SANDAKAN - SIPILOK - ORANGUTANS

We got up ridiculously early (5 am) to catch a plane from Kuta Kinabalu to Sandakan.  Sandakan is on the eastern most tip of Borneo.  It's a small town with a famous orangutang reserve and a depressing past.   Flying out we were told to sit on the left side of the plane in order to get a good view of Mt. Kinabalu - because it was a bit dreary below, I was surprised at the fabulous view we got flying out.

We landed in Sandakan a mere 45 minutes after takeoff.  It's a very small town, comparatively.  Another couple were on the tour bus with us.  Like many other tourists here, they were Australians.  Sipilok begins the ecotour by showing us a short video about what they do there.  The main object is to rehabilitate orangutangs so that they can return to the wild.  They are very endangered with very few of them left.  A female orangutang only gives birth to a new baby once every eight years, so they only have 3 infants in a lifetime.  They are huge, the males can reach 100 kg (220 lbs).  We were then told 1.) to avoid touching them, 2.) not to look directly in their eyes and 3.) not to take flash photos, and 4.) to try to avoid the long and short tailed macaques that were all over the place.  Then they sent us out on a walk on a wooden platform in the jungle.  The baby orangutangs were off limits to see, but the youngsters about 6 years old are sent a small distance from Sipilok and given feedings twice a day.  Gradually, they are given feedings further and further away with the hope that they'll return to the wild.  Our walk ended at the first of the platforms for the youngsters that had just been sent out on their own.  The first creatures we met were the macaques.  Very persistent.  Finally, (the feeding began at 10 am) around 10:10 a couple of orangutangs appeared for some eats.  There were ropes hanging all about and I expected them to come swinging in - a la tarzan.  Instead they slowly climbed a ladder to the platform.  The macaques were obviously anxious to grab the fruit and they seemed to put the orangutangs off a bit.  A lot of the hanging photos below were the off-put orangutangs.

A macaque waiting for the fruit

A macaque on the platform with the feeder fellow

The stars of the show appear from the forest floor

A macaque mother and child - fruit thieves

The orangutang above was on his way back into the forest.

After the reserve, we drove back to Sandakan.  We had lunch at the Agnes Keith house (The English Tea Garden)  Sandakan (as well as Kuta Kinabalu) were bombed flat by the Japanese in World War 2. That explains part of the problem with Kuta Kinabalu.  Any buildings that we saw were all reconstructed after World War II, and the place has a sprawl look to it as a result.  Sandakan not only was bombed badly, but it was the beginning of death marches through the Borneo jungle.  The Japanese were trying to get an airstrip built, but the Australian and British troops kept sabotaging the operation.  Eventually they were forced to march miles to the jungle to get them away from the coast. The soldiers, mostly Australian,  almost all perished (only 6 survived).  They also sent a number of women and children on death marches.  Agnes Keith (an American woman married to an English man who was head of forestry in Borneo) was sent out on a march with her young son.  Both survived.  She wrote several books about the experience.  Her husband was killed.

Here are a few photos from lunch.

Sandakan behind me, down the hill.

A little Borneo bird on the wire 

Sandakan from the hill.

We were then taken to the Memorial garden commemorating all the soldiers who died at the hands of the Japanese during the war on Borneo.  The Japanese, when they were leaving tried to eliminate any proof they were there, but the items were dug up and on display at the memorial.

A boiler left over from the Japanese occupation.

We then had several hours to kill in Sandakan.  We were left at the Marriot hotel where we found a great little cafe with seating by the water.  After we walked all over town (about 30 minutes worth of walking), we walked over to the local market.  It reminded me most of a Malaysian version of Granville Market in Vancouver.  Here are some photos.

View of Sandakan waterfront from our cafe seats.

At 7, we were picked up and driven to the airport.  We took the 9 pm flight from Sandakan to Kuala Lumpur.  The operator of the flight was Asian Airways whose motto is "Anyone can fly".  That's because they make any other airline I've ever been on seem like ridiculous spenders.  I asked for water, and was told that it would cost be 3 RM (3 ringhets  or about a $1 US).  Really?   Once we were underway, we were told that people who had ordered meals/snacks online could be served first.  The stewardesses proceeded to run randomly about the cabin giving people packages - with no particular order.  The good thing - we are now in Kuala Lumpur.