PLACES OF INTEREST
Nature and Adventures |
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 Australian
Memorial
The Australian Memorial, on the site of what was a prisoner-of-war
camp now in taman rimba, off labuk road, commemorates allied
soldiers who lost their lives during the japanese occupation. Some
2,400 men, most of them australians, left this camp on the
so-called "death march" towards the end of the war, only six
of them surviving to reach Ranau, near Mount Kinabalu, a year
later.
The tragedy of war is also commemorated in the small Japanese
Cemetery in a corner of the old cemetery on the hills overlooking
Sandakan, where a memorial pays tribute to the Japanese soldiers
who lost their lives during World War II. There are also several
graves where a number of Japanese girls, victims of a prostitution
racket, are buried. Brought to Sandakan under false pretenses in
the early years of the colony, tehy were forced to work in
brothels, many of them remaining until their death. None of the
grave markers faces towards the east, to the Land of the Rising
Sun, in symbolic rejection of the country seen to have done them an
injustice.
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 Gomatang Caves
The Gomatang Caves about 32 km south of Sandakan, is a home to over
one million swiftlets. These swiftlets' nests are the famous
chinese delicacy, birds' nest, and fetch a good price locally and
aboard. Twice a year, in the caves men can be seen scaling bamboo
ladders to height of about 90 m to collect the delicacy off the
cave walls. The swiftlets' neighbours are bats, More that a million
of them which live atop an enormous guano pile. |
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 Lower Kinabatangan
River
The greatest concentration of wildlife in Malaysia, and possibly
all of Borneo, can be found remarkably close to Sandakan, along the
lower reaches of Sabah's biggest and longest river, the
Kinabatangan. Wild orang utan, macaques, red and silver leaf
monkeys, elephants, dozens of beautiful birds including several
species of hornbill, crocodiles, civet cats and otters may all be
viewed in this region, although the most famous creature of all is
undoubtedly the bizarre Proboscis monkey.
It is possible to take an afternoon tour by boat across Sandakan
Bay and through the salt-water swamp forest into the mouth of the
Kinabatangan River, and on up to the first settlement, Kampung
Abai, returning to Sandakan at night. Visitors who prefer an
indepth look at the area's wildlife can stay overnight at Sukau,
just two hours by road from Sandakan, where Accommodation is
provided by local tour operators. For at least two hours in the
late afternoon, visitors thread through the fresh-water swamp
forest to discover the Proboscis monkeys and other wildlife in the
comfort of a boat. Because of lack of public transport to Sukau,
the only practical way tovisit is with a tour operator.
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 Orang Utan Sepilok
Sanctuary
A 20-minutes drive from Sandakan will bring you to Sepilok Forest
Reserve, 440ha or virgin equatorial rainforest. The wealth of
indigenous and rare plants, animals and birds that have found
sanctuary here are to be seen to be believed.There are numerous
self-guilding trails to help the visitor explore the Reserve. A
most Interesting feature of the Reserve is the Orang Utan Sanctury.
Here orang utans which have strayed into logging camps or rescue
from captivity are cared and sent back to the forest. |
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 Puu Jih Shih Buddhist
Temple
For an unrivalled panoramic view of Sandakan bay and a look at its
newest temple, a visit should be made to the extravagantly ornate
Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple, on the hill-top above tanah merah
south of Sandakan town centre. Built and decorated in 1987 at a
cost of around us$2 million, the temple is a blaze of red and gold,
with writhing dragons, gilded buddhas, hundreds of gleaming lamps
and the fragrance of burning incense. |
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 Sandakan Mosque
Sandakan's muslim community is served by the starkly simple
Sandakan Mosque, built on the edges of the bay next to kampung buli
sim sim, where the town of Sandakan began in 1879. Perched on
stilts above the sea, the neat wooden houses of this large village
are reached by plant walkways, their wide verandas decorated with
pot plants. Flowery sarong and fishing nets are hung up to dry, and
wooden boats bob at the "front door". A wander along the walkways
or "jambatan" gives a glimpse of the lifestyle of these friendly
fisherfolk. |
