Return to (underwater) paradise

FRIENDS probably thought I had flipped when I told them where I was headed for my recent eight-day holiday.

I was not quite as frank when it came to my parents, whom I simply told that I was going to Malaysia for a dive trip. I spared them the details to keep my ailing mother from unduly worrying about me.

The island of Sipadan hogged the global headlines last year following the hostage-taking activities of the Abu Sayyaf. Its proximity to Jolo made it the most accessible foreign land for fugitives and terrorists at the height of the military offensive in Mindanao.

But since that hostage taking, a platoon of Malaysian soldiers has been securing Sipadan. (Nearby resorts such as Kapalai also enjoy such security, but to a lesser degree. Military planes fly by twice a day. And once or twice a week, more soldiers and officers do the rounds?a rather comforting thought for tourists intending to enjoy the place and the excellent food, and not end up trekking the mountains of Jolo in terror, not to mention fatigue.

Sipadan remains one of the most favored destinations of avid scuba divers. Its waters are known for a profusion of sea turtles and schools of barracuda?an intriguing come-on for budding underwater photographers like myself.

That the trip was awe-inspiring is an understatement. Sipadan is a photographer?s paradise offering breathtaking scenes both on land and underwater. Macro subjects such as tiny crabs, leaf fish, shrimps, pipefish, scorpion fish, crocodile fish, and cuttlefish are a bubble away in Kapalai, the resort that we stayed in.

Kapalai stands on stilts above a giant reef, and is just 15 minutes by speedboat from Sipadan. Apart from the fish, it offers spectacular unobstructed views of the sun rising and setting on the vast horizon, on which one can hardly draw the line between sky and sea.

Sipadan, on the other hand, is an oasis for big solitary fish as well as for large schools. Each dive guarantees close encounters with reef sharks, sea turtles, giant trevallies, great barracudas, and Napoleon wrasses. Amazing schools of big-eye jacks, barracudas and batfish are a frequent sight.

Unique to the island are its hundreds of humphead parrotfish that sleep beside one another around 30 feet below sea level along the walls of the drop-off near Pulau Sipadan Resort. The sight of them makes night and dawn dives off the island most gratifying.

As the sun rises, these 3-to-4-feet-long humpheads wake and swim about 500 meters toward Barracuda Point for their morning ritual. Rock and coral clusters become virtual car wash stations as the humpheads come one after another for the cleaner wrasses to feed on the parasites that stick to their teeth, gills and body.

I had never seen such an organized bunch of characters. Nature does have a way of putting things in order.

Much to my delight, these fish are not camera-shy. During "cleaning" operations, one can approach and watch them quite closely (though not too close as to touch them).

Going to Sipadan wasn't very easy. Two flights to Kota Kinabalu and Tawau, a one-and-a-half-hour road trip to Semporna, and a 45-minute boat ride to Kapalai ate up a total of about eight hours. Add to that an overnight stay in Kota Kinabalu?but who cares? For such a marvelous place, I could perhaps trek the mountains of Jolo just to get there. (Perhaps.)