive Resort (TRDR) was nothing of that. On my part, definitely a splurge, a luxury, but worth every single penny.

Like most island resorts, TRDR chalets are all wooden, kampung-style chalets.

They left the airconditioner to our chalet on. A nice touch to greet your guests I thought, but definitely a waste of resources. In the subsequent days, we found out that every time housekeeping leaves after cleaning, they have the airon on for their guests' return to the room.

Housekeeping even folded our dirty clothes which we threw into the basket provided.


My favourite part of the room?

The bathroom. I love the tiles. I wished they had a rain shower though.

There is only one dining area at TRDR, where only buffet meals are served. There is a bar and a gift shop there as well.

The dive centre was huge and spacious - a wash area, a seating area under the trees, and another shaded room with numbered lockers and racks to hang our wetsuits and gears, and a pantry area for coffee and tea. Clean and comfortable.

Divers are a pampered lot here because no one has to assemble their own gear. All we did was zip up our wetsuits, hang on to our mask, fins and weight belt, and get onto the boat where the tanks and BCDs would already be ready.

The jetty right in front of the dive centre also became a lepak area for us.

When the tide is high, you can sit on the jetty and dangle your legs into the water.

There is also an outdoor jacuzzi at the Resort, providing bubbly comfort by the sea.

More to come!