Source: http://www.e-borneo.com/travel/diving/sabah_islands_map.jpg

Every year, Sipadan Water Village (SWV) which by the way is NOT on Sipadan hosts this event called the Mabul Marine Day and this event is 7 years old this year. Now, I've heard of a lot of things, some good and some not so good about the things that go on at these kind of events and I wanted to see first hand for myself. But first, let me tell you a little about SWV and Sipadan.

Now, it is almost every diver's dream to go to Sipadan, one of the world's top ten dive spots in the world apparently. Naturally, I jumped at the chance. Sipadan has received a lot of news coverage of late as basically, the corals and wild life around the area has gone through a LOT of destruction, some from just plain carelessness of the operators and divers, some because of fishing, natural phenomenons like El Nino etc. In fact, the destruction has gotten so bad that the government has ordered the hotel operators on the island to vacate by the end of the year and after visiting Sipadan, I can understand why. You can read all about it here.

Source: PufferGal Cam

Source: http://www.sipadan-village.com.my/intro.html

I have to say that SWV is a lovely place to go if all you are after are heaps of friendly people and good, organised diving. The food isn't so bad either and the service is impeccable. Now, I am used to A-hut type accommodation where plumbing is limited, service is questionable but for the price I paid on those trips, I can't complain. In SWV, we actually had "turn down" evening service!! Waiters and waitresses would actually come up to clear your plates and refill your glasses!! Little elves would come in at night to close up your windows and such and spray a little mosquito spray to kill anything that flies! They even clean up your room for you!! WHOA!!

The resort is spectacular, built on stilts, over the water. The staff are VERY friendly. A bunch of them even greet you when you arrive, complete with a refreshing scented towel and welcome drink (real fruit juice and none of that mixed-with-water cordial stuff). You have to understand here, I usually go for budget type holidays and none of this fancy-schmancy places. I was pleasantly surprised.

Source: http://www.sipadan-village.com.my/intro.html

View from where I laid my head at night Source: PufferGal Cam

Our room was nice, unfortunately as diver's aren't a romantic bunch, there were limited double bed rooms available and our room had only twin beds. This I've noticed... aside from the odd couple, most divers leave their partners (usually of the opposite sex) behind. I found this unusual but it's true. Divers go off with their friends or by themselves and rarely bring their partners along. Infact, most diver's partners don't dive. How strange is that? I would have thought that diving is a sport that can be shared by couples but I was wrong. It is as if divers use these kinds of holidays to "escape" and divers are usually males... what does that tell you ??!! Sleeping on twin beds took about 5 minutes to get used too... basically, after a full day of diving, all you care about it getting some sleep and sometimes, sleeping alone is kinda nice .

Our bathroom was HUGE, complete with twin sinks (VERY nice feature this one and should be mandatory for all couple bathrooms) and a hot and cold shower. The water in the resort is a little brackish e.g. salty but you don't mind it after your first shower. Apparently., they recycle the sea water (Japanese technology and efficiency I presume) at the resort. FYI, the resort is partly owned by Japanese who are keen divers and I've been told on Japanese public holidays, they actually rent whole planes to fly down!! There's even a helicopter pad there!! The staff there are VERY well trained and polite, again, Japanese efficiency I think. Beds are clean and comfortable. You actually get towels and toiletries too!! Oh, I am such a simple person .

I have to say that SWV isn't the kind of place one would go to for a romantic getaway... there's just too many people. The kind of people who go there are the serious divers... or the ones who want to get away from their partners. This is the kind of place you go to when you want to meet other divers and basically have a good time. Groups of friends would go to SWV but not honeymooners (even though there was a British couple there who were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary... VERY sweet). The resort is pretty and everything but because it is runned like a well oiled machine, forget romance, it's like a military operation. If I am not mistaken, the resort can accommodate up to 100 divers or something like that... I think that it's just too many people for a romantic getaway. Then, if you want to get ermmm "passionate", you might be a little pressed for privacy, especially of the sound variety. As everything is designed around an "open concept", there isn't any such thing as sound privacy. In fact, after a particularly long day of diving, I could actually hear my neighbour snoring... and he wasn't even in the adjoining chalet! So no, SWV isn't the kind of place one would go to to get romantic.

And it isn't the kind of place you'd go to if you aren't a diver. Sure, the surroundings are beautiful but if you aren't a diver, entertainment is somewhat limited, unless you are the kind of person who likes to chill on a deck chair for hours on end reading a book... there is cable television (in the common area) and internet access but other than that, there isn't very many facilities for the non diver. Sure you can take snorkeling trips and walks on the near-by beach but that's about it. There isn't a spa, and massage facilities are limited to you paying a guy to massage your feet in the lounge. In fact, I would caution the non experienced snorkeller against entering the water around the resort as the current can get rather strong.

Needless to say, the diving facilities there are top notch. Everything is so efficient! For example, there are 3 boat dives scheduled per day for each diver and if it says on the board the boat leaves at 0715, it leaves at 0715. If you get there at 0716, you would have missed the boat, literally. The dive masters and instructors there are top notch and are very environmentally aware and they don't hesitate in sharing their wealth of experience or chastise you if you aren't a responsible diver. In fact, one of the dive masters who took us out did a head count every 5 minutes or so. I was very impressed by this, since the current was strong during that dive. They teach you about corals and fish, they tell you about mating and living habits etc. Very educational. The boat crew are helpful to a fault and make sure that everything is safe before you hit the water.

Having said that, there were just too many divers for my liking. On any given boat dive, 3 - 5 boats would go out, taking with them up to 12 divers per boat and they usually go around to the same spots, so on any given dive, you could get up to 50 divers diving in one location. This I found a little unpleasant, for with that many divers around, the probability of getting kicked in the face or getting lost is high. I got kicked a few times, sandwiched between divers etc. It was just too crowded but that is what you get when you visit a place where the diving is good and the facilities are excellent and the prices, affordable. SWV is a success.

Food at the resort is buffet style and believe me when I say that there was a LOT of it. You had salads, roasts, soup, bread and oh... the dessert section!! Surprisingly enough, I am the kind of person who can't resist sweets but when on the island, all I craved for was fruit... heaps of fruit. The food could be better but the variety made up for it.

Unfortunately, when we were there, it was the rainy season. As luck would have it, it was a glorious day when we arrived and when we left... in between, it was pissing down rain. Rain doesn't really bother me as if you are underwater, you get wet anyways right? But it did bother me as everything was spaced wide apart in the resort with no shade of any kind so you are bound to get soaked when moving from say, your room to the restaurant. They provide umbrellas but not every room has them... me thinks that the clientele sometimes gets a little confused i.e. they arrive at the restaurant with one umbrella and leave with two. When it rains, it can get COLD in the resort and I was lucky enough to have brought along a jumper. The BF didn't, got soaked and came down with a slight cold. A fair number of people at the resort fell ill for it can get quite chilly. And for those of you who require air conditioning on holidays... not necessary. It gets quite cold at night.

Mabul Marine Day

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