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Pulau Sipadan ( Sipadan Island ) - Sabah
 The
name of Sipadan is simply legendary in diving
circles, conjuring images of twirling tornados
of barracudas and jacks, patrolling hammerhead
sharks, millions of technicolored reef fish and,
above all, dozens of sea turtles swimming peacefully
everywhere.
"Sipidan, Borneo: The waters of Indonesia
meet the waters of Malaysia at the 'Ring of Fire'.
Within this underwater circus lies one of the
world's freshest dive sites - Borneo's Sipidan
Island. Seeing 10 green and hawksbill turtles
in one dive is not uncommon, nor is seeing a school
of 300 barracuda and hammerheads The proximity
of dives to shore allows you to gear up, swim
out a few yards, and get some of the best diving
of your life."
 As
I discovered, most people go to Mabul to dive
Sipadan, that great pelagic sea mount made famous
by Jacques Cousteau, home to the turtle tomb,
thousands of live turtles and millions of  schooling
pelagics. The reason they choose Mabul over Sipadan
is mainly because the accommodation at Smart Diver
Resort on Mabul is slightly more upmarket than
that found on Sipadan, offering private en-suites,
fresh (not brackish) showers and loads of hot
water.
If you're diving Sipadan from Mabul (only 15 minutes
away by boat), then you're out for the whole day.
This isn't a problem because the boats are huge
with lots of room, full awnings and even shelves
overhead for dry gear. Between dives, have your
surface interval sitting on the famous Sipadan
wharf, or perhaps,walking along the beach. Lunch
is a picnic affair on the back side of Sipadan
Island .
After three dives, you'reback on Mabul in timefor
a hot shower and a late-afternoon cup of tea or
coffee, which is always accompanied by a scrumptious
Asian pastry of some sort.
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