Diving: T.A.R. Marine park - Malaysian Islands - Malaysia
HANGING GARDEN LOCATION: On the eastern side of the massive Pulau Gaya, which is the biggest island in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Access by boat from Jesselton Point jetty (formerly known as Sabah Port Authority) in downtown Kota Kinabalu is about 10 minutes. This dive site is actually very close to the main beach at Pulau Sapi, hence it is not uncommon for dive boats to depart from this popular beach.
Note that for divers using the jetty at Jesselton Point, there will be RM6 terminal fee charged by the port authority for the round trip journey. Also, Sabah Marine Park recently imposed a diving fee of RM20 per day for local divers or RM50 for foreigners.
This dive site is also known as Clement Reef on some dive maps.
DESCRIPTION: The dive goes down for about 20 metre maximum depth. The visibility was surprisingly good at about 10-15 metres. There was no discernible current through this 1-hour dive. The dive profile started with shallow bottom where colourful soft and hard corals thrive healthily around the area. Among the notable hard and soft corals that I saw were Sarcophyton and Dendronephthya soft corals, various types of sea anemones, Porites solida corals, rarely-seen bubble corals (Plerogyra flexuosa), etc.
To be honest, the main highlight of this dive site was the astounding varieties and sizes of the sea fans that it offers. I guess the dive site is named a Hanging Garden for obvious reason. The biggest one I saw was probably 1.5 metres in height with considerable width (scarlet sea fan, Melithaea sp.). Other sea fans that I saw include harp gorgonian fan (Ctenocella pectinata), Euplexaura sp. fan coral, Solenocaulon sp. fan coral, Villogorgia sp. which was infested with feasting black crinoids, etc (yes, there were plenty more fan corals than what I could name of!).
As for the sponges and sea slugs, this dive site did not fare badly at all. There were a number of the common barrel sponges (Xestospongia testudinaria) and pale-blue tube sponges (Kallypilidion fascigera). I saw at least ten nudibranch during my dive, some of them managed to get into my underwater camera. The ones that I saw were Shireens phyllidiopsis nudibranch (Phyllidiopsis shireenae), painted thecacera (Thecacera picta, somewhat dramatic in colours, though not entirely visible from my camera), and celestial phyllidia (Phyllidia coelestis).
This dive site sadly did not offer much in term of marine fishes. There was a large school of yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) making their rounds above the coral reefs. Other than that, hiding under the sand was a blue-spotted stingray (Dasyatis kuhlii) that catapulted itself away when perturbed by my dive guide, a number of blood-drop squirrelfish (Neoniphon sammara), some Clarks anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii), a surgeonfish (Acanthurus sp.), and last but not least, a rare sighting of porcelain crab (Neopetrolisthes maculatus), or also known as anemone crab, often seen residing inside the carpet anemone (Stichodactyla mertensii).
Overall, I thought the one-hour dive was acceptably good when it comes to sea fan variety, some nudibranch and soft corals.
SULUG WEST LOCATION: On the western end of Pulau Sulug, which is the southernmost island in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Access by boat from Jesselton Point jetty (formerly known as Sabah Port Authority) in downtown Kota Kinabalu is about 20 minutes.
Note that for divers using the jetty at Jesselton Point, there will be RM6 terminal fee charged by the port authority for the round trip journey. Also, Sabah Marine Park recently imposed a diving fee of RM20 per day for local divers or RM50 for foreigners.
This dive site is also known as Suman Reef on some dive maps.
DESCRIPTION: The dive goes down up to a maximum of 20 metres on the western side of Pulau Sulug. I noticed that the entry point had plenty of garbage on the water surface, in the form of plastic bottles, food containers, wood splinters, etc. I do hope the marine park authority to do something about this because the first impression of this dive entry point was not really a good one.
The visibility was quite average or slightly poor. I estimated the visibility to be around 5-10 metres which was probably not that bad. The main attraction in this dive site was probably the great variety of sea fans that grow along the reef edges at some 15 metres deep. Among the sea fan varieties that I saw were purple-blue Euplexaura sp. (more commonly to be seen in dark red colour with white polyps), light-yellow Anella mollis, multi-coloured Echinomuricea sp. of white, dark-brown, blue and green, etc.
The variety of star feathers was not bad too. You can easily spot different varieties of dazzling colours at this dive site. Among the feather of star varieties that I saw were of Cenometra bella (aptly named "pretty" feather star), Bennetts feather of star (Oxycomanthus bennetti, occasionally seen taking up the prime nutrient flow spot on reef sponges), variable bushy feather star (Comanthina schlegelii, growing on the side of a barrel sponge), and striking blood-red Andersons feather of star (Pontiometra andersoni, hiding in between hard corals and sponges). This site also features a number of large petrosiidae barrel sponges (Xestospongia testudinaria) which were a good breeding ground for other living organism. The selection of soft corals and hard corals was not that bad either although it was quite ordinary for experienced divers. There were also a few sea anemones with omnipresent false clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris). Also, during this dive, I started to take notice of tube sponges of Kallypilidion fascigera (pale blue in colour, one straw is one individual unit but often grows together in a colony). A dive guide book that I read did mention how tube sponges are often being ignored by divers despite having their own photographic charm.
When it comes to fish variety, this dive site scored pretty badly. Apart from a dramatic movement by a large school of gold-band fusilier (Caesio caerulaurea), a rare trumpetfish (Aulostomus chinensis), and a gobyfish. Other peculiar marine objects that you can find here include pale brownish-green star fish (Linckia laevigata, mostly found in pale blue colour) and variegated sea cucumber (Stichopus variegatus, often seen excreting its waste products on the sandy bottom).
The last but not least, there were a host of nudibranch species at this dive site. Again, a new item of interest for yours truly because I was not being particular with these sea slugs before. Anyway, I spotted (and took photographs of, albeit, not satisfactorily) magnificent nudibranch (Chromodoris magnifica, probably the most striking of all sea slugs) and the more common Phyllidiella lizae nudibranch.
Overall, the dive was acceptable but nothing spectacular.
The information and Photographs on Malaysian Islands are provided by:
ISLANDS OF MALAYSIA The Independent Travel Guides to Malaysian Islands
not uncommon for dive boats to depart from this popular beach.
was surprisingly good at about 10-15 metres. There was no discernible current through this 1-hour dive. The dive profile started with shallow bottom where colourful soft and hard corals thrive healthily around the area. Among the notable hard and soft corals that I saw were Sarcophyton and Dendronephthya soft corals, various types of sea anemones, Porites solida corals, rarely-seen bubble corals (Plerogyra flexuosa), etc. 
harp gorgonian fan (Ctenocella pectinata), Euplexaura sp. fan coral, Solenocaulon sp. fan coral, Villogorgia sp. which was infested with feasting black crinoids, etc (yes, there were plenty more fan corals than what I could name of!).
camera), and celestial phyllidia (Phyllidia coelestis). 
The visibility was quite average or slightly poor. I estimated the visibility to be around 5-10 metres which was probably not that bad. The main attraction in this dive site was probably the great variety of sea fans that grow along the reef edges at some 15 metres deep. Among the sea fan varieties that I saw were purple-blue Euplexaura sp. (more commonly to be seen in dark red colour with white polyps), light-yellow Anella mollis, multi-coloured Echinomuricea sp. of white, dark-brown, blue and green, etc.
of large petrosiidae barrel sponges (Xestospongia testudinaria) which were a good breeding ground for other living organism. The selection of soft corals and hard corals was not that bad either although it was quite ordinary for experienced divers. There were also a few sea anemones with omnipresent false clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris). Also, during this dive, I started to take notice of tube sponges of Kallypilidion fascigera (pale blue in colour, one straw is one individual unit but often grows together in a colony). A dive guide book that I read did mention how tube sponges are often being ignored by divers despite having their own photographic charm.