Day 3 - Sipadan

If a person goes to Mabul and does not go to Sipadan which is 15 mins boat ride away.. They must be crazy! Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia. A world class diving spot for divers. Situated on top of a volcanic sea mount, it rises 600 metres from the sea floor!! They allow only 100+ visitors per day and there isn't any resorts available. No one is allow to stay on the island and if I'm not wrong, no diving after 5pm.

Before I'm even there, I've heard so much of it. So, to prove that Sipadan is an island worth going, I visited it myself. I can't dive as I do not have a diving license so I snorkeled. And trust me.. once you plunged into the water, you'll be driven away by those enchanting corals and 3,000 species of fishes. I was swimming in between the school of jack fish and Giant Trivolis and white tip reef sharks were circling below. Not just that, I touched the green turtle who was swimming slowly below me. I got to see so much that I wished I was a diver!! WHY??!!!

Together with the dive masters and divers



Aah.. The famous Napoleon Wrasse. It was so gigantic! I'm sure it's about a metre long. We were feeding it with bread at the jetty.

This is where we had our breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food was way better than Semporna's. The even had crabs for dinner.

Looking at the sunset... blissful..



We were so adventurous that we went snake hunting. Not just ordinary snakes.. sea snakes! You can die within 15 mins if bitten by them. We must be out of our mind.. There were 5 of them gliding and curling around on of the jetty. Children, do not even try doing this ok? It's very dangerous and only adults with a brave heart are allowed to go. Haha~ They (the snakes) are found near the helipad jetty near the Water Bungalow area. So folks, if you think that sitting at the jetty at night trying to impress the girl/guy next to you or if you think it's romantic to do so... make sure you check the area around you first!!! Won't wanna die in 15 mins after kissing your mate right?

This is the end of my lovely trip sponsored by daddy. Thanks mom and dad for this memorable trip. Love you both!! I'm too lazy to blog about my trip back to KL.. Nothing interesting. Only hours and hours of sitting and no return tickets available to KL from Tawau. So no choice, have to fly to Kota Kinabalu and take a flight from there to KL. Left Mabul at 11a.m, reach home at midnight! WTH..

Day 2 - Mabul

19.10.2009 - We were so excited to go to Mabul that Ivise and I woke up early (a little earlier than usual) and packed our stuffs. Breakfast at the hotel was a disappointment despite it being one of the best hotel in Semporna.

This was the waiting spot for the boat to arrive and pick us up to Mabul. Mom said that the boat only comes once a day and leaves at 9a.m. It took us almost an hour to arrive at the beautiful island surrounded by crystal clear water and colourful fishes swimming at the shallow water.

The chalets we stayed in. We got the sea view!!

Crystal clear water. Just couldn't wait to jump in.


The best part of being here is that you can fish feed or snorkel around the Water Bungalow area. The place where Ivise is standing in the picture is one of the jetty. We saw lion fish, angel fish, mini todaks, star fish, etc etc... Too many!

See what I meant by how clear is the water?

If you do plan to visit Mabul/Sipadan, be sure to bring along a loaf of bread for fish feeding. If you are lucky, you get to see parrot fish and Napoleon Wrasse coming as well.

Ain't they pretty?

We get to snorkel and dive (if you are a diver) on the day we arrive. If you do not have the equipments, you can rent. The dive master assigned to you will bring you out by boat to the dive/snorkel spot. I was terrified when I realised that my snorkeling area was dark blue water. I couldn't even see the bottom of the sea!! What awaits me down there? Yikes! I said "Mommy, even if you kill me, I won't jump into the water". Both my parents laughed and told me that it's perfectly safe. Well, of course it's safe for them... because they are DIVERS and I'm NOT! Ivise, being the more adventurous one.. had jumped into the dark water with her dive master and her oxygen tank and was soon no where to be seen. My parents... *sigh* follow suit. Leaving me on the boat rocking... Well, what can I do? Jump lor! So yeah, they jump, I jump! As I was in the water, it wasn't as scary as I thought. I can actually see the bottom although not very clear due to the lack of sun light and the depth. So I paddle real hard to the shallower water and to my relief, they (The corals and fishes) are so damn beautiful! Soon, I was chasing the turtles and paddling to deeper water. Lol, what did I say previously... "even if you kill me, I still won't jump"? Now, "Kill me and I'll still jump!". Honestly, it's NOT perfectly safe BUT it's safe enough for a dive/snorkel. Worst case scenario, got bitten by reef sharks or stung by jelly fish or jelly bug. You still won't die... I think.

Day 1 - Semporna

18.20.2009 - Ivise and I took an early flight to Tawau. Flight time approximately 2 hrs 45 mins. I told her that Air Asia is now serving Krispy Kreme and she said she wanted to try even though she'd tried it before. Kononnya, it might taste better 10,000 feet above sea level. *faint* So when the lovely lady in red came pushing her trolley cart, I ordered for a box of doughnuts. And my usual dear sister just sat there staring blankly at me waiting for me to pay! Cis~ So yeah, I forked out Rm7 for the doughnuts and..... it doesn't taste good. Very upset.

After an hour nap on board, I went and look for my ex-colleague/friend, Lily (also the stewardess operating on the flight). As usual, we ber-gossip till the aircraft descend. The flight was so light (few passengers) that we chit chatted for about 40 mins and there isn't any call or request from passengers. After arriving at Tawau, we reunited with my lovely parent and hop into the cab for an hour ride to Semporna. The hotel in Semporna was fine but the food ain't that good. The area gave me a feeling as if I might be kidnap anytime. We see "Mat Rempit" everywhere riding on bikes, driving cars and by the streets. Sangat takut. And worst, no taxis! Only "kereta sapu", a kind of private car where u pay them and they drive u to your destination.

All these for Rm70? Not that cheap. And they told us that seafood in Semporna is real cheap.

Me and mom

Shereen's birthday

To celebrate dear Shereen's birthday, we had dinner at Michaelangelo, Solaris. The food was good with excellent service. I like the atmosphere in Solaris.. The area isn't too crowded and I feel safe walking around without fearing for snatch thieves. Lol.. Paranoid. Cool place to hang out with friends and chit chat.

Vye, Shereen + me

My "kaki lepak"

Hiya... For some unknown reason, I suddenly had the urge to talk about my darlings a.k.a "kaki lepak" (friends I usually hang out with). Apart from my college mates and my ex-colleagues from MAS, these beauties below are the gang that I usually hang out with.



This is Vye (right). Friendship: 8 years. We hang out about 2-3 times a month whenever I'm not spending time with Ashton or busy studying/doing assignment. Cantik kan?

My belated birthday present from Vye.

This is Shereen. Friendship: 8 years. I knew her the same time I got to know Vye. All 3 of us graduated from the same image styling academy. I get to see her once a month or sometimes 2-3 months once. A pretty busy lady I must say.

This pic was taken 2 years ago. See... I looked different right? Hair different colour only. On my right is Alyssa. My lovely darling. We berkawan for 11 years!! Knew her since high school and till now, we are still close. Another darling of mine (used to be 3 of us) Quinnie, is now in Adelaide. Meeting up with Alyssa is a weekly basis when I'm not too busy. She looks cuter now with her brown hair but i couldn't find a pic of her recent look. Will post it up next time.

Ah... By now I'm sure you all are familiar with this gang. My dearest cousins and erm.. 2 bodyguards (the boys). From left: Jovy, me, Su Wei, Irene, Ivise, Derrick, Ivine, Bryan. We bergathering on a twice monthly basis. Ivise will be back soon!! Reunion for 2 weeks with her before she flies back to Melbourne again. Hope she brings home some presents for me. *ngek ngek*

Birthday celebration pictures

These are the pics from my B-day celebration. The top 2 are pics taken courtesy from Amanda.

Thinking of what my b'day wish should be..

The b'day cupcakes

Then, on the 18th Sep, my darlings (cousins) and friends had a belated celebration with me at Fireman, Jaya One. We were entertained with some fire performances. A table of guest nearby was also celebrating birthday for a friend of theirs. So, the birthday boy was called to go on stage to participate in the performance.

He has no clue what the performer wanted to do to him. The performer started with applying some liquid on his chest down to his abs. Then, he lit it with fire! which only lasted for 2 seconds.. After that, when the boy was still trying to recover from his shock.. the performer knelt down and applied the liquid on his pants!! See the pic above? I guess you should know what happen next... *ngek ngek*

He burnt his "Pipi"!!!! Oops..! Not really, only the jeans. Bet he will remember this gift from the performer for life. Thank God I'm not the one on stage. Phew~



From left: Derrick, Bryan and Jovy

From left: Ivine, Irene, Su Wei and Ashton

Mini cakes.. Couldn't manage to eat them despite them looking good. Was too full to even consume a bite.

This is where we grill and simmer/boil our food.

"rose" beef on a platter. Ain't they pretty?

Our Mr. Fireman!! *applause* One of his stunts.. Not for the weak hearted.

Ready..... here it comes..........

AaahhhhHHhhh!!! Someone get the fire extinguisher!

Birthday with cupcakes and end of mid term

It's now 01:08, about an hour past my birthday. I was a little upset that the mid term exam was postpone to my birthday. All plans destroyed and I was even more upset after the IMW and CTR test on Wednesday. I'd say I did badly in my IMW and CTR (which ain't surprising). IMW (Media Writing) was a surprise to me. I never thought that the questions would be about explaining the terms more than the format of writing OR writing itself. I was stunned for at least a minute staring at the question paper. The only thought that I had was "Is this media writing? Shouldn't we be writing instead of explaining the terms?". I spent my time memorising the formats for broadcast writing, newswriting, copy writing and blablabla... and in the end, this is what I get? ONE question on the format of copy writing and FOUR questions on explaining some terms! 30% of my final marks for this subject- GONE.......

So yeah, couldn't blame me for being more upset with all these "upsetting" factors right? And I went to college yesterday praying hard that the ICG (Intro to Computer Graphics) test will be ok. And God actually answered my prayers! It was indeed manageable. Francisca completed it in less than 10 minutes! Light spiritedly, we went to Pyramid for lunch. as i was chit chatting with my usual bunch of friends................ A box of 36 cupcakes appeared right beside me with lit candles sitting on them! Of course, the lovely miniatures were held by our pretty friend- Amanda. I regretted not having my camera with me. That was indeed a surprising moment. Sobs~ The cupcakes were delicious by the way..

Next, ICC subject. I was stuck at one essay question for like...... 45 minutes! Was so frustrated that I kept making faces and my lecturer (no name mention) was actually giggling to himself. Bet he was enjoying that moment of "torturing' us. Why.... ? on my birthday. Sigh. Nevertheless, I still enjoy my day filled with birthday wishes and songs and of course, the thought of my beloved friends presenting me with the lot of lovelies (cupcakes). Thank you darlings..