Following our heavenly days on Mataking Island, the last stop on the Malaysian leg of our trip through Borneo was to Mabul Water Bungalows (a part of SMART, a bigger resort that also boasts accommodation on “mainland” Mabul). We knew from the get-go that we wanted some sort of over-the-water bungalow experience during our honeymoon—hence, [...]
That Time a Triggerfish Mistook My Leg for Lunch
October 20, 2010 By 28 Comments
Early on in my scuba days Until recently, I was most afraid of a shark taking a chunk out of my arm while splashing around haphazardly underwater. Little did I know, it’s the small guys you need to watch out for. Borneo is most visited by divers as its east coast entities in the Celebes [...]
Borneo’s Turtletopia
October 18, 2010 By 20 Comments
The single best thing about staying on Mataking Island during our honeymoon was the presence of turtles. Turtles, turtles everywhere! Previously, if I ever saw one turtle on a dive, I would be ecstatic. Two would just about put me over the moon. So seeing as many as 20 during one 45-minute submersion was just [...]
A Fish’s World Through a Fish Eye Lens
October 6, 2010 By 11 Comments
The biggest adrenaline rush I’ve had came when riding the dive boat out to Sipadan in Borneo. Schools of hammerhead in all their species lay beneath. Whirling tornadoes of barracuda were down there. Leviathan herself dwells beneath the Celebes Sea! Everything I’d read beforehand about diving at this particular spot led me to believe that [...]
Photo Friday: Mataking Island, Borneo
August 20, 2010 By 18 Comments
As I mentioned, there was a glorious, expansive sand bar off the coast of Mataking Island that just beckoned for frolicking. When the tide was low, it connected Mataking to its second, uninhabited isle. When the tide was high, you could wade a bit out to the sandbar—if your feet could take the heat, that [...]
Diving Borneo: A Whole New World
August 11, 2010 By 17 Comments
When we arrived at Mataking Island, they didn’t waste a minute. After giving us the island briefing, we were whisked away to the dive center to be outfitted for our equipment. We were then made to do a shore entry dive to prove we knew what we were talking about. It was clear that people [...]
Borneo: Chasing Paradise
August 8, 2010 By 27 Comments
After a few good days at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria and some rather creepy ones on Gaya Island, it was time to hop a plane and fly across the deep jungle of Borneo and explore Sabah’s east coast. Truth be told, the east coast’s stellar diving reputation is what drew us to the island in [...]
Photo Friday: Gaya Island, Borneo
July 23, 2010 By 12 Comments
In the beginning, our sole purpose for spending the first week of our honeymoon in Borneo was to check out this new resort, Bunga Raya, that had recently open and with which I was obsessed. (Or so I thought.) I had the intention to write about it for some of my outlets—I know, I know, [...]
Monkeying Around in Borneo
July 18, 2010 By 9 Comments
It’s no big revelation that one thing that draws many travelers to Borneo is the chance to see orangutans in their natural habitat. While Sepilok up north is home to the bulk of the island’s orangs, SVV and I decided not to make the long, bumpy trek to the sanctuary—especially considering there was little else [...]
Photo Friday: Rasa Ria, Borneo
July 16, 2010 By 14 Comments
As it turned out, the nicest place we stayed our entire honeymoon was the first stop on our three-week Tour de Asia. Normally, you’d think it would be better to save the last, but actually after the chaos in reaching Borneo, it was just the escape we imagined. In the Kota Kinabalu area, there are [...]
