How to describe Mabul Island? A very hot paradise for scuba divers!

To get here we caught the bus from KK which took about 10 hours and then stayed one night in Semporna. Semporna is not the best as it's really just a gateway to the islands - I think they're really missing a trick here but never mind! The following day we caught the 'Billabong' boat out to Mabul Island which took about 1/2 hour.

I was a bit worried that we might be classed as the poor cousins as we were only going snorkelling and not diving but on the boat going over there were 4 Italians who were also only snorkelling (3 girls and 1 boy who incidentally wandered around all the time in skimpy blue trunks - really this is not something you want to behold at 7am over your breakfast!!) so that made me feel better. When we arrived it was all very intimidating the existing residents were sitting on the recreation deck waiting for us to arrive so they could get out and dive/snorkel and the organisers basically ignored us so we just wandered around a bit lost!. Eventually we found our feet and we were shown our accommodation. It turned out that they had insufficient rooms on the Billabong homestay so we had to go to the neighbouring place linked to Scuba Junkies. Even though we're sleeping there we have to come back to Billabong for all our meals and socialising - all very strange!

I can't get over how many people actually live on this tiny island and how many of them are children! Apparently most of them are illegal immigrants from the Philippines. Hardly any of the children actually go to school as you have to pay to send your children to school and that is an expense that can be easily spared by these people so the kids seem to just play the whole day.

The primary reason people come to Mabul is so that they can go diving in Sipadan, one of the best dive sites in the world. Sipadan is an uninhabited island (apart from the military barracks) which has an amazing sea life. The Malays outlawed people staying on the island after an incident in 2000 when a Philippine islamic seperatist group linked to Al Qaeda invaded the island seizing 21 people including 11 tourists and held them hostage, abducting a further 15 a year later. There is also talk of turning Mabul (where we were staying) into a one resort island and removing all the residents off the island. The residents are really bad at dumping rubbish into the sea, so some of the dive masters at our accommodation have suggested that the idea may be a good thing as the sea life will return to the area just as it has done at Sipadan. Don't know where all these illegal immigrants will go though!

On Day 1 we decided to find our way around the island so set off in search of the beach. The only entrance we could find had a warning notice telling us that the beach was only for residents but we had been told back at the homestay that the beach was OK to visit. It was amazing - the sea was clear and blue, the sky was clear and blue and the beach was surrounded by palm trees - it was idyllic - though very hot! We were having a lovely time sunbathing, swimming and chatting to an English girl on the beach called Rachel when a grumpy old man on a golf buggy appeared and told us to clear off - so that was the end of that! It was nearly lunchtime so we headed back to the homestay for lunch. In the afternoon we tried another beach which was across the island, again it was linked to a resort but this time we were left alone. From the beach you are looking out onto a very colourful and ugly oil rig. We have since been told that this is both a hotel and dive site - an American chap tried to buy a resort on the island but it was blocked so in retaliation he bought a peice of land off the coast, bought an old oil rig and transported the thing over - it is a real eyesore and one of the first things you see on approaching the island! (see photos)

On Day 2 we went snorkelling - David went out 3 times and I went out 2. You jump on the boat with the divers and just get off where they do but whereas they go deep we stay on the surface - we saw lots of fish (don't ask what kind!) and coral and David saw a turtle. I saw a turtle as well but it was dead and the kids had put a lead around it's neck so I guess that doesn't count.

On Day 3 David went snorkelling in the morning and I went to the beach but gave it up as a bad job as women and children kept bothering me. In the afternoon we packed and left for the mainland.

We have met some great people on the homestay in particaly a charismatic diver master called Lee from Sheffield who loves animals and seems to have been all over the place working in conservation and the lovely Rachel and Flic (Felicity) from England, Sabine from Germany and Michael from Denmark.

When we returned to the mainland we had another night in Semporna before catching a bus to our next destination. Rachel and Flic also left the island on the same day so, following a recommendation from the dive masters, we agreed to meet in Scuba Junkies for a pizza. After so many days of the same meal of rice and chicken for lunch and dinner we were all in desperate need for some variation. D and I turned up first but it did not look good as every drink we requested had run out so in the end we resorted to some orange out of a paper carton!! When the girls turned up we selected our pizzas and went to order only to be told that the kitchen was closing as it was Earth Hour evening even though it only requires you to turn out the lights and didn't start for another hour!!!! Frustrated we ended up back at Mabul Cafe where we had been on our first night - clearly there was going to be no pizza tonight. The cafe also had posters up advertising Earth hour so I was quite excited that I was going to be part of this small but worldwide recognition of the need to conserve energy. By 8.25pm I was a little concerned that no-one was distributing candles and by 8.35 I'd accepted the fact that no-one was going to be turning off any lights unless it was to shut shop.