Even though I am not a fan of organized tours, I do not think I will try to book them through a guesthouse again. Especially diving tours.
Everything else about my guesthouse Bunibon seems okay. Friendly. Clean. So far the dorms are only four people at most. 28rm a night. Shared bathrooms are good.
But when I asked for four nights, they asked what my plans were. I mentioned I wanted to scuba dive. They pulled out their tour guide folder. I found one page that mentioned a diving package and it seemed to be by a group called “Diving International.” It mentioned intro dives, dives courses, fun dives, but no prices or location.
They called for me to get a price. They told me “250 ringgits… All included. 3 dives”. They asked for my money and said I would get the receipt later. I asked “where do we dive?” and they replied “Sapi”. I did not know enough of the area to know if this was good site or not. But then I was confused the dive company did not want my size for equipment.
“What equipment is included? Is a wetsuit and BCD included?”
I asked for name of company or address to go work out the size issues. Also I wanted to google a review. I could not find any information about “Diving International.” They would not give me the information.
They called. They said no, I must bring all swim gear. So I asked for my money back because I did not have a wetsuit (nor BCD but was still thinking that was included.)
They called again. “Yes wetsuit included. No need worry about size cause stretches.”
If you have ever dived or body board or surfed or snorkeled with a wet suit, you would see why I almost pissed my pants at this comment. Even if not, you might understand that wetsuits ARE NOT one size-fits all! There is no way a small wetsuit will fit me. Asian or Western standards!
And what about size of BCD! Will I have to worry about it hanging and my tank not feeling right!
I demanded my money back and told them that whoever they book through is not a safe company.
I found a phone number for Scuba Junkies. I read about them before coming to Borneo. They told me where they were located. I found them and booked three fun dives for 320rm. More expensive but this was a reputable company that properly wanted my sizes AND dive certificate number. They laughed when I told them the “wetsuit stretches” story.
And I had a good dive with Scuba Junkies and my Kiwi dive master Nevil. Not the best visibility around Sapi and Gaya Islands but saw turtles, cuttlefish, and lots of small things.
About Kerri Kat
I am a NICU nurse based in the United States and a world traveler when not working. I used to work "travel nurse" contracts, which meant working in a different hospitals around the country for 8 to 13 week contracts. In between those contracts, I tried to explore new countries. I have been based in the same location for the last five years while I pursued my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, which I finally achieved in May 2019. Now my feet and backpack are itching to become nomadic again and return to adventuring the world.
My first passport was obtained in 2004. At the time, I was a nurse for only a few years and felt I could not afford travel. I had a lot of debt from being a irresponsible twenty-something that put a lot of charges on credit card. I kept thinking "I will wait until my debts are paid off and then I will travel." I already experienced some foreign voyages with the Navy in the late 1990s and got to see some of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Those exploits gave me a taste for new lands.
Then in 2004, my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was given 6 months to live and the doctors predicted right; he died 6 months after the diagnose. I spent those 6 months getting to know more about my dad than I ever knew in my whole life. (He was not a sociable or lovable father.) As the only nurse in the family, it was my job to go to all his appointments. I sat with him in the hospital when he recovered from surgeries. I had to empty his drainage system in my sister's home after he had a lung removed. This gave us time to get to know each other. And I will always remember the discussion we had when he told me he worked his whole life just to retire comfortably and now he will not get that chance. He realized he missed out on a lot of opportunities. He told me not to wait for the things I wanted; not to wait until I was old to relax. He told me if I wanted to travel, I should go get a passport and go somewhere. Debts will always be there but chances won't.
The next week, I applied for my passport. My first trip was to London and Paris. I stayed with people I met online to save money. It was the beginning of my lessons in traveling on a budget. I bought my dad some mints in London to try to encourage him to quit smoking. (He never did quit but just hid it from me.) He died a month after my trip.
I met guy on that trip to London, who I began communicating with daily via instant messenger. Few months later, he came to visit me. We began a relationship and it began many trips to London for me. I was able to find flights for $400 back then. He and I visited Ireland for my 30th birthday and spent a Valentines weekend in Paris. Our relationship did not last, but my wanderlust did.
A year later, I got my first travel nurse contract. Without having to pay rent (the company gave me free housing) nor utilities, I was able to start paying off my debts. I received money after my dad died that I used to buy a Saturn Vue without a loan. This small SUV helped me get from assignment to assignment. Not having a car payment was a great help to paying off debts and saving money. I extended my 1st travel nurse contract and after 6 months, I was able to afford a two week vacation to Egypt. I added in a layover in Germany. Then back to the US for another contract that lasted 9 months, then I went to New Zealand and Australia for two months. For 9 years, I worked a two to six months in a few states and then went overseas for a few weeks to months. I parked my Vue at my mom's for most of the trips and kept my stuff stored in her attic.
In 2014, I decided I wanted to settle down. I was tired of living out of bags and I missed some of the things I kept in my mom's attic. I bought a lot of souvenirs while I traveled that went right up to her attic. I wanted a home to display all my "treasures". I also wanted to go back to school to get my BSN. (In the USA, registered nurses need to have at least a diploma in nursing or associates in nursing degree, but it is getting harder to be hired without a BSN.) I found a job that reimbursed me for most of my RN-BSN program. Now I feel ready to use this degree to find a job overseas or to secure more contracts in the USA.
So please enjoy my stories of my travels. Please comment. And don't wait to enjoy life!
Kerri Kat's Adventures and Travels 