For the return readers out there, you probably know what this means already. If you’re new here, welcome, what we’re about to embark on together is a brand new travel series! These blogs tend to be my most popular every time that they come up. They’re also one of my favorite types of blogs to do because I get to share stories from the beautiful places that I’m blessed to see as well as the stories of so many around the world that I have the fortune of crossing paths with. I get to talk about food, wildlife, diving, exploring, & everything in between & I get to do so with anecdotes & pictures! That’s not why we’re here today though, unfortunately. We’ve got a little bit of time to wait, something that I have to keep telling myself as I’m writing this pre-departure. I wanted to go ahead & get us all set up for the next travel blog series out of the way so that we can dive (lol) on into it when they come around here in the next couple of weeks. I will have written this prior to our departure, but am planning to post in well into our trip being underway, so if you follow me on socials & are seeing me already doing the things by the time this comes out, you now know why!
The next trip I will be covering on her is Malaysia, specifically Borneo, Mabul, & Sipadan. We will also be covering a couple of days return to Singapore at the end of our time in this series! I’m insanely excited for all of it.
In this blog I want to fill you all in on the areas involved, as well as our plans for the trip in general, as well as give you a bit of insight as to why we are going to these specific locations. We’ll talk about the travel of it all & the journey to come! Let’s get to it, shall we?
Our journey starts this coming Thursday at which point we will leave Nashville very early in the morning to fly Delta to St. Paul, Minnesota where we will meet up with the rest of the people coming on the Malaysia part of this journey with us from Kansas City & Midwest Aquatics. From there we will all fly over the North Pole to Seoul, South Korea for a very quick layover before heading onward from there to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We then are overnighting in Kuala Lumpur before continuing on the next morning to Tawau on the island of Borneo. From Tawau we will take a land transfer over to Semporna where we will board a boat & make the hour or so voyage by sea to Mabul where we will stay at Borneo Divers Mabul Resort for 7 nights. At the end of our seven days we’ll do it all in reverse but instead of flying out of Kuala Lumpur with the rest of the group, Evan & I will go the hour south to Singapore for three days before making our way back to The US.
One thing I feel a lot of people ask me when I tell them any sort of diving story or talk about any sort of diving travel is “why go that far?” Why not stop at Kuala Lumpur or Tawau, why the extra miles? The answer is usually the same; because these places are special. They are far away from commercial human influence for the most part & therefore the sea life is allowed to flourish & the traditions of the region are allowed to endure. I often think back to my trip to Indonesia where I traveled 42 total hours to get to the Lembeh Strait & in all honesty, I’d gladly do it again. These places are special & they deserve the attention & the time it takes to get there.
Sipadan is also exceedingly special. It is an island between Borneo & the Celebes Sea that has been designated by the Sabah government as a protected nature sanctuary. From Mabul, where we will staying, it is still about a thirty minute boat ride. Additionally the Sabah government only issues around 179 permits a day for divers & anyone going to dive the reserve is required to have an Advanced Open Water Scuba certification to go. This protects the reefs & the ecosystem of the island itself. We are only allowed two days of diving on Sipidan, the rest of the dives for the trip will take place around Mabul, another stunning island in its own right.
I have no idea what the extra curricular activities will include. If time & energy allows I’d like to dip into Kuala Lumpur on our overnight there, particularly because it boasts some of the best bars & restaurants in the world. Additionally we’ll have a day at the end of our trip where diving isn’t allowed because of our flight interval, but I have no idea what the activity that day will be. It truly could just be lounging around on the beach or poolside & that honestly sounds perfectly fine too.
Evan & I were initially going to go to Japan following our time in Malaysia, but we decided that tacking an extra week onto our trip & trying to lug dive gear around Japan sounded a bit too much, so we opted for three days in Singapore.
I haven’t been to Singapore since October of 2021, but Evan has never been. I’m excited to be back & let him experience it as well, I had an amazing time there the last time I came through!
Anyway, I think that’s all that I have for you all right now! I can’t wait to get going & begin sharing what is sure to be an amazing voyage around the world!
As Always, Much Love To You All,
-C