There are 20 species of tortoises and freshwater turtles in Malaysia and unfortunately almost all are in danger of extinction.
At Sipadan, you will often see Green Turtles. On rare occasions, you might bump into the Hawksbill Turtle. These gentle giant creatures are so clumsy on land but yet so graceful under water.
East Malaysia is a popular destination for travellers and adventurers looking for ecotourism. The recent arrival statistics to Malaysia for 2007 has been encouraging, beating the initial target by a small margin. This year, there will be a stronger emphasis to promote Sipadan, which according to Director of Tourism Malaysia Sydney, Shahrin Mokhtar, is an amazing dive site that is often said to be one of the best diving sites in the world.
The movie Duyung, directed by A. Razak Mohaideen was recently reviewed by Sharifah Afrah. It stars local talents Saiful Apek, Maya Karin, Awie, Yassin, Abu Bakar Omar, Raja Nor Baizura and Yasmin Hani.
If you remember the barge accident at Sipadan back in May 2006 that lead to the cancellation of the infrastructure project on the island, things are starting to look positive again.
Recently, well OK, maybe not that recently, but it happened sometime in 2007, Google Earth started to show clear images of Sipadan Island. Previously it was just a blur blob and photographers who geo-tag their images had to blindly guess where it is. It explains why if you turn on the Panoramio layer in Google Earth, Sipadan Island seems to be in so many places.
Finally, the rates for 2008 is out now for Mabul Water Bungalows and Sipadan-Mabul Resort at Sipadan Diving Vacation.
The new rates are effective from 1 April 2008 until 31 March 3009.
OK OK. It’s just a story. But it’s really a mermaid story!
Sipadan Island was recently featured as a shooting location for a Malaysian movie. The title of the movie is Duyung which is the Malay word for Mermaid. It stars the very popular actress Maya Karin.
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When planning your trip to Sipadan, plan to arrive early at Tawau airport so that you can transfer to Mabul Island on the same day. Otherwise if you arrive late in the afternoon, you will have to spend a night either in Tawau or Semporna before being transferred to Mabul Island the next day.
For some of you however, having to spend a night at Tawau or Semporna is unavoidable because of flight scheduling conflicts. Currently, there are a number of hotels you can choose from including Seafest Hotel in Semporna and Belmont Marco Polo Hotel in Tawau.
Sipadan Island as a diving destination has so much to offer, it would be a waste if this beautiful island is not managed well. Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat recently visited the island and has a few recommendations.
Our rates for Mabul Water Bungalows and Sipadan-Mabul Resort are now available at our website. If you are planning to dive in Sipadan in 2007, please drop by to see what we have on offer.