Oh my God!!! Alarm went off at 5am - so after we had finished the last few bits of packing, we had around 2 hours sleep. Leaving the hotel at 5.15, we arrived at the airport just after 5.30am for our 7am flight to Tawau. Worse still was the fact that we were too early for the coffee shops to be open either. Unsurprisingly, we were both quite quiet on the flight and slept most of the way. Although just after take off we were treated to a clear view of Mount Kinabalu at sunrise. I think my calf and thigh muscles actually went into spasm just by me looking at it!!
Before we knew it we were on the ground - literally in my case as I awoke with a jolt as we touched down. The Kapalai Resort Hotel runs a slick operation and like a well oiled machine we were met at the airport, ushered onto the transfer bus for the 90 minute ride to Semporna, then by a fast boat across to the resort. Like something from James Bond the resort is perched on a sandbank, with all the stilt-house typical Malaysian style rooms jutting out from the sea and linked by series of boardwalks above the clear water.
Upon our arrival we were greeted with cool flannels and a juice - welcome rehydration after the previous night's partying. To our dismay, they planned for us to go straight out to a dive before lunch and before we had even been to our room. We gently but firmly declined and explained our lack of sleep and preference to have a rest first. We must have looked weary, as they didn't quibble and we had a reprieve till 2.30 for our orientation dive. We headed to our water villa (number 30) and happily climbed into bed and slept solidly till our alarm went off. Feeling much refreshed we headed back to the dive centre for our dive on the house reef and to test out all our new equipment.
As always, after a while not diving, the only description I can give for that first dive is "fidgety". Nothing is quite right, your mask fogs up or leaks, you either have too muck or too little weight, my tank came loose half way through the dive, and so on. Despite this, you soon remember why you have become addicted to this expensive and relatively dangerous hobby. Floating away in another world, a life with digital technology and a frenetic pace is left far behind as you enter a whole new world and the only sound is the regular gurgles of the bubbles as you breath out. Colourful fish and corals abound. Even on the house reef we saw new things - on this occasion it was the shrimp goby fish and his resident housemaid shrimp. The two live together with the shrimp working tirelessly to clear sand from a hole and the goby keeping watch for any sign of danger, at which point they both disappear down the hole. It was quite cute to watch!
Feeling much better after some sleep and a dive we relaxed for the rest of the day, had an early dinner in the restaurant (unfortunately only a buffet and frankly I am completely over rice and noodles at this point) and an early night, ready for some major diving over the next few days.
One small point that did perturbed me when we arrived was the briefing to tell us that we have a red panic button for use in case of emergency - these were listed as fire, tsunami or pirate attack. At this point I gave Jon a bit of a look - he had assured me we were nowhere near the area where tourists are kidnapped. He neglected to mention that 2 locals from Semporna had been released on Christmas day after a ransom was paid after being held for 10 months. Hmmmmm.... He seems to be a bit selective about what information he shares with me. I have deliberately delayed posting this part of our trip until we are safe in Singapore to prevent parents fretting!! Rest assured if you are reading this we are already safe and sound!