{"id":2949,"date":"2012-12-25T21:27:59","date_gmt":"2012-12-25T13:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/?p=2949"},"modified":"2015-04-26T17:51:29","modified_gmt":"2015-04-26T09:51:29","slug":"sea-walking-at-the-largest-pontoon-of-asia-borneo-reef-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/sea-walking-at-the-largest-pontoon-of-asia-borneo-reef-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Sea Walking at the Largest Pontoon of South East Asia (Borneo Reef World)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever imagined walking under the sea without gill? Well, it is not a dream, you don’t even need to know how to swim or have special skill such as scuba diving. I had tried sea walking last week at Borneo Reef World, the largest reef activity pontoon in Southeast Asia<\/strong> (second largest on the world). This pontoon is a floating platform on the sea off Sapi Island<\/a> of Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah, Malaysia.<\/p>\n

\"sea
\nPic: sea walking allows you to have fun underwater without getting your hair wet.<\/p>\n

\"reef
\nPic: Borneo Reef World is only 15 minutes by boat from KK city. You can see Sapi Island at the left and Gaya Island at the right (See location map<\/a>).<\/p>\n

There are a few fun stuffs to check out on this pontoon. Let’s start with their Underwater Observatory.<\/p>\n

Underwater Observatory<\/h3>\n

Just follow the staircase that leads to the bottom of the deck and you would be greeted by hundreds of reef fishes living in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park.<\/p>\n

\"underwater
\nThe Underwater Observatory is a 20-Meter air-conditioned walkway about 4 Meters under the sea.<\/p>\n

\"underwater
\nThe glass windows turn the Underwater Observatory into a natural aquarium.<\/p>\n

\"underwater
\nSo who is in the “fish tank”? Fishes or people?<\/p>\n

Sea Walking<\/h3>\n

Sea Walking (or Helmet Diving) is the highlight of my tour. Though I am a scuba diver, I wonder if the feeling is the same in sea walking.<\/p>\n

\"briefing
\nPic: Briefing before the sea walking. This activity is so safe that even non-swimmers can join. A few staffs will follow you into the water and watch your every steps. The sea walking is carried out 5-Meter underwater for 20 minutes<\/strong> (Fee: RM150 ? USD50).<\/p>\n

\"entering
\nBasically, they just put a helmet over your head, and a long (yellow) pipe, which provides oxygen, is connected to this helmet. When you walk deeper into the sea, you will feel a bit of discomfort in your eardrum in the beginning, due to increased water pressure. Just pause once in a while, equalize (as instructed in briefing) and let your ears adapt, and you shall be fine to proceed. Scuba divers can dive more than 20 Meters deep without problem, so 5-Meter is… nothing. Just go slow and don’t be panic.<\/p>\n

\"photo
\nWalking with this helmet under the sea was like having an adventure in outer space and Abyss. The feeling is funny in the water with dry head. Don’t worry, the helmet won’t float away.<\/p>\n

\"sea
\nThere were schools of fishes swimming around me, so close that I could almost touch them. It was very quiet under the ocean. All I heard was the bubbling from my helmet. We couldn’t hear one another talking too.<\/p>\n

\"sea
\nHey, someone shit on her helmet!<\/p>\n

\"sea
\nJust kidding, it is a sea cucumber.<\/p>\n

\"sea
\nThis sea cucumber turned long in lady’s hand. Don’t know why..<\/p>\n

\"sea
\nTo keep our eyes and hands busy, the staffs brought us some coral and sea cucumber for a touch & feel experience.<\/p>\n

You may watch the 90-sec Sea Walking video below:
\n