We spent the day on Sapi Island (one of the islands in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park). It’s a little paradise just a 15 minute boat ride from Kota Kinabalu. It was a wonderfully relaxing retreat, like taking a vacation from vacation :D. The snorkeling was awesome! And just right off shore, so it was super easy. We rented snorkel gear from the boat that took us to Sapi Island, and the gear was clean and in good condition. Here are some photos from my waterproof camera! I finally got to put it to good use!
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I also got a video of the fishies. Look how close to the camera they are getting! They seemed really curious and came right up to us. (Or maybe it was because some people were giving the fish bread crumbs and they thought we might feed them.)
Click here for video of fishies
When we arrived at the island and paid our national park entrance fee, there was a sign warning, “Jelly Bugs in Season.” I asked the lady at the desk what “jelly bugs” are and she told me they are miniature little jelly fish. We asked what would happen if we were stung by them, and she said it would just make our skin itch a bit. Our second time out snorkeling we went to the edge of the roped off snorkeling area to see the Nemo (clown) fish. I bumped into one of the buoys and startled myself. Then I noticed that my left shoulder was hurting a little. I couldn’t tell if it was just sun burnt or if the jelly bugs had gotten me, so George checked it out, and didn’t see anything. I didn’t think much of it for the rest of the day. When I woke up the next morning the slight tinge of a sun burn on my arms had faded, leaving a red patchy area on my left shoulder. So I had encountered something in the water! It still didn’t bother me much, until the next day, when it started to itch and burn! And it continued to hurt for the next two weeks! I think it was a piece of an actual jelly fish I encountered, not just jelly bugs.