Travel Diary : Sandakan, Sabah Day One

Despite being Malaysian, I have never once stepped into the eastern side of my country, the Borneo region.

My relatives and family organised a 3 days 2 night trip to Sandakan to experience nature and also seafood.

Sandakan is a paradise for wild life lovers and seafood lovers.

First stop - Nam Chai Bak Kut Teh Restaurant.

The Sandakan Bak Kut Teh is different from the Bak Kut Teh we usually have in the Klang Valley. It is bland and with lots of pepper.
I personally do not really enjoy it. If you want to have a Bak Kut Teh fix, I recommend to get your fix in West Malaysia, where the Bak Kut Teh is more flavourful and fragrant.
It's not a bad try if you are up for something different.

The prawns are really fresh though.

Pork meat.

If you are really up for a try, get the seafood variation - prawn and fish. For pork, let's leave it to have our fix in West Malaysia. 

Buah Terap are native to Borneo, Pahlawan and Mindanao Islands. 

We only could get these fruits over here in East Malaysia and me, growing up in West Malaysia, I never seen them before in my life! 

The flesh of buah terap. 

Although closely related to cempadak and jackfruit. I find the taste to be very different from those two fruits. It is mild and sweet, almost a mix between soursop and mangosteen without the tangy kick and extra sweetness. 

The actual journey starts with this. 

Sepilok OrangUtan Rehabilitation Centre.

Too bad we couldn't catch the Sun Bear because it was closed due to bear escape issues. 

It's such a pity. 

The rehabilitation center is still a forest, it is not like a zoo. Nearing feeding time, you could see some hungry monkeys swinging their way to the feeding platforms. 

Sometimes you could even catch them swinging from trees to trees. 

A hungry Orang Utan having a great time at the feeding platform. 

A cute baby Orang Utan clinging on his/her mama. 

The crocodile farm.

There's nothing special . Could be skipped.