Sipadan, a massive limestone column rising from the floor of the Celebes Sea, is considered one of the top ten diving spots in the world. The area's turquoise waters are home to an amazing variety of marine life, including dolphins, giant turtles, sharks and a technicolor array of tropical fish. Mabul is one of the area's main islands, where guests can stay in comfortable bungalow on stilts over the water.
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Subject to permit approval, spend the day diving around Sipadan Island, considered by many divers to be the top diving spot in all of Asia and among the best on the planet. Once called “an untouched piece of art” by legendary maritime cinematographer Jacques Cousteau, the amazing turquoise waters here are home to spectacular reefs and a dizzying array of marine life, including dolphins, giant turtles, sharks and just about every tropical fish you can imagine.
Kapalai Island is a great destination for macro underwater photography. This ‘muck diving’ site plays host to unusual creatures including colorful nudibranch, frog fish and mantis shrimp, who prefer this sedimentary habitat with small wrecks.
There are at least a dozen dive sites around Mabul Island, and many more farther afield. Just offshore from Mabul Water Bungalows is Lobster Wall, where divers can find the eponymous crustaceans as well as a number of hawksbill and greenback turtles, octupuses and eels.
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With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.
With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, in the continent that our north American founders Catherine and Jay have adored and explored for decades, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.
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Remote Lands
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An Asia-focused magazine brought to you by Remote Lands – a platform for adventure, luxury, and authenticity from experts and explorers around the continent.
The Mergui Archipelago, Maldives, Komodo, Raja Ampat – all have earned their titles as some of the best dive sites in the world. But Sipadan deserves a mention as well, and diver Juanita Pienaar knows why.
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