Malaysia Recommendations?

I have a coworker who is considering going to Malaysia in a few weeks (early August) and inquired about Sipadan-Kapalai resort. Anyone here have any experience there? Also, any advice on what else might be better would be appreciated. She's a relatively new diver, and, though she wants to go to dive, would prefer a place where she doesn't feel "trapped on the resort". Any issues with trying to plan something like this (from the U.S.) with only a few weeks to do it?

Thanks,

Mike

Well if she doesn't want to be trapped then Kapalai may not fit her bill. It's on P. Kapalai and the only other thing around is sand. Mabul is probably something she's looking for. There's the Water Village, SMART and a few other resorts on the island of Mabul.

Mike,

If she's open to going somewhere else, then I'd strongly recommend Puerto Galera in the Philippines. If she contacts www.scubaplus.com the owner, Martin can get her set up in a couple of days.

Stu

p.s. Just note, the rainy (read: Typhoon) season has started in that part of the world btw.

Hi Mike,

When I was there a couple years ago I stayed at Borneo Divers Mabul resort which I can recommend. They had a fresh water pool which was nice. Sipadan is 20 min. boat ride away. There's not much to Mabul - you can walk around the whole island in a couple hours. There are a few resorts and the local village which is interesting.

If she's interested in more than just diving, on the mainland of Borneo, I would strongly recommend a visit to the Sepilok Orangutan Reserve and a couple days up the Kinabatangan river to see the Proboscis monkeys and other cool wildlife. Also, if she's going to the Borneo side (where Mabul, Sipadan, and Kapalai are), she'll go through Kota Kinabalu ("KK" for short) and there's great hiking up Mt. Kinabalu.

It's a really interesting part of the world and there's lots to see and do.

Phil

I was at SMART on Mabul a couple of months ago and will visit them again next year. Everything from transfers, dive planning, gear transport, lodging, food and guiding worked out very well. I can really recommend them. My dive photos are on http://www.pbase.com/borneobent/sipadanmabul . I have a number of Borneo land photos on http://www.pbase.com/borneobent/borneo .

/Bent