I've been posting tonnes and tonnes of pictures of this amazing dive trip on both my Facebook and Instagram and have been receiving comments that includes questions, as well as statements on how beautiful the pictures turned out to be!
Honestly, it's not my photography nor editing skills - but the place is really heavenly itself!
To first start, I shall introduce where we stayed at throughout this trip:
ND Divers @ Bum Bum Island
It's an amazing dive center + homestay that offers you more than just experiences in the deep blue sea and a place to sleep.
It offers you a one in a lifetime kind of vacation that you definitely will not encounter in any other places but at ND's.
What is special here is that everything is very simple yet fulfilling.
You're back to the basics - the very fundamental style of living and being a #beachbum.
You will also feel very welcomed at every corner, whether it's just a corner with ND's residential cats, the hammocks, or the swing right off the platform.
You'll feel the serenity as the background echoes nothing else, but the sound of the sea.
You'll be amazed at the sudden show of the Milky Way and the thousands of stars scattered at the night sky, and if you're focused enough - be sure to catch some shooting stars leaving nothing but trails of light in just split seconds.
I personally loved the place a lot, as I found nothing luxurious, but enjoyed the luxury of being so simple.
Another thing that made me like the place even more, is the spirit in ND's vision of a theme he set up, and a hashtag they used -
#divewiththelocals
When you come across commercialized dive sites/islands - there will often be a lot of non-locals working around. But at ND's you'll find something different - that is the place uses almost close to 100% of local manpower.
From dive instructors to chefs.
ND, the owner of this place, has quite a visionary mission in running his place, so if you ever get a chance to stay, make sure you have him over a cup of coffee or beer - as he is more like a friend than an owner of the place. Have a little chit-chat with him, and I think you'll get the gist of what I'm talking about. (;
Diving
On diving, we had a great deal with a close friend who managed to host the whole trip for the 9 of us. We had a package of 7 dives, but we only did 5 and were declared officially dead from all the exhaustiveness.
Totally different from D1 where we were all gungho and said YES to all kinds of dives (DAWN, NIGHT, DEEP, REEF, WRECK)
Check out our dive + trip video (courtesy of ZY, check out his youtube channel here)
We basically only dived around ND Diver's (house reef) and also Mabul Island.
Here are some screenshots of the video above:
School of fishes!
I shall call him the beachbum turtle cos he's all chill and laid back
Us!
Can you spot me?
The famous Mabul Island's 5 stars Resort, featuring a boatman selling his fishes to anyone that he passes by.
On our surface intervals between dives I found a really nice spot for taking pictures and grabbed two male models to post for me.
Tell me, is this Menshealth material cover page?
Special thanks to Johnny (left) - Professional Personal Trainer @ 1on1fitness
&
ZY Leong - Aspiring Free Diver and Rescue Diver @bwywtb (BTW he does travel videos on both Instagram and YT do check him out!)
Hiking @ Bohey Dulang
At Semporna, there's not just diving, snorkeling and water sports. The Bohey Dulang Island offers a heavenly scenic view at the top - with 30-40 minutes hike one way.
However, please be aware that they will charge you RM10/covered shoes so make sure you wear covered shoes during the hike.
Bajau Laut Village
ND personally recommended us to come and pay a visit to the Bajau Laut's village.
Bajau Laut are natives to Semporna, but as quoted from my friend. Ming, they are the "grey zone people" where they are not recognized as nationals, or what we call the bumiputeras (native to Malaysia). So basically, I think in the world recognized term - we call them refugees. But to me, I think that they're natives to the sea. And they definitely do belong to the sea.
Bajau Laut children coming near to us as we were distributing some breads - do understand that their lifestyles are very simple, and they are born without needing all the things we deemed necessary.
If you want to give out food, make sure you do it modestly as we do not want them to take it for granted that they can earn things just by gaining it from the tourists.
Respect their lifestyles and their cultures.
Snorkeling @ Sibuan Island
Sibuan Island is just one of the many islands you can find in Semporna, and I assure you that all of them are equally breathtaking.
Contact and check out ND Divers @
Signing off here,
