Following another Malaysian breakfast in KL we loaded up our car and headed to KLIA2 for the AirAsia flight to Sandakan, Borneo a relatively short hop of around two and a half hours. Touching down in Sandakan airport we were surprised at how small it was, just a single runway lined with shacks and houses and a smart new terminal. Pulling up alongside the terminal building we took the stairs from our Air Asia plane and walked across the tarmac in to the terminal building. This in hindsight was an indication of just how basic Borneo is.
Organising a ride through our hotel worked supremely well with our driver stood waiting outside arrivals and 20 minutes later we were checking in to the Four Points Sheraton, the only western hotel in Sandakan. As we drove in to Sandakan we saw a lot of stilted houses, probably fishing villages, perched on the shoreline. Dotted amongst them were ‘floating’ mosques and churches and kids managing to squeeze in a game of football. Amazing to see traditional jobs surviving in a nation dominated by palm oil. A superbly friendly check in girl swiftly got the paperwork done insisting we needed to get to our room quickly to witness the sunset. She was right, it was spectacular.
Our room looked out across the old town and the East China Sea dotted with fishing boats and a couple of large vessels waiting to dock. With the reputation of the area we fully expected to see the harbour full of boats flying the Jolly Roger!
After taking a break in the lounge for nibbles and a cocktail we popped through to the adjacent shopping mall, as we were low on toothpaste, where we restocked in a pharmacy. Lots of small independent stalls and shops filled the mall, but lacked shoppers. Stepping outside the mall the town looked like it had once been a thriving and bustling city, but It appeared to be slowly closing up for the night, with tourists like us pretty scarce. Perhaps tourists stop off here on route to Kotu Kinabalu and never actually stay in Sandakan. To us it looked and felt real, and truly a place worth stopping in to enjoy a bit longer.
Back in the hotel we donned our swimming costumes and hit the pool enjoying the warm evening and gazing across the now illuminated cafes and bars below us with Mother Nature giving us a star studded night sky too. An absolutely stunning evening in Sandakan.
mrandmrsyoung 