The Celebes Sea

After exploring the nature and the people of Borneo's tropical rainforests, we decided to turn our attention to a very different ecosystem: the tropical Sea. We bused to the eastern side of Borneo then ferried out to a tiny island called Mabul out in the Celebes Sea. The Celebes sea is sandwiched between Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The only way to explore the underwater world is to scuba dive. So that's what we did! We took scuba courses on Mabul then headed out to one of the world's top scuba destinations: Sipadan.

Sipadan is a steep, 2,000 foot volcanic cone that juts out of the sea floor and is covered in living corals that supports an insane diversity of busy aquatic life. Without a doubt, scuba diving at Sipadan was the most overwhelmingly breathtaking experience I've ever been a part of. I swear to you, during every moment under that water there was something incredible to see. Reef sharks, huge sea turtles (bigger than me!), meter-and-a-half long barracuda, giant humbphead parrotfish, octapus, lobster, and way more types of beautifully coloured fish than I will ever know.. some the size of my head, others my fingertip. My vision was constantly dominated by marine life. I can't even think of something to compare it to, I've never seen anything like it. And you'd think the sea turtles and sharks would be a rare sight, but even they were everywhere. After diving Sipadan, I almost don't even believe turtles are endangered..

What surprised me most though was how little the fish cared that we were there. You could swim right up to fish, turtles, sharks and they just ignore you. At one point I was swimming with a sea turtle, our belly's facing each other, closer than an arm's reach, and it just swam with me! I totally could have reached out a poked it in the eye, but it just trusted me. And the coral is a whole new story. When I saw the rainforest, I saw new plants but in a similar atmosphere- there was still grass and soil and trees. But the entire aquatic landscape was a brand new sight. That's why it was so overwhelming and incredible.




And its not just the sights that were new, the feeling of being 65 feet underwater is a new experience in itself. When swimming at neutral buoyancy, your buoyancy cancels out gravity and it feels like you're in outer space. The difference is that you slowly move up and down as you breath compressed air into your lungs. Suddenly your breathing controls your vertical movement. Its a bizarre feeling. But its very relaxing, almost meditative. Water is thick, so movement is slow and more methodical. Sounds are muffled but travel quickly so you can hear boats from far away. Scuba diving is a completely new sensory experience on all fronts. So worth it.

To follow with the theme of our trip, we sought out people whose lives revolve around the area we just explored. If you've ever seen the BBC series Human Planet (same idea as Planet Earth but with humans), then you might have seen the Bajau people. The Bajau are unique in that they have adapted to living out in the Sea. Though some do live on the coastal land, most of the Bajau live in villages built on stilts out in shallow sand bars while others live in small wooden boats.  Most of the Bajau live off the coast of northern Borneo, right where we are.

We had originally hoped we could live with the Bajau for a period of time and learn about their unique lives, just as we have done elsewhere on our trip. Unfortunately, we didn't make it happen for a few reasons. For one, it just wasn't practical to live with them. In the Bajau villages out in the Sea there was barely enough space for the families in their own homes let alone for guests. Many of the Bajau families literally sleep in a pile crammed in their small boat. Their living space is very small. Also, we got the vibe that the Bajau weren't really used to the idea of homestays. It was a lot harder to find opportunities to stay with the Bajau than with other indigenous people we've visited. Communication was a huge barrier too, they spoke neither English nor Malaysia's national language.

We also abandoned the idea of staying in a coastal Bajau village  because we just couldn't feel safe doing it. We've seen a ton of poverty on this trip, enough to recognize that the poverty here was uniquely desperate. Walking around the coastal Bajau villages was mostly welcoming, we even got invited to play volleyball once. But sometimes you'd get cold looks and smiles would not be returned. Several people would reach out their hands and ask for money, then no longer acknowledge you whether you hand them money or not. There didn't seem to be that mutual curiosity for each other that we've felt in other parts of our trip. And it was tough to see naked children hovering outside resorts every day begging for money and food (a lot of the resorts were built on stilts out in the shallow water which is why you see children begging from boats). I think the close proximity of relatively rich scuba resorts is salt in the wounds of the poverty stricken Bajau of this area and probably exacerbates a bitterness towards those perceived as rich. But salt in the wounds of seasoned Sea dwellers is nothing when it comes to maintaining such a respectable lifestyle. The way these people have adapted to life in the Sea is very impressive. You should seriously watch the Human Planet episode that features the Bajau people doing underwater spearfishing. Its nuts! 
Here's a clip from it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_FUlHngPqQ

Its hard to believe but the adventurous part of our traveling is over now. We fly to Germany soon to visit my uncle for a week where cold weather  and culture shock await us. Not long now before we're back in Canada!