Electricity goes off at 6am here. Fan stops, reminiscent of Mars scene in Total Recall. Forced out of bed we delve into the prison breakfast. Rice and bread. We plan for 2 dives. First one with Ben, an American, but like his Brazilian dive master Marcello are fed up with the conditions. Like a 3rd tour in the Vietnam war they should have left a long time ago. The allure to stay being their extreme love of macro. We sit with an English dive master who barely speaks, hating the island for the greed, corruption, dirt and poverty. Not to mention the Chinese divers. From seeing them on my trip, one race of people who should never be allowed in the water. Careless and lacking any skill in the field of diving. Ben takes us to a wall dive just in front of Sipadan Borneo divers. Incredibly strong currents make looking in the crevices a challenge. A large number of Moray eels being the best bet as the small nudibranches on show are hard to view whilst clinging onto a rock. The equipment is very poor and the air tastes of fuel. The money is quickly taken but nothing is invested back. Dive number 2 has us heading to an eel garden. An unexpected current has us first battling into the current until commonsense has us moving with it. We go towards another site with luckily a staggering variety of moray eels but a shame about the current. After prison food meal 2, with an undescribable meat we go looking for internet to check up on Mo. Lots of large monitor lizards are a bonus on route. On return to our lodging's, last night some rooms visited by rats, we only wish our 1 day Sipadan island pass was before the 11th. 3 armed police, all with M16's sit and have a coffee. A large police complex has been built in the middle of the small island after a terrorist attack last year a few doors along. The area is being contested by the Filipino terrorists. They raided a resort, not after tourists but the police. One was killed and the other policemen ran for their lives. We find out that Sabah has had numerous kidnappings as part of this terrorism. The island of Mabul has me a little jaded. Over 2000 children live here with their parents breeding like rabbits. Won't be long before the area is destroyed by corporations and an ever increasing poor community. Its a template for the world as a whole and unfortunately progress will see the area decimated by dwindling fish, corals sold to tourism or destroyed and a rainforest replaced by Palm trees to produce palm oil. The local market has been known to sell Manta, guitar sharks and other large species, so none in the water anymore.
A family from Malaysia turn up with screaming children, a new noise to add to the building work next door. Dinner is made more palatable as we sit with feet dangling in the water watching eagle rays and turtles swim past. Using the light of Mabul Backpackers to hunt. Better than any TV programme. We find a small shop that sells beers and spend the evening talking to Ben,Marcelo and the Swiss girl Ulana about diving and the world in general. Ben is an interesting fellow who for an American has travelled extensively. He has no plans to live in America. The healthcare system is a joke and he will be charged $700 for not having healthcare. Who knows where that money goes. Sleep is limited, with cats chasing rats running along the roof, with walls so thin you can almost hear our neighbours breathe.