kids never outgrow their spirits..mabul-kapalai-sempornA visit.

An original me

Rancangan hampir setahun usianya yang direncanakan..utk melawat Mabul, Kapalai dan Sipadan akhirnya tertunai..dgn pembelian tiket AirAsia yg dibuat pada Sept 2010 lagi..kami berlepas ke Tawau.walaupun fokus sebenar adalah bagi menikmati keindahan alam marin namun ekskavasi sosiogeografi penduduk di sana menjadi antara impian utama (sorry Hisam..huhuhuhu).

2 jam 40 minit : tiba di Tawau pada jam 2140H, then kami menginap di Bandar Tawau di Walikatao Budget Hotel (rm65/room  : single queen size bed , not so bad since it was just an overnight stay),tapi sebenarnya option ke 2 anda juga boleh terus ke Pekan semporna dgn taxi (bayaran Rm95/taxi) bagi mengelakkan pembaziran masa di Tawau yang hampir tiada tarikan yang spesifik(ikhlas ni)..As a result, we travelled by bus to Semporna the next moning (earliest trip was 0730H which costs you rm10/person : luckily it was so comfortable as the staffs were so helpful , credits to Manis express staffs-45 mins).

Di bawah terik matahari Semporna again we wandered around aimlessly till we stopped at Hameed Firdaous restaurant (opposite to Shell) : pakcik Hameed the one who introduced us to Uncle Chang's package office(thanks for the 4WD ride). Since we missed the morning trip to Mabul,we got no choice : we have to stay in nearby hotel.Dragon Inn adalah hotel paling dekat dgn jeti, in fact we are so thrilled with so called "stilt houses style"-listed as 2*

Dinding : Batang Nibung.

laluan ke bilik2.

Oleh kerana subuh pukul 0430H jd xder masalah utk kami bsiapsedia ke pulau by 0730H, trip seterusnya ke Mabul Island..by boat Uncle Chang (it is included in the package : Rm150/person Inclusive of stay 2D1N+freeflow foods with breakfast,lunch n dinner+snorkeling to Kepalai n Mabul, unfortunately Sipadan entry was fully booked till Sept(for me as technically im not a good swimmer-i dont know how to swim even-this is totally NOT a bad news,but the bad news was : a fact that they are no rooms available anymore except we have to share a hostel-like room with 4 beds+1 extra mattress.(a bit stuffy during afternoon with a scorching sun-jeles tengok resort lain yg nampak lagi "kepualaun"..huhuhu..cuma suatu yang amat beruntung utk mendapat hidangan fresh seafoods for the lunch and dinner..this really made this trip worthwhile : bangga la tu Hisam).
Aktiviti seterusnya adalah "snorkeling"
by 1130H after ate our breakfast : bertolak terus dgn bot ke Kepalai utk snorkeling, i didnt know it's so difficult to snorkel..huhuhu..luckily ada pelampung disebabkan life-jacketnya mmg xberfungsi.and of course nasib baik pihak pengurusan sediakan pembantu bagi orang-orang macam aku.since we missed the boat for the Mabul at 1400H, we decided to go for the next morning trip.(Again,i realized snorkeling is totally a monkey business for me..i wont push myself for it..i was totally dependent the moment i stepped into the water provided the level is just as deep as my height).

even the life jackets look so bright.DONT be fooled.

 

satu lagi yg aku rasa pihak pengurusan Uncle Chang overlooked adalah keperluan pelancong minoriti macam aku, since "life is short",i dont want to die from drowning- of course.but the provided life jackets seemed so less helpful (helpless kasor sgt),they couldnt be zipped up, etc. Mungkin bagi yang pakar macam budak2 ni xperla (they defined kepakaran with multi-answers in which by experience Syed paling pakar?? and as a Guru .. Hisam is his best student-huhuhu..

pantang menjejak kaki ke jetty memang port paling kami suka adalah cafeterianya : sbb bekalan makanan xpernah terputus and makanan lunch and dinnernya membuatkan kami xperlu lagi tergila2 nak mencari seafood di semporna(tQ for the free lunch from the considerate managing team even though we technically have already checked the next day).

no comment : close your eyes and dream about it..

Tips : sekiranya anda terpijak Mespilia Globulus : sea urchin sprt anak murid paling pakar snorkel ni, first DO NOT PANIC, since the great news is, it is NOT poisonous and it will spontaneously resolved by Day 2 of event (wait and see, and do not think much is the key of treatment, no need to pee onto it).

see closely with your doctor's eyes at the 2nd and 4th toes.

sesuatu, yg juga kira berharga utk menginap disini adalah ianya sangat berdekatan dengan masjid pulau Mabul (if u are not dreaming enough u can hear the azan calls 5 times daily : we used to go to the mosque as it was so close to our room, the walking distance is less than 5 minutes walk,thru the titi connected to the hotel).

--next chapter-- as we have seen the great part of the nature which told to be at its best..we decided to see the locals..and of course my focus was the children..since "they never outgrow their spirits"

cari cacing : utk memancing

you can see the followings photos and do your own interpretation : as summary i would rather say that a lot need to be done for their future, and to start with : i think the resorts should contribute towards it.

he will never let you help him

a good step : but the execution?

An elderly was teaching her student reciting Quran(yellow) : may ALLAH bless her

i think that's all from Mabul n Kapalai..
again " sesuatu yang biasa bagi kita boleh jadi luarbiasa utk org lain"...shafie
(wait for the Mabul-Kapalai-semporna 2.0 which will shortly after this).