In all honestly this blog will do no justice to my time diving at Sipadan. Sipadan is known as one of the best dive sites in the world, and coming from Pom Pom where most of the coral is destroyed, Sipadan was the polar opposite. We were lead by a local dive crew and did three dives around the island on Sunday, each unique and amazing. But above all, the highlight of the day was… sharks!!
Going into the day, I had heard there was a high probability of seeing them but didn’t want to get too excited. I wasn’t sure how I’d react being in the water with them, but on our first dive we dropped down and were surrounded by them immediately. I wasn’t scared or nervous at all and realized pretty quickly that these gray and white tip sharks weren’t interested in us in the slightest, paying us no mind. Most were about 4-6 feet in length and the closest one probably got 5 feet away from us. It was a surreal site to see them swimming amongst turtles so close to us and the surface. This was truly a bucket list experience as we swam along the reefs and were surrounded by close to fifty sharks throughout the day.
Along with the sharks, we saw huge lobsters, cuttlefish, grouper, and bright healthy corals. I wish I had more pictures to capture these sights and hope I never forget them, but everything exceeded my expectations and more.
After diving we hit a local cafe where a Malaysian woman cooked us some amazing noodles, soup, and a stack of sweet pancakes filled with a hazelnut spread for dessert. Everything was delicious and cost less than $2 for everything. We then headed to a local bar at one of the resorts where we got a bottle of wine and some cocktails for the first time in two months.
This trip is definitely a highlight of my time in Malaysia and I feel so lucky to have experienced the amazing dive sites here. It’s odd that my diving resume consists of some of the worst reefs in the world and also some of the most highly regarded, but I’m happy to have experienced both.
Half-Seas Over 