Eye Opening Escapade: Part 1

I went to Mabul Island, Sabah for 4 days and 3 nights the other day. And I thought, "I need to write this once I get back". Plus, it's been a while since I wrote something on this blog. Hence, this.

I'm passionate about travelling. Meeting people and seeing new places and worldly wonder can be an eye opening and a breathtaking experience. But for most of the time of my life, I spent it here in Malaysia. Living in Canada for almost a year back in 2010 was a golden opportunity, but because of certain cases and under difficult circumstances, heading back to home to Malaysia was a correct choice.

I never regret what was happening to me, just, I haven't had the chance to go travelling again, mostly due to funds and time constraints as well as I don't have a travel buddy. Yet, they also faced the same problem. But a year ago, just after Eid (in 2013), plane ticket to Sabah was so cheap. Without much thought, 8 of us (former highschool buddies) bought the tickets, impromptu planning a trip to Mabul, Sabah. Honestly I've never thought I could join the trip, as I was occupied with works as a final year student. All is well, the week we planned it, my schedule was free. I left everything behind, and went to Sabah.

There's nothing much to talk about the trip, initially I thought. I enjoyed a night in Tawau. Amazed by how the city I thought to be quite rural, turned out to be better than my own hometown in Bentong, Pahang. Tawau has decent things to offer to the people, the food was great and cheap, the people were amazingly friendly and nice and good looking too. As I was being sceptical at first, I was knocked down by the reality I saw in Tawau. I shouldn't ever judge.

I am a sucker for nature. I enjoy beaches and mountains and I love sunset. Getting to Semporna, about one hour and half drive from Tawau, I was excited. Semporna is a busy town, with just two lanes roadway, the town is filled with people especially at Semporna Jetty. You can see travellers, local people, fishermen, and some of uncomfortable sights you may as well encounter in other places; beggars and poor children. The wet market is crowded with people, but in a certain places and small alleys especially the one facing the sea, the scenery was magnificent enough for me to utter, "I don't mind living here". But then again, I was disappointed, the clear water of Semporna ocean was filled with garbage and wastes. If only people can salvage the beautiful sanctuary that were given to us, I'm pretty sure Semporna can be a great place that has a lot to offer. We need to be conservative; preserving the beauty we have in front of our very own eyes. Heading off to Mabul on the second day of our trip, relaxing on an island and chilling on the deck of our budget resort, were the only thing I had in mind that day.

Mabul is a small island, the distance is about one hour ride by boat from Semporna. The water was beautiful, reflecting a greenish and blueish colour under rays of sunlight, You can see turtles, small fishes swimming around and also a group of starfishes with variety of colours and species. The small budget resort we stayed in, was built like a house on water where you can see the clear green water through the gap or slit of the floor made of wood like any typical old-style malay houses.

The eye opening experience that I had gained there was not about the view that I saw and cherished. It was the people, their stories and the lives of them, be it the traveller or the local people. Mabul island was quite small, it took about 45 minutes to walk around the island, touring around the resort compound, along the beach and entering the local village. You can see that the local people (bajau laut and bajau suluk) were so friendly, kids playing around and some even walked around naked. They all had tanned skin colours with brown highlight on their hair as I was told that the colour of your hair will become like that if you are exposed to sea water everyday. The local people continuously smiled to us as we walked around the island, and the kids seemed to be genuinely happy, as if they owned the world and not have any worries, a trait that I myself seemed to envy when I was with them. The lives of people on the island was very simple. They have a primary school there, and people who choose to continue learning in high school, they need to go to Semporna, living a student life in a boarding school and stay in a dorm. Most of them became a fisherman, following the footsteps of their parents, and some even applied to be a diving instructor, a job which pays really well.

Back in our dorm where we stayed, we met Des and Dalton. Des came from South Africa, and have been travelling since he finished high school and now work as diving instructor. Dalton was the manager of resort, and he was our eye opener.

To be continued.