I'm back!!

You might wonder from where. The answer is here....











Still can't figure where? Read on and you'll know.

I was red as a lobster and now I'm black as a blackie or should I say soot?
Fatter and darker. Not exactly something ideal for any girl is it but I don't mind. Nothing will ever top what I felt when I was underwater looking at the marine life, enjoying the food, inhaling the breath-taking scenery, relaxing and unwinding. I absolutely LOVE it there. In love with an island and the marine life.

Waking up on Friday morning, groggy and tired I got ready for the flight. Inside I was feeling all happy, excited and ecstatic. I was going on a trip for 4 days and 3 nights to Mabul and Tawau with my mum, brother, sister and aunt. My dad was still recovering so he stayed at home to recuperate. This trip opened up my eyes to many wonderful, wondrous sights and thoughts. Gaining that special something was definitely a great surprise but a brought bountiful blessing that I witnessed.

Taken in the plane. We're actually not allowed to on our cameras. Typical me.

In the plane, I fought with my brother to get the window seat. Guess who won? *voluntarily raises hand* I was faster than him. He can't compete with my though since he carries more stuff than me. The flight took around 2 hours and 45 minutes. Upon arriving Tawau airport, a van brought us to Semporna to the jetty to take a boat to Sipadan Island. I sat at the end of the boat. It was like a speedboat. The gush of wind gushing through my hair was great. Inhaling fresh air. It was definitely a change from the dusty and polluted air here. Just an inhale and you'll feel wide awake and ongoing. The trip from the jetty to Mabul took around 45 minutes. I enjoyed every Emeril of it. By the time we reached Mabul, it was already time for lunch. Was practically starved since I was too excited to eat anything. It had been ages since I last went for a holiday. I was amazed when I reached the place.

The picture that I took from the boat upon arriving.

The view from the restaurant.

The service there is really great. The people are all very friendly and polite. It makes you feel all warm and mushy inside. We checked in to our room or what they call cottages after lunch. It's real roomy and spacey. Makes you feel like home. Maybe better. Mum, aunt and my sister decided to sleep while my brother and I went to the beach to collect seashells. Apparently he's an expert in finding shells and he had to flaunt it. But it wasn't an ideal time to collect seashells at the time as the tide was high but he managed to collect quite a few nice ones. On the other hand, I only managed to get a few measly, small ones.

The beach where the both of us collected shells.

There were villagers living by the beach. It's like a kampung. The beach is littered with all sorts of stuff including dead shrimps. Lots of dead shrimps. Floating, giving you the eye and their dead bodies stretch beyond the eye. Enough to give you nightmares. My brother and I wade through the dead bodies. The weather was playing games with the both of us. As we were busy collecting seashells it started to drizzle then it began to pour. Any normal person would have head for cover. So the both of us being "normal" went back to the room. As we walked back to our room, the rain stopped. We decided to head back to the beach since the other three sleeping beauties were still sleeping and neither one of us had the intention to waste our precious time sleeping. As we head back to the beach, being smarter this time, we carried an umbrella with us. Reaching the beach, it started raining again. It was really frustrating but I didn't mind. It all comes down on how you perceive the situation.

We're walking on water. Technically.

When we head back from the beach,we went snorkelling near the area where we stayed. Just the siblings. The water is really salty. I unintentionally gulped a few mouthfuls. Don't you dare ask why or how. Dinner was great. We had barbecue seafood. It's delicious or should I say scrumptious? I ate so much till I was bloated. Worth it though. After dinner, we went to watch a video clip before heading back to our rooms. I'm in the same room as my mum and my brother. He stole my bed. Must had been payback time for him. I sat on the rocking chair, rocking, rocking, rocking and rocking like an old grams cherishing everything around her. Quite close. I'm not that old yet. Only 13+ years spent on Earth but the last part was true. Looking everything around me, I had a thought. God's creations are really fascinating, splendid and indescribable. If we only took the time from our very busy schedule to look around and realize it. If only we opened our eyes and see things from our heart, not only looking but perceiving, we'll find something that we'll never imagine. Something right in front of us... but undetected. If only... For the very first time, I got a fresh new insight. Peace eluded me.

That night, I slept contentedly realizing something. The next day I woke up super-duper early to take these pictures.

A new beginning.


The start of a new day.

On the second day, we headed back to Tawau at 2pm. We woke up, had breakfast and at 7am we went to Sipdan Island. Trust me, it's amazing. I touched 3 turtles with my bare hands. Nothing will ever top what I felt touching an amazing creature. I even saw two turtles mating and fighting. Not to mention, seeing two sharks, one large and adult sized, made me froze on the spot. The array of colorful fishes is amazing. It's unfortunate that I can't dive. Imagine the wonders under the sea. I got stung by transparent jellyfishes. All of us did. It's pain at first but you'll get use to it after a while. The best experience was snorkelling at Sipdan. I'll never forget it. Not to mention, I lost count of the number of hermit crabs I played with. They're a fun creature. Really entertaining.

Us.

Leaving the island was very hard for me. It had captured my heart. While leaving, I left part of me there. I'm grateful that I was given the opportunity to be there. I learn much. It's not something that can be read or learn from a book. It's something you experience yourself. There and then.

My brother and I.

We took a boat back to the jetty. A van drove us back to the hotel. The journey seemed really long. Time goes by slowly in Sabah as the people there take things lightly, unlike the city here. Tawau is a really small town. It's pretty much boring. So the next few days, we spent our time in the hotel. I was practically glued to the television. We regretted staying in Tawau for 2 nights. Should have gone to Kota Kinabalu instead. Couldn't do much as we already made bookings and paid for everything. So time passed by slowly as we relaxed and did pretty much nothing.

I would love to type more but I'm getting really frustrated with Blogger since it's obviously cranky. I'll skip everything at the end. SO sorry if you were actually reading it. Blame it on Blogger. Not me. I might continue to post or I might not. Depends on my mood.

Time to say bye bye to my never ending story. It's not the end yet but I've gone completely restless, on the verge of breaking down in tears as Blogger erased what I spent my might typing. Just feeling empty right now. Thanks to grr...

Adious. I'll reappear again someday to post.