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Sandakan
Sandakan is a small city in Northeastern Borneo most famous for it's extremely unique and rare flora and fauna. It also serves as a gateway for other famous nature related travel destinations such as the Kingabatangan River. Among my favourite activities were going to some of the animal sanctuaries which included seeing orangutans, proboscis monkeys and sun bears. We were also lucky to see an extremely rare hornbill while at the Proboscis Monkey sanctuary. The sanctuaries offer protection for these endangered species from the harmfulness of habitat destruction. I'll go into more detail about each one more below. To add to the great wildlife experiences we really enjoyed the food scene in Sandakan. I experienced some of the best seafood of my life as well as ate traditional Malaysian favourites like nasi campur or fried chicken with rice. Things like food, accomodation and car rentals are very cheap. For about 80 usd per day you can rent a car and 2 bedroom apartment on airbnb. Renting a car probably ends up being cheaper than hiring transport or a tour to visit the sanctuaries listed below.
The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center is a great spot to witness orangutans that are effectively in the wild. At this particular sanctuary the orangutans are younger than 6 years old. They are kept at this rehabilitation facility because they've gone through some difficult situation such as losing their mother or being injured. The facility releases them back into the wild no later than 6 years old. The way it works is that they gather the orangutans twice per day to give them some food and people can observe this from a platform. It's also a nice walk through the jungle where you can also see other smaller monkeys and insects like butterflies. The entry cost was 30 ringit which is less than 7 usd. If you're interested in great apes or want a fun family excursion or just a memeorable tourist experience this is a good one.
Also right next to the orangutan facility is the sun bear rehabilitation facility as well. I'd also recommend visiting here maybe for 45 mins to an hour before or after visiting the orangutan sanctuary that is just across the road. The sun bears are interesting creatures that seem to experience life through their noses. You can watch them roaming around smelling there way to different areas and digging for things like insects or tree bark. They also are really good climbers and can be spotting lounging very high up trees. I'd recommend also visiting the sun bear center which is conveniently located right next to the orangutan center. The entry fee was 50 ringit which is about 11 usd.
Another fun activity is to visit the Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary at Labuk Bay. This one had a bit of a different story than the orangutan and sun bear rehabilitation areas but is still a sanctuary but maybe in a different way. The area was being deforested in the past when the company that was planning to plant palm trees for palm oil discovered groups of the Proboscis Monkeys living in the area. Rather than continue the destruction of the forest they declared these areas sanctuaries and they are thus protected from deforestation in hopes to help preserve the habitat of these monkeys and many other animals. 4 times throughout the day they have feedings at 2 different platforms. We visited platform A at 14 30 and platform B at 16 30. Here the staff distributes food which naturally attracts the monkeys as well as many other smaller monkeys. They are a very interesting and endangered species that can only be found on Borneo. They have the largest nose of any primate on Earth. I'd say this is another must see sanctuary while in Sandakan or Sepilok.
Aside from all the sanctuaries and nature related activities I'd recommend to take some time to explore the actual city of Sandakan. Maybe a bit rough at first glance we found lots of nice sights and enjoyment exploring and eating around the city. Go to the waterfront area and check out the views, some of the restaurants in the area and even visit the shopping mall or local market.
We really enjoyed the food in Sandakan. It's a great place to try local Malaysian favourites as well as seafood. Our favourite restaurant was definitely the Harbor Bistro Lodge Restaurant. For less than 4 usd you can get an incredible sweet and sour fish curry, chicken curry, calamari or butter crab. We enjoyed this restaurant so much we returned for a second time during our three night stay. The value is incredible and it's a nice place to relax, take in the views and enjoy a meal after exploring the nature and conservation areas outside the city. We also enjoyed Restaurant Mazuin. This is a traditional Malaysian type buffet place. Each different dish has a different cost and you can load your plate of rice with whatever you'd like. The food is delicious ranging from fried chicken to fish curries to vegetables, eggs, tofu and tempe. It's also extremely affordable at less than 4 usd for a large plate.
I don't often write about specific airbnbs because they are harder to find than hotels but these days I almost exclusively stay in airbnbs. We stayed in the Kingfisher building just outside the city center. It's spacious and only cost us about 130 usd for 3 nights for a 2 bedroom apartment with living room, dining area and seperate kitchen. The buildings also have a pool and mini-gym. If you split this between two people that's 65 usd per night for a 2 bedroom apartment. Another great perk was it came with an xbox which I've never experienced before in an airbnb! Perhaps you'll be able to find this one.
