I told myself I will not travel as often so that I could save more money for bigger future plans. However, my birthday should be an exception. A month later after booking a flight from Manila to Kota Kinabalu and Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, I found myself on an island of rich nature and hospitable people.

Formerly known as Elopura, Sandakan is located on the north-eastern coast of Borneo, which is strategically located on the face of the Sulu Sea. No wonder why many Filipinos are living here – it is a 20-hour ferry ride away from Zamboanga and from Semporna to Bongao in Tawi-Tawi. Call me dumb, but when I imagined Sandakan, being in Borneo, I thought it would more of a jungle place. While in fact, it was more developed and organized than many cities in the Philippines.

Arrival

I arrived at Kota Kinabalu Airport at around 2:00 AM. I stayed at Sakot Backpackers and they gave me a free pick up from the airport. I am not sure if their pickup is really for free, but when I was about to pay, they said: “It’s your birthday, so that’s our gift to you.” It was really nice of them! Imagine, I only stayed there for a night in an air-conditioned room with its own bathroom for approximately P700 and I got a free airport pickup at 2 in the morning! Also, look, they put pictures of me on their Facebook page! Hehe.

DAY 1

Kota Kinabalu

I slept late but I still tried to wake up as early as I can so I can explore Kota Kinabalu a little bit before my flight to Sandakan.

Yes, I didn’t stay in Kota Kinabalu for at least 24 hours. The main reason for this is that I didn’t know Sandakan was more than 300 kilometers away from Kota Kinabalu when I booked my flight from Manila so I chose a very short date, and I really wanted to see the exotic animals on the island. Then I realized that in order to get to Sandakan, you either have to ride a 7-hour bus (MYR 43 one way) or take a domestic flight. I chose the latter because it was cheap when I booked it on AirAsia a month before (MYR 110 round trip) and it less time-consuming.

Since my flight was still at 2:00 PM, I had the whole morning to walk around, but I thought, I didn’t want to get too tired so I only walked around the area and went to the KK Observatory Tower.

It was kind of hot, but that didn’t stop me from seeing the entire city from above. It was around 9:00 AM that time and there weren’t many people yet, aside from a few locals probably doing some exercise by climbing up and down.

There was a small restaurant serving breakfast and snack on top. I’ve decided to have a burger and it’s definitely one of the best burgers I had, not even kidding! From up there, you will see the entire city. I was hoping to see the Mt. Kinabalu, but it was situated on the other side (of course.)

After getting lost in the city for a couple of hours, I decided it was time for me to go to the airport. From the hotel, the shuttle station was only 2-minute walk away. I love how the place was so accessible.

Sandakan

Like I mentioned, I thought Sandakan would be a jungle! But to my surprise, it is a developed city of smiling locals who are more than willing to direct you where to go. My hostel was literally in front of Harbour Mall; like it is literally facing the main entrance. It was weird to me but it was a bonus at the same time! I had the private room with shared bathroom for MYR 50.00 per night. They have dorm rooms, but the private room was not so expensive so I chose that instead.

Since I arrived in the afternoon, I just decided to explore the city (again.) I walked around – mostly in the mall – to find things that are interesting. But since it is a mall, there was nothing really interesting, aside from the fact that it was 13 storeys and the cinema was on the 11th floor, but in order to get there, you have to take an elevator to the 10th floor and walk in the middle of a parking lot and take an escalator from there.

I went back to my room and did a little bit of work. Although it was meant for backpackers, it was not very social. So, instead of hanging out there, I talked to the guy at the reception and asked how to get to King Fung Night Market – a market open every Saturday.

It was a bit far from my location, but I still insisted on going since I didn’t want to spend the whole evening inside my windowless cold room. The taxi driver gave me a discount, so instead of paying MYR20.00 per way, I only paid MYR 30.00 for back and forth transport. I hyped up my expectations on the night market while I shouldn’t have. For an apparent reason, I was expecting it to be like Jalan Alor, Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur. It was just a short strip of food and souvenir vendors. They had nice food and interesting things, but for the worth of the taxi I paid for, I didn’t think it was worth it. Possibly if I didn’t eat a lot that day, it could have been more fun.

DAY 2

Labuk Bay

You can either set a private tour or get a ride from a regular shuttle that goes to main attractions in Sandakan including Labuk Bay where you can encounter Proboscis Monkeys and other species like Silver Leaf monkeys, and Hornbill. Of course, I took the regular shuttle bus to get there (duh) which gathers its passenger in front of Hotel Sandakan. It was only a 5-minute walk from my hotel. The girl at the reception provided me with a map where the hotel is located but as someone who sucks at reading maps, I preferred to toss it away and instead asked locals where the place is. One man told me he will tell me where it is. So, I walked with him for a couple of minutes until we reached the place. I can’t believe a complete stranger will take an effort to stop whatever he was doing to help me! I really think Malaysians are so hospitable.

I got to the place and there were a Dutch couple and a Polish girl taking the tour with me. I sat next to the driver and made an instant Malaysian friend. We talked about random things and I learned that he is dating a Filipina girl, possibly why he was so passionate about talking about the Philippines culture and food.

I mentioned that it was my birthday. He got excited and said, “Oh! Then I should give you a present!” When we got to Labuk Bay’s gatehouse, he told me not to get off the car. He asked for my payment and to my surprise, I paid a lot less than I should have! So, I was supposed to pay MYR 60.00, but I ended up paying only MYR 15.00 because he bought me a ticket for locals.

Upon entering the place, we were welcomed by Silver Leaf Monkeys walking on electric lines and leaping from branches to branches. I was so happy because they said that they don’t show up all the time. At first, I saw one… then two… then another came… then there was a troop! They were heading to the feeding platform. I guess they knew it was time to eat so they were rushing there. I followed them and surprisingly, there were even more inside. They are the friendliest monkeys ever!

I got too distracted by the silver monkeys that I forgot that I was there for the Proboscis Monkeys. When I first saw one, I was so amazed. They were so, uh… unique! Like, who have decided they were monkeys and not aliens??? They were in different sizes and you will know their genders according to their nose. Obviously, males should have a bigger nose and the size of their body is normally twice as big as the females.

They were so intimidating from afar, but then one came closer and I wasn’t sure if I was scared or was simply starstruck. They were making humming sound which was SO weird. Oh my god, I’m literally chuckling while typing this because it was so funny and cute when they do that sound. I don’t think I caught it on video, but it was so funny as they sounded like dogs.

Another intimidating moment during my Proboscis Monkey encounter was when they started running all over the place particularly on the roof where you can hear their heavy footsteps. It was so loud and scary you’d think they’ll fall! They were so majestic I couldn’t believe they were in front of my, literally a few inches away!

The feeding time is 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM but we only stayed there for the first feeding because the couple we were with had to catch a flight.

I loved the experience except the Hornbill didn’t visit that day, but all in all, it was a great experience.

DAY 3

Sepilok Conservation Centre

What I liked about my trip in Sandakan was that you can start the day without rushing. I woke up at 8:00 AM and still had the time to eat breakfast. During the breakfast I met people who were also going to Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre as well, so we went there together.

To get there, we had to go to the Mini Bus Station located just in front of Gentingmas Mall which is also walking distance away from the hotel. Unlike the shuttle I took the day before, this shuttle bus no. 14 caters to local passengers who need to drop themselves on the way to Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre. They were playing 90s music while the bus was running which was really cool.

It was a not-so-dull 40-minute ride. You will know that you are there when you see the big arc. This time, I paid the right entrance fee. There are two points of attraction in Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre – The orangutans and the sun bears.

Orangutan Encounter

It was 10:00 AM when we arrived, exactly the time for their first feeding. So after leaving my bag in a locker provided for visitors (because orangutans can be curious and grab your stuff from you), I went straight to the feeding area by following the platform.

Then I saw the first orangutan. I cannot believe I am actually watching them eat. It was too surreal. Possibly because I never thought I’d see them in real life.

But of course, behind every beautiful thing in the world is a crowd of camera geared tourists.

Being 5’3” short, I can’t see much from where I was standing as most of the tourists were tall westerners. I finally gave up tiptoeing to get a glance at these majestic apes, so I approached some local staff if that was it. They said yes. Oh okay. That was it? But then it turned out they meant, that was it for the feeding, but I will see more.

I was ready to go to the Sun Bear Sanctuary when I saw a female orangutan walking on the handrail of the walking platform. I was so stunned! With an O-face, I followed it to see a better look while there were not many people yet.

Her name is Rosa and she just likes chilling. Suddenly, a male orangutan came, too. His name is Churya. But then the staff said not to get too close to him because he’s “naughty.” I thought he meant, naughty as in naughty playful, but then he said he grabs female visitors and open their clothes! There was even a point he chased me, and the local staff yelled: “Run!” It was so funny. He was unsuccessful so he turned to Rosa and tried to get intimate with her.

Sun Bear Sanctuary

After having had enough of the orangutans, I decided it was time to check out the bears. We didn’t get a close encounter with them because apparently, they were supposed to be more vicious. It was fun looking them from afar, though.

There you will learn more things about them as there were guides in the facility telling you their stories of how they got to the sanctuary and what is their species current condition. There was even one that was rescued from a restaurant. They are being hunted by tribesmen for traditional medicine, decorations, as well as consumption.

I took the same bus to get back to Sandakan Main town and my quick birthday adventure ended there.

Things I missed:

Kinabatangan River Tour – Here you will find other exotic animals as you cruise the famous river.

Nightwalk Tour – I think it’s the same as Kinabatangan tour except you’re walking, and it was during the night for you to see nocturnal animals. Here you will see active tarsiers!

Turtle Island – Watch turtles lay eggs. I didn’t go there because it was a private island so it is expensive.