What happened for the past 48 hours had been like a dream. Vivid yet unreal.
It was a bright warm simple morning when we geared up and headed out to one of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen - Sibuan. This could have been the lost world found. A small patch of ivory powder sand with a slight sprinkle of young virginal coconut trees swinging along the day's gentle lullaby. With a sigh of contention, the few Bajau, or sea gypsies that lived on the island went about their ways of sustenance since the times when the sun bathed the seas for the first moment.
Humble huts built from clever tied together dried palm leaves and wooden stilts dotted the little Eden while a few boisterous lads, in their naked glory of chocolate skin nurtured by countless hours playing the sun, hung about curiously by our boat. There were other kids on the beach, and they spoke no Malay, looked every bit the happiest kids in the world. They had no games saved for what they could devised from a plank washed up on the shore, an empty can, tag, and whatever the seas hold in time when they will be old enough to venture out in line with their traditional ways.
With our gears we backrolled into the turquoise water, welcomed by the serene silence of the undersea. Here, man was alien, the creatures surrounding us - turtles, a myriad of coral fish species, jellyfish, sea lice (yes, it's mating season!), shrimps and corals - the coral wall quickly sloped down to greener depths where the animals seemed bigger and bolder. I saw male trumpet fish coaxing a hard-selling female only to be rejected later... ah, the course of true love never ran smooth huh? In our three dives on that day, we could not helped but be blown away by the enormity of the space below. It felt like we were there because it was all meant to be.
Our break on the Sibuan Island was a scorcher. Famously known as "sunburn" island, we didn't leave to chance and came armed with SPF50. Wandering off alone and kicking up the hot sand with my bare feet, I thought that it would be so cool if Crusoe and Friday suddenly came out of the thicket and treated us to regaling stories of islands far and near. This was seriously an island that you can float away, daydreaming about absolutely anything... nothing was too silly.
In the evening, we met and made new friends. Played pool while the local band belted out their tunes (I thought they could definitely play in Hard Rock KL!) and exchanged contacts. This was one of the best things about travelling, you learned and opened your mind about just anything and heck, even forgave that uncle of a diver that acted like a terrapin in heat when he clawed his way ahead of the pack to just see an eel. At the end of the day, your thoughts went back to those smiling faces and laughing melodious voices, how the kids ran about and innocently created a world of their own, and you came back to your current "world" and looked around, it was seriously weird in some way. Without getting all emotional about it, I do still feel a bit stunned by just how I found a little bit of myself here along the long highway of life unfolding.
Our subsequent dives which took place today headed towards Mabul and Kapalai, south from Semporna town. Passing the main fish market again, I saw heaps of trading activities going on by the steps that met the boats on the harbour. Reminded me of the Ganges River, only smaller but buzzing nonetheless. Again we saw curious kids hanging by the harbour looking at our passing boat, and the "hello" and smiles were not hard to come by.
With these two islands, the marine life was another stunner, if not better. Short of playing a graceful underwater ballet rehearsal with a lone green turtle that I spotted, being stung by endless streams of tiny jellyfish and sea lice (I mean, come on! They were close to invisible but they surely did pack some pain there), we also swam along schools of pike fish, trumpet fish, one-footer lion fish, Titan Triggerfish and colourful corals, life couldn't get any more surreal. As the emerald water blinked with the odd twinkling of light reflecting on the silver lining of schools of sardines, you could just swim through these schools and waddle gently enough (my effort to blend in as a fish), the fish actually hang about you! How awesome is that? I remembered feeling that I was so privileged to be part of this afternoon, it's like swimming in paradise and you were privy to a very personalised afternoon of marine life going about "business as usual".
The boat ride back was a moment for reflection. Albeit roughly, at times, broken by some really old, wrinkled up European (loaded) divers that pranced around in their budgie smugglers... sigh, I was praying that no popping jays (pun intended) would be saying a late good afternoon to us all. Could do with a bit of diving attire etiquette I thought... there were plenty enough of cracks (not on the boat but the ones peeping out from wet board shorts) to go for all so that nobody missed out, and one fellow even had the cheek to announce "sorry I was late (in boarding the boat for the second dive out) as we had to do a debriefing..." No shit Sherlock!
He was wearing one in lightning blue. Maybe his middle name was sabre.
