A Family Getaway

On the 13th of June Dadda and Mommy took Idzhar and I to Sandakan, Sabah. The night before our flight I helped Mommy pack our clothes for the holiday.

We left for the airport very early in the morning, when it was still dark. By the time we got on to the plane, the sun had just started to rise.

Once we reached the hotel, we rested for a while and then went down to the pool for a swim.

After dinner Mommy made us go to bed super early to prepare ourselves for the visits the next day.

Early next morning, Mommy woke us up, bathed and went straight down for breakfast. We made sure we had a good meal so we have enough energy for the trip. Both Idzhar and I were so excited when Uncle Mawi, the driver Dadda hired to take us around, arrived at the hotel to pick us up. We were going to see Orangutans and Proboscis Monkeys!

Uncle Mawi drove us to Sepilok to see the Orangutans first.

In order to get to the Orangutans we had to walk into the jungle to its natural habitat. There were many people there to see the Orangutans too as we reached there around the feeding time.

Once we reached the feeding site we had to wait quietly for a while until the Orangutans started to come.

And then came the first Orangutan, followed by a few others a few moments later...

Idzhar and I really enjoyed watching the Orangutans.

Soon after we quickly walked back so we could catch the Proboscis monkeys feeding time. We'd have to drive quite a distance to get to the Proboscis monkey sanctuary.

We arrived at the Proboscis monkeys sanctuary just in time for their feeding time. Idzhar was so excited to see so many monkeys and we could go very near them too. We could also play with other monkeys there and Idzhar really had fun playing with them and he was not afraid at all. 

Unlike the Orangutans, the Proboscis monkeys were funny looking monkeys with huge nose. They reside in the mangrove forest and are allergic to sweet food thus they do not consume fruits like bananas and papayas. The sanctuary feeds them pancakes without sugar and when they are in the forest, they will eat the mangrove roots, which are apparently poisonous for us humans.

I think Idzhar was the most excited one and had the most fun with the monkeys there!

Finally, we left the Proboscis sanctuary and went straight to the English Tea House and Restaurant for lunch. By that time were famished.

The English Tea House and Restaurant had a beautiful and cosy landscape situated at a hill overlooking the sea.

While waiting for our food to arrive, we tried our hands at a game of Croquet just outside the restaurant.

But after a few minutes playing Idzhar got fed up and entertained himself by picking up the balls, ran up the hill, threw the balls and screamed.

We stopped fooling around once our food arrived at the table. 

After our meal, Mommy wanted to visit a historical site next to the restaurant, just a walking distant from where we were, the Agnes Keith House.

Agnes Keith was an American writer in the who resided in that colonial house when her husband was working in Malaya before, during and after the World War II. She was the one who coined the term 'Land Below The Wind' for Sabah.

Later that night, after going back to the hotel to freshen up, we went to have dinner at a seafood restaurant. You must never miss an opportunity to eat seafood whenever you are in Sabah.

On the third day we were in Sandakan, a day before we flew back to KL, we went to visit the Sandakan Memorial Park. 

The memorial park was a serene and beautiful park built in memory of all who died during the Death March between January and August 1945 (World War II). The Sandakan Death Marches were a series of forced marches from Sandakan to Ranau which resulted in the deaths of 2345 prisoners of war held captive by the Japanese empire at the Sandakan POW Camp. By the end of the war, only six Australians survived, all of whom had escaped. I learned all these from the small museum situated somewhere inside the memorial park. 

When we came back from the Memorial Park, we just stayed in our hotel room, lazed around and went for a last swim. Idzhar and I of course fooled around a bit while Mommy and Dadda rested.

The fourth and last day we were in Sandakan, we had early breakfast, loaded our luggages into Uncle Mawi's car and drive straight to town to buy some fresh prawns and souvenirs on the way to the airport. The fresh prawns were huge and packed with ice to be checked in along with our bags later. We took photos with Uncle Mawi before we bid farewell to each other. We told Uncle Mawi to contact us whenever he comes to KL. 

I hope someday I'll get to go again and visit the other places like the Kinabatangan River Cruise and the Turtle Island.

Goodbye Sandakan! We really had a great time there. Hope to see you again soon! :)