Now, I haven't been to Sipadan,
something that I hope to rectify
sometime next year. However, I met
a lot of divers on this trip and
they ALL told me that Sipadan is
nothing compared to Sangalaki and
that I've been spoilt. Why? You
see, apparently, the marine life
that they've experienced in places
like Sipadan, the Red Sea, the Great
Barrier Reef etc is NOTHING compared
to Sangalaki. Only experienced divers
are the ones who go to Sangalaki,
the ones who have been everywhere
else in the world. Sangalaki is
remote and hard to get to. Traveling
takes more than a day, sometimes
even 2 days, depending on the route
you take, so most people won't go
to Sangalaki. I have been spoilt.
I know I have been spoilt. Why?
Well, (divers would appreciate this)
having done a record number of 21
dives, I can now happily report
that I have seen the following:
whale shark (my 10th dive of my life in the Perhentian Islands... most divers who have logged hundreds of dives have yet to see one... very elusive creature this one is and I am the envy of many a diver 
) The one I saw was a baby, only approximately 6m in length but still very majestic and TOTALLY awesome!!
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| Source: PufferGal Cam |
many, many manta rays. Sangalaki
is known for its manta rays. They
have two dive spots, one known
as Manta Avenue, the other Manta
Run. Sangalaki boasts a "manta
cleaning station" where mantas
are known come by everyday!! Basically,
a cleaning station is where the
fish (or in this case, mantas)
come by to let the cleaner fish
pick off the parasites stuck on
their body. We did a few manta
dives... actually, it's better
snorkeling with them for they
get VERY close when snorkeling
I think that they get spooked
by the sound of our breathing
when we dive with them.
pygmy seahorse. How they ever
managed to find the existence
of this creature is totally beyond
me!! This seahorse grows to a
length of TWOcm ONLY... the one
we say couldn't have been more
than 1cm and it blended in with
the background. If it wasn't for
our divemaster who knew where
to look for it, no way would we
have found it!! The one I saw
was smaller than my little fingernail!
Unfortunately, in order to see
it, we had to do what is known
as "micro diving" which means
we have to get up close and personal
to the corals. Thankfully, there
was a patch of sand near this
seahorse's home so we didn't do
much damage.
Some other marine life which I saw on the trip:
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 |
Mimic Filefish
Source: PufferGal Cam |
Trident / Dotty Triggerfish
Source: PufferGal Cam |
 |
 |
Pink Anemone Fish
Source: Diving With Rene |
Bridled Anemone Fish
Source: Aquatic Creatures |
 |
 |
White-tipped Anemone Fish
Source: Living Reef Images |
Barrier Reef Anemone Fish
Source: Planula |
 |
 |
Yellow Spotted Boxfish
Source: PufferGal Cam |
Stingless Jellyfish
Source: PufferGal Cam |
 |
Lion Fish
Source: PufferGal Cam |
 |
Moray Eel
Source: PufferGal Cam |
This fish above, well, they are fairly common in these waters. The reason why they are up there, well, I need to start learning about the names of the fish so...
Well, I started writing this story almost a whole month ago, it is 31 December today. Truth be told, I am starting to get a little sick of it. Anyways, I loved this trip. I had my doubts to begin with (e.g. the traveling with the BF and my fear of the water) but I am glad I went. I will always be grateful to the BF for this trip. We had heaps of fun... sure there were ups and downs during the trip but they were mostly ups. I got to see things which I never thought I'd get to see. I got to meet some really lovely people and experience a totally new type of "nuts" (the divers
). I survived the trip, he survived the trip, WE survived the trip... HURRAH!!
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