Hi! Welcome to my travel blog for my latest trip to Malaysia. Who am I? My name is Andy Wallace, and I'm a photographer. Due to extreme luck, and a fair amount of hard work, I have teamed up with Joe Wysocki and Optiquatics to help facilitate trips for photographers who want more from their dive travel. I work with Joe on trips to the Channel Islands in California, and for the last two years I have been working at Photo Week, at Sipadan Water Village in Malaysia. This year (2007), I decided to keep a record of my trip, and show some of the images that I took while I was there.

That is where you are right now. Take a look around, and let me know what you think. I plan to do this for more trips as time goes on.

In case you wanted to know, Sipadan Water Village is a dive resort that is actually on the island of Mabul (Pulau Mabul), for some historical reasons. Here you can see a panorama of the island that I shot from a position offshore. This was actually six images, stitched together with Adobe Photoshop.

The Journey Begins...

Sacramento, June 7, 2007

I think I'm packed, except for my computer and toiletries. The final stuff that I'll throw together at 5am Saturday morning. It finally hit me last night - I'm off for a 2 week adventure of planes, trains, and automobiles. Well, substitute boats for trains, and you've got it. Early in the morning, I fly to LAX for a day of preparation with Joe, then late that night I start the long trek - plane to Taiwan, hop to Kota Kinabalu, then to Tawau. From there, it's a van ride to the coastal town of Semporna, followed by a two-hour boat ride to Sipadan Water Village, my home for the next two weeks. This image to the right is one of the last that I took last year when I was at SWV. Keep checking back, I'll try to update with new images eery day or so.

Stage 1.

Sacramento, June 9, 2007

Sacramento Airport. TSA, blah. After 300 years, you'd think I would be used to getting hand-checked through security, but not really. I wonder if the TSA has EVER caught ANYONE with their inane system. That said, every TSA employee I have dealt with has been great, with the possible exception of the guy who took away my shampoo last year... at least he laughed. But the whole airport securitu thing is a joke. Does nothing but inconvenience people. And by people, I mean me.

Stage 2.

LAX, June 9, 2007

Man, what a clusterf*ck. I thought airline security was slow in Sac. I didn't know I was living the good life! That line in the middle of the picture? I was in it for an hour Sheesh. But I'm ready now. Checked in, ready to head to the gate and off into the wild blue yonder. Poor Joe, though, he missed his plane this morning, and now doesn't know whether he'll get on before Wednesday. He's on standby for every flight between now and then.

The Journey

LAX, June 9, 2007

Phew! We got Joe on another plane, but he won't get here for some time yet due to his connections. He left an hour before me, but won't get here until almost two days later...

So - I got on the Malaysia Air flight to Taiwan, and promptly fell asleep - for ten hours! I guess being up for 20 hours'll do that to you.

The Taiwan airport is an interesting collection of the regular duty free shops (Coach, Dior, etc.) and tech shops - buy your MP3 player, digital camera, Spiderman robot, all sort of wild stuff. Not very cheap, though. Don't bother, it's cheaper at Fry's (did I say that?). They also have interesting advertising, as you can tell from the pictures.

Eventually, I got on the last leg - Kota Kinabalu to Tawau. Both cities are on the island of Borneo. Malaysia itself is part mainland, and part archipelago. Archipelago is a ancient Inuit word meaning "Man, that's a lot of freaking islands! (Yes, I've been waiting for a while to use that joke).

But from Tawau, we took a two-hour minibus ride to the coastal town of Semporna, passing huge groves of palm trees, grown for their oil. Got stuck behind a couple of lorries carrying the harvest to the processing plant. I hope to get some pics of the groves on the way back through. I was too spent to do much good on the way here.

And where is here? Mabul island, a small island off the northeast coast of Borneo. The lodge is all on stilts off the side of the island (Sipadan Water Village website). There is a village on the island, with a school that the children of the resort workers attend. More on that later. When we arrived after the hour-long boat ride, there was a reception committee of a gamelan orchestra and dancers. It was lovely, I must say. I'll have more pictures later.

But that's it for now, I have survived my first day of diving, though somewhat the worse for wear. I got a few pice images I'll share tomorrow. Until then, have a great day!

First Days...

Sipadan Water Village, June 12, 2007

Ok, I have survived my first two days here. This really is a cool place - the rooms are all on stilts above the water, you can hear it lapping against the posts. And I mean all the rooms - not a bit of the resort is on land. Pretty cool engineering, with electricity and plumbing running everywhere. And the food is great. At least I love it. Lots of shrimp, crab, rice, vegetables, noodles, and the usual asian fair. But also once in a while they thrown in pineapple cramble (sort of like cobbler), some lamb or beef, and the ubiquitous chicken. Going hungry is not a problem. And the staff is great. We've had to use them for working on our work rooms (setting up for a dozen photographers) as well as the normal resort tasks. Great folks all around.

Anyway, like I said, I managed to get in three dives so far, the first two here at Mabul Island, the other at Kapalai (next island over) Many nudibranchs, odd fish, little shrimps and crabs... great dives. Here are a handful of pictures from the three dives.

Good bye, and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Day Three - Listen to the Music!

Sipadan Water Village, June 13, 2007

I'm sitting in the bar listening to a group of Brunei-an divers singing songs they learned from their karaoke bars - currently it's "Country Roads". Hard to believe - they know ALL the words! Pass me a beer, bartender, I'm goin' home!

So today was an interesting day. I managed (through sheer stupidity - ask me, I'll tell you the story) to lose my mask overboard. We dashed back to the dock so I could get my backup (that I felt happy about), and did the dive. Then was lunch, a trip out to Sipadan island for another dive, and then back. Then a few good men (and woman) went out to try and find my lost mask. The driver took us out to where he thought it might be, and six of us dropped in to search. (god - they up to "Leavin' on a Jet Plane"!) Five minutes later, we were back on the boat - Bobbie found my mask right where he dropped in! Talk about a blind hog finding that chestnut! Wow.

On a photographic note, I used the Canon Rebel XTi in a Seatool housing. Took a little getting used to, but it wasnt bad. The kit lens, which feels like plastic crapola, is actually pretty darned sharp. Check out the eyes on the hawkfish and the jacks. Not bad for a $600 camera and lens.

That said, this won't be my backup camera. Focusing was a chore, and the ergonomics just didnt feel right. Might be right for you, though.

They are singing "Let it Be" now, I may have to go to bed. This is just getting too much. I've got to escape before they start "American Pie". See you later...

Day Four - The Laggards Have Arrived!

Sipadan Water Village, June 15, 2007

First off, please excuse the dates listed. I'm more than a little confused about the exact date, crossing the dateline throws me off. So, I have reset to the 15th, as that is the actual stated begin date of the Photo Week event, which is today.

So - the last of the crew arrived today, including Clay Wiseman and Marty Snyderman, the photo pros at this event. I met both of them last time I was here, very nice guys, excellent photographers (and in Clay's case, videographer as well). Clay is here in the bar with me, drinking and smoking with the Brits he has befriended. Marty is crashed, I have no idea how Clay is still going. The man has a boundless energy. It's incredible.

So - a few things about Malaysia that you didn't ask me:

1. Electricity is 220Volts at 50Hz... light switches work backwards, and every outlet has a switch, right where the plug is. And they use strange (to us Americans) plugs, big and ungainly.
2. A good chunk of Malaysia is on the island of Borneo, which it shares with Indodensia and the tiny (and RICH) country of Brunei.
3. Brunei-ans an be very loud late at night in the bar
4. The people here are the nicests you will ever meet.

Day Five - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

Sipadan Water Village, June 19, 2007

Ok, it's been a couple of days. So sue me, I've been busy! Not so much shooting, as working with some of the participants, trying to make them happy. In the process of that, I managed to get two dives out to Sipadan with my buddy Bobby - greatest dive guide in the world (he's sitting right here). Really, he is a great guide. It was a great but frustrating day - the weather was mediocre - rainy, dark and coolish (we're in Malaysia - cold doesn't happen). There were lots of sharks (black tip and white tip reef sharks), but none would come close enough for a picture. On the other hand, the walls were great, with turtles, schooling jacks... Lovely stuff. Over the last two days, I have done four dives, two at Sipadan, and a snorkel trying my over-and-unders (see sidebar). So things are looking good. I may be able to go out to Sipadan tomorrow again, hopefully the weather will cooperate.

One of my favorite boat guys is Karangan - who thinks that I look like the Undertaker. I guess I look as much like the 'Taker as a short, bald asian man missing his front teeth looks like Stone Cold Steve Austin ... his choice.

Anyway, they are closing the lights of the bar. Time to go to bed! Have a lovely day!

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Mabul Island, June 21, 2007

Holy Crapola! This rain is getting out of hand. It's been raining pretty steadily all day, since about 5am, occasionally getting WAY out of hand. Hasn't bothered me all that much, I've been inside working on preparations for the photo contest and also the book that Joe, Michael Yap (a local marine biologist) and I are working on. Looking at the schedule, I'm leaving a day lat er than everyone else, so I'm going to have an extra dive day where I won't have to worry about anyone's cameras, batteries or strobes but my own... bliss. But really, this is a great time for me, I really enjoy doing this, despite the work and missing out on some dives. Hanging out with Marty and Clay is always worth something - I have learned a lot from them.

On the subject of Marty - poor guy! He hurt his back badly early on, and has spent most of thiis trip flat on his back in pain. He hs managed to give a couple of excellent presentations on exposure and composition. Clay gave a presentation on becoming one with the animals - how to get closer to your subjects, which is always a problem with underwater photography. We can't put a longer lens on when the animal is further away - we have to get in there. Most all u/w photography (the good stuff that you see in magazines and books) happens within 8 feet of the lens, and a really significant portion within four. Think about that when you see a great white shark image! Anyway, they are doing a damned fine job of taking care of Marty here, and Vicki is working out better travel arrangements for him to get home.

Tonight was also the last night of Photo Week, with regard to entering images for the show. I'm not able to enter the contest, but I put a set of images in. These are they to the right.

Tomorrow I dive... and we have the group photo. I hope to get back out to Sipadan either tomorrow or Saturday, so I can try some more tricks in the blue water.

Hey! I miss home. Hope all is well with you all.

Andy

Endgame...

Hotel Shangri-la Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinbalu, June 23, 2007

And now, the end is here... I am at this incredible hotel in Kota Kinabalu - Five Stars, and I think that's not giving them enough credit. Good thing this is part of my package, otherwise seeing the bill for this place would probably give me a heart attack. Huge, complex resort, with several different restaurants, a nice pool, even a pitch-and-putt golf course. And correspondingly expensive - my Tiger beer is going to cost me $7US. Oh well, the price you pay for luxury. And it's nice to have some A/C for the first time in two weeks. I was fairly acclimated and all, but it's bloody humid out there!

The end of Photo Week 2007 was quiet. There was a "contest" for the participants, which I was asked to enter some images in (See my previous posting), but I was (understandably) ineligible to win. My anenome fish entry did quite well, which is all I'll say about that. The final night, where the "winners" were chosen, started with me convincing the resort staff to get actual stereo set up in the pavillion, and I had my computer hooked up so that, for the first time, we were hearing something other than disco or gamelan music. Figuring that the PW group was mostly Texans this year, I played my Texan set - Lyle Lovette, Lucinda Williams, and Jerry Jeff Walker. They seemed pleased. 8-) Afterwards, we retreated to the bar, bringing the sound system with us, and had a nice little party. Much drinking was had by all. Er, fun. Clay and I, as we were staying longer, looked forward to a dive day sans Photo Week, especially since the weather had cleared up in the afternoon. Sipadan, here we come!

But, as the saying goes, 'Man Plans, God Laughs'. The next morning, the wind and rains were ripping through. So instead of diving, I hung out with the other participants who were all leaving that day. Many sad goodbyes (I always get melancholy at the end of these things), I handed out some business cards, and I borrowed a fish ID book from one of the participants who was going on to Sandakan to see the orang-utans. Thanks, Natalie! I promise I'll return it promptly! A huge number of the staff were on hand to say farewell and wave as the boat sailed off oer the horizon. The Malaysians are a truly nice people.

So, my last day was not a dive day after all. Instead, Eva, one of the resort workers, accompanied me on a walk around the island through the village there. When we got back to the resort, we ran into a pair of Japanese girls who were headed into the village, so I accompanied them and had another tour.

The village is incredibly poor. There are four or five resorts on the island of Mabul, which are all pretty comfortable, with running water and electrcity. On the other hand, the village has no plumbing, and electricity comes from wires haphazardly strung around palm trees in the village. You have to be careful walking around if you are tall, you could garrot yourself on a 220-volt line otherwise!

Now, walking through a village like this with me is a pretty odd experience. Sometimes I feel like the Pied Piper - at any given time, as many as 20 kids are following me, staring at my leg. Sometimes I stop to show them, and stand on (the good) one leg holding the ther out to them to touch it. Which few do. But anyway, I have a number of kid pictures, but very few adults! The people are generally very happy and pleasant, happily greeting us as we walked through town. A few boats were being worked on, and there were several volleyball games in process in different parts of the village. We even caught the last couple of minutes of the final soccer game between Borneo Divers and another resort.

That night, after all the walking, I packed, and wound up (surprise!) in the bar, fully intending on writing this blog entry. Instead, I proceeded to get fairly stupid drunk with the two Japanede girls, and a couple of other folks, including Leaonard, a divemaster who, though looking and acting very proper, has a wild streak. I have not been that drunk in a long time. I was learning some japanese from Maname and Mishko, but all I can remember is dou itashi mashite - your're welcome. You know, learn a few words of the language of a country you are visiting. They seem to appreciate it a lot. Jo-jo and Malak (the main dining room boys) got a big kick out of my attempts at Malay, and delighted in teaching me more (terimah kasih, boys!). Great fun.

I vaguely remember staggering to my room, and damned little else, until Eva knocked on my door at 5am to catch my 6:30 boat. Somehow, I thought to take some aspirin before I went to bed, which seems to have lessened the effects of the hangover. But I am spent - up 'till midnight drinking heavily (scotch and tequila), then up at 5, boat and car to Tawau, where I got to wait 3 hours for my plane... it's early to bed for me - cause I have to get up even earlier tomorrow, as I have a 6am plane to catch.

Kota Kinabalu is a very hustle-bustle place. Especially compared with the resort and village. I went out to the town centre for a couple of hous this afternoon. It is a typical asian city - they drive on the left hand side of the road, which still disconcerts me, no matter how many times I have encountered it. I keep wanting cars to turn down places they can't, and I hace trouble remembering which way to look before crossing the street. But there are a LOT of cars here, and a lot of people. I went to the main mall, and wandered around. Some parts of the mall are quite nice and modern, other parts are little rats' nests of shops. The mall itself is typical - wandering up and down, suddenly opening up to a huge central space, only to narrow back down again.

I find myself becoming rather incoherent, despite it being not yet 7pm. I take that as a good sign that I will be able to sleep tonight. So I shall pick some images for this blog, and head off to dreamland. I'll try to post a follow-up entry when I get back to the states.

All my best, Andy

Heading Home

Above the South China Sea, June 24, 2007

I am headed home. Currently on a flight from Kota Kinabalu to Koala Lumpur, where I will be chedking in for an 18.5 hour flight to LAX, connecting to Sacramento after I get through customs. Flying west to go east, but that's the way the connections worked out. I got up at 3:30 this morning to catch my 6am flight, so I'm a little bleary, but want to stay awake as long as possible to get myself back into California time as quick as possible. Gotta get back to work to pay for this (and the next) trip!

I'm a little more coherent this morning. My last couple of days have been rather busy, what with the village touring and drinking and early flights. A couple of thoughts about things.

• Malaysia s a wonderful country, highly varied, with friendly, excellent people.
• I am really looking forward to a good cup of coffee. Next year, I may follow Clay's lead and bring a french press and some good stuff.
• A few things I need to remember for next time:
  1. My malaysian plug adapter. I managed to bring one for Indonesia, not terribly useful.
  2. Coffee, as specified above
  3. My batteries. How embarrassing. I brought my battery chargers, but no batteries to put in them. Luckily Joe has lots, but sheesh.
  4. A different camera backpack. I really need to re-arrange this. My camera bag is terribly heavy, and not well-balanced. It doesn't have a pocket for my laptop, so I throw that in the outside pocket. And I need to pack it more intelligently. Thom Hogan has a really good article on camera bags, going to start there.
  5. Something for the local village. Probably best to bring stuff for the school - I'll have to contact someone at the resort for what's needed.
  6. The tripod plate for my camera body. Managed to forget this, and I wanted it for some sunset shots, and other things. I had a plate on my 80-200, but not the camera plate (for other lenses)
  7. The extension cord for my mac power supply!
• The Malaysian people didn't seem small - yeah, it's silly. But I remember being in the Philippines, and feeling like a giant. Same for my visits to China and Thailand so many years ago. Just an observation.
• The Malay people are a mixture of chinese, filipino, and native Malay. It's an interesting mix that produces some beautiful folks.
• Taiwan, unlike every place I've been on this trip, uses the same plugs as the US. Which is good, cause my adapters are somewhere down in my checked bags.

So now I'm in the airport in Taiwan. The trip back has not been without airport hassles. I checked in in Tawau, but couldn't check my bags through, nor get any seats for future legs. Ok, I'll be in KK for 18 hours, I can see that, I guess. But in KK, though they checked my bags through to LAX, I still had to check in at KL to get a seat for the KL-LAX leg. And that process required a phone call for some reason. There was some mention of a new computer system. I hope it's an interim system, cause if this is what they paid for, they are getting ripped off.

Then, in Taiwan, we all have to get off the plane, go through security (why don't people get their tickets/passports ready ahead of time? Sheesh) again, and then hang out in the airport for an hour. At least they have some shops to look into. Don't buy anything, though, unless you want duty-free liquor.

Oops, they are boarding. Can't get an internet connection, so I'll be posting this from home. Have a good one!

So now I'm home. Spent the day at work today, lasting almost the whole day. Guess the nice sleep on the flight from Taiwan helped out. But that's it for this blog. I'll move this around in the future, and start some new ideas. Let me know what you think at acmw@diamondw.net. Miss you more!

Andy