Generally (or is it only me), we have less interest to explore our own place. My case, I rarely go out and do new things when I'm back in my hometown (Kota Kinabalu, Sabah). I am more comfortable staying at home and spending the whole day with my dearest family. Well, that's the main purpose of going back actually, to have a quality time them.
My job as a travel writer requires me to move here and there.
So, when I have the chance to go back home, I prefer not to go anywhere but instead be at home. Poor me, now I know.
When I received an exclusive invitation from Sabah Tourism Board and Gaya Travel Magazine to join #ICYDKSandakan familiarisation programme, I immediately jumped to this opportunity and realise that there are many interesting places in #Sabah that I need to discover - one of those is SANDAKAN.
Sandakan offers a wide variety of tourism products and below is a list of things that you may do while being in and nearby the city. Based on my 4D3N trip, these are the first 5 places that I could recommend you to visit:
Sukau Village
Sukau Village is one of must-visit spots in Sandakan. Located nearby the famous Kinabatangan river, Sukau is blessed with abundant of biodiversity that attracts travellers that are into nature to come over and experience the nature wonders.
In Sukau itself, there are several lodges you can choose to stay. I stayed at Sukau Rainforest Lodge and definitely it is highly recommended one. Why? I will share it in a separate blog post. At Sukau Rainforest Lodge, you can also do several activities including night or morning cruise, morning nature walk and more.
While in Sukau, I had the chance to join the morning and night cruise along Kinabatangan river, morning walk at Hornbill Boardwalk - held nearby Sukau Rainforest Lodge and each one of it gives interesting information about the wildlife that lives around here.
Best for: Nature, adventure, honeymoon, educational tour
Things to bring: comfortable clothes and footwear, binocular, raincoat and a sense of adventure
Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary
Have you seen the famous proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus)? It is widely known as a creature that is only available in Borneo. Besides, it was also chosen as the official mascot for Visit Malaysia 2014. This type of monkey can be found in the countries that divide the island which are Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia (Sandakan). Proboscis monkey is listed as endangered species and now protected from hunting and capture in Borneo.
Good to know: The scientific name of this long-nosed monkey is nasalis larvatus. It also has different names according to the country. Locally we call it 'bayau' or sometimes 'monyet belanda'. Meanwhile, Indonesian call it 'monyet belanda' or 'bekatan'.
Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Pojiegraphy: 5 Top Places To Visit In Sandakan (Part I)
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