Just checked in to Tawau MB Hotel momenet ago..

My 1st nite was at Dragon Inn - Although voted top 10 floating hotels in the world by Canada travel writer, But I dun think worth the money bcos...looks old, aircon not powerfull at all & sumore the water pressure super low...We shop around & booked Borneo Global Backpacker (Seafest Inn) beside seafest hotel....At RM90/nite wth 3 beds & attached bathroom just nice & clean..& wth free wifi too..but too tire to try

About the seafood & food at Semporna...super small Philipinoes (bajau Laut & Suluk ppl) town where people stay on the sea rather than land...Chinese restaurant very rare here except fe like Dragon Inn, Seafest & Uncle Chang Seaside Seafood & Mabul Cafe (Fusion)....Standard pricing & CONFIRMED more expensive than KL although the fresh fishes selling at pasar is dirt cheap! Grouper cheapest at RM50/kg!!..damn!!  ..Ended up makan nasi goreng & hokkien kolok mee nia...that also cheapest RM5!!

2nd day I booked a speedboat for RM230/boat (Can accomodate ~8...so the more the cheapest!!) to Sibuan, Maiga & Sebangkat islands...Sibuan damn cool...life colorfull corals super good...But the water surrounding Semporana full of rubbish although crystal clear...So Sebankat & Maiga are total disaster wth rubbish everywhere yet water still clear.
We track up Bkt Tengkorak archeology site late evening

3rd day we booked teh same boat to Mabul & Kapalai for RM280. Less sampah but the coral reef at Mabul is not as good as Sibuan...We also went to Madai Cave at Kunak Y'day...

Now going to Tawau Hill.....Later Tonite probably post some of the highlight..& hopefully Tawau having cheaper seafood..

1st nite

Have to add watermark...sked ciplak..Both pics now my best liao 

BTW, Y'day niote is abother dissapointing nite. Visited Sabido Seafood ctr (Kam Ling)..After checking the pricing...I was like      ...Damn worst than Semporna...RM50.kg grouper which is the cheapest!! prophet at RM70.kg & lobster RM150/kg!! ..The cheapest Ketam BUNGA - RM35/KG!!!....Even the Pul;au ketam red crab only RM25/kg!! Check Kam Ling seafood pricing:



We decided not to hv our seaffod dinner & saw a quiet kopitiam (Kong Yung beside MB hotel....RM6/plate of fish fillet, kolok pork & sinkung taufu...RM19 for 3 inc of free rice & RM1 chinese tea.....damn cheap!!...So I banned liao all seafood restaurants in East Sabah....Dunno how's the seafood pricing in KK

hAhAhA

How About Seafood At KK? Expensive also?

I Went Once. But Forget The Price Lioa. Coz Bring By MyFren.

I plan to go to Tawau, Sabah on next year May. We are so eager to go to Pulau Sipadan, as it is one of the most beautiful island in the world.  However, since it is a floating island, rumours saying that they gotta restrict the people on the island.  IS that true??

oo.. sorry for making you all so blur.  Actually what I want to say is that the government is restricting like 70 people per day on the island to prevent the island from sinking.  I would like to have a confirmation on this.  Coz I afraid that if they restrict the people on the island, then we, group of 13 people might not be able to go to that island.

hi, guys. been to sipadan last wk. juz like to share my experience or as reference for someone planning to go there.
we booked a flight from kl to tawau. easiest way fr airport to semporna is by the RM95 airport taxi. since it's ard late, v din want to take the trouble to tawau city and get a minivan or bus, coz v could waste more time looking for the right place. (there are bus services from KK or sandakan airport directly to semporna, but the journey takes about 5 - 6 hours.) some taxi drivers dont even want to send you there even if you r willing to pay the money. coz they hv to drive for 1 hour and then come back with empty cab. most would prefer to send passengers to tawau city (juz 25 mins' distance).
reached semporna in the evening. had to stay a nite in there as the boat transfer was 7.30 a.m. we booked dragon inn thru uncle chang, RM77 per nite (about RM100+ if you book online). v tot the inn was juz so-so... until v got to uncle chang's lodge. (u hv to book a package b4 u go there, or you'll hv to pay another RM100 for the boat, one way.) btw, if you are to stay at dragon inn, dont go to their restaurant. the food cost double the price of outside restaurants. I would recommend a chinese restaurant named 'tian wang', opposite guardian, nice and cheap.
uncle chang's lodge was RM80/pax/nite, meaning RM160 per nite for 2 (can stay in a quite okay 3-star hotel in kl for that price). honestly, the place was the worst accom I've stayed in (v paid RM10 for a nite for a homestay in Ubud, Bali and was way better than this). no electric in the afternoon, sometimes no water; when you brush your teeth, water went right onto your feet thru the hole in the washbasin; the meals sucked, fried rice was just rice n egg, noodles were just noodles alone, seafood was rarely served; got bed bugs, etc. FYI, v r backpackers who don't expect much luxurious comfort from a budget lodge (or we would hv opted for the RM1K+ per nite at any of the built-on-water resorts), but it was just unbearable.
v took a three-day PADI course at uncle chang's. never expected to hv to study and sit for exam during a vacation. but studying was wat v did most of the time when v were out of water. the practical part - the dives, were 'terrifying'. if you cant overcome you fear breathing in the water, i would advise you to stay on the surface. nevertheless, it would surely be one of the most unforgettable experiences in my life. the instructor was very professional though.
managed to complete the course and went to sipadan. paid RM560/pax for a guarantee permit (RM440 for non-divers). If you go with other resorts, you juz hv to pay RM40 but no guarantee, most probably you can juz get to the jetty and have to head back or go snorkelling somewhere else. some tourists wait there for weeks juz to get the entry permit (limited to 120 pax per day).
my personal opinion, sipadan was good, but not as great as i expected. mayb my instructor was right, the reputation was built up. most ppl who stayed at those RM1K-per-nite resorts would tell you how beautiful sipadan is, how crystal-clear the water is, and how they could just put on their masks and jump out of their chalets and start snorkelling (their experiences were very much influenced by the cozy environment of the resorts, the warmth service, the nice food provided by the resort, etc.). personally, i appreciate the beauty of the nature more than the beauty of the place where i stay, and i was a bit disappointed with what i saw under water. yes, in term of the marine species, the shoals of big fish, the turtles and sharks swimming past, they were magnificent, but i thought i would see more varieties of colourful corals there. corals in that area are mainly hard ones, mostly tabletops, and those brownish ones that you can see at any islands in the east coast.
the last day, we went snorkelling in mabul (FOC) and kapalai (RM40 for the boat fare). nothing surprised me either. so took the 4 pm boat back to semporna (only 1 boat to and from mabul each day, depending on where you stay) and taxi to tawau airport. a very important reminder is that, if you are taking a taxi to the airport, make sure you ask the lodge to book you one in advance. there are only 6 airport taxis in semporna, if you think you can just hail one and hop in, most probably you might end up missing your flight and have to stay another nite there.
so, basically that's it. hope my info helps.

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Added on July 21, 2010, 3:40 pmAdditional info for non-divers (snorkelling only), tour in mabul or kapalai thru uncle chang, RM130 / pax (gear included). Actually it's the cheapest i know, but i won't recommend u to stay overnite in their guesthouse on mabul.
forgot to say, i would not recommend new divers to go diving at sipadan. it's a world class diving spot bcoz of its geographical structure which makes diving a bit dangerous. 600 m deep down the cliff, not like other places where u hv shallower water n deeper as u go. currents quite strong too. so better do a few dives else where  to master your buoyancy b4 u go there. u cant stay ovr nite on sipadan coz all the resorts were ordered to move out in 2005 (to preserve the nature), so no accommodation there.
and yes, i think the local people really in need of education. the ppl from the native kampung right behind uncle chang's guesthouse, they throw rubbish everywhere, on water, n underneath their houses. it's heart-aching to see rubbish floating on the clear water when u r trying to admire the nite scene. i cant imagine how the islands would look like in ten years time.

Haha. Anyway if only those islands having East coast Peninsular Malaysia rubbish free beaches will be perfect.

Too bad what you saw were hard corals of mabul/kapalai which I hv to agree not as good. The best lively colourfull soft corals I have seen was at Sibuan Island on the North West of Semporna...less rubbish too over in this island with only a small Bajau Laut/Suluk familise compare wth gigantic settlements in mabul & other islands..

Hope the authority can do something to these stillt communities without citizenship...iregardless whether they are Malaysian or Phillipinos - Teach them not to throw rubbish can liao!

Before 16 Sept 1963, they were free to roam within the waterway mah..Only after 1963, those poor folks got cut-off and those managed to get citizenship after 1963 were lucky...Thereafter the Nation of Sulu got seperated by malaysia & Phillipines till now...kesian them...

Well we should look on humanity rather than territory. Before all colonial time..The whole SEA is part of a larger Nusantara..

If I go Sipadan, Kapalai, Mabul, Sibuan for snorkeling, but not diving, is it nice? Because I don't have the diving license. Are those island best for snorkeling?