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| This is a very basic guidebook. |
| The information in it was compiled from various reliable sources to serve as a quick reference for your journey. |
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| What's inside? |
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Travelling to Sandakan? You'll need this guidebook to help you find your way. It'll show you where to stay, eat, visit and shop. It also contains useful travel tips, and lets you in on what to expect with the local food and culture. You wouldn't want to miss it!
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| Help Save the Bornean Orangutan! |
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| Fund collecting in progress... |
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| The Bornean Orangutan is a great ape native to the island of Borneo. In the wild, it has a life span of about 35 to 40 years, but it can live for up to 60 years in captivity. The Bornean Orangutan's diet consists mainly of fruit, shoots, bark, mineral rich soil, bird eggs and sometimes insects, although they have been observed using spears to catch fish! Orangutans are becoming increasingly endangered due to habitat destruction and the bushmeat trade. Young orangutans are also captured and sold as pets, usually entailing the killing of its mother. |
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| What's an a4trip guidebook? |
| An a4trip guidebook is a travel guide that'll provide you with the information you'll need to plan your trip and to find your way around. Our guidebooks are downloadable in PDF format, and are designed to be so compact, you can take it with you everywhere you go. |
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| How can I pay for a guidebook? |
| We accept credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, American Express (USA only) and Discover (USA only) via PayPal. Your transaction will appear as 'PAYPAL*A4TRIP' on your credit card statement. |
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| Help! Why can't I download the guidebook? |
| Don't worry, just get in touch with us and we'll deliver the guidebook right to your inbox. |
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| Just how often do you update your guidebooks? |
| We try to update our guidebooks at least once a month. |
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| Have more questions about a4trip? |
| Just Contact Us, we'd love to hear from you. |
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Sandakan, the second-largest city in Sabah, is situated in East Malaysia. Once the largest timber-exporting port of tropical wood in the world, it has now carved a niche for itself as an eco-tourism hotspot. Despite its apparent tranquility, Sandakan holds a traumatic past. During World War II, it was the site of a Japanese airfield, built by the forced labour of Javanese civilians and Allied prisoners of war. Among the atrocities was the Sandakan-Ranau Death Marches, of which out of more than 6,000 prisoners of war, only 6 are believed to have survived. While the war left Sandakan totally destroyed, the city managed to rebuild itself to become a thriving trading port.
Abundant in tropical rainforests and pristine beaches, Sandakan has many natural attractions. Some of the most popular are its primate sanctuaries. The first is the Orang Utan Sanctuary at Sepilok. Situated about 25 km away from Sandakan, it works to rehabilitate orphaned and injured Orangutans, before they are returned to the wild. The second is the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. Nestled in the mangrove forests near Kampung Semawang and located about 38 km away from town, it allows visitors to observe these captivating arboreal primates in their natural habitat.
Other interesting sites include the Gomantong Caves, home to thousands of swiftlets and bats; the Selingan Turtle Islands Park, a safe haven for endangered green and hawksbill turtles; and the Kinabatangan River, the second longest river in Malaysia. Popular activities for nature lovers include jungle trekking, river cruises, rafting, camping and bird watching.
If you're itching to immerse yourself in local culture, there are several prominent houses of worship in Sandakan that are worth visiting, such as the Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple; the 100-year old Sandakan Jamek Mosque; the Sam Sing Kung Temple, which is also the oldest building in Sandakan, having been completed in 1887; and the St Michael's and All Angels Church, which was built in 1897 and is one of Sandakan's few surviving pre-war buildings.
The heritage trail continues in Kampung Buli Sim Sim, a fishing village on stilts; the Sandakan Memorial Park, which is built on the site of the Taman Rimba prisoner of war camp; the Japanese Cemetery, a memorial to fallen Japanese soldiers; and the Agnes Keith House, also known as Newlands, home of an American author who wrote several autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo during and after the Second World War. Situated within the grounds of Newlands, is an English Tea House and Restaurant, which serves traditional English and Asian cuisine.
When it comes to food, however, seafood is the way to go in Sandakan. You can feast on crab, lobster, giant prawns, squid, rock oysters and a dazzling array of fish. The catch is so fresh it would appear that they leapt right out of the sea into a sizzling wok. Best of all, the prices are very reasonable. Just ask your taxi driver about the best places to eat. Same goes for the best places to shop. Most visitors arrive in the city via Sandakan Airport, which serves domestic flights from Kota Kinabalu. It is situated about 13 km from town. While it is easy to explore Sandakan by foot, you can also get around by bus or taxi. If you're planning an out of town excursion, you have the option of renting a car. If you're looking for a place to stay, there are many hotels, lodges and chalets that you can choose from.
Malaysia has a varied Visa requirement system. Citizens of some Commonwealth nations and the U.S.A., for example, will not require a Visa for social visits. Some foreign citizens will not require a Visa when visiting Malaysia for a period of between 14 days to 3 months. Some may be granted Visa upon arrival, while others will require a Visa or Special Approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs before entering Malaysia. The permitted length of stay is entered on the Visa at the time of issue and is at the discretion of the issuer. It is normally 1 to 3 months from the date of issue and extensions are possible. If in doubt, please contact the Malaysian High Commission to check Malaysia Visa requirements for your nationality, as well as related costs.
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