Sandakan Budget Travel Guide

Exploring Sandakan Sandakan Author: Copyright Tbachner Sandakan Budget Travel Guide provides you all the necessary information to know more about Sandakan and also to plan your visit there. Sandakan is the second largest city in Sabah. It is located on the north-eastern coast of Sabah, and is the administrative capital of the Sandakan Division. This moderate size town was the capital of Sabah between 1883 and 1945, when the state was known as British North Borneo. Until 1870, the east coast of Sabah was part of the Sultanate of Sulu. William Clarke Cowie, a gun smuggler from Scotland, was granted rights by the Sultan of Sulu to establlish a trading base there. It was Cowie who gave the place the name Sandakan. It means "the place that was pawned" in the Tausug language of the Sulu people. In 1878, a German settlement was also established there by Baron von Overbeck. However, the settlement was destroyed by fire the year after, and was never rebuilt. Instead a new British Resident to North Borneo, William Burges Pryer, established a new settlement, called Elopura, at Buli Sim Sim. Both Elopura and Buli Sim Sim remains to this day as place names in Sandakan. The main activity in Sandakan, especially in the mid-1930s, was timber. It brought prosperity to the boom town and allowed it to replace Kudat as the capital. Following the liberation from Japanese Occupation in 1945, the capital was shifted once again, to Jesselton, which was subsequently renamed Kota Kinabalu. Sandakan is today the second most important seaport in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu, exporting substantial quantities of commodities including palm oil, tobacco, cocoa, coffee, manila hemp and sago. The timber industry has taken a backseat over the commodities. The Pan Borneo Highway passes through Sandakan, connecting it with the the other major towns of Sabah, as well as with Sarawak and Brunei. Getting there By Plane Sandakan Airport (SDK) has regular flights by Malaysia Airlines to Kota Kinabalu and by AirAsia to Kuala Lumpur. By Road There are regular bus services connecting Sandakan with Kota Kinabalu's North Bus Terminal in Inanam. The journey takes about six hours, and the fare is about RM60. By the way, the bus passes the junction to Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre on its way to Sandakan. You can ask to be dropped off at the Sepilok bus stop, from where you can get a taxi to the santuary, which is 4 km down the road. Taxis are often waiting at that bus stop. It will cost you about RM5 for the ride. What to do in Sandakan Perhaps the only must-see sight while in Sandakan is a visit to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. Other than that, you can walk around the town, explore the waterfront. You can expect more activities within 2-3 hours from Sandakan. There are numerous national parks and mangrove swamps to explore, caves for spelunking, and river cruises to take. Check out the tourist attractions near Sandakan that I have listed out below. Accommodation in Sandakan Book Accommodation Online or call up the following accommodation providers: Hotel Nak, Jalan Pelabuhan, tel: 089 272988, www.nakhotel.com Hotel Ramai, Jalan Leila, tel: 089 273222 Hung Wing Hotel, Lebuh Tiga, tel: 089 218855 Malaysia Hotel, Lorong Dua, tel: 089 218322 May Fair Hotel, Jalan Pryer, tel: 089 219855 Sandakan Location Map View Sandakan in a larger map Photos of Sandakan Sandakan Author: Tony Jones (cc-by-sa-3.0) Sandakan Author: castrode Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners Sandakan Author: kkboy Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners

Tourist Attractions in Sandakan

• Agnes Keith House
  Home of famous American novelist Agnes Newton Keith.
  
  
• Batu Sapi
  Rock formation by the coast of Sandakan.
  
  
• Kampung Buli Sim Sim **
  Historic stilt village, original site for the town of Sandakan.
  
  
• Japanese Cemetery
  Cemetery of the Japanese who settled in Sandakan since the 19th century.
  
  
• Masjid Jamek Sandakan
  Mosque in the town of Sandakan, with history going back to the 19th century.
  
  
• Pulau Berhala
  Island at the entrance to Sandakan Bay, noted as a habitat for birds.
  
  
• Rotary Club Observation Pavillion
  Viewpoint above Sandakan town near the English Tea House.
  
  
• Sandakan Airport
  Small airport serving Sandakan.
  
  
• Sandakan Crocodile Farm
  One of the largest crocodile farms in Malaysia.
  
  
• Sandakan Golf & Country Club
  Country club with an 18-hole golf course.
  
  
• Sandakan Harbour Square
  Retail development built on reclaimed land.
  
  
• Sandakan Heritage Museum (Muzium Warisan Sandakan) *
  Museum chronicling the history of Sandakan.
  
  
• Sandakan Memorial Park *
  Public park adjacent to a World War II prison camp.
  
  
• Sandakan Mosque *
  Mosque of the district of Sandakan.
  
  
• Sandakan New Market *
  Market at the waterfront of Sandakan, part of the Sandakan Harbour Square development.
  
  
• Sandakan Recreation Club
  A sports club in Sandakan.
  
  
• Sandakan Yacht Club
  
  An exclusive club for the small community of yacht owners in Sandakan.
  
  
• Swallow Circle
  A traffic roundabout with the statue of a swallow in Sandakan.
  
  

Tourist Attractions near Sandakan

• Batu Tulug *
  A village with ancient wooden coffins in a cave.
  
  
• Gomantong Caves *
  The biggest limestone cave system in the Lower Kinabatangan region.
  
  
• Kinabatangan River
  Longest river in Sabah.
  
  
• Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project
  Project by a non-governmental organisation to maintain the orang utan habitat.
• Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
  Protected forest near Sukau, in the Lower Kinabatangan region.
  
  
• Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary *
  Private sanctuary created to protect the proboscis monkeys.
  
  
• Lankayan Island
  Small resort island off Sandakan.
  
  
• Rainforest Discovery Centre
  Forest research facility in Sepilok, near the orang utan rehabilitation centre.
  
  
• Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre **
  World-famous centre for rehabilitating orang utan for life in the wild.
  
  
• Turtle Island National Park
  National park comprising three islands which are turtle sanctuaries.
  
  

Churches in Sandakan

• Calvary Charismatic Church
  
  
• Church of the Good Shepherd
  Church of the Anglican Diocese of Sabah.
  
  
• Leila Baptist Church
  
  
• Sandakan Baptist Church
  
  
• Seventh Day Adventist Church
  
  
• St Mary Catholic Church
  
  Roman Catholic church with history going back to the 19th century.
  
  
• St Michael's and All Angels Church **
  One of the landmark churches in Sandakan.
  
  
• True Jesus Church
  The first of the True Jesus churches in Malaysia.
  
  

Chinese Temples in Sandakan

• Kun Yam Temple
  Temple of the goddess of mercy in Sandakan.
  
  
• Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple **
  Buddhist temple with a good view of Sandakan Bay.
  
  
• Sam Sing Kung Temple *
  Chinese temple with three patron deities.
  
  
• Tham Kung Temple *
  Temple built by the Hakka community in Sabah in the 19th century.

Shopping & Entertainment in Sandakan

• Centre Point Mall
  Three-storey shopping centre in Sandakan.
  
  
• Star CineplexA cineplex in Sandakan.
  
  

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