Kapalai

KAPALAI

Sustaining Beauty and Environment in the Celebes Sea

Many years ago, there was an island between Sipadan and Mabul islands, known as Kapalai Island. Years of erosion had taken place and now, what is left is a sand bar that sits on top of the Ligitan Reefs, an extensive stretch bordering the deep and vast Celebes Sea.

About ten years ago, and in light of the vigorous development of the tourism industry in the country, Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort was opened on what was Kapalai Island before. The resort sits on its sturdy stilts of the reef, with no land in sight but thousands of fish just few inches beneath your feet.
The resort offers great food, forty roomy and elegant twin-sharing wooden chalets with luxurious interior fittings made of timber strips and ceilings covered by colourful woven ‘pandan’ pieces. Each chalet is provided with modern amenities like hot water, attached bathrooms and a private balcony. And the bath tub, you could actually see fish and coral heads while soaking your tired body in the tub because it is designed to run parallel to an open section that offers such a treat! There is also an extended wall next to the open water section to ensure you complete privacy.

When you look at the spreads of cuisine at meal times, you forget that you are forty minutes away from the main land by speed boat. There is a nice open-air lounging area where you can relax while enjoying the endless ocean view. At the 'no smoking' restaurant, buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner spreads are served. Also, snacks with hot and soft drinks are available until eleven in the evening.
Kapalai is fast becoming another muck-diving favourite among tourists. Diving around Kapalai is exceedingly easy particularly to novice diver like myself, but quite spectacular. The coral heads host an amazing array of small, often yet to be classified, shamelessly colourful subjects, making diving unforgettable experience.

The jetty dive itself has plenty to offer, besides, all dive spots are extremely close and can be reached in just a few minutes by speed boat. For additional adventure, Mabul is close by, while Sipadan is about thirty minutes away from the resort.
Above its beauty, luxurious amenities and the gastronomic pleasures with a variety of cuisine, from western to local, the highest mark goes to its efforts in making the resort an environmentally friendly hotel. Soap, shampoo, conditioner are provided from bulk dispenser; no table cloth; no air-conditioning but only windows for fresh air; gray water recycling, where waste water from bathrooms, tubs, kitchen, laundry wash are recycled for watering its thousands of potted plants located in its two meter in width but about three hundred meter in length. The resort has built this special jetty for its nursery, and the plants look healthier than some gardens in the main land.
Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort also have no-smoking signs in most places; sheet and towel re-use programmes, where you place items in the basket outside your chalet if you want them washed; glass jug instead of bottled water with glass water glasses; no need for pest control because of its location; only recycled tissues are used; all durable not disposable service items, even when we are on diving trips and certainly free from noise, smoke and air pollution.

As environmental awareness and expectations of customers has been rising recently, it makes business sense for the lodging industry to offer this Green Hotel model in their daily operation. It does not only save operation cost through resource conservation, but also further improves customer satisfaction. This illustrates a win-win situation for the environment as well as the community.
Experience the beauty and wonder which Kapalai has to offer. It is a promised location for divers, honeymooners and holidaymakers alike.

Jaina Ibrahim

This section is dedicated to Helena Remeo and all my friends at the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, who are working hard in implementing Green Hotel concept in Malaysia. Well done!