Semporna

Semporna is a small, busy, unpolished town on the south-east Sabah coast, and almost everyone who comes is passing through it to reach the water: Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai, Mataking and the Tun Sakaran marine park all leave from the jetties here, and the dive operators, permit offices and cheap hotels along the front exist for that traffic. The town itself is a market and fishing port built partly over the water, with a seafood market where you choose from the tanks. The Bajau Laut, sea nomads who historically lived on boats and now largely on stilt settlements around the islands, are based in this area, and their situation is difficult - many are stateless, without documents or access to schooling and health care, which is visible in the town and worth understanding rather than photographing.

History

Semporna was founded soon after the British North Borneo Chartered Company established Sandakan and was first settled by Chinese traders; the Bajau called the area Tong Talun, "the end of the forest", and it passed from the Sultanate of Sulu to the Chartered Company by agreement in 1876 (Wikipedia, Semporna).

Highlights

• The gateway to Sipadan - operators, permit offices and boats along the front.
• A seafood market - fish and shellfish chosen from tanks on the waterfront.
• A town partly over water - stilt housing and jetties around the harbour.
• Bajau Laut communities - the sea people based around the town and islands.

When to go

March to October; Regatta Lepa in April. Two days.

Practical notes

The town is scruffy and there is little to do in it - it is a base, not a destination. Sipadan permits are limited and must be arranged well ahead. Be thoughtful about photographing Bajau Laut children.

Nearby

Mabul, Kapalai and the Tun Sakaran islands are all short boat rides.

Key facts