paradise

for air. Looking down, one could only see the blue of the ocean which is scary considering you don’t know what is lurking underneath. We were drifting along with the slight current with our dive master leading us.

Towards the end of the dive as we began to surface for our 5-metre safety stop, we saw about 6 or 7 turtles clustered together, a couple of them doing their mating ritual, completely oblivious to the divers present around them.

Sipadan is also known for the green turtle and we did see quite a few hawksbills as well. The differentiating feature of hawksbills is their trademark beak-like shaped mouth. Compared to green turtles they are smaller in size. The biggest turtle that I saw on my dives was almost 4 feet long.

And then, out of the blue, we saw a huge napoleon wrasse swim by. The fish sells for as much as $200 a kilo owing to a huge demand for it. Apparently the males can grow to be as long as 2 metres, though this one wasn’t as big, however it was still great to be able to see one.

In all, I did about 4 days of diving with typically around 3 dives a day. The water was warm at a toasty 30 degrees centigrade although you do tend to experience a few thermo clines during dives. A 3mm diving full body wet suit is more than adequate for diving here.

in the state of Sabah, followed by a 70km drive to Semporna. Sipadan is about an hour’s boat ride from Semporna. For those on a budget, there are quite a few reasonably priced accommodation options in Semporna. There are also dive operators who make day trips from Semporna to Sipdan, Mabul & Kapalai dive sites. For others who prefer a bit more extravagance, there are some excellent dive resorts on Mabul Island and on Kapalai Island.

Wherever you stay, the experience of diving in Sipadan is something you will always cherish as a diver.