Swimming with the fishes (and so much more)

Ok hopefully I don't get kicked off this time! And if I don't, I may add to the last post so go back and check that when you get a chance.

This post is coming from outside of Sandakan, Sabah (which is the Eastern 1/3 of Malaysian Borneo) in the B&B/base of Uncle Tan's. UT's is a wildlife/jungle tour company, and one of the things that I have been looking forward to the most. The other thing I was really looking forward to was the snorkeling we did out of Semporna. I've done a fair amount of snork'ing lately, but with the exception of the ridiculous-ness of Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef, this was the best I've ever done. The number of what I would call exotic or rare species/sightings was awesome. I had always wanted to see a lionfish...check (2 species, several times)!. Turtles? Greenback and Hawksbills, several times! Eels? At least 3 species (including the Great Moray), several times. I also saw my first Scorpion fish, a ray, a green shrimp or lobster (not sure which!) and of course tons of the 'normal' reef fish, but also some really big examples of those. The coral was pretty good in spots, but the fish life was definitely the highlight.
All of this was organized with Scuba Junkies which did a great job organizing things while still being friendly. And their gear was better than other stuff I had rented. The 6 times I went out were all off of Mabul Island where we stayed for 1 night. It was interesting to see that there were still some local villages and sea gypsies despite this location being such a tourist/diver 'hotspot' (constantly called one of the best dive sights in the world).

I can't believe it, but mom is about half way through her time here. That means I have a month-ish left! It's going to be really weird to be home after a year abroad, but I think I'm going to need it. I've been feeling really run down lately even though we aren't traveling as hard as I had been before, not keeping me from enjoying these incredible sights though!