Borneo Scuba Diving Tours&Travels

Island No.1 " Mabul Island " awesome!

2011-06-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Mention Mabul Island and visions of swaying coconut trees and idyllic water villages come to mind. And that’s just above the water. Located only about 15 minutes by speedboat from the famous Sipadan Island, Mabul has gained its own recognition as one of the best muck-diving (a term used to describe limited visibility dives at shallow sites with usually sandy bottoms) sites in the world.

Mabul Island first became popular due to its close proximity to Sipadan Island. However, in the last few years it has gained its own recognition as one of the best “muck-diving” sites in the world. Mabul Island is a small oval shaped island surrounded by sandy beaches and perched on the northwest corner of a larger 200-hectare reef. The reef is on the edge of the continental shelf and the seabed surrounding the reef slopes out to 25m – 30m deep. There are a few homestays in mabul and one of them is ARUNG HAYAT MABUL HOMESTAY. Mabul is arguably one of the richest single destinations for exotic small marine life anywhere in the world. Open any book on tropical fish and invertebrate marine life and you'll see practically everything you're going to see in Mabul.

Mabul is also renowned for its amazing array of macrolife, making it an underwater photographer’s dream location to capture some of the rarest ecological species on film. Flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, mimic octopus and bobtail squids are just a few of the numerous types of cephalopods to be found on Mabul’s reef. The sight of harlequin shrimp feeding on sea stars and boxer crabs waving their tiny anemone pom-poms are just a small example of the endless species of crustaceans. Many types of gobies can be found including the spike-fin goby, black sail-fin goby and metallic shrimp goby. Frogfish are everywhere giant, painted and clown frogfish are all regularly seen. Moray eels and snake eels of many types can be seen along with almost the whole scorpion fish family. It would be quicker to list the species not found at Mabul crazy critters are in abundance at this magical macro site.

49 islands in Semporna...

2011-05-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

Semporna is located at the Southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. There are many unnamed beautiful islands in the surrounding area. These almost untouched islands not even found in Google Earth. Semporna is home to fresh seafood and the gateway to the world's best dive sites. there are many travel agencies that promote it. Example ARUNG HAYAT Sea Adventures Sdn. Bhd.

There are 49 islands in Semporna, but most of them uninhabited. For the purposes of sovereignty and national security, the Armed Forces (ATM) to establish a military bits in most of the island. The navy and marine police also continue to monitor the border every time. Two of the most famous island due to dispute the sovereignty of Malaysia and Indonesia are Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan. In 2002, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has decided that these two islands belong to Malaysia. To maintain the natural beauty of the sea island of Sipadan, the Malaysian Government has decided that all man-made materials handling and cleared in 2004. Pulau Sipadan is now truly becomes 'paradise' divers.

There are many film production companies have published various advertisements, documentaries, short fiction and film in Semporna. Among the most famous is the National Gegraphic documentaries and films 'Duyong' KRU Films release. WWF-Malaysia during Semporna Marine Ecological Expedition concluded on 18 December 2010. The preliminary results indicate that Semporna may have the world’s highest marine biodiversity. Eighteen scientists from Malaysia, the Netherlands and the USA spent three weeks examining the reefs of Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia. The biodiversity team documented the species richness for mushroom corals, reef fish, shrimps, gall crabs, ovulid snails, and algae. The reef status team documented the health of the coral reefs.

Anyone who visited the Semporna certainly will not forget to enjoy the experience of fresh seafood here. There are 49 islands in Semporna such as:

1. SIPADAN ISLAND
2. MABUL ISLAND
3. OMADAL ISLAND
4. BUM-BUM ISLAND
5. DANAWAN ISLAND
6. KAPALAI ISLAND
7. SIBUAN ISLAND
8. MAIGA ISLAND
9. POM-POM ISLAND
10. MANTABUAN ISLAND
11. BOHEY DULANG ISLAND
12. SILUNGUN ISLAND
13. GUSUNGAN ISLAND
14. MENAMPILIK ISLAND
15. NUSA TENGAH ISLAND
16. SIPANGGAU ISLAND
17. KARINDINGAN ISLAND
18. LIGITAN ISLAND
19. SI AMIL ISLAND
20. BOHAYON ISLAND
21. KULAPUAN ISLAND
22. TIMBA-TIMBA ISLAND
23. MATAKING ISLAND
24. SELAKAN ISLAND
25. TETAGAN ISLAND
26. SEBANGKAT ISLAND
27. LARAPAN ISLAND
28. SILAWA ISLAND
29. PABABAK ISLAND
30. SELANGAN ISLAND
31. MATA PAH I ISLAND
32. PUNO-PUNO ISLAND
33. BAIT ISLAND
34. TIMBUN MATA ISLAND
35. TATAGAN ISLAND
36. BALUSUAN ISLAND
37. BATIK ISLAND
38. BATIK KULAMBU ISLAND
39. KALUMPANG ISLAND
40. GAYA ISLAND

41-49. Unknown

Standing high, Standing proud! I am a Bajau Laut Boy! and this is my first story...

2011-05-26T00:46:00.000-07:00

History

For most of their history, the Bajau have been a nomadic, seafaring people, living off the sea by trading and subsistence fishing. The boat dwelling Bajau see themselves as non-aggressive people. They kept close to the shore by erecting houses on stilts, and traveled using lepa-lepa, handmade boats which many lived in. Although historically originating from the southern Philippine coasts, Sabahan Sama legend narrates that they had originated from members of the royal guard of the Sultan of Johor, after the fall of the Malay Malacca empire, who settled along the east coast of Borneo after being driven there by storms. Another version narrates that they were escorting the Sultan's bride, but the bride was later kidnapped by the Sultan of Brunei. The fact that the Bajau-Sama languages belong to the Philippine branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages would substantiate the anthropological origins of the Bajau groups to be from the Philippines, and put the origin legends down to the historic Malay-centric influence of Bajau culture.

Lists of Bajau sub-groups:

Ubian (The largest group of Bajau. They reside on many islands of the Philippines and its seas, as well as sizable minorities living around the towns of Kudat and Semporna inSabah, Malaysia)
Sama (commonly known as Bajau Kota Belud, because most of them live in or near area of Kota Belud, Sabah. This is actually a misnomer as they can be found all over the west coast of the state, and not just in Kota Belud.. They call themselves Sama, not Bajau and their neighbours, the Dusuns also call them Sama, not Bajau. It must have been the British administrators that define them as Bajau.
Samah/Sama Sulawesi Selatan.
Simunul (They can be found at Kampung Bokara, Sandakan, Semporna and Lahad Datu Towns. Simunuls in Sabah originate from Tawi-tawi, where they are still mostly found and are the majority there, and the only Bajau group that mostly has fair skin.)
Samal (A group native to the Philippines.)
Bajau Suluk / Mountain Warrior (This sub-group, live mostly in Kudat, and have origins in the Philippines, hence although living among Malay peoples for a substantial part of their history, are also able to converse in the Philippine Tausug and Samal languages.)
Tando' Bas (This sub-group was rarely found in Sabah before 1970s. They had recently migrated to Sabah from a place called Tandobas in the Philippines)
Ungus Matata (This sub-group was rarely found in Sabah before 1970s. They had recently migrated to Sabah from a place called Ungus Matata in the Philippine.)
Tolen (This sub-group was found only at Bum-bum island, in Semporna, Sabah. No trace of them anywhere else even in the Philippines)
Pala'u (This sub-group originally lived on boats all the time but recently in Sabah, some have settled on land.)
Tabawan (This sub-group was rarely found in Sabah before 1970s. They have recently migrated to Sabah from a place called Tabawan, Tawi-tawi, Philippines)
Banguingui (Native to the Philippines, where the majority still live. This sub-group was rarely found in Sabah before 1970s. Some have recently migrated to Sabah)
Sikubung (This sub-group was rarely found in Sabah before 1970s. They had recently migrated to Sabah)

* My clan Bajau Simunul...

Bajau " Extraordinary"

Bajaus are also noted for their exceptional abilities in free-diving, with physical adaptations that enable them to see better and dive longer underwater. The Bajau often intentionally rupture their eardrums at an early age in order to facilitate diving and hunting at sea. Many older Bajau are therefore hard of hearing but some are not.