After bugging in the bus from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan for more than 6hours, i arrived in Hotel Ramai to check myself in before i meet my sister and her friends flew all the way from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan. This trip is specially made to meet them and show them around this beautiful city of nature, and of course for the awesomely affordable seafood here.
Sandakan itself have very interesting history. This city was formerly the capital of Britist North Borneo, it lies on the east coast of the island. Sandakan is famous as a gateway for ecotourism destination in Malaysia, such as Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitate Centre, Rainforest Discovery Centre, Gomantong Cave, Turtle Island and Kinabatangan River. The airport was site of Japanese airfield during World War II, built by 6,000 Javanese civilian and Allied prisoners of war.
All photos below were taken with Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm F1.7
Jess Goh feels like she's in another European country
We start off our journey by visiting the oldest granite church in Malaysia, which was built in 1897, Parish of St Michael and all Angels church, one of the survivors of pre-War building, and became world heritage on 2005. We were amazed by the church as it gave us an unique feeling that we doesn't stand on the ground of Malaysia, we felt like we're in one of the European country with piece of green land and stones to relax ourselves!
The Exterior of the Church, with ages bricks
The surrounding of the church itself is schools, St Michael; St Maria; and St Cecilia Convent school. As we visit the place, the place were closed, so we only do sight seeing outside the building but not inside. We noticed numbers of residents play sports around the area, and some even jog outside the church itself. It seems to be a very common place to hang out, but it is still well-maintained.
This church also look like a library in a historical foreign University.
Later, we visit the Kim Fung night market situated at Mile 4. This night market is made up with majority of Chinese vendor and minority of Non-Chinese vendors. Various products range from food to phone accessory were sold here. The relationship between races can be seen to be very close in Sandakan IMHO, you can easily find No-Pork-Food easily even in Chinese stalls. It is very convenient and also safe to dine in Chinese restaurant even for Muslims. If we had a voting competition for 1Malaysia state, it will definitely be Sabah, or Sandakan city!
There are something in my eyes, itchy!
Who am i? The Last Fancy Guerrilla.
Making a call referring to "Phonebook" (not the one in your smart phone)
Scenic view of Sandakan Town from the Seafood Restaurant situated at Bukit Bendera
I really enjoy shooting photographs in the streets of Sandakan, it gave me peace of mind to photograph things that interests me. People are very friendly that doesn't mind to be photographed. A smile from you will definitely received the smile from them, which is really sweet. The familiar Hakka language remind me about my dad's Hometown - Ipoh. Sandakan makes me feel like I'm home.
To be Continue.. ..
Have you been to Sandakan? Tell me how do you feel about this city! Do u have any tips to share when traveling to Sandakan? Or Any suggestion for an unique itinerary? Comment Below!
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