Pengguna Tetamu
11 Mei 2024
We had a great time diving Mabul, Kapalai, and Sipadan Islands. The bungalows are located on Mabul, so each boat ride to dive sites is five minutes or so. Kapalai is a 10-minute boat ride. Sipadan is a 30- to 45-minute ride and requires a permit, so be sure to book your dives there in advance. And since you'll only do two dives at Sipadan per day, consider getting a permit for two days and let your dive guide know that you want to visit different dive sites. Our guide -- Neneng -- was very good at showing us marine life and getting us to the least-populated dive sites. Keep in mind, however, that there are MANY divers visiting these islands (through overnight accommodations and day-trippers), so expect to see lots of divers even when you're trying to avoid them. The setup for divers is pretty good. Nitrox is available. The dive shop has storage space for each diver's gear and plenty of space for hanging gear to dry. They have a dedicated rinse tank for cameras. They have post-dive showers and towels. The boats were comfortable and provided shade, all more than enough for the relatively short boat rides. Three things keep us from giving five stars to MWB. The first thing is that the location is an attraction for throngs of day-trippers who walk around the facility and pose for photographs; it was quiet at night. We stayed there for a week, and every day we had HUNDREDS of visitors all over the paths creating scenes for taking photographs. Lots of "influencers" making Tik-Tok videos. Many groups walking around with selfie sticks and recording themselves, oblivious to the rest of us trying to get from our rooms to the dive shop or dining room. We even had people more than once posing at the front door to our room and, when we tried to enter or get out, acted rather offended that we were interrupting their sessions. It was truly bizarre, but in the end it was not really an imposition on us. It was just odd being around so many people posing and photographing/recording themselves. It made Disneyland seem rather banal. The second thing is that the food had a heavy Asian emphasis (not surprising given that you're in Asia), even when the kitchen is trying to accommodate American/European palates. For example, staff made custom omelettes for breakfast but the cooking oil (probably palm) did not sit well with most of the people in our group after a day or two; sauteed vegetables presented a similar issue; the margarine, peanut butter, and baked goods tasted like they too were made with palm oil. In addition, the protein options for those who don't eat red meat or seafood were limited and, at several dinners, non-existent. There was plenty of food, but not always enough in the categories that everyone would have liked or without the palm-oil taste and stomach effects. The third thing is that we are experienced divers who've been to many great destinations. Except on days when we went to Sipadan, our first dive each day was on Kapalai.
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