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Scuba Diving Vacation Article/TravelogueThe Best Spot for a Scuba Diving Vacation in BorneoBy e-borneo.comCousteau fell in love with Sipadan so much that he decided to let the Calypso's anchor lay there longer than it had on any other expedition to have a longer scuba diving expedition and vacation. The unique island is Malaysia's only oceanic island. It was formed by living coral and grew on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which is an isolated column of rock rising defiantly 600 to 700m from the sea floor about 10km south of the continental shelf. Sipadan is still one of the world's most diverse and interesting reefs with a rich marine life. Besides Sipadan, the other two nearby islands, Mabul and Kapalai, are also excellent dive spots and spectacular on their own right. Mabul is a mere 20min speed boat ride away from Sipadan. Mabul is the most developed at the moment in terms of tourist facilities since the Sabah State government prohibited overnight stay at Sipadan in early 2005. Kapalai is about 15 minutes by boat from Sipadan and is the smallest island compared to Sipadan and Mabul. Its accommodations is basically a water village as they are mostly built on sturdy stilts on the shallow sandbanks of the Ligitan Reefs and structures erected on water. The marine life at both Mabul and Kapalai is mostly of the smaller variety, yet it is extremely diverse. Divers can have a rare experience of the mix between the big fish action at Sipadan and the great macro diving of Mabul and Kapalai. Most dive operators today are offering packages that includes diving at all three spots - Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai - with overnight stay at either Mabul or Kapalai. You can dive almost throughout the year although the third quarter of the year is said to be the best time to dive there. However, the monsoon season is now so unpredictable due to what else, the Greenhouse effects, that the waters can be calm and clear even during December-January, a perennial wet and windy period. Security wise, well, while on an observation mission here, the US Pacific military commander Admiral Thomas Boulton Fargo a few years ago described Malaysia's security arrangement on Sabah's East Coast as "excellent by any standards". Local accounts verified that the atmosphere there seems safer than few years ago. Security has been and continued to be stepped up over the years. But for the true blue scuba dive enthusiasts, we normally don't let fear gets the better of our diving passion. Sipadan wouldn't have shot to international fame and many divers would have been deprived of the "rare pearl" if Jacques Cousteau had fears for pirates back in the late 1980s. ------------------------------------------- e-borneo.com is a leading Borneo travel gateway, trip advisor, and tour intermediary for the best custom/full-package vacation deals to Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia Borneo) and Brunei Darussalam. Get more details on a scuba diving vacation in Borneo or for more info on Sabah, please visit our sister site at Borneo Tropical Vacation. -------------------------------------------
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