Sleeping on a coral reef.

Trip Start Jul 31, 2009

Trip End Sep 07, 2009

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Where I stayed

Singamata floating hostel

Flag of Malaysia Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia
Sunday, August 9, 2009

The original plan was to go to Turtle Island and see, yeah you guessed it, turtles. This place is real Discovery Channel stuff, with the turtle coming on shore and laying eggs, then the little buggers hatch and make a run for the sea before being eaten by who knows what. Although these wee baby turtles don't have to worry about predators, just the mass of Japanese tourists taking photographs and using their flash when they're specifically told not to. Unfortunately the place was booked up until September, so I didn't even have the chance to get annoyed at the Japanese blatant disregard for the prohibition of flash photography.

Instead we went with Rok and Jasna to Semporna, and to a place where they had stayed the previous week. Singamata was a hostel built 10 minutes out from the mainland on a coral reef. And if you're thinking that sounds awesome, then yes, you'd be right.

It's built on stilts, and there's a section ot the ocean underneath thats been "fenced off", so it's turned into a big natural aquarium which you could swim in. There were plenty of fish in there and a shark which I felt sorry for because it really didn't have much room to move, but on the whole, it was a pretty special place, and one of the best hostels I've ever stayed in.

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