je confirme, pas de snorkeling dans le senvirons immediats de sempoerna.
les hotels, pas de bleme, y en a plein, demande une fois arrive.
pour le snorkeling, a l epoque(2003)j avais fait ca comme suit:
un bateau de pecheur qui allait sur mabul.
je leur demande si je peux aller avec eux et hop!
une fois a mabul, un autre bateau de pecheur pour le plan snorkeling.
tiens, je te mets ce que j avais ecrit a l epoque(en anglais, sorry), par contre il se peut que certains trucs aient change:
>Many people complain that it s expensive and that they can not afford to go.
>Actually it s possible to go there without spending a fortune, just read my modest comments below...
>First, you must go to Sempoerna which is easy, just take a bus or a minibus from either Sandakan, Lahad datu or Tawau.
>Once there, sleep near the yellow mosque at damai travellers inn(30 rm for a clean double with fan and bathroom, they have dorms as well).
>Forget the dragon inn that is a busy tourist factory unless you like this kind of atmosphere...
>Next door to the dragon inn is uncle chang who organises trips to sipadan(around 250 to 300 a nite without diving)and expensive boats charters, but we are not here to speak about that!!!
>If you are a mere snorkeler and in a hurry it s possible to simply charter a small speed boat for the day trip, it s about 250 rm, still expensive if you are alone, not too bad if you are 4 or 5 people.
>But before to go there, you must go to the police and speak with them about the permit.
>People like uncle chang say that you must have a 40 rm per person permit, but when i went to the police they said that it s not compulsory as you don t spend the night there.
>Their office is almost in front of dragon inn(polis marinir something).
>Go there with your boat man and his official book and license and tell them to contact the police in Sipadan to tell them that you are coming.
>Then enjoy!!!!
>But there s another way to enjoy Sipadan and even to dive cheaply, but for this you will have to sleep in Mabul island.
>A charter to Mabul cost 120 to 150 rm, but you can get a lift from local fishermen for a small fee(actually they took me for free, but offer to pay anyway!).
>In this case you must go to the previously mentioned police office and ask for a permission to ride in a wooden boat where they will state that you go at your own risks and that nobody shall be responsible in case of accident, in order the fishermen to be covered(actually some people scare them, telling them that westerners should ride in fiber glass boats only, i guess you know for which reasons!!).
>And tell them to write both Mabul and Sipadan in the permit.
I didn t do it and had to go to Mabul's police office for the same reasons as above since i went to Sipadan by wooden boat as well.
>Then go to the place called "kastom"(customs)where are the boats and ask around.
>To find it, go a bit further the police office, it s on the same side on your right.
>Of course be there in the morning!!!
>Once in Mabul you have of course expensive hotels(around 250 a nite)but if you head for Armstrong's place(the yellow unsignposted guesthouse)you will have clean small rooms for 50 rm where can stay 3 and even 4 people if you don t mind overpopulation!!;-)))))
>Add 15 rm per person for 3 meals, tea, coffee and water.(handphone:0128156537)
>Then, Armstrong's big dive boat costs 400 ringgit plus an extra 60 per head for dive equipement and 3 tanks, which is fine if you are a group.
>Personnally i am a modest snorkeller so with the people who were with me we decided to charter a wooden boat for 200 rm(i know it s not that cheap compared with the 250 from Sempoerna, but it s the price they want and anyway it leaves you more time for your snorkeling day than if you came from Sempoerna).
>As i told you we had to go with our boat man to the friendly police office in Mabul because in the permit from Sempoerna we didn t mention Sipadan.
>It s anyway good to go there just to have them to contact the police in Sipadan and write a statement in your boat man's book.
>If you do like this you won t pay any permit and if as us you are 4 people you will end up paying 50 rm for snorkeling Sipadan which is like nothin'!!
>And what about the snorkelling there?
>Well i am quite spoilt as i have been to many nice places around south east asia but i have to say that it has been one of those snorkelling days that you will never forget in a life time...
>It was for sure worth all the hassle to get there(coz what i wrote here is the result but you can imagine that it hasn t been so easy when i didn t know how to do the trick and that it gave me quite a headache to organise the thing because the maffia there is well established and it s not so easy to bypass it!!).
>Of course don t go there alone, or if you do so try to join people in Sempoerna for evident budget reasons...
| 
Réseau Inc.
bonjour 
