Sandakan had nothing really interesting or spectacular to show. I dropped-by here for a day since it was just an hour drive from Sepilok. This is the 2nd largest city after Kota Kinabalu. The city spreads out wide and far .The coastal old town was busy in the day time but the crowds moved to Bandar Indah at Batu 4 in the evening for nightlife and entertainments.
The fresh cheap seafood is the main draw in Sandakan. I headed straight to the famous Sim Sim Village, looking for Sim Sim Seafood Restaurant. The shore was dirty, lots of rubbish were scattering around. Obviously it was an accumulation after months, wondered why the municipal didn’t clean up the area.
The sea products (mostly alive) were displayed. Customers picked their choices and delivered straight to the restaurant's kitchen. Fresh and cheap, but the cooking was not so scrumptious.
Sandakan was occupied by Japanese army during WWII, plenty of Prisoner of War (Australians, British) were transferred from Singapore to construct the airfield. The notorious Death Marches claimed lots of life. The Memorial Park in the city recorded the unpleasant history, mainly descriptions, no gory photos. The young visitors had no sympathy to the tragedy but fooling inside the exhibition building, what a shame. Apparently our education had not been teaching the students to respect the history.
The Kadazan Museum conducts exhibitions occasionally. The photo gallery of last century was interesting, leaving precious record of life not long ago.
Many new commercial lots are erected in front of the waterfront, a good spot to stroll and to have a beer in the evening. Plenty of restaurants and hotels catered to different budget travelers, but not enough space for the public to hang around.
I scraped the plan to visit Turtle Island, the sole agent increased the price almost 2 folds since 2 years ago. A 2D1N package for single person costs about EUR100, too expensive.
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| Rubbish scattered on shore in front of Sim Sim Village. |
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| Houses on stilts, rubbish was not cleaned up. |
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| Fresh seafood, the clamps are huge, RM4 for a piece. |
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| Restaurants on water, the open sea view was grand though water not crystal clear. |
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| Menu, quite cheap. |
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| Fishermen delivered fresh catch straight to the restaurant. |
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| Fresh seafood display for your choice. |
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| Busy in the restaurant kitchen. |
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| Sandakan Memorial Park - the excavator used by the Japanese army during WWII. |
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| Sandakan Memorial Park - exhibition building. |
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| A model of POW Camp. |
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| Unpleasant history, but not many photos were displayed. |
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| The Memorial. |
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| Bandar Indah at Batu 4, the spot of nightlife and entertainment. Sandakan residents flocked to here at night. |
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| This concrete behemoth hotel has an ugly external outlook, but the interior design is good. It was fully booked during my visit. |
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| Bus stand beside a shoping mall. No definite schedule, most buses and vans depart only when they are full. |
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| Old buildings, each block is given a number. |
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| Sandakan heritage and sight seeing guides. |
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| Sandakan old town, view from the hill. |
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| Water front, plenty restaurants and hotels perched along. Good place for a beer in the late afternoon. |
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| Kids played in the water at water front. |
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| Traditional cookies. |
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| Express bus stopped here for lunch, on the way to KK. |
