Borneo Aquanerds

Malapascua , Cebu island

2012-07-24T20:23:00.002+08:00

With the new flight launch to Cebu, we took an opportunity to meet Thresher - the shark.

Traveling is always a fun thing to do, we enjoy the time travel together, no matter by flight, by car, by boat....its the treasure moment to enjoy the scenery, good food, meet the peoples and dive in the wonderful underwater world.

This early morning trip need to wake up 4:30 am almost everyday to catch the flight , to catch the boat and catch "the shark moment"! (not to catch shark!) Love the early morning dive, just like Sipadan early morning dive, you gets what you want to see, its worthwhile to wake up early. After a dip in water, then slowly got back for breakfast and morning nap before continue dive for the rest of the day.

Malapascua an island with many small operators working well as fishermen village and operating dive tourism. Love the beach front with no jetty and beach front share among others. Enjoy the lifestyle and good food there. Most importantly meet the Thresher and diver friends who came from various background and awesome characteristic (kind one, funny one, naughty one, kia su one, pro one, interesting one, rich one, love to sing one ....)

Malapascua 2012 from Nina Ho on Vimeo.

New Year in Anilao 2011

2011-05-19T15:22:00.000+08:00

Here's a video clip looking back on our year end trip in Anilao ...

Emergency First Response (EFR) Course

2010-11-04T15:42:00.016+08:00

The Emergency First Response (EFR) course is a Basic life support course being taught by EFR instructors internationally. The course is structured into primary & secondary care for both adult & children.

Emergency First Response Primary Care (CPR) teaches participants how to respond to life-threatening emergencies. The course focuses on primary care through a combination of knowledge development, skill development and realistic scenario practice to make sure participants have the confidence in their ability to provide care when emergency situations arise.

Primary Care skills include: Scene Safety Assessment, Communicable Disease Protection, Primary Assessment, Rescue Breathing, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Conscious and Unconscious Obstructed Airway Management, Serious Bleeding, Shock & Spinal Injury management
Emergency First Response Secondary Care (first aid) covers injuries or illnesses that are not immediately life threatening which include secondary assessment and first aid. Examples of skills taught include injury on scene assessment, illness assessment, bandaging of wounds & splinting of dislocation & fractures. Other common scenarios which would be addressed including: Allergic reaction, burns, choking (for both adult & infant), marine life injuries, electrical injury, diabetic problems, heat exhaustion & heat stroke, heart attack, etc.
Care for Children course which includes primary & secondary care as well teaches participants how to provide emergency care for injured or ill children (ages one to eight) and infants less than one year old. Participants learn about the types of medical emergencies that children face, and how they differ from adult conditions. The curriculum also includes the importance of attending to basic emergency situations with children, the emotional aspects of caring for children, secondary care for children, and preventing common injuries and illnesses in children.

"Audio & visual aid" in DVD format provided to participant to ease learning throughout the course

Original Little Anne & Baby Anne use as Manikin during the course

Below are some pictures of our EFR instructors conducting the course over the weekend

Do send us a comment if you have any inquiries or if you are interested to equip yourself with EFR. Our Instructors will be glad to offer their expert advice.

Awesome just can't describe it. I love diving!

2010-06-12T18:21:00.000+08:00

I have been itching to dive at Sipadan as it has been more than a year since my last trip there. After the dive trip to Lembeh, my yearning to dive again became stronger and stronger. Planned for a trip for 3-4 people but due to spread of word, my group grew larger to a 10 member crew. But alls good. As they say, the more, the merrier. The day we left for Tawau came closer and I was SO excited that I couldn't sleep for 2 days!

Met Alli, Josie and baby Allison at Tawau and got acquainted with my new dive com. The weather was good (although it did rain a bit but that did not stop us from diving). The company was great! Stayed at SWV. Had a beautiful view from my chalet :) Amazing place.

Did a total of 15 dives in 4 days including 2 dawn dives, 2 sunset dives and 1 night dives.

Day 1:
Dive sites: Paradise 1 (check dive), Ribbon Valley 2, Paradise 1 (sunset dive)

Day 2:
Dive sites: Beach 3 (Si Amil), Danawan Reef, Kapalai HouseReef, Paradise 2 (night dive)

Day 3:
Dive sites: Barracuda Point, Turtle's Patch, South Point, Barracuda Point (2nd trip coz we couldn't get enough of 'em barracudas), Paradise 1 (sunset dive)

Day 4:
Dive sites: Paradise 2 (dawn dive), Seaventures HouseReef, Old Lobster Wall

Highlights:

Turtles galore (so many HUGE ones!)
Schools of barracudas and jacks
Schools of Giant Bumphead Parrotfish
Saw this lone Great Barracuda that scared the shit out of me...
Pygmy seahorse (omg! so cute!!!)
Flamboyant cuttlefish (too excited to see this!)
Juvenile Papuan cuttlefish (so cute!)
Juvenile yellow boxfish (i like this one)
Juvenile bicoloured parrotfish (just like in my ReefLife book)
Juvenile common lionfish (beautiful!)
Juvenile giant frogfish
Zebra lionfish
Napoleon wrasse
Helfrich's dart goby
Red and Purple fire goby (i like)
Morrison's dragonet
Ornate ghostpipefish
Gold spec jawfish (i like!!!)
Ring eyed jawfish
Yellow shrimp goby
Dancing shrimp goby (i like!)

Wow looks like a long list. But you know what, every dive was good! (even the check dive!). Was so sad to leave. I will definately be back this October hehehe... mana tau to celebrate my #100 dive ;)

Just filling in the gaps

2010-06-11T21:51:00.003+08:00

Between Lembeh and my weekend at uncle chang's in april, no dive so far and no new pictures to share. I've meaning to share some coloured pictures of my last Lembeh trip for some time but have been some what busy. So here are two that I've managed to upload.

For now my sea lungs remain dry. Hopefully I'll try and get some bottom time soon. Till then happy diving peeps.

P/S Happy World Cup Season

Ciau LD

Regatta Lepar - Festival of the Bajau sea gypsies

2010-06-05T22:54:00.000+08:00

Regatta Lepar : an annual festival of the Bajau sea gypsies here in Semporna, Sabah. "Lepar" which is use to name after these traditional hand crafted Bajau styled water crafts. Lepar boats have traditionally been a pride of the Bajau sea gypsies people. These water crafts are normally constructed with precision a month before being paraded around the coastal waters of Semporna town on the big day. Each contestant who owned a Lepar will try to outclass each other in a battle of the most beautiful Lepar flying the graceful multi-colored "Sembulayang" flag.

Sembulayang flags on Lepar boats during the regatta

Regatta Lepar : join the festival, come see the boats & the people

Lepar from local university (University Malaysia Sabah)
which was categorized as the Top 10 most beautiful Lepar for 2010

Traditional Bajau dancers performing on their Lepars

As the sun comes down at Semporna during Regatta Lepar.

Issue 1/2010 - My Lembeh Black & White

2010-04-13T23:50:00.009+08:00

Yup one of the most anticipated trip of the year. Lembeh Straits. A trip almost canceled but with passion and persistence. We got there. Lembeh Straits offering amongst the best muck diving in this part of the world has now been chronicled.

So did it lived up to its reputation. Wildly so. She wooed my camera and bedded it forever. Now lost in her bosoms, I'll never see it again.

Even before the trip started I was already planning a lot of shots in my head and wanted to share tonnes of pictures with you lot, sadly not to be so. As fate would have it, rather than just simply post as I would normally do I decided to take on a little mini project.

While on the trip down to Lembeh, I was browsing through the latest edition of AsianDiver Magazine and pondered what it would be like to be and underwater photojournalist and a publicist for a magazine. Thought to myself it would be a pretty fun thing to do living it for a while pretending to be an editor of a magazine.

I knew already there are few dive magazines in PDF format available freely for download such as UwP and UWJ. So taking these dive magazines as a template for my pet project I started digging in. Was it easy, not really but I soon got the hang of things, editing here and there. Could have done it better though but I think with practice I could probably do it faster now.

So how did I fair. I'll let you be the judge of that. Here it is. Grab it while its still hot. The first ever unlimited issue and its FREE :). RIGHT CLICK and SAVE Offline viewing. My Lembeh - Black and White

So here it is. finally managed to embed.

A tale of macro mania part 2

2010-04-13T23:12:00.003+08:00

Was looking through some of ninamaro's photo collection from the recent Lembeh trip. She did have a couple of good shots of the highly sought after dragon / tiger shrimp. I have not personally seen one & unfortunately missed it in Lembeh. while pressing the zoom in & out button back and forth on the adobe lightroom, it took me sometime to locate the position of its eyes & other parts of the body. My curiosity began to grow & tried searching the internet for some additional information on this unique species. Well, to no avail; there is not much of info available on the web which I can find despite trying out 2 major search engines with Google & Yahoo.

All I got was it is a unique rare species & the scientific name is ceratophthalmus. Other than that, I was provided info related to : tiger shrimp tempura, Hong Kong sweet & sour tiger shrimp recipe & most of all the most listed results was an instant noodle by Weightwatches which bear the same name & claim to have low calorie as well ( 240 Kcl ) .. for 1 serving ... !!!

After searching for almost an hour, exhausted; the tiger shrimp low mein seems more appetizing than pursuing on the internet search. So, for now .. enjoy the pics guys ... & the low mein too if you happen to get hold of one ..

Here our Yummy Tiger Shrimp Lo Mein .. !!

Up close & personal with the dragon shrimp

Pair of these dragon shrimp in Police Pier, Lembeh Straits

Photo courtesy of Ninamaro

A tale of macro mania part 1

2010-04-07T16:20:00.004+08:00

As a newbie in scuba diving years ago, muck diving is like a pandora pox & has always kept me curios about. Lots of divers who I have met told me they prefer diving with the big fishes, pristine & colorful reefs. I kept wondering at some point is muck diving interesting at all ? What is that to see when in true muck diving there is no reef neither there is any corals around. Its just plain sandy bottom & in fact I could have just synonymously called it "Mud diving".

By looking at another perspective, big fish action is undoubtedly interesting & it comes with some challenging current & drift dive. However, for a change; I did try out muck diving & have since fell in-love with the vast variety of colorful little critters in our ocean. Now, in contrast to big fish action where your sightings could mostly base on your luck. If "they" happened to swim pass than you have an awesome dive. Muck diving depends much on your knowledge of the local reef, the habitat the critters are & those razor sharp eyes of yours to detect them. It's another type of challenge I would put it minus the strong currents (which is not always though). So, the next time; big fish action or little critters ??? both are equally interesting.

Interesting little critters from our muck diving in Lembeh Straits

An ever graceful lionfish swimming pass a background of pinkish red anemone
providing a photography opportunity which would otherwise be just another ordinary shot.

Pontohi seahorse which was first sighted in Lembeh Straits. This tiny subject is one of several pygmy seahorses that is not specific host dependent, so it doesn't need a sea fan as a host.
To read more click on Pontohi Seahorse

Frogfish are rather common sightings for muck diving but a hairy frogfish is more than unique.

Mix of fortune for me in Jahir dive point, visibility was poor, lost my fellow divers. But buddied by my cam & this lonely Coleman shrimp hiding on his/her colorful playground

Mimic octopus shown to us by our guides. Usually nestling in the sandy bottom with only their eyes popping out looking for prey. A total of 6 mimic octopuses was sighted at Batu Sandar.

"Critter hunt" just as the dive point sounded. Undoubtedly this Blue ring octopus was totally amazed just as more than 20 divers who took turn looking at him/her.

Lembeh Straits 27/March - 2/April 2010

2010-03-22T18:00:00.007+08:00

Brilliant Youtube Clip filmed by James Waller who stayed at Bastianos Lembeh in 2009.

So .. what are your wish-lists for muck diving trip to Lembeh ?? Muck diving all the way ?? Looking for big fish action in Bangka ?? Drink, party & drunk every night ?? Taking photography shots all the way for the entire trip ?? or even just for a get away with friends from your hectic & stressful working life ?? to relax & rejuvenate your soul ?? we will know in a few days time ...
Till than, I will see you guys very soon ... stay healthy, watch what you eat to avoid getting ill & we hope everyone shall have a great time together .... 27 / March / 2010 ..

Here's our Itinerary for Lembeh Straits March 2010 :

Flights :

27/3/2010 Flight to Manado
(Kl- Jakarta AK 384 departing 13:40)
(Jakarta-> Manado Lion Air JT 770 departing 18:35 PM arrive manado 22:45 PM)
Sgp group : (Spore - Jakarta) departing 1425 - arrival 1505 (Air Asia)
Direct Transfer to Resort upon arrival

28/3/2010 : 4 dives (include guided night dive)

29/3/2010 : 4 dives (include guided night dive)

30/3/2010 : 4 dives (optional Lembeh or Bangka group of islands)

31/3/2010: 2-3 dives & transfer out to Manado by PM
Overnight stay at Novotel Manado

1/4/2010 : Flight back to Kuala Lumpur / Singapore
(Manado->Jakarta Lion Air JT 775 Departure 9:50AM)
(Jakarta -> KL Air Asia QZ7694 18:25PM ARRIVE LCCT 21:25)
Sgp Group : (Jakarta - Spore) 1/4/10 Depart 1415 - Arrival 1655

Diving :

Simple no stress no current diving suitable for all level, just watch your buoyancy to avoid kicking up silts. Excellent for photography. Water temperature : possible around 27-29c, may wear half or full length wetsuits or even shots n T-shirts. Rental gears have been requested.

Important Travel advisory :

Currency is in Ruppiah ( if you not sure the rate , you may copy this link & click on the converter : http://coinmill.com/IDR_MYR.html )
For payment on last day at resort, I personally advice that you change your local currency from either ringgit or Singapore dollar to Euro dollar which is the preferred currency. Try to avoid paying the resort in Ruppiah or credit card because the resort has their own exchange rate which are much higher than the standard rates.

Final Checklist

1. Complete dive gears (for those who are bringing)
2. All camera equipment (who ever is bringing)
3. Sun block, hat, sun shades
4. Mosquito repellent if you prefer one.
5. Any simple traveling medication ie : paracetamol, vitamins etc
6. Passport with at least 6 months from expiry date
7. Cash, credit cards
8. Reservation & ticketing print-outs
9. EAN manual & oxygen tables print out (if you doing the course)
10. Laptop is you like to because wifi is available in resort
11. First-aid kit ... resort providing ..

Phone numbers :
Ian : +60192244721 (with Int roaming)
Ang : +60198126633
Nina : +60128373968 (with Int roaming)
Shima : +60198819966 (with Int roaming)
Sim / sgp group : +6592974610 (with Int roaming)

Climate Change Animations

2010-03-08T16:32:00.004+08:00

Embed from Reefed Australia website. The animations have gone into schools and to TV networks across Australia to explain complex processes in a clear & engaging way. Beneficial to all age groups & different backgrounds for easy understanding.

Coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef from GBRMPA on Vimeo.

Refurbishment ... New !!

2010-03-04T15:14:00.023+08:00

Dear all .... although it's a bit delayed but a brand new year should go with a brand new look as well .. It has been a while whereby updates were lacking as most of us were really busy towards the end of last year. I have totally revamp & put this site on a brand new outfit. The color, layout, links & post columns have all been changed in order to provide a refreshing feeling to our readers & followers. Hope you guys like it ..

One particular trip which we made last year was in September when I visited Bangkok with Maro. Of interest to us during the trip was our visit to Bangkok's china town where the locals & visitors flocked to for good & tasty Chinese cuisine with a little influenced of Thai culture in their cooking. Uncle Poosak who is a Course Director himself & runs a big dive center in the heart of Bangkok's metropolitan treated us with great hospitality. Seafood was abundance in China town & tasted really great but of course I wouldn't compare the prices to the ones being sold in Sabah.

During our visit, we took noticed of sights particularly on little stalls stationed along the road sides which sells local Chinese delicacies - SHARKs FIN !!! & shockingly cheap as well as I made inquiries. I was told that you can get a bowl of sharks fin as cheap as RM 20 ... I took a quick glimpse at uncle Poo ... " As a diver & CD who promotes conservation & against shark fining .. I think you gonna have a huge & impossible task aren't you ??? "

Numerous stalls selling Sharks fin in claypot by the roadside of the famous China town in Bangkok. Prices are shown in Thai Bath ranging from 250-500.

You have the choice of opting for better quality Sharks fin which are available in restaurants as being shown here with the respective price on them.

Uncle Poosak's huge dive pool located in his old & grand mansion in the middle on Bangkok metropolitan.

Another place of note is our visit to Siam Ocean World located at Siam Paragon. They have lots to offer to visitors more than the Aquaria in KLCC as Maro claimed but was definitely unable to comment on how effective the efforts taken to maintain & prevent injuries & stress by containing these marine creatures in an enclosed area. The building itself also host a cinemax featuring marine short clips in 3D, a small restaurant to accommodate those who likes to have some light snacks in between their visit, a souvenir shop & visitors also have the option to purchase a special pass for a guided visit behind doors where they will be shown & explained how the fishes are fed and taken care off. So, if you are looking for a short break from the shopping spree you are doing in Bangkok or you are bringing your kids along your trip, it might be a good idea to pay a visit to Siam Ocean World.

Diving at TAR Park with Down Under

2010-02-28T10:34:00.002+08:00

It has been 1 year 2 months and 20 days since I last dived in Dec 2008. So pathetic lah. Since the Manado trip is coming up in a month's time, I decided to freshen up my dive skills wt Adibah and Navin at the TAR Park on the 26th Feb. It was a fantastic day. Hot weather, not a cloud in the sky, nice breeze. Suppose to do 3 dives but will write more about that later...Did 2 dives at Police Beach, Pulau Gaya and Ron's Reef, Pulau Sapi. Visibility was okay lah, not that good. Saw the usual stuffs: nudi, scorpionfishes, blue spotted stingray, fish fish and more fish (ok lah i dunno their names). The water was really really cold by the time we hit 15-18m and it really hit me badly. I was shivering. The moment i went into the thermocline, I had a very bad headache and kept on wondering when will the dive end? At first I thought that I was hypoglycaemic during the first time coz i felt much better after eating a couple of sugar cubes and drinking sweet tea during surface interval. But the same thing happened after my 2nd dive, so badly until i had to eat my lunch while resting my head on the table. It was then when i decided to skip the 3rd dive and rest while enjoying the nice breeze on the island... Those wt dive com said that it was about 27 degrees but somehow i reckon it was prolly lower than that. Any ideas on how to overcome this prob?

Winter Hibernation Over

2010-02-08T16:40:00.002+08:00

Corals at TAR

Its been a while since the last post. Borneo Aquanerds members have been busy with their own things. Nonetheless we're still here. Next big trip, Manado, in March. Hopefully our flights will be soughted before then. While other Aquanerds have been logging in bottom time in Mabul-Sipadan and Bali past few months, I've been contended just to dive Tampi-Tampi in October and TAR in December.

Tampi-Tampi Semporna, dive with Scian, Nina, Min Hui and Amelia was fantastic. If I were limited with my vocabulary, I would just say the place is a haven for nuddy lovers.

common nuddy

corals in poor viz

Before the year was over, decided to take a dive at TAR (Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Kota Kinabalu) again. Dived with my brother(Alban), Sis-in-Law(Milly) and the crew at Beach Bum Tanjung Aru. TAR same as always. Nice dive spots for beginners. Here are some interesting shots that captured my eyes and just a glipmse of what TAR has to offer.

Mating nuddy

common nuddy

Common Nemo

Soft Corals

This is all I have for now. Just counting days for our Manado trip. So keep safe you all...

LD signin' off

Underwater Animated E-cards

2009-10-20T15:48:00.007+08:00

Planning to greet someone on their birthdays; graduation day or anniversary day ?? or just simple missing your love ones ?? & you are running out of new ideas what you should do .. I highly recommend that you should register with this website where you have a wide range of fantastic e-cards brilliantly animated with smoothing musics & visual arts.
An annual membership fee of USD 17 is needed upon registration & walooopp !!! there you go .. you have unlimited options of inspiring e-cards which can surprise your special ones ... & the dull & boring facebook greetings can be a thing in the past .. ( of note : remember to key in the donation code AWARE when you register as a small amount of your payment will be donated to project AWARE )

Special Event at Mataking

2009-09-26T22:05:00.005+08:00

26th September 2009 - The Reef Dive Resort in an effort to improve local underwater attractions, organized a special event for sinking a 52ft steel-hulled ex-live aboard vessel, the “Sipadan Mermaid”. This vessel will be creating 2nd artificial reef on the island in just 18-25 metres of water and will join the other very successful “Shipwreck Pos” and reef-ball project.

In the early morning, all the tourists, resort owner and family members, all staffs from The Reef Dive Resort are gather at Mataking island to witness this special and memorial moment for MV Sipadan Mermaid.
Mr. David Sie - the owner of The Reef Dive Resort give an opening speech. He highlight that this shipwreck will be create another attraction for divers, in line with local government planning and actions to reduce pressure on tourism activities in Sipadan island by introduce and promote more new attractive diving sites around Semporna. The Reef Dive Resort is promoting eco-friendly diving tourism, in future, resort will work closely with governments sector and welcome all other operators to collaborate together in action to conserve the marine environment for the future generations.

All the guests and staffs witness the process from another boat. The whole process to sunk the ship took about 2 hours, this is because the ship need to adjust in the right position in order to put it next to the previous Shipwreck Post Office . They sink it by filling up with sand pack as the weight and filling up with seawater. As soon as the water filled up, the deck are same level as seawater, the ship sunk to bottom in just a glance, its happened so fast! We saw the DM, resort manager and a worker jumps to the sea in a critical timing when the ship is sinking.

Good bye MV Sipadan Mermaid....will see you soon underwater , your beauty will remains and your future will be like mermaid happily living underwater.....

Jett Britnell Photographics: Inspiring Photography Quotes

2009-08-16T11:40:00.000+08:00

Jett Britnell Photographics: Inspiring Photography Quotes

Mabul Marine Week ( Reef Samaritan ?)

2009-08-08T20:20:00.011+08:00

Besides community service, clean-ups on beaches & conservation talks this year's Mabul Marine Week saw group of divers from different resorts around Mabul with one phenomenal effort to carry out underwater clean-up and coral transplantation.

Clean-up was carried out on Mabul dive sites and yield assorted types of trash one can imagine. Of the most worrying trash being spotted are fishing lines, small fishing nets & plastic bottles which are not biodegradable.
Volunteer scuba divers, boat captains and even local villages who knows diving joined in on the next day for coral transplantation which was also jointly organized by most of the dive operators here in collaboration with WWF. These "Reef Samaritans" - the way I see it, was brief on the types of coral being transplanted, new site for transplantation, handling of the underwater bond which is used as a foundation for a new coral to be transplanted to a new site after being identified. In no time, these Samaritans set out in groups with hope to provide the damage reef a brand new start, a brand new life.

(A marine biologist supervising coral transplantation being carried out)

(Volunteer diver molding the underwater bond before fixing it onto the transplant coral & subsequently on to the new transplant site)

(Now, fixing the coral to it's new home & hope for the best)

(Measurements are carried out later on & kept as data for growth comparison from time to time)

EQUIPMENT

2009-08-08T20:10:00.005+08:00

Embrace The Nature - Weh

2009-08-01T21:44:00.009+08:00

Pulau Weh - a languid,mountainous isle with sleepy fishing villages,beckoning spectacular diving with canyons,walls and marine life aplenty.

(Across the Iboih Beach lies the tiny,densely forested Pulau Rubiah,surrounded by coral reefs known as Rubiah Sea Garden)

Iboih Beach attracts backpackers to pretty bungalows set on the sand and forested slopes above turquoise waters.

( Pictured here Iboih Inn- our little wooden bungalow overlooking the sea and Pulau Rubiah across.)

On Sunday morning,26 Dec 2004,an underwater earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami that killed more than 60000 in Aceh.

Reconstruction and recovery takes time with the aid from NGOs from all over the world.

Weh offers truly world class diving with clear waters and spectacular underwater landscapes. The deep water and the currents bring in abundance of marine life ranging from pelagics to macros.

(My personal favourite would be The Canyon;Batee Tokong proves an extremely challenging site with strong currents which my regulator was ripped off during the dive!)

Mabul Marine Week (18-25th July 2009) Part 2

2009-08-01T13:42:00.015+08:00

Basically, the organizers had planned for a big beach clean-up on the first day. The opening ceremony was done in the early morning. Great turned-up from the local villages from all walks of life further emphasized the sincerity these Mabul folks have to join these environmental conservation activities. (Mabul Kids with their Yamaha Sponsored Mabul marine day T-shirt)

(Datuk Mashidi Manjun), the minister of tourism & culture who officiated the opening ceremony was friendly enough to meet a new friend in Mabul.

Most Mabul kids originated from the Bajau Laut (sea-gypsy) decendant who settled down on this island, you may still find a few who used to walk around in pure-naked condition.

(A brief aerobic exercises being carried out by some volunteers from the WWF n Sipadan Water Village staffs before the start of the clean-up)

(Great turn-up for the first day and great enthusiasm indeed)

(Villages were given bins, plastic containers, bags, knifes, racks to aide them for the clean-up of the compound and around the island)

(A panorama view of the beach clean-up activities done in front of Scuba-junkie and Borneo Divers resort at around 10am - 12 noon)

(A brigade specially brought in from the Semporna mainland to help in the clean-up)

(Local TV station-1 crew filming the clean-up event)

(Even the tourists felt a need to join in for some conservation activities besides coming for sun-bathing, snorkeling or diving)

Here's a victory sign to all those involved & putting up their phenomenal effort for this clean-up

Mabul Marine Week (18-25th July 2009) Part 1

2009-08-01T08:41:00.008+08:00

It was almost a year since I last visited Mabul. If I can recalled, I have recently make more visits to the other islands around Semporna more often compare to Mabul; which of course the price of the accommodation in Mabul did played a huge role afterall.

(A simple authentic cafe in Mabul island which served me tasty "Nasi Kuning" - yellow rice and noodle soup for most of my breakfast & lunch)

I had no hesitation when I was offered the opportunity to visit Mabul to do some voluntary & community service work during this year's Mabul Marine Week which was held from the 18-25 July. A week where dedication comes from all including the Mabul villages, dive resort operators, divers, travelers etc to come together and work hand in hand to clean up the environment, restore damage coral reefs, awareness campaigns and talks, foster friendships etc.

(The only 5 star rated resort in Mabul and was our operational room in the morning & bedroom after the sun sets)

As the was no electricity supply here, villages depends on kerosene oil lamp or petrol powered generators during the night which included our beach hut unit as well. Most of the houses around us had their lights out by 8.30pm. It could be pitch black & left us with the bright stars above us if not for some light source coming from the nearby staff quarters of Sipadan water village.

(A local conservationist can be seen
working hard throughout day & night to coordinate the daily events, logistic issues, etc just to make sure everything is in order and running smoothly)

As mentioned earlier on, the absence of constant electricity supply not only prevented us from having the most priceless asset on a dark night. We had problems obtaining internet access as well. Only way was to sit at one of this beach hut in front of the room. If this keep you wondering still ?? Well Water Village resort is just directly opposite of the hut

Sabah Underwater Shootout 2009

2009-07-08T19:25:00.004+08:00

Dear fellow divers .. in case you are not aware of .. I wish to invite everyone to join the inaugural Sabah Underwater Shootout organized by Aquatastic & Reef Wonders from the 10th - 30th July 2009. Here's a quick link for more info. UNDERWATER SHOOTOUT

It's been a while....

2009-06-21T12:29:00.003+08:00

Indeed it has been a while my dearest Lankayan. You, beauty and pride of the Sulu sea. Seeing you once again and diving you warm embrace has made my mundane month of June come to life. While much marine conservation has been and on going on in and around the area, little much is known of its existence or its where abouts even amongst Sabahans. So when an oppurtunity came up in a form of a day trip I could not resist.

Arriving on the island, you're greeted with a welcome

Lankayan, situated about 15km away from Sandakan Sabah, which is about 2 hours boat ride away, is a haven for underwater macro-photghraghy. If you're intending to dive here and expect Sipadan'esque' type view with big game and Mabul'ish' type muck diving, walkaway now. Lankayan is unique. To dive Lankayan, one must truely dive it and not dive it with ideas of what ever dive sites you've ever been to. Failing that, you will not see her true beauty. It has many dive sites to offer each full of macro-life. Having said that, seeing her once again has been a joy. Now to the fun stuff.

As it was a day trip only managed to squeeze in two dives. One at Goby lair and the other at Jawfish lair.

Painted Frogfish

Some shark species hiding in the reef....ID anyone?

*Grey Bamboo Shark - Thanx to Andrea and Antonella Ferrari*

Giant Jawfish

Squat Shrimp

Broadclub Cuttlefish

Where's Nemo?

Chromodoris Annae - I'll race you to the top

Reef Life

Joruna Funebris

There's nemo

Corals - wished i was equipped with a wide angle and strobes

Those two dives I had was spectacular. I just want to go there again. Minimal currents, so many macros, just an easy dive and good practice for underwater macrophotography. Hope you guys enjoy the pics. And to @ng congratulations buddy. I'll do my rescue and DM with you.

Til then,
LD signing off

A Short Trip To Anilao

2009-06-15T00:59:00.016+08:00

The soft coral crab ( Hoplophyrys oatesii ) decorates its carapace with
the polyps of the soft corals. Found in Twin Rocks at 15 metres
Primovula roseomaculata- an ovulide hidden inside the soft corals,
found at Twin Rocks
The Saron shrimp is a favourite find for photographers visiting
Sombrero Island
Check out the brushy tufts, another Saron shrimp spp found in Sombrero Island
My dive guide spotted this soft coral crab at Kirby Rock during
our 12 minute deco stop at 5 metres
I love nudis !!
This beautiful decorated dart goby was found at the depth of 40metres
at Kirby Rock
Dasycaris zanzibarica - found at Cathedral
Xenocarinus tuberculatus - found at Coala at 19 metres
This pink squat lobster was seen hiding within the sponge corals.
Also found at Coala

Spent 80 minutes at Mainit looking for mimic octopus. This saw blade
shrimp was the only interesthing creature found.

Well i just returned from my second visit to Puerto Galera for some high-voltage drift dives and wreck exploring. This time i was able to squeezed in a short 2 day trip to Anilao before heading back to Kota Kinabalu. Here are a few sample pictures of what Anilao has had offered. Hope you like them!