Doesn't it look like paradise?
And indeed it is!
We were welcome in a very nice resort called "Sea Gypsy Village Resort & Dive Base"...
From Singapore, it is quite easy to go to Sibu : around 3 to 4 hours of bus (a private minivan, specially allocated for the customers of the hotel, very convenient). Departure can be arranged at 6 pm.
Afterwards, when arriving at the pier, a small boat is waiting for you and it takes only 20 minutes to reach the very small piece of land.
A welcoming drink and a little speech from the organisation manager later, you finally start an awesome week end.
It is even more awesome if your group is at least composed of 10 people, because you will get happy hour prices on most cocktails during all your stay!! It's f... good and reduces considerably the bill at the end!!!
Not that the bill is that huge. Transportation + 2 nights in bungalows + 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners are part of the package. To that, you add drinks (prices are reasonable), possible excursions like snorkelling, diving, trekking etc... For a total of around 200 to 250 euros per person.
Accomodation : I can't say nothing about the family chalets, because I stayed in a bungalow. The place was clean, comfortable, a good sized bed, with sheets, a pair of towels (1 for the shower, 1 for the beach, that's cool cause I had forgotten mine), and a net above, useful against the mosquitos. The fan was on all day and night, cooling conveniently the room. The bathroom was ok, clean, nothing special to declare but a good army of huge red ants. Whatever! It's adventure!!
Food : It was overall good. Various Asian dishes, composed by a rice or noodle, veggies, a meat with sauce (curry, sweet and sour chicken etc...). Usually a fruit salad as well. Not a lot of choice though. Everything was very tasty, and a special mention for the saturday night BBQ which was really amazing : satay, salads, corn, potatoes, garlic bread, sausages, a gorgeous fish, lamb, tasteful rice noodles etc...
I can't tell you about the breakfasts because I was still in bed recovering from our 2 party nights... I heard it was nice though!
Bar : Very nice and friendly bar tender and team... Nice cocktails, usually very charged!! Good wines, beers, and shots... And the famous "Gas chamber", made with Cointreau, consisting in lighting up the alcohol with a flame, putting your hand on the top of it (it creates a vacuum system), sniffing the vapors, drinking and breathing the gas again... It wakes you up in case you feel tired, it's guaranteed!! What is nice too is that you can put your own music once the people who go to bed early have left.
Activities : I took part of the snorkelling excursion... not that bad. Not extremely phenomenal as well, but I'm convinced the weather (cloudy and sometimes rainy) was the reason why. Good fun anyway!! And those who were diving were quite pleased as well. At least it is not a crowded place for marine sports like these, not like some islands with this reputation (for instance Tioman Island, which is not far).
To finish this post about our 2 days trip to wonderful Sibu, I would say it's an amazing place for families with children, couples looking for romance and groups of friends like us, who just want to party, enjoy each other's company, have fun and relax from the stress of work...
For more details, here is the link for the Sea Gypsy Village Resort : http://www.siburesort.com
+ Price, organisation, location, relaxing place, ambiance, accomodation and the bar is open ALL NIGHT LONG!!!
- Bugs and animals (red ants, flies, mosquitos, lezards, weird crabs looking like tarantulas...), sand in the room...
... Mmmmh yeah, I can't really find important drawbacks!!
