Where's your caravan.....
I had heard that Borneo was a great place for seeing turtles, sharks and other large see creatures so now I was able to walk once again I headed off for some diving fun.
Semporna is the jumping off point for diving in the South East and I happened to walk into it right in the middle of a massive Sea Gypsy Regatta.... I'd never seen a sea gypsy let alone one in a regatta so I thought this could be fun - I wanted to catch a glimpse of a sea-caravan. Good plan except of course all the hotel rooms in the town were taken - I'd booked my diving but not accommodation! Doh!
This could be fun. I was going to be diving from a resort on a nearby island but could I find a room before shooting off? Thankfully 'Uncle Chan' from 'Uncle Chan's' diving company was kind enough to check out some local hotels and hostels but with no luck - no room at the inn, anywhere. Uncle Chan stepped up to the mark. "No problem, you can sleep in my spare office if you like. Bit of a mess but I'll clean it up a bit. OK-la?" So off we popped to see his office and yeap, he had some cleaning to do, even if just to brush some of the rat's droppings away. Well it was a free nights kip... I could push past it!
Off to find some gypsies! There to greet me were dozens of beautiful boats lining the harbor, all decorated with flags and bunting, musicians and dancers.
The Regatta Lepa as it's properly called has been held every year since 1994 and is a celebration of the original style of boats built by the Sabah East Coast Bajau community, a community of fishermen from local islands. Hundreds of boats are decorated and compete for the proze for being the most beautifully decorated Lepa in town. In addition to the decoration of the boat with flags each of them are filled with members of the family all crashing gongs, drums and other tuneless instruments to try and attract attention to the boat. It works, well it would if it weren't for the other 4000 gongs being smashed.
Anyway this was a nice little distraction before diving and I ended up with some nice colorful shots as a result, even sneaking backstage during the opening performance - it's amazing what you can get away with if you walk like you know where you're going.
So as the gongs ceased their banging I headed off to the office for a nights kip. I felt guilty as I opened the door, I hadn't realised I was sharing the room with so many others. They seem really pissed off with me disturbing them and with their 4 little legs all scuttled off into the roof, out the window and under the cupboards. That was a fun nights sleep I can tell you!!!!
Semporna is the jumping off point for diving in the South East and I happened to walk into it right in the middle of a massive Sea Gypsy Regatta.... I'd never seen a sea gypsy let alone one in a regatta so I thought this could be fun - I wanted to catch a glimpse of a sea-caravan. Good plan except of course all the hotel rooms in the town were taken - I'd booked my diving but not accommodation! Doh!
This could be fun. I was going to be diving from a resort on a nearby island but could I find a room before shooting off? Thankfully 'Uncle Chan' from 'Uncle Chan's' diving company was kind enough to check out some local hotels and hostels but with no luck - no room at the inn, anywhere. Uncle Chan stepped up to the mark. "No problem, you can sleep in my spare office if you like. Bit of a mess but I'll clean it up a bit. OK-la?" So off we popped to see his office and yeap, he had some cleaning to do, even if just to brush some of the rat's droppings away. Well it was a free nights kip... I could push past it!
Off to find some gypsies! There to greet me were dozens of beautiful boats lining the harbor, all decorated with flags and bunting, musicians and dancers.
The Regatta Lepa as it's properly called has been held every year since 1994 and is a celebration of the original style of boats built by the Sabah East Coast Bajau community, a community of fishermen from local islands. Hundreds of boats are decorated and compete for the proze for being the most beautifully decorated Lepa in town. In addition to the decoration of the boat with flags each of them are filled with members of the family all crashing gongs, drums and other tuneless instruments to try and attract attention to the boat. It works, well it would if it weren't for the other 4000 gongs being smashed.
Anyway this was a nice little distraction before diving and I ended up with some nice colorful shots as a result, even sneaking backstage during the opening performance - it's amazing what you can get away with if you walk like you know where you're going.
So as the gongs ceased their banging I headed off to the office for a nights kip. I felt guilty as I opened the door, I hadn't realised I was sharing the room with so many others. They seem really pissed off with me disturbing them and with their 4 little legs all scuttled off into the roof, out the window and under the cupboards. That was a fun nights sleep I can tell you!!!!
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