It was the first time I have ever stepped off the plane into an airport so damn hot.
And I don’t mean hot like Megan Fox hot. I meant hot as in, there was totally no air-conditioning at all.
Having been to all kinds of airports, big and small all over the globe. I had no idea I would find one airport in Malaysia that looked as if it were still stuck in the 1970s.
That airport is Sandakan Airport.
Sandakan is a tiny town located on the northern tip of the state of Sabah. I was here with Seet and ShaolinTiger about two months ago for an eco-trip.
Despite having an airport, Sandakan has only just begun receiving direct flights from Kuala Lumpur as recently as two months ago via Malaysia Airlines. Previously, all flight connections had to be made through Kota Kinabalu.
We hired Borneo Eco Tours to guide us around. In a place as under-developed as Sandakan, it is usually a lot easier to engage a local tour company instead of trying to arrange everything on my own.
Sandakan also happens to be the Sabah’s second largest city. When I heard that, naturally I thought that it wouldn’t be that much different from KK.
How wrong was I.
This, my friend, is the town centre of Sandakan.
Not only was the airport stuck in the 70s, the ENTIRE town of Sandakan was stuck in the 1970s.
Old and dilapidated, no buildings in Sandakan are more than 12 stories high. There is not a single five-star hotel in sight. In fact, I was told that the locals don’t even have access to a swimming pool till as recently as five years ago.
Another thing I noticed is that there is a complete absence of those big international chain stores like Starbucks or 7-Eleven. The town is almost completely free from the evil wretches of commercialism and globalisation.
But Sandakan people are smart.
Eventhough they have no 7-Elevens, the locals have already discovered the concept of 24-hour convenience a long long looonnggggggg time ago.
So damn long ago that their 24-hour store is now closed.
Alright, before Sandakanians reading this get offended and whack me with their VHS player, let me clarify that I am not trying to bag Sandakan for being old-fashioned.
The truth is, I find Sandakan a very charming and unique place.
So unique that the first thing we saw welcoming us outside the airport was a GIANT FREAKING CROCODILE.
Steve Irwin would have got his hands full on this one.
As small and obscure as Sandakan is, it is not exactly completely off the tourist radar.
The tiny town attracts a lot of British and Australians, namely because it used to house a detention camp where many of their soldiers died when Sabah was invaded by Japan during World War II.
It was here that the “Sandakan Death March” occurred. Thousands of Allied soldiers were killed. Australian soldiers in particular, suffered the most vicious atrocity at the hands of the Japanese army in Sandakan during World War II.
Last time, when the Japanese came, everybody ran and screamed in fear. These days, when the Japanese came, all the teenage girls screaming in ecstacy.
There’s one thing about Sandakan that made me like it a lot.
Sandakan is so different from anywhere else in Malaysia because wildlife and nature here are so extremely well-preserved.
One afternoon, we were cruising down a mangrove forest in a wooden boat down the Kinabatangan River. But it was not just any boat trip. It was a safari – Malaysian style.
There was so much wildlife roaming around freely in their natural habitat that our guide had a field day pointing them out to us one by one. There were no chains, no cages.
It was nature like I’ve never seen nature before.
I saw proboscis monkeys.
Hornbills.
Vipers.
Macaques.
Shaolin Tigers.
(Not in Sandakan anymore. Last spotted hopping on to a MAS flight and escaped to KL)
For me, the highlight of my trip to Sandakan was the chance to finally meet my ancestors.
At the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehab Centre.
Although I have been growing up in Borneo most of my life, I am ashamed to admit that this is actually the first time ever I have seen an orang utan, live and in the flesh.
At the Sepilok Orangutan Rehab Centre, these endangered creatures are well taken care of and free to roam throughout the park. Some of them even got really close to me, giving me the chance to observe their incredibly human-like behaviour.
Sepilok made the Sandakan trip worth it.
It was real nice hanging with my ancestors.
But I cannot help but to wonder. How did these orang utans ended up in the Sepilok Rehab Centre anyway?
Is this where all drug-addicted orang utans were made to go to rehab, but they say no-no-no?
To the air stewardess on flight MH 2539 who secretly slipped me this card when I wasn’t looking, thank you for putting a smile on my face.
Sorry I didn’t manage to say hi.
That picture of the postcard, you took that while you were sitting on the toilet bowl?
I can see your hairy legs!
the orang utans end up in sepilok when they are too hairy. no, i don’t mean you. but u know, amy winehouse’s signature big hair? LOL…
kenny, there have been direct flight from KL to Sandakan for more than 4 years already and i think it is more than 5 years… via air asia and MAS… get your fact right… though the town is underdeveloped, the average income in sandakan is higher than average income in KK… btw.. there is no mc donald there..
oh! u din went to the crocodile farm?
which u can eat crocodile meat?
n u din ask the tour guide where can u buy turtle eggs to eat?
though it is illegal
LOL at the 24hr store
nice one mate, but please correct the facts about the absence of direct flight to Sandakan. How is your ancestor by the way? Haha, just kidding
there’s this “orang utan rehabilation center” at kuching too! i went before!
lol! at the 24 hours shop
Some India’s international airports don’t have aircond too…
As a Sandakanian, I can’t ignore the fact that Sandakan is totally under-developed and always with power blackout and water supply interruption. But anyway, Kenny just couldn’t believe how many Millionaire who actually live in Sandakan with those Ferraris and Mercedes…
that 24-hours part really ticks me off! lol
HAHAHAHA the shaolin tiger pic was hilarious! and omg i would love to see hornbills up close!
wow~!
you found your long lost brother 😛
how nice u have visited sandakan. in fact, i never visited those monkeys and stuffs in the jungle. im from kk. Would be happy to bring u to the islands and resorts in kk when possible.but maybe not the mount kinabalu. cos i’ve not even tried that myself. =x enjoy your stay in sdk~
=D
steffie
Go for Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary where deep deep curvy roads turns into diamonds of eye.
the trip to labuk bay worth every single penny for my trip!!
Sandakan- nice and unique place where malaysian does’t appreciate and ang mohs crave for more…
I don’t think that 24 hour store’s actually closed. They must just sell Chair-Sculptures alongside the usual Coke and snacks!
WTF GAY BOY!
So your ancestors are orang utans? =.=”
Hey Kenny,
You went all the way to Sandakan to see orang utans but do you know we’ve a similar facility in Kuching as well? It’s the Semenggok Wild Life Centre at Kota Padawan! Seriously…it’s just as good if not better than Sepilok. I’ve never been to the one in Sandakan but according to my university lecturer who hails from Peninsular, she preferred Kuching’s version because it was more “natural” (whatever that means). When I was there previously, an orang utan did walk past me after feeding. It was really a close encounter with nature. If you’ve got friends visiting Kuching in the future, you can show them our own version of an orang utan rehabilitation centre.
Cheers…
hi kenny,
my recent trip to KK, i was mesmerized by the beauty of nature especially when driving up to Kundasang and island hopping for snorkeling at Tmn Tunku Abd Rahman. some places are best kept the way they are…no?
Always plan to go east malaysia, but just…. just don’t have time for it… haiz…
hey my friend’s family owns Borneo Eco Tours. haha hope the service was good..
i thought sandakan would be like miri or sibu, with its status as 2nd largest town in sabah.
sibu airport also no a/c eh. worst in swak. =P
LOL @ Shaolin Tigers!
im serving my internship here in sandakan now, so i can 200% understand what u feel stepping into da airport…lol
visited da sepilok few weeks ago…but i have yet to explore kinabatangan river…
Wahh! Hhaha. funny.
I thought Kuching already got our own Orang Utan rehabilitation center? Why don’t visit there. Lol. The orang utan there is HUGE.
Hi Kenny,
Nice post. I learn more about Sandakan after reading this. You travel to a lot of places. Interesting life you have. You got some nice photos here. I like the last one (A photo of you holding the fence.). Quite funny. Lol.
that pic of sandakan’s city centre reminded me of the movie “Kungfu Hustle” & “Batman Begins”…
Hi Kenny, I’m born and bred in Sandakan and currently working in KL. I felt like punching you already when I read the first half of your entry because I love Sandakan very much but at the same time I can totally understand why you feel so.
I agree with you that the town centre looks old but the focus of attention has been shifted from the town centre to new town areas like Bandar Indah and Bandar Utama, where you get to see more happenings.
MAS and Airasia have been flying direct from KL-Sandakan for years. MAS discontinued it for a period and now they have it back again.
I’m glad you enjoyed the wildlife & nature, and hope you have had the time to enjoy the seafood while you are in Sandakan. 🙂
must’ve felt good to receive that note huh.
Come on,,, Sandakan is not that bad. Ya, the town itself is a little bit dirty, but it’s modern at Mile 4.
Though there are no McD here, we have plenty of KFC and Pizza Hut. no Starbucks, but have Equator and Jesselton. No Caltex, but we have Shell, No 7-11 but there are a couple of private own 24 hours sundry shop around Indah (can’t remember the name). AND we have a Star Cineplex cinema…. very rundown though.
hey! i just went to sepilok about a week ago. You are just so lucky that you could see orang utans there. I went there and saw freaking one, yi, satu, orang utan only… sigh… btw… it’s really amazing place…
Yo DickHead Kenny,
I too share same sentiments as Grace. Do you think your 3 to 4 days visit to Sandakan makes you an expert on the place?
24 hour shop in ur less-than-amateur says clearly ‘Kota Kinabatangan’. Do you realise that is a different settlement that is about 4 hours drive from Sandakan town. You were in K.Kinabatangan bcoz u were hungry from the long drive and wanted to feed ur fat face with some food coz the Eco tour guide warned you that it was going to be a long boat ride to view the proboscis monkeys.
Do not be so shallow to think that small secluded town do not have a voice in the international arena. Do not be foolish to think u can tell lies about some unheard-of town just to create some amusement on ur lame-ass blog. This time u picked the wrong town buddy.
And stop jerking-off the toilet seat over some postcard ur wrote urself!
I sound like an ass.. but i get my facts right.. u on the other hand is the perfect example of the jerk-weed dickheads out there in the blogging community who dont know shit but wanna write tons and tons of garbage.. but the worst is still not ppl like u. It is the people who believe what u write!
Again.. u r a dick head!
Last time, when the Japanese came, everybody ran and screamed in fear. These days, when the Japanese came, all the teenage girls screaming in ecstacy.
haha true. so true. & may I add that I’m one of those teenage girls screaming in ecstacy XD
Pukima, i thought it was your ‘real’ ancestor, didnt expect it would a orang utan
ur the real dick head……….dick head!!
LOL
go back to your pokemons you stupid kid
Heck, in the shoutout I thought “View image” links me to the air stewardess picture.
Kenny is just stating what he obviously saw in Sandakan. The things he described are exactly what other tourists like him would see anyway. Maybe instead of chastising Kenny for not fully “exploring” the state before making such comments, you could ask yourself why is it almost everyone from outside your state thinks the same way too? Why is it your state has one of the richest natural resources could be still losing out economically and politically?
Ask yourselves questions like this instead of questioning others my friend.
Alright, before Sandakanians reading this get offended and whack me with their VHS player, let me clarify that I am not trying to bag Sandakan for being old-fashioned.”
seriously, we all get offended, even if you’re talking good things on the second half of this post, the damage is there already.
your statement is no difference with people asking we sabahan shallow questions like ‘are you guys living in a cave or on top or a tree?’ or ‘do you guys ride on an elephant to go to school?’…
i believe you should’ve know how powerful your words are, so there, please do more research (not just rely on wiki or google) and observations before you commenting (eg. the direct flight thingy), cuz you may mislead people who are reading this anytime.
for example,
“Eventhough they have no 7-Elevens, the locals have already discovered the concept of 24-hour convenience a long long looonnggggggg time ago.
So damn long ago that their 24-hour store is now closed.”
i believe you didn’t really observe the city well enough.
“In fact, I was told that the locals don’t even have access to a swimming pool till as recently as five years ago.”
another misleading information there. we have public swimming pools around since i was in primary school, which is more than 10 years ago.
i’m truly sad and disappointed with you trashing our hometown like that.
you’re a public figure, please be responsible with your words.
?????
This post have made me want to visit Sandakan too~ Always wanted to visit a city that is reminiscent of the past~
Chill lah…
Anyway, MEGAN FOX is a MAN!!!!
Well, I am sorry if I offended you. I was merely blogging what my tour guide in Sandakan told me. I wouldn’t have the resources to clarify if what my tour guide said about Sandakan is correct or not.
Pongo pygmaeus is NOT your ANCESTOR. They’re just your distant COUSIN. But…Kenny…you and “the hairy people-in-the-woods” do share a common ancestor. They do show…
It was me who slipped u the secret message 😉
There are plans on the way to rebuild the Sandakan airport.. will probably be in a few more yrs. It will be built by a very famous Sarawakian contractor.
“I was merely blogging what my tour guide in Sandakan told me.”…
WTF, now you are blaming on the tour guide??
So,when the tour guide ask you to eat banana or wiener, you also go ahead with it & blog about it.. you are such a so obedient Pongo pygmaeus!! Therefore, your blog is based on hearsay only? Next time, I heard about a Wiener stuck in Kenny’s mouth, I gonna blog about it!!!
“I wouldn’t have the resources to clarify if what my tour guide said about Sandakan is correct or not”..
If you don’t have the input, at least you don’t make fun of it..
Shame on you making fun on your own neighboring state!!
You are a SICK LAME Pongo Pygmaeus!!!!
Kuching Semenggok Wild Life Centre also got orang utan leh….:)
I dont get offended though, i am a local Sabahan and i don’t see anything that i want to shout out loud as ‘fact’ is not what you seek on Kennysia.com…
Again,don’t make such small matter into a big mess guys…its the truth as well (^^)
i think if anyone gone to a new place, its the same…
Sandakan, although doesn’t show hints of advanced globalization, it does captured a surreal dazzling charm. Raised and lived in Sandakan for the past 18 years, I’m deeply offended by the misleading views you had upon this city which disgust me totally. So what if Sandakan doesn’t have a fully advanced air conditioned airport? So what if Sandakan is stuck in the eras of 1970s (which I can assure you, it’s not.)? So what if there is no 5 star hotels or no chain stores like starbucks? The main attraction of Sandakan, I believe is the uniqueness that it equips, partially alienates itself from the developed cities and emerges as a distinct pearl in its own classic ways. An explorer doesn’t look for familiarity, they look for uniqueness. If Sdk appears to be another KK or another KL with skyscrappers blooming everywhere and has LOTS of STARBUCKS, it will greatly torment its cultural uniqueness. If I would have known that Sdk is just another KK, I won’t be interested in visiting at all to be honest. Sdk is well known for its preserved nature and acts a gateway for ecotourism destinations in Sabah, its nature is well preserved, and it is not being coined as the nature city for no reasons. If you can’t see past that and respect the way it is supposed to be, then I’m afraid that you’ve missed out a lot of fun in Sdk. Both culturally and historically. The English tea house with gorgeous refinements, the Agnes Keith and the Sdk museum which portrayed well of Sdk’s history, the famous Puuh Jih Shih Temple with amazing view on top, turtle islands park, gomantong caves etc, all act as a good escape from the so called high-tech cities and give traveller a chance to taste something different.
Hasn’t Sibu got a new airport built a couple of years back? How can there be no air cond?
to us, the state that heavily relies on tourism, this is indeed has its own impact towards the industry… if you know what’s butterfly effect.
imagine people who plan to travel to sandakan and google search ‘visiting/visit sandakan’… see what it pops up. there you go.
i may not be that extreme, but i too, one of the people out there who love this town with all hearts and souls, defending for my beloved hometown, in a good way of course.
i have no other intention, neither fuming around, but to only remind him on some points.
anyway, cheers.
you forgot to mention the Ba Lin rooftop bar! :D)
they have the greatest night view in the town!
oh astagaaaaa saya lah org sndakan yang pergi swimming di swimming pool mile 4 waktu saya budak-budak dulu. astagaaa apakah maksudnya sandakan suda tiada swimming pool?? lol!
oh astaga apakah maksudnya baru ada direct flight dari kl??? lol! waktu saya budak-budak dulu saya selalu saja naik flight SDK-KUL.
the city yang kau pergi is city yang dikenali as “little Hong Kong”. nO wonder ada orang komen the picture yang kau ambil remind her/him dengan cerita kungfu hustle ka apakah i forgot. oh astaga kenapa kah kau tidak pergi tengok bandar indah??? lol.
chill man, chill…
Didn’t I write that I find Sandakan unique because it is free from the “evil wretched of globalization and commercialism?” why is it that u get offended so easily?I like nature. I like unspoilt old-fashion towns. I prefer small towns over big noisy cities. And for goodness sake, I love Sabah. If you can’t even grasp that, then forget it. There’s no point replying to you when everything I said get misunderstood.
if u’re pissed, ask your people to vote wisely next time around.
d main reason sabah is left in the limbo is because of the government. or the non-governing government…
sandakan a good place, with lots of good people but in the hands of wrong people.
hahaha,
Sandakanian, gua chaya sama lu la.. memang betul! Gua dulu pun pegi itu Mile 4 punya kolam renang la.. renang sama gua kawan-kawan sampai dia sapu pingat emas MSSS, MSSD , MSSN. Sebelum SDK-KUL ada juga Sabah Air. Huiyo.. lain lain state tadak airline tapi SDK ada Sabah Air.
Dulu pun ada Chow Yeun Fatt datang makan seafood di Sandakan. No wonder la SDK ada HK feeling…
wow…
so a poorly run state is an excuse to make sweeping statements. Maybe the people got not so many choices when it comes to voting. Maybe their not so well educated like u. So wat school did u attend that teaches u to kick someone when they are already fallen.
aiyooooooooooooo ……… please lar … you know being the second largest city you expect more but the fact is .. expectation not met .. that’s all. blame the person in charge of developing sandakan
hi, bf and I walked past u today at Sg Wang but I was too shy and not in a good mood to greet u. Well, good to “see” u. 🙂
Yes, I was aware the fact that you twisted your descriptions into a positive atmosphere in your second half of your post. But like what Beatrice Tan had mentioned – ‘the damage is already there’. I believe your blog is quite popular, hence I do not want readers to leave with a biased impression due to your choice of words in the first half of your entry. I was merely stating the credits Sdk deserved.
The comment is getting funnier and funnier…(^^)
T.T u have tarnished my hometown reputation !!!!!!!!!!! What will others think of us after reading this post….. >=(
kenny, i never knew chinese guy could hv so much hair on their thigh….ur past gfs are so rugi for dumping you
aiya .. suan liao bah … kenny is just writing what he saw what he hear and what people tell him only mah .. is not that he already do research and found out those fact he write … if he salah say mai just tell him only lor.. whats the point need to argue here argue there …
we can see things more optimistic ..
1) yes our Sandakan airport is stuck in 70’s, but its better than no airport at all.. some state in semenanjung all by road no by air…no airport … u are lucky to have 70’s airport in sdk…so kenny, be grateful^^
2)yes SDK is building and whole town is under develope .. but this is the unique of SDK mah … i believe some small town in Srwk wouldnt better than SDK ..rite rite rite ??
3)suan liao bah everyone… don stress over direct flight and swimming pool already ok ???
we just need to be proud that we are live at East Malaysian…no matter 60’s 70’s or 80’s , we will still loves our own place…keke
good night kenny & everyone ^^
you made me lmao when you show shaolin tiger, haha, i think he’s gonna hide from now on as he is a very valuable “species”…
the nature in sandakan really is fascinating, a pity that the government didn’t really put in much effort to develope this place
interesting =)
got to know more about sandakan!
kenwooi.com
After reading thru all the comments, found that mostly are the sandakanian that got offended by the blog! Kenny is just writing what he saw and what he’s been told ( as he clearly stated ). Readers that are not from Sabah or sandakan actually leaving a very positive comments.
The blog actually make me feels like going and visit sandakan and look at all the lovely natures that’s been offered. There is ‘no damage done’ to sandakan as some of the people seems to think! Its nice to be forewarned about the airport and the centre, so that one wont get a ‘shock’ when first arriving there ! I know some of you left a comment to said that there is a modern town further afield. Maybe, Kenny can do another blog next time for the ‘new town’.
Well done Kenny for a lovely blog.
we all know kenny as a great blogger who keeps us entertained with the funny things he finds everywhere rite? This post is just another one of it.
why get all defensive n stuff? why? From the psychological point of view, “siapa yang makan cili, siapa la yang rasa pedasnya”
eg: ” a very beautiful who knows that she is hot, gets a comment from A saying that she is ugly” – beautiful girl will not get offended.
But if A commented about an ugly girl being ugly, ugly girl definitely gets REALLY OFFENDED. kan?
got it? 😀
so stop blaming kenny for sandakan’s insecurities and get all SENSITIVE n EMO ..
cos its really FUNNY.
FYI, Sandakan might stay in the 1970’s, but the soul of Little Hong Kong is still there. Is so strong that the character kept away the padded shoulder company away, they have no chance to entrance the economy of Sandakan. Only the weak KL is capitalised by the big brands and the big names around the city. You know what, Sandakan’s local food is incomparable to the rest of the Malaysia, because is so local that the chain food / degraded food in West Malaysia is just for junk people only, like you especially.
SDK is juz like a shit town!
come on.. sdk is developing what.. with new shop houses in indah and giant also open there ald… btw i am not sdkian. i just visited several time…
i’ve been thinking a lot these two days with what kenny experienced in our hometown with the tour guide he had when he was traveling there.
when it comes to visiting sandakan for a 3N4D (or what so ever) trip, the schedule is pretty much the same. you get the chance to see the utans in sepilok, you get the chance to see the wildlife in kinabatangan, you get the chance to see the agnes keith house, you get the chance (a very very brief and quick one) to see what we call ‘the sandakan town’ where you see the old buildings that looks like the ‘Tong Lau’ buildings from HK, or maybe sometimes they’ll slot in the ‘crocodile farm visit’ into your tight schedule.
and yes, that’s it, time to pack your stuff, say goodbye to your 3N4D trip and fly back to where you come from… and we never have the chance to tell you more about our town, where to go if you’re looking for cheap in price seafoods, where to eat porridge-soup-based steamboat, which hidden bar to hang out at night, etc etc.
what i’m trying to say is, each side has its own concern… the tourists only have 3 to 4 days to be in sandakan, the tour guides slot in the attraction spots into their very tight schedule, we the sandakanians want to show them more about our hometown.
at the end, tourists enjoyed the suburb trip seeing the utans, the wildlife, the mangroves, etc etc… but they had the limited impression of the town itself.
now… who to blame with?
i have no idea tho.
by the way, yeah maybe i’m one of the emos, cuz i’m in this industry, promoting sabah, but in a magazine form.
there is no one to blame but the government for not allowing Sandakan to develop properly. while Sabah and Sarawak have been left to languish in poverty despite supplying so much in terms of natural resources, the government has been happily pocketing OUR money and laughing their way to the bank.
I am from Sandakan,I love my hometown a lot. You have not discovered the seafood in Sandakan. Sandakan is the seafood heaven. Well, this post is a little offensive if I take it personally. But it is a good exposure to the people in the peninsular.
Stop complaining!
I wondered your ancestor is orang Utan or what?
haha,pay a visit to ancestors or orang utan?
Kenny, I agree with others that u should have get your facts right before blogging on Sandakan. Esp the ‘swimming pool’ and ‘KL direct flight’ part. I doubt though, there”re will be any much damage done. East Malaysian and Sabahns especialy get get used to it anyway. But next time when you do come back visit Sandakan again, get a Sandakanian to guide u around. The local food like those ‘zhar yuk mien’ (roasted pork mee) is one of the best and you won’t find a similar one elsewhere in other place. The seafood is fresh and cheap. Yes, Sandakan is under-developed, has lots of illegals and is not a perfect town, but I dare to say more than 95% of Sandakanians are very proud of our beloved hometown. Just look around in facebook, there’re a no of Sandakan related pages and forums deidicated to our hometown. And you will not find a town with similar characteristic elsewhere, not even KK, Tawau, etc. In another words, it’s ‘beautifuly imperfect’.
it’s an interesting place.
As a sandakian, i need to clarify that we have swimming pool since i’m born okay??
I am a Sandakanian. I was offended actually after reading this post. But from what I see in the comments, Kenny is not to be blamed. The tour guide did not bring Kenny to the best places in Sandakan which are the places Sandakanians would always go to enjoy themselves. Tour guides in Sandakan only bring tourists to historical places and tourist spots to experience nature and know historical facts. The developing side of Sandakan has not been exposed to the tourists because their concept is to introduce the natural part instead of the developed part. You want the more advanced side of Sandakan, look for the residents there and not the tour guides.
nice post..
check this out..
http://nicephonenumbers.blogspot.com/
LOL. yeah if u want to see the advanced side of Sandakan, look for Sandakanian itself, not that stupid-bloody-hell tourist guide.
siapa bah punya company tu? kasi malu saja oh.
Damn you tour guide who doesn’t understand Sandakan at all!
Kenny…pls get ur facts right..
Sandakan is not only a nature city…
it is a food haven…
u shld try our seafood, bak kut teh, laksa, pin tan gao, sui gao….the list can go on….man…
our food is far better than any place in malaysia..
even the food n drink in the mile 4 pasar is 100% better than any mcD or starbuck
if u wan 2 explore sandakan more in-depth…u shld look for us the local…
we will bring u to the best place to eat
SANDAKAN ROX!!!!
Nice post but saying orang utans is human’s ancestor is scientifically wrong. We, human and the monkey family share a common ancestor so it is sort of like we are distantly evolutionary related. However monkeys/orang utans ARE NOT our ancestor.
I enjoy reading your blog but this may contradict your readers!
Have a nice day!
hey kenny
i think u shld read this blog….
it will help u find the best food in sandakan aka food haven
http://sdkfood.blogspot.com/
hey mate,
i think u should get ur facts right. yeah, our town is under-developed and remains in the 70’s like forever but thats what makes it unique and attractive. i do not want my hometown to be like another city in the world. i do not want a big airport like klia, i just want an airport that welcomes me and tell me that i’m home when i step in the arrival hall. i love everything in sandakan. its no funny dude.
sandakan is famous for alot of things, its food, cantonese-speaking chinese and the culture. the town is old-fashioned but not the people, we don’t use vhs player anymore like what you stated. i don’t see your hometown is better than mine, only that kuching have taller buildings. but taller buildings don’t make kuching attractive right.
few days tour to sdk is not enough for u =) i think u should get a really SDK ppl as ur tour guide…there are a lot of nice food =)and nice place to visit!
wow thanks kenny for showing me the other Seets in the world. i am stoked! ahhahaha.
love that shot.
(yes, my surname is Seet too. =) )
Whoa! That is a HUGE crocodile. LOL @ ST Binatang Liar photo. Haha!
Now, i have a grand tour of Sandakan! Not too bad.
hmm.. i always use sibu airport eh. there is plan to build new terminal. now we still use the old terminal. =)
maybe u meant bintulu airport?
wow, i’ve been to KK but i didnt know Sandakan was so ‘ulu’, considering that it’s Sabah’s 2nd largest.
did u get to interact much with the locals? what are they like?
oh well, the post did seem negative and sarcastic at the upper half, but that’s just the truth isn’t it?
And who cares about how long before have you not have some facilities( direct flight, swimming pool), the fact is you have them NOW right?
The thing you don’t realise is, many tourists WANT to go to sandakan because of its NATURE, for adventure, somewhere alway from the hustle and bustle of busy city life.
I mean, if they want to go to some where advanced, why sandakan? They would be much better off at kuala lumpur ( not really advanced also anyway) or not have visited malaysia at all won’t there?? They would go off to SINGAPORE instead ( or probably the won’t have visited asia at all)!
So guys, be proud of what you have! the NATURE!
Helle?
I am one of the locals there. Do I look like someone who live on trees and still using a computer to go online?
What are shown in this post are the most under-developed places of Sandakan. If YOU follow the tour guides, YOU’ll only be able to visit the rural areas.
look Kenny!!!
this is the example…
asking you “did u get to interact much with the locals? what are they like?”…
I’m like you too la Emily…
aiyaaaa come on change your view about us here in Sandakan.
I don’t care la u called us ‘ulu’ because here ‘ulu’ people have all the facilities like internet, astro anda whatever you got in u place =)
Welcome to Sabah =)
about the swimming pool thingy. its funny that if we do not have a swimming pool until the recent 5 years, i wonder where alex lim keng liat (ex-msia swimmer) train when he was a kid 😉
okay, i do not want to argue for this small matter. i just assume you didn’t manage to explore much. i used to like your travelog cos you showed us a lot of interesting places. hah, i don’t think i gonna read it anymore cos you are too smart to not to know how could a 2nd largest town in sabah with over 400k population do not hv a common public facility until the recent 5 years.
cheers buddy, have fun misleading others.
Yes sdknian in aussie! I agree with what you’ve said. Alex Lim Keng Liat is a Sandakanian too. It is impossible for him to train in the sea, right? What a joke!
Yes I totally agree with you! Why are we being treated as ‘ulu’ people?
And another ex- M’sia swimmer Alvin Chia also 😉
totally agree with YaP, you think you’ve seen it all, and with one glance you can judge a book without even looking at the cover. I do admit that we’re still a tad bit underdeveloped, despite the fact that Sandakan is the second largest city in Sabah, but we sure aren’t primitive like you think we are. Face it, we small-townsmen have smarter people than in big cities.
Please visit this website and learn more about the true Sandakan
http://www.sabah.edu.my/itma07010/index.php
Created by Mr. Wong, Yu Yuan Secondary School, Sandakan.
Kenny was born and breed in Sepilok, doesn’t he inherit the some portion of orang utan looks? 🙂
lol, now I miss my hometown.
“1980s didnt come to Malaysia until 2000s” -yangsquare.com
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……………
No matter wat..
I still love my hometown!
Awesome place!
Proud to be a sandakian!
Wuahahahahahahahahahaha
i think it’s very rare to see so many sandakanians commenting together defending their hometown.
they comment because they know kennysia.com is impactful. kenny you are impactful!
sandakanians, this post does not make me love sandakan less. maybe east msians are united like that. will hope to visit there someday!
The Sandakanians I met in Sandakan are fantastic. Very warm and always smiling when they speak to you.
The Sandakanians I met on kennysia.com on the other hand… 🙂
He just blogging what he feel and see.
Doing what a normal blogger does.
Is there anything wrong?
I didn’t expect Kennysia.com to be some encyclopedia filled with correct facts.
I must go Sandakan soon… I am sooo interested to see the orang utan on the laaaaaastttt pic…. ^_^
he’s a public figure, need i say more? especially when big companies get him to advertise their products regularly…
whatever it is, we shall put it an end since he has apologised earlier in the comments.
cheers.
I love my hometown because here is peaceful and nature. Try to absorb sandakanians’s comment and have a 2nd trip.
Yoo DickHead Alvin,
You are just jealous on Kenny.. HAHAHA
You suck,,, you Suck,
you cant be kenny so you are totaly jealous 🙂
Man, you should look forward, try to be better than kenny dun just fuck on other ppl
i thinks its a shame for u to blog about sandakan without any words mentioning bout the food.. the best part of sdk is just the nice food.. food that u can never taste in any other place in the world.. especially the ufo, fresh seafood, dry noodle/hofun with roast pork etc etc..
yeah.. sdk is under developed.. but.. its not as bad as what had been stated.. i think u should get the facts right.. yeah.. i do feel offended..yeah.. we do not have swimming pool but we r still able to produce a silver commonwealth medalist?? so he has been training in the sea all these while?? or in his bathtub?? n its obvious u should have seen some other more developed places in sdk like indah or bandar utama on ur way from town to the sepilok..so not the entire town is stucked in the 70s… n sdk airport is the most welcoming airport.. have u ever seen more than 20 ppls sending off or welcoming one in other airport like klia? lcct? all u got in those modern airports r taxis, cabs, buses, caoches, strangers around you even when u r back to ur own hometown… its hot here.. cause we r warm… lols… n sdk is developing in these few years… but just in a slower pace
anyways i am still proud of my hometown n happy to c so many sdknians defending our lovely hometown..
^
those were words in my mind.
kenny, whether or not you love sdk, or you hate it, it is all up to you. you have the freedom of expression or whatsoever which i don’t really give a damn. what i care is that you should have made the facts right. and now you knew ur facts were wrong and you blamed ur tour guide. alright alright, blame them blame them. but you owe us a clarification in ur post.
after all, i dun think sdk is so “under-developed” like u’ve said. i bet u’ve seen it while on ur way to the town from the airport unless u’re so important as if they will land u in town and therefore u dun know anything bout mile 4 or wat.
dun be so unfair to us. im in my 20s now. and im fucking sure that ive been to the public swimming pool in my primary sch years. unless u dunno how to calculate then fine. one more thing, i think we dun have mc d because they will never make a profit in sdk. we have so much good food. why do we need unhealthy food? kfc is usually packed with teenagers during weekends only. other than that, i dun think people will go? well, probably im wrong. but yeah whatever.
im really disappointed. im ur loyal fan no more.
for those who come to sandakan just to go to sepilok, u are SO WRONG! sandakan is a paradise of food.. we can find nice food every corner in sandakan..
ok the crocodile.. did u see it pointing somewhr? it is showing ur way to the crocodile farm.. it’s not just as simply as u think..
correct ur so called “facts” please.. dun just simply write ur blog without thinking twice.. do more research and it might help u up in blogging..
pay sandakan back her beauty.. dun scratch our face with ur dirty hands..
sweet card but no pic?
geez.
I think the SDK-ians in here need to chill a bit. I am from Penang and this post make me feel more like visiting Sandakan rather than give me a -ve feeling about it. I believe the 1st impression is the most important 1. I would rather prepare myself b4 being bumped out when I reach Sandakan Airport. So, cheer up, this post may make Sandakan have more visits from tourists.
Besides, all the “facts” was given by the tour guide. Should we NOT trust our tour guide?
Well, this certainly is getting way out of hand. I have absolutely no idea why you think I hate Sandakan because never in my entry did I mention that I hate it. If you want facts, then here are the facts.
1. I love Sabah as a whole. Before Sandakan, the only town I had been to was Kota Kinabalu. I visited Sandakan because I want to see what Sabah is like outside of KK.
2. I love Sabah so much that I have been back many times. I climbed Mount Kinabalu two years ago. I did the Kota Kinabalu half-marathon last year and I am doing the full-marathon again later this year. You can read my entries on those visits and tell me whether or not I am attacking you guys.
3. I love Sandakan. I love it for its quaint, old-fashioned, rustic charm. When I said Sandakan is under-developed and stuck in the 1970s, I did not mean it as an attack. I meant it as a compliment. It is a compliment because Sandakan is unique. It is different from the rest of the big cities in Malaysia that has already been consumed and overwhelmed by globalization.
5. I do not want Sandakan to change its old 1970s look. I do not want Sandakan to have a modern airport. I do not want Sandakan to have completely new modern facilities. Because having that would spoil the look.
6. Yes, I got my facts incorrect about Sandakan. I apologise. I promise you next time I will not trust Sandakan tour guides anymore because they give out wrong information.
7. The only thing I would change about Sandakan is to make it cheaper and easier for travellers like me to tour around independently without the use of a tour guide. If you have read my travel entries to other countries before, you will realise that I always travel on my own. I cannot do that in Sandakan because it is too expensive and inconvenient to organize everything on my own without a tour guide.
8. As many readers have pointed out, this entry has made people want to visit Sandakan more because Sandakan has the most unspoilt nature and perfect wildlife in the whole of Malaysia. That was the primary intention of this entry – to promote Sandakan as a tourist destination to the rest of the world. If I said Sandakan is a modern town with KFC, McDonald’s, Body Shop and swimming pool, then nobody would want to come to visit Sandakan because they have all of that and more in their own cities.
9. If you think I have owed you something, then tell me what have you owed me? What do I get in return for promoting Sandakan as a tourist destination? Absolutely nothing.
10. I love Sabah and I plan to explore more of it. Next year I plan to visit Tawau, which I understand is even less developed than Sandakan. But judging by the kind of response I get in this entry, maybe I will not blog about Tawau after I visited the place. Otherwise people from Tawau will attack me like you did with swear words and say that “I owe them” something.
Thank you WhiteWater, that was my point exactly.
grow up pls
To all those oversensitive people out there, take a few anti-histamines (loratadine, cetrizine or latest – des-loratadine) before you read kenny sia’s blog.
Every town/city in this world has its own charm and ‘poop’ side. get over it.
coz u never go and say to them that Sandakan is laobe ma… u try and tell the Ah Pak that Sandakan is stuck in the 70’s, hahah.. i think he hantam u with his tongkat… But having said all this, I think u never meant for this huge fiasco outcome la… i think u should ignore this post or remove it… and move on.. Cheers… p/s. i m sure u have learnt something from this experience… =) next time just be more careful lor..
or maybe we wont get that extreme if he didn’t say something like ‘whacking with VHS player’.
not that we don’t take jokes, you can make fun of my flat nose, you can make fun of my big ears, you can make fun of my small boobies, but you can’t make fun of our beloved hometown, just like you can’t make fun of someone’s mother.
i’m sure you won’t say yourself oversensitive when you get angry over someone that makes fun of your mother.
whatever it is, tho there’s someone asking silly question like what do we sandakanian look like or the ulu-ness of us, on top of that, i’m glad there are people still interested into visiting our hometown. pop me a message tho, i’ll be willing to fly back to sandakan and be your personal tour guide. 🙂
peace.
Dear Ken,
I’d been working in Sandakan for the past 15 years before I got transfered back to KK last Jan. Truly speaking, although Sandakan may be lessen in so many things, but it is rich beyond words. I miss Sandakan dearly and its society that is simple, warm and friendly. I miss the seafood, the nature, the simplicity of life, the English Tea House where I used to hang, the beautiful islands especially Lankayan Dive Island Resort, the OrangUtan Rehabilitation Centre, friends, the small cinema, former colleagues and of course my former students!
What I’m trying to say is – it is rather uncalled for, for the tour guide to give you such introductions of Sandakan. For many of us who have made Sandakan our home, despite of its power failures and water shortages, we never complain much. We accepted that it is called the nature city cause of its uniqueness and beauty.
People in Sandakan are wealthy due to the Oil Palm estates and Timbers. Food are cheap and fresh!
And what I got to know, the town is also known as ‘lil Hong Kong’. Probably not the Hong Kong now. But what makes it interesting is that Sandakan actually has ‘Bandar Indah, Bandar Utama’ where all the happening spots are. The lil town isn’t the only town, you know.
I understood why some of the Sandakanians are reacting towards your entry about it cause it is just natural for them to react such way in defending its right. Just imagine if someone would have said that about your hometown which are not true?
Sandakan is developing. Soon it will be the same as KK, I’m sure. It is just a matter of time.
Anyway, plan a longer trip next time and this time, without that lousy tour guide. Make friends with some of the Sandakanians here and let them be your guide to the REAL Sandakan. You will love it 😉
yeah, a tour to sandakan is damn expensive: if you dont know about the place. there are various websites on the net especially CARI chinese forum (can you read chinese?) and if you willing to do some research, im pretty sure that you can find your own way to experience the real sandakan life. but taking you to tourist destination only doesnt make your tour to sandakan actually a tour to sandakan. can you get what i mean? im pretty confusing about what im trying to tell though.
there’s more to tell, and why don’t you try google blogs written by sandakan people around and learn what sandakan is about?
and i would suggest you take the chance to edit your post to correct the facts instead of defending your stance. there has been direct flight from LCCT to sandakan by airasia (dont be so advetorial for MAS that you bent the facts ok?)
if you happen to visit sandakan again, make it longer, and dont stuff money to the commercialized tour guides. but im pretty sure you will need to rent a car to explore sandakan – dont worry – you wont get lost in sandakan. and if you would ever learn from mistakes, remember to do more research on tawau before you going to blog about it.
Thanks for promoting Sabah.
The “viper” in your photo is a “Mangrove Snake” actually.
the title “little hong kong” given to sandakan resembles the food. it doesnt seem like you had taste the and fresh seafood from unpolluted sea (yet dirt cheap) and all the other exotic food you cant find in the rest of the world.
“Awas Binatang Liar” pic so funny *ROFLMAO*
sandakanians, chilllll…people please chill out.
Frankly, when I first reading this post, I feel so offended because of the first part, however, I changed my mind after reading the second part.
Yes, indeed most of sdkanian does not agree with what Kenny trying to portrait about our beloved hometown. But I do believe that you guys read his blog and you are familiar with his writing style. Why feel offended because of the different writing style he adopted to bring out the beauty of SDK.
Read it with an open mind, and we have to strongly believe that each place has its own story to tell. As long as we sdkanians be united and together preserve the nature our motherland had given us.
Kenny, keep it up. Chill out and hope you will pay another visit to SDK again in future for the great unbeatable seafood and the unbeatable local food as well. We sdkanians always welcome visitors to amaze them with our beauty.
Cheers everyone!!!
wanna get you right with one fact… we call ourselves Sandakanites not Sandakanians….
There’s A&W before but close down!! c’mon, its a small town, u cant expect much on that …
it doesnt matter what we call ourselves as long as we all love our hometown.
come on, who wans to go a&w when we have lot of good food around. i don even step into kfc when i was back in town.
just chill fellow sdknians.
WOW. I had a great time reading the post and the comments just give me headache.
Anyway, very funny post!
Lol..honestly I wouldn’t care whether he’s trying to be sarcastic or critical at this stage. Think deeper and u ll notice Sandakan really needs some makeovers, we don’t pay tax for nothing or MAYBE taxes are channeled to ELSEWHERE (I’m just saying MAYBE). What Kenny said though enraged most sdknians here but I think is useful in alerting others and hopefully the authority especially the SDKNIAN politician in how Sandakan is impressing other people. Let them all know, may or may not they act to make Sandakan better. And I agree that nature is our best and so we are coined NATURE CITY. But the term NATURE CITY as well used to hide away the less developed side of sdk and to make excuses for people involved who didn’t do their job right. Anyway, I still love Sandakan as much and looking forward for a better Sandakan in the future.
Wow, I can’t believe the Sandakanians were really offended by this post. What a controversy
im a Sandakian
and i have to say.. this is a real, very, extreme great post about sandakan!!
thanks for that!!
Hmm, Kenny has make his point there…
By the way, kenny, if you read this, why not consider Labuan? It is a Federal Territory and has some diving spot (i think) and i am glad if you can coz i am from Labuan.
You can blog about it as i think not many people would disagree with the fact. And, do you know that Labuan is call the Pearl of Borneo??? (i think…)
Hmm, the comment still a bit funny…
Wao…ur comments are fantastic…..i tell u what, u better dont step into sandakan anymore, probably they will drop u in the middle of jungle……
Anyway, to be fair, i need to correct ur point of view, Sandakan airport without aircond is not a big deal, because it not really that hot, and dont you think the air u breathing in sandakan is more fresh than anywhere else?
direct flight from KL to Sandakan is since 6 years ago, i can remember well, because i took the first flight from sandakan to KL for my study in college. Just do more survey before making decision.
The first roundabout u will meet in sandakan is not crocodile, in fact its a beautiful eagles by IJM, neither way u can get to crocodile first, got it? u will meet different type of animal statue on the roundabout, and everyone of them can be found in sandakan.
Besides, your photo showing the old building……in fact u r standing in the new building to shot the old building, don u think its unfair?, and there are few building taller than 12 levels, anyway, it tat really a matter? Can u find any building taller than 6 stories in centre of Paris? I dont think so!!!!
Cant b deny, sandakan do not have McD, 7-11, its not a big deal also, swimming pool?…almost every bungalow in sandakan also got swimming pools…can u find such a high ratio of 4×4 SUV in any part of the earth? the ratio is every family own 1 4×4 SUV…
Orang Utan centre is first on earth establish in sandakan, other than this are all take from Sandakan…in fact i should say steal….
lol This Kenny….
take an outskirt 24hr store pula
1. 70’s – only partial photo taken? whr’s harbor, indah those new location?
2. 12 storrey high building? singapore street got plenty
3. 5 star hotel? sabah hotel consider boh?
4. i remember i alwez go to swim while i’m in primary… tat bk to 15 yrs ago
5. no starbuck n 7-11.. that’s true~ XD
6. and yes, u’re right~! we’re very very the smart! lol
7. Last time, when the Japanese came, everybody ran and screamed in fear. These days, when the Japanese came, all the teenage girls screaming in ecstacy.
I suppose most of the Sandakanians got prejudice when they read the 1st half of the blog and tat’s killing the big picture of Kenny’s true intention. I as a Sandakanian would not think that this entry had spoil the image of Sandakan. You can’t deny facts. Under develop is under develop. Sandakan will not boom into a modern city overnight or even Kenny blog craps about it. People who first time ever read Kenny’s blog might be too extreme over his blogging style other than understanding this is how Kenny blog as usual. Like other readers said, this is just another travel blog entry of Kenny. Words and speaking can harm or lie. But fact doesn’t.
Anyway, Kenny should be glad that even a tiny town as Sandakan has so much reader to this blog.
u know what? ur biggest mistake was not letting me know that u’re travelling sdk. i believe i can be a good tour guide and stuff. lol. jk ! thx for ur clarification anyways. good that u love sdk. i cant wait to go back.
Wow thanks Kenny. Now my friends are even more convinced I dine with the monkeys and bathe in the river.
Props to you.
No wonder my housemate giggled when she confirmed again that i am from sandakan the other day….
Thanks for visiting Sabah.
Pls come again 🙂
You can visit the site : http://www.sabahhotel.com.my for the 4 star luxuries hotel with swiming pool. or the http://www.nakhotel.com or http://www.hotelsandakan.com.my. May be you pay for the cheap hotel then the tour bring you to the cheap one.
Well biside the Mas Airline, Air Asia http://www.airasia.com (maybe you don know about the Airasia or the airline don wan to go your place) Has provider the direct flight From Sandakan To KL Daily, also i think that, route from sabah to west malaysia are more then Sarawak to west. maybe your place’s airport smaller then sandakan… i can tell you that the airport you take the photo has been build before year 1986 use until today…
did you visit the mile 4 Bandar Indah? you go to “seven heaven” they even has the chain At “Bangsar” KL. may Sandakan don has any 7-11 but thay still got lot of 24 hour shops. Sandakan got 2 pizza hut that your place got not?
Sandakan even has the 1st plam oil factory in east malaysia. And lot of Hong Kong people stay here.
IJM did a big development here around 300 acre. did this happen at your place…
Yes, here always break out but not the people fault, just because the govement don know how to protect the people.
We pay tax every year a lot, that more then some state but this was what we get.
Please la kenny please check on the sandakan history then you will know how great of sandakan.
wow..you guys sure know a lot about Sandakan more than i do. I am totally ashamed. I didn’t even know we have swimming pools. I used to swim with my school mates in the river and have lunch with the orang utans. And what else, even though i am facing the ancestors everyday, you look like them more than i do.
just make another tour to sdk without a lame tour guide and u will find out how nice sdk is.
tak kenal maka tak cinta.
(:
Sandakan is a beautiful place.
Tour guide?
you shouldn’t have hired tour guides. Do it the real way man. btw, it is much more expensive to hire tour guides. why not save the money for nice delicious food in SDK? and enjoy the seafood!
Why need starbucks and such? kopitiam got. Fastfood is not healthy, is not good to consume it all the time.
it’s just sad that we are under developed. that’s all. I find that it’s a good thing that Sandakan stay like this, or else one day we might turn into some selfish materialistic person.
next time! be sure to contact your Sandakan readers. (:
i wonder why they put up a giant crocodile to welcome the tourists?
FYI, sandakan has a crocodile farm, and every roundabout you see in sandakan is “adopted” by some company or authority to take care of, and to decorate it. the one with a giant crocodile is adopted by the crocodile farm, and the way the giant crocodile pointing is directing to the crocodile farm. you can see a roundabout with a giant lobster adopted by the restaurant Ocean King; and one with 2 eagles adopted by IJM development; and numerous others.
LOL @ the sandakanites getting their panties into a twist.
Love the pictures you have took , Kenny , they look simply amazing .I am amazed ,very amazed indeed. Look at those wonderful scenary, what a nice work .I really like’em.
~Blind mice ~
I would just like to say that my visit to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehab Centre was quite disappointing. If I knew that I was paying good money to stand on a platform about 20meters away and watch a few orang utan being fed I would have just stayed at home and watch them on TV instead. I understand that it might be dangerous but they didn’t even let us interact or observe the young orang utans being cared for. Hey at least we got to see a 10min video of that in the projector room eh.
My rant is to point out that Sepilok is not very tourist oriented. If they want more funds or donations from tourists for the orang utans they need to make it more tourist friendly. This also goes out to the Turtle Island.
no worshipping of them? that’s impolite
I’m sure there are many millionaires: that’s why the town is so run down – no body bother spending any money to refurbish and stash it in their banks…
Thats the problem everytime I go back to sandakan – Facing yobs on the streets. Those who were angered by this post, you guys are obviously still childish and so very immature please go back to school.
You gotta read it from a different point/s of view people!
And thanks for showing the whole world how well educated & emotional we are.
can’t you all take a joke and have fun reading once in a while..? If you can’t.. I suggest you take a hike up bukit bendera and read the news.
Being angry just shows how ‘under-developed’ you are.
Time to grow up you kiddos.
Because you FUCKED UP!!!!!!!
Those people who smile to you before, they will absolutely fuck you up side down after they read this piece of so call blog shit.
First, calling for tour guide is the most stupid thing you have ever done. Your package were simply charged by places you wanted to visit. Not really your 3 day 2 nite thingy.
To all of you..
NEVER USE TOUR GUIDE WHEN VISITING SANDAKAN. You are a dumbass if you do so.
Internet Research will definitely easier than finding a tour guide calling number. There are 2,760,000 search results on your YAHOO. Its FOC!
Also, congrats for getting so much feedback in such a short time just by putting some shitty words in ur trip report. Its definitely a smart way to burst up your website popularity.
But do think of those who get hurt from what you have said to their most beloved birth-place or hometown.
All of them need to grow up. But you’ll sure need to learn on how to respect people, nature and places.
Last one, what kind of tall building you are expecting to see in Sandakan? 88 floors, 421m tall KLCC? Don’t be so stupid..
Say….. CNN made a report about Malaysia, saying that all Malaysian are dickhead, because that reporter met a dickhead Malaysian.
Again……… I took a picture of your house garbage dump, and tell the world that this is your house.
This is nothing about under developed, this piece of shit is misleading and contain certain level of insulting.
This kenny boy, no doubt he have the right to go wherever he want, to see whatever he want, to talk whatever he want and to write whatever he want. Everyone has the right to do so, to speak freely. But, in the same time, be responsible to what was talked, spoke, told and wrote, by avoiding giving wrong or uncertain informations, specially in the public.
And you, my friend, are truly a cowardly chicken. Because people shit on your head, and you seems to take it as a joke and actually having fun with it.
We people from Sandakan are well educated and well EQed. And we all did went to not only school, but schools. We are all schooled.
You, are the one who “under developed”
So yeah, call me a dickhead or whatever if you wanted to. Because I am a DICKHEAD.
And you, mr. kenny boy, you are truly a DICKHEAD, who made another DICKHEAD shame on you.
And there are 1,430,000 results on Google too.
It seems that he have no idea that search engines does exist in the internet.
what a stupid comments …
Audiologist,
You are really stupid aren’t you.
Kenny has already clarified that he loves Sandakan. I think for once you should improve your literacy & comprehension level.
“Say….. CNN made a report about Malaysia, saying that all Malaysian are dickhead, because that reporter met a dickhead Malaysian.
Again……… I took a picture of your house garbage dump, and tell the world that this is your house.”
I think if CNN reported on and chose ONLY one and only Malaysian and IF by God’s mercy is YOU. Then yes, the whole world will think Malaysians are whatever you wanna call them.
I’m sure the whole world knows how to differentiate if the story is pretty much faked.
I want to ask you, did you buy your degree or cert being an audiologist. I seriously can’t understand how you can not take in the idea and already read what Kenny said and commented.
And the pictures don’t lie, as much as I love my home town too as a Sandakanite. I must agree to a certain extent that our town area is pretty shabby except for the newer developments and after more than 50 years of independence and development, thats just HOW far we came.
So what do you expect him to say? our roads are paved with gold?
But we are blessed with nature, so it’s up to the readers whether they like this kinda travel and adventure.
And do you reckon every tourist who comes to sandakan will refer to only one source for their travel information?
Dumbass.
Once again, did you buy your profession if you have one?
Kenny, thanks for promoting my hometown, so that more people will take an eye on this small town, I admit that our hometown Sandakan is still underdeveloped but for my opinion it isn’t that bad, because it keep the “old” feeling there, people tired of city life should go there and have a real rest.
I am in KL now, and going back to Sandakan for me is to have a great rest at there. If anyone planned to go to Sandakan, seriously must try out the seafood because with a cheap price, you can get a lot of nice food.
There is also a unique stone in Sandakan which only being hold with 3 legs.
Sandakan is famous with it’s wild life, so why making a wild life town into some very developed town? Think twice guys… I am happy with what is it now… At least there are trees around there and the sky is blue… 🙂
Think positively on his post.
for God’s sake, emily? get real -_-
ur so called “comment” offended alot of people
ya, they are ulu ppl who are also cannibals who sings and dances around with a fatty in a pot.
retarded.
dont tell me ure a pharmacist/pharmacy student. what a shame. -_- do u actually need to list out the names of antihistamines? duh.
A cowardly chicken once with shit on head, is always a cowardly chicken with shits on head.
whatever about my profession is non of the fucking business doing with you. Even if I bought it, still better than a chicken with shit on head.
hello kenny,
first of all, its a good thing u visited sandakan and promoted it here =P
erm, dont u think that the building in ur pic that u mentioned 1970s? looks abit like those old buildings in Tsim Tsa Tsui in HK? XD
erm, we do have some 12-storey buildings actually, but not that much only 🙂
last but not least is that, this entry of urs actually enlighten me on how much fun on the nature/wildlife of sandakan even though i am a sandakanian and i never seen a hornbill there -_- *shame on me isnt it*
just a piece of advice? yep, its good u can get a tourguide urself, but at the same time, maybe for the next time u travel another city? u probably could inform ur readers here and see if any of the readers (local) could give u a help in guiding u something else 🙂 they will sure guide u to something else and different from those tour guides, rite? and im sure ur readers will gladly guide u around.. this will make ur trip more worthwhile.
cheers! 🙂
wow, its just a blog, and the blogger has the right to ‘enhance’ his blogs a bit, and as a matter of face, Sdk is really god damn run down la wei, the airport in Tawau is so much better than the one in Sdk la, the govt sud look into upgrading it a bit la, so wat la Mile 4 is happening, come down to KK and u will know wat happening means lor !!
TO THOSE SDK-IANS WHO KEIF SDK IS TAT GOOD AH, HOW COME I SEE SO MANY SDK-IAN MIGRATE TO KK LEH, THEY EVEN DROVE DOWN TO KK FROM SDK JUS TO SHOP AT THOSE SHOPPING COMPLEX WOR, PLS FACE THE FACT LA WEI !!! REALITY BITES I KNOW. IF ONE SAID SDK A LOT OF MILLIONAIRE, TRUST ME, I KNOW A FEW AND ALL OF THEM RESIDING IN KK, DON EVEN BOTHER TO REFURBISH OR HELP OUT WITH THE DEVELOPING OF THE CITY, DAMN !
Hello Kenny. I’m quite a fan of your blog. You really know how to entertain your readers. Good one here.
I work for Borneo Eco Tours as well.
And I’m a tourist guide too. But I’m based in KK.
And once in a while I do take people for trips in Sandakan, Sepilok, Kinatangan River etc.. all the way to Danum Valley.
This blog has caused quite an outrage among the populace of Sandakan.
But ALL IN ALL, I don’t blame you part of it for getting the wrong infos.
I do not wish to stir things up between me, my colleagues (from the lower management) and my superiors from the higher management (plus the owner of this company “Borneo Eco Tours” is indeed a Sarawakian millionaire originally from Sibu, this blog would really stir him up….be it positively or negatively)
So tell me now…if you please, who is that tourist guide colleague of mine in charge of you in Sandakan at that time?
P/S: Do send me an email if you wish about this.
so bangga with your kk huh?
Thankyou very much for this article.
I’d been to Sabah twice, but not Sawarak. You provided me another tips for my next enjoying trip.
As a vegetarian, I dun have much choice and the only food that i loved from Sabah was her kuih-muih. Wonder wats waiting me in Sandakan. 🙂
How come you didnt visit Pulau Sipadan??
Hope u have a great time in Sandakan..
cheers
walao… you ass kicking… you kkian… come kl lar.. diuzzz
hey, come and visit Sarawak too.
tho im not a Sarawakian, but I must say, this place is full of cultures and interesting stuffs to do!
Hey kenny… sandakan looks awsome! i was born there but moved to the peninsular when i saw only 2 months old… never went back there again… i’m really trying to find company to go there… i was so close to visit sandakan this june… but failed… Gosh one day i’ll make it… haha ONE DAY…
hey kenny … hope u rest in peace already … if a shop giving u shit to eat u can say they sucks … but if u don know anything bout a town … better shut the fxxk up & say nothing at all … if u would know ronan has taught u a song b4 … there is swimming pool for public over 30 years ago … places tat u missed didnt mean there arent any … cos u just missed the other side of Sandakan … please watch ur word next time u visit other town … or u end up suffering in tat place for the rest of ur life … if still happen to be alive …
Tks for choosing Sandakan as one of your write up. I swam in a public pool when i was 11 years old and i am now 47.
i hope your blog will alert our local tour agent to better equip their tour guides. I am glad to know so many of our younger generation stood up for their hometown. In a way, it shows our children has been nuture into citizens who love their town and country.
them animals were sooooooo cute!!!!
You wrote so bad about them and now expecting your fellow Sandakan reader to give a warm reply??I’m no Sabahan, but if I were, I’ll make sure you get your ugly fat-ass face tear down with the stray dog’s paw..
“”Why is it your state has one of the richest natural resources could be still losing out economically and politically?”””
“”Ask yourselves questions like this instead of questioning others my friend.””
Do you know where our resources went and go? Do you know who has betrayed us? Do you know what’s the history is all about… Stop making your bs assumptions + non-construction comments. You all know nothing. W owes E.
“wow, its just a blog, and the blogger has the right to ‘enhance’ his blogs a bit, and as a matter of face, Sdk is really god damn run down la wei, the airport in Tawau is so much better than the one in Sdk la, the govt sud look into upgrading it a bit la, so wat la Mile 4 is happening, come down to KK and u will know wat happening means lor !!
TO THOSE SDK-IANS WHO KEIF SDK IS TAT GOOD AH, HOW COME I SEE SO MANY SDK-IAN MIGRATE TO KK LEH, THEY EVEN DROVE DOWN TO KK FROM SDK JUS TO SHOP AT THOSE SHOPPING COMPLEX WOR, PLS FACE THE FACT LA WEI !!! REALITY BITES I KNOW. IF ONE SAID SDK A LOT OF MILLIONAIRE, TRUST ME, I KNOW A FEW AND ALL OF THEM RESIDING IN KK, DON EVEN BOTHER TO REFURBISH OR HELP OUT WITH THE DEVELOPING OF THE CITY, DAMN !”
A Sabahan? No wonder why the state is in grieve with people more like you… Sandakan is nothing better, its true. At least the people there are ALL “alright”. We shouldn’t differs from which city/town, but which state you are from. It’s a shame you if you’re a Sabahan but talked like you’re not. What an ego…
Need to feedback to this? No, don;t waste your time as I won’t visit to this page again.
“”I suppose most of the Sandakanians got prejudice when they read the 1st half of the blog and tat’s killing the big picture of Kenny’s true intention. I as a Sandakanian would not think that this entry had spoil the image of Sandakan. You can’t deny facts. Under develop is under develop. Sandakan will not boom into a modern city overnight or even Kenny blog craps about it. People who first time ever read Kenny’s blog might be too extreme over his blogging style other than understanding this is how Kenny blog as usual. Like other readers said, this is just another travel blog entry of Kenny. Words and speaking can harm or lie. But fact doesn’t.””
I’m agree with him. Thanks Kenny for the entry. 🙂
Kenny = =_=
totally irresponsible for his writing
there are a lot of FAKE information included in the blog!!!
cyrs = kenny himself??
lolzz..
fake + actor = CHEAP
erm.. Kenny, actually Sandakan still hv many interesting places u hvent visit.. Sandakan is famous wif seafood, i think u should try.. bsides, Sdk oso named as NATURE CITY.. tats y is it not so DEVELOPED & POLLUTED like the others cities.. Although it is no so developed like others cities, Sdk ppl still hv night life in Taman Indah & othe places… i can say tat the night life here is very different wif other cities.. it is really a relax time.. so don always jz see the negative side of sdk only.. this will affect Sdk reputation..
fool…know nothing and spread lies.. hav u visited lankayan?? hav u went to berhala?? hav u visited labuk bay?? hav u been to trig hill?? hav u visited the crocodile farm?? hav u tried the seafood?? hav u tried walking in the central market? Yea, we might not hav 7 eleven.. but we hav other convenient stores.. We might not hav starbucks but hav u tried 7 heaven?? hav u tried dvenice?? hav u tried equator?? hav u tried jesselton?? hav u?? hav u?? hell no..So, make sure u experienced all these before you go complaining..
I feel so disappointed with the irresponsible commentary by this blogger on the beginning part.
Come on, you just here for a day or two, and you put all this comment to the worldwide?
The plane is Hot. Ever wonder why? It was Eco Friendly and that’s why we give it a name as Fokker. Sabah and Sarawak domestics flight mostly travel using MASWings. Even in Pennisular Malaysia it known as Fireflyz. This 2 company is subsidise under MAS. Got complain?, then go to MAS, NOT SANDAKAN.
Yes, Sandakan airport is old.. like 1970’s.. but is this a problem of Sandakan? Ask Malaysia Airport Berhad. All their money go to develop KLIA.
Yes, Sandakan lack of Starbucks and 7-eleven. Ask yourself, is Starbucks and 7-eleven Malaysian company? Just a franchising only. The loyalty go to the owner who are resting his/her bud on a nice banglo house in US.
Yes, the tour guide here using a hand writing paper to welcome you. what for wasting a printer ink and electricity just to type and print the name.
The 24 hours store you taken is at Kinabatangan. 100++ miles away from the town. It is an urbanisation area.One day can serve 10-20 customers only. As you are Kuching people, I think you should understand the life of urbanisation.
Cammon mate, it’s the freedom of speech.. Kennysia just expressed his own feeling in his own blog.. It ain’t a big deal. It’s the personal feeling anyway. In fact, the building is old – don’t you agree? Don’t get me wrong. I love sandakan, just tat the local government should take some initiative to renovated the place. Don’t take it personal. You can express whatever you like in your own blog next time.. Get it right buddy..
Sandakan,
A Nature City.
We don’t have Starbucks,
But we have Jesselton Cofee & QQ Ice.
We don’t have Baskin Robin’s
But we have 7-Heaven and Tang’s Dyansty.
We don’t have McDonald/A&W,
But we have KFC and Pizza Huts.
We don’t have 7-Eleven,
But we have 24 Convenient Store.
We don’t have Caltex/BP
But we have Sabah Oil.
We don’t have KL Tower,
But we have Rotary Tower.
We don’t have Golden Screen Cinema,
But we have Star Cineplex.
We don’t have Zoo Negara,
But we have Sepilok.
We write your name on a paper?
Because we don’t want waste electricity and printer ink just to print YOUR name.
We don’t have Air-Conditioner system at Airport,
Because we don’t want release Poison Gas into atmosphere.
The plane don’t have Air-Conditioner system,
Why blame us? Ask Malaysia Airlines.
Why travel with MAS if you want direct flight?
AirAsia also have direct flight for already 5 years. (Even though MAs had begun its direct flights 4 months ago)
The airport look 1970’s,
Because we know how to preserve our value.
The airport look old,
Why blame us? Ask Malaysia Airport Berhad.
We have lot’s of fresh seafood,
You might be eating overnight + preserving style seafood at your place.
With RM5.00, we can eat Ikan Bakar + 3 dishes,
You might paid RM50.00 for getting the same product.
We have Orang Utan,
You got Kucing. (We also have – Kucing liar lots at town)
This what we have in Sandakan,
Sell in Sandakan,
Can buy in Sandakan,
Can enjoy in Sandakan,
Thank you for Coming.
P/S: It is not wrong for posting something like this in a blog. Only, please be responsible what you are typing. As a Chinese, I believe you did heard “Words from Mouth can be the most Dangerous weapon in humankind”
The damage can be seen at the beginning of the post. If you didn’t like it, please save it for yourself. Don’t ruined other images by typing irresponsible words.
Or course we are open mind person but the damage by your words are too overload. It is good for you to remodified the beginning of the post rather than keeping it as it damage your image based from the post I read.
Good luck and sorry for any ROUGH words.
Cheers,
Kenny
Erm, about the swimming pool access, that’s a sort of wrong comment.
We have been swimming in the sports complex standard sized swimming pool since about 1995.
Sports complex is near Tmn Sibuga/Mawar about 7 miles from town.
There’s also a pool in Mile 2.5, another in Sandakan Recreation Centre, where Alvin Chia and a few other ‘not-so-famous’ national swimmers used to train in the early 90’s…
So, yeah, please, about the swimming pools…
Someone should go give Kenny’s tour guide a good whacking on what Sandakan is all about.
Kenny, your guide’s name and office address please?
Is it okay for you to remove the old pic of the building and put something nicer instead? I am sure you as a blogger took lots of pics during your trip in Sandakan right? Why does it have to be that one… Zzzz.
“Not only was the airport stuck in the 70s, the ENTIRE town of Sandakan was stuck in the 1970s.”
You sure the ENTIRE town of Sandakan or just part of it?? Frankly speaking, you are such a hobnoker. Hahahaha!
Sdkians, “linsiiii,Ng Suu Anh Lin Nget..”
This is a blog where there’s a something called Freedom of Speech. But I’m saying neither da K.Sia is wrong nor right. What dont we give some of da ‘wrongs’ a few ponders?
I’d say he’s simply abit carried off with the blogging thus forgotten that a hometown = ppl who originate from there. Hence using da word ‘undeveloped’ = da ppl from Sdk are undeveloped..Everybody makes mistake, even our politicians do that occationally & far more idiotic.
But he’s partially right as well. I’d say there’s hardly any major changes on the airport since i can learn how to count properly. U may argue that u like it da way it’s…becoz it reminds u that u’ve arrived at our lovely hometown but that’s not right.Time to time upgrading is needed to make things abit more comfortable especially da luggage collection area.
For those inaccurate facts, let’s face it, most of us are ignorant of how does other states look like other than our very own hometown, does it really matter? But for those not from Borneo, pleaseeeee…Sarawak & Sabah are not da same! Johorean & Kelantanese are da same, aight?
If they chose to believe entirely what they’ve read/saw = been there, then that’s their losesss…
BTW, for all those faggots mentioning about voting & blame ourselves for being ‘poor’, i wish to sponsor anyone of u to stay at Beluran, maybe Tongod as well to convince da locals voting for Opposition. Mail me for more details at mc_grave@hotmail.com.
All i can say is that it’s an honour for someone to actually blog our wonderful hometown BUT there’s still lotsa areas still unknown to our fella Malaysianz can be explored.
Kenny,
I am glad you have promoted Sandakan. Sandakan was my hometown where I grew up with lotsa GREAT food.
I do share the same sentiment as my fellow Sandakaneses. It is like being asked several times “How do you go to your tree top house with” or “you orang kampung should know the age of malay girls get married”. My answer to those who ask me those are “I go to my tree top house by escalator or lift and the malay girls in Sandakan are very cultured, they prefer getting a degree then they settle down. However, I am not here to slam at you but to share some of my sentiments.
1. Swimming pool: I was one the not so famous swimmers who trained with Elvin Chia and Alex Lim Keng Liat. I was always proud of that as I believe that in a small town like Sandakan, it managed to train two international level swimmers in the 90s. We were trained in Sandakan Receeation Club SRC.
2. I used to stay above where you took the run down builldings photos. I recalled I used to stare out of the window to look at the buzzling people walking around and so does looking at the good looking giys staying at the run down buildings. It has been really run down. Thank you for that pic. I can show my husband and son of where mama used to stare out the guys .
3. I have always been proud to call myself sandakanese as Sandakan was called “little hong kong”. I speak very fluent cantonese. Reason why sandakan was called little HK was partly for the food and also our parents back in the 60s where timber was selling a fortune in sandakan, our mothers came to married our fathers and our sisters in the 80s married Hong Kongers. My mum and my sister were one of them. Direct flights from Sabah to HK is faster and cheaper compare to Singapore. We get our HK fashion clothings direct from HK. I was one of the fashion setter back in my elementary school.
I found that I have not visited sandakan well. I need to visit sandakan after leaving 8 years.
I find that your blog is hilarious. However, it is not a good site to introduce those who has not known sandakan well. I will be ashame to introduce my singaporean friends to sandakan that way.
Thank you for showing me how sandakan looks like. I still prefer the laid back town sandakan that has to offer.. I wonder at times that I should not pressurise my young son and wish that he can have the childhood that he deserves which we sandakanese has went through.
Thank you again!my apologies if there is lotsa typo error as i am using my mobile.
the kuching rehab center is not like a natural rehab center. I was there a couple of years ago and there was no orang utan in sight which meant they were already accustomed to the jungle. but the rangers actually tried to attract them back by calling them! It was more like a show for the visitors rather than a rehab center. but i guess your lecturer is right about one thing, it is more nature than sepilok because you have to walk on the forest floor rather than on a plankwalk like sepilok.
very true! we should blame the government. So should we change the government for failing to do their part for Sabah and Sarawak? Hmmm….the people of Sabah and Sarawak should be blamed for throwing the opoportunity to change the government last year. It was the biggest opportunity but they didn’t have the balls. So in the end, the blame is to the people of Sabah and Sarawak for tolerating a corrupt government.
the truth is, all the resources was siphon by the federal government and used to build the highways in west malaysia, to build the highest twin towers in the world, to develop the KL city and so on, that is why Sabah having all the resources, cannot even develop its own cities let alone helping the poor people living below the poverty line. And now the state and federal government is even thinking to legalize and giving IC to those illegal immigrants so they too can enjoy the benefit meant for the poor Sabahan.
ur comment rojak lah the words…. like no sikul one so terrible to read until me also affected…… how come u humiliate the ugly girl? whats wrong with being ugly as compare to the beautiful girl? Why compare with someone’s characteristics? Do you only look and value for the outside appearance to the inner beauty? buildings is no compare to human, totally different. you may say about the town but not human characteristic. so don’t look down on ugly people. What is beauty if she got evil heart? In a way, I guess it can be said the same with Sandakan town. Ugly buildings but have beautiful people that live in it.
I guess we have to accept the fact that Sandakan is indeed ugly. But at the same token, that is a blessing in disguise. There is no way else in Malaysia where the natural beauty is so prevalent that teeming with wildlife. Maybe that is the reason that Sandakan is not developed. To preserve our natural beauty and wildlife without which, tourists will not be able to enjoy in its natural setting. Otherwise they will have to visit the zoo in order to see them.
So yes, I am proud of the town and no there is nothing whoever said about the town can offend or make me mad.
Cheers
relax la brother. The guide only do his job. Anyway, those tour companies only bring the tourists to the touristic places and the old part of the town so to create the feeling of being in old colonial town.
The purpose is to make the people see a different era of the town rather than bringing them to see the developed part of the town like Mile 4 Bandar Indah, IJM town, etc which is like any other town with no difference. So what Kenny and the rest of the angmo see is just the tiny bits of sandakan. They were kept away from the modern parts of the town. So there is no reason to be offended or ashamed. They know what they are doing.
That is one of the reason why people not so conscious what is there in Sandakan. But would they like to see something so similar like KK city, KL and the likes? I bet they wouldn’t want that. If I have a tour company, I will do the same. Of course I will bring a different parts of Sandakan if I bring the West Malaysian tourists so they will open up their eyes.
Anyway, Sandakan currently undergoing rapid developement as you can see lots of newbuildings coming up at fast and furious pace. I don’t know whether this is a good thing or not but eventually, it will be the same like everywhere. Tall buildings and what not. But I believe the angmo are trying to get away from the hectic city life and escape to some peace and isolated place, one of them being sandakan. But that will change very soon.
Before that happens, I will buy a piece of land somewhere in Tambunan so live in peaceful setting.
actually we cannot compare sandakan and kuching as kuching is the capital for Sarawak. KK is the right city to compare to Kuching and even that, Kuching is nothing! The more I read what Kenny wrote the more I see that he is lying. For instance, Sandakan airport is not non-aircon airport. It is only the check-in area is non-aircond. The rest has air-con. So here I see him as not being honest. I bet he manipulated what the guide told him to make his blog dramatic. The same with his lie about the 24-hour shop which is in fact miles away from Sandakan area. Another lie is the flight connection. MAS has been operating a direct flight from Sandakan to KK and even Airasia has been operating direct flight to KUL for sometimes. Why going to the extend of lying to create something for the readers? And the last and biggest humiliation he directed to the Sandakanites are that they are still using VHS!!!!
I rest my case
come to sandakan and we give you the biggest last dance to you before we cook your ass in a hot frying pan.
this is the type of ignorant people going around and making comment as if they own the world without regards to the feeling of other people.
what so “ulu” with the people here compare to your tiny nut brain? maybe your brain is so tiny that when you move around it hit your eye socket making you as dumb as the baboon.
stupid bitch
wonder no more, so we can eat them up when they turn up to our place…..aummmmm
so what with KK? I know some people form KK who rather stay in Sandakan bcos KK is such a lousy city with traffic jams and expensive food, rude and materialistic people. So proud ah??????????
I read some of the shallow minded comments and I have to say just ignore them (but sad to say some of them are spreading their negativity in this world). I think its entertaining piece. You are entitled to your interpretation of things, sights etc. You go Gal! (Susan Boyle lookalike!)
Sandakan is a tiny town located on the northern tip of the state of Sabah.
Correction: Sandakan is a town on the East Coast Side of Sabah. Kudat is the one which is located in the northern tip of Sabah.
yuo are fucking shit yap
As I know the guide that took you around town, on his behalf, maybe you should clean your ears out and listen, as nothing was ever said what you stated.
Hey DICKHEAD
It’s not a viper, it’s a YELLOW RING CAT SNAKE, also known as a MANGROVE SNAKE. All the guides in Sandakan and Sukau know this, so you weren’t listen, which makes me believe that everything you put down about your guide is false. I have been travelling to Sandakan and Sukau for the past 7 years, sometimes twice in one year.
So before you type your shitty blog, get your facts right and think before you post it. Or once again, you didn’t listen at school, and learn how to write.
I’m an Aussie, but I find Sandakan my second home, you don’t judge a book by it’s cover, for people or towns.
You said before, when you were in town the people were nice, but the ones doing the comments aren’t. I dare you to copy your blog, bring it to Sandakan, and show them. They won’t be nice to you then, I give you 10 minutes
I know the guide, Kenny didn’t listen. Kenny thought he knew everything, and was making up his own stories
well..
it made me dizzy and took me 1 hour to finish all 213 comments.
I just discussed with my sister, why there is no MC Donald here? Whatever, it seem like not really important in this blog.
As a blogger, you might hope that as many as possible of people come to read your blog, so how to make it work? Try some different. Make it hot, make it special, make stingy, make it mean..(did i use the right words? not really gd in english..)Because you know people like somethg tat extraordinary. You want to be famous, you want to get more attention. The number of the people visited maybe is your basic needs instead of foods and drinks.
And you Kenny Sia success!!
You got the attention, you got the numbers, you got the basic needs!(huh?)
Yeah, it is a nice post about Sandakan? but instead of using “underdeveloped” “stuck in 70s” “no air cond”………Anyway!! Glad to hear you said “love” sandakan!!
Unfortunately, Sandakanians(and Sandakanites) not really love it..oh, I means your post nt sandakan.
Well, you might define the Sandakan as “small gas” or underdeveloped category citizen(Nature CITY)..
Why don’t you just apology with the right attitude?
someone: “OH MY GOD!! KENNY SIA’s APOLOGYSE!!!”
==..
Do you understand hows the feel when something that you beloved critic by some irresponsible words or action? (see how Malaysia react to their perodua car became worst car in the world..even though it just the entertainment show..)
There is something important than the attention. In fact, you have the power to turn those who angry with your post into positive way! You can do it by using the responsible words!
Try to be a responsible man!
*Sandakan do have The Body Shop long time ago..just a kindly remind!
it took me another 1 hour to write the comments..damn..
Good Night Everyone! It is so nice to sleep at the place with the really dark sky at night(compare to the orange sky at KL?)..which the moonlight can show your shadow.. especially during the blackout!!
you are bloody hell yap…how can u think tour guide is simple silly person like you???
ASK KENNY,DID HE ENJOY HIS LUNCH AT IMPERIAL BAYVIEW RESTAURANT AT SANDAKAN HARBOUR SQUARE?WHY HE DOESNT PUT IT IN HIS BLOG?
Hai kenny….
what a nice blog that u make about sandakan….my impression is u are trying to attract readers for ur blog about sandakan because u already know that sandakan is already well known around the world..but u didnt realize that most of ur statement make most of sandakanian offended!when u got a lot of heat comments,u try to make an excuse and throw all the rubbish to me.
Did i mention to u about those airport thing?swimming pool thing?24hrs shop thing?And then,u promise to ur readers
to not trust SANDAKAN TOUR GUIDE..
how can u think that im the only tour guide in sandakan??now u are pointing
the krediblity of SANDAKAN TOUR GUIDE!!!
Did u remember?we arrive sandakan from sukau then drop Shaolin Tiger at airport then drop Seet to meet his friend,u ask me to drop u at dandakan centre and walk by urself?sure,that is the time u take those old sandakan building photo…after that i meet u at Imperial Bayview Restaurant then enjoy the food there,why dont u put a photo of the restaurant and NEW SANDAKAN HARBOUR SQUARE in ur blog??
am i that stupid to tell u that sandakan is located at northern tip of
sabah??am i tell u that the mangrove snake is viper??are u sure that those freaking big crocodile is just outside of the airport that u see it once u out from airport doors?A 9years dannish boy even can make a good impression about sandakan than what u do..now,all the comment not only offended sandakan people,but also sandakan tour guide…
i believe theres inconvenient and imperfect things happen during ur visit to sandakan,but with only my 2years experience in guiding line,im sure its still far away to implementing your statement in ur blog..
im sure now ur objective is done…
u attract a lot of readers..
Maybe it’s not your intention, but by the WORDS you used in this post is very DEGRADING.
pukima kau…what are you trying to do? stirring things up between sandakan and kk folks?
HOW DARE U CALL BLOODY-TOURIST-GUIDE…
FOR SURE,U ARE COME OUT FROM THE BLOODY COW-ASS!
go fukk ur mum.
Look properly at that post!is that a pro blogger??
Your big lier. You walked in Sandakan town on your own and yet you blamed the guide. You got your own info by your own creation and claimed it to be the guide’s info. What a faggots. Fatso.
Yes do come to Sandakan but don’t let Kenny give you info or else you will end up in Timbaktu as he doesn’t even know where Sandakan is located. He said it is in the tip of Borneo. Tip of Borneo his ass.
Yes Emily, I have seen the Sandakan people and yes they are exactly like human being! Just like any kind of humans. What do you expect them to look like a piece of shit like you, an asshole with comments like that? Stupid girl. You shouldn’t have said what you said. Now you pissed the people of Sandakan.
Kenny the Pussy
HEI KENNY…
YOU KNOW WHAT?ITS PRETTY FUNNY WHEN YOU SAY THAT SANDAKAN IS LOCATED ON THE NORTHEN TIP OF SABAH!IT SHOWS THAT YOU ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION WHEN THE GUIDE GIVE YOU INFORMATION..OR MAYBE YOU ARE DEAF OR STUPID!!ABOUT THE MANGROVE SNAKE THAT YOU CALLED VIPER?MAKES ME LAUGH LIKE CRAZY!HONESTLY..YOU ARE IDIOT AND F**KING NERD..LOOKING YOU IN THE PHOTO MAKES ME WANNA KICK YOUR SMALL DICK!
WHAT MAKES SANDAKAN SO UNIC IS BECAUSE OF NATURE NOT ONLY DEVELOPMENT.IN FACT,SANDAKAN NOWADAYS IS KNOWN WELL ALL OVER THE WORLD!IN MY OPINION,TOURISTS CAME HERE NOT TO SEE BIG AND TALL BUILDINGS OR SHOPPING COMPLEXES BECAUSE IN THEIR COUNTRY THEY ALREADY HAVE ALL THOSE THINGS.BUT THEY CAME HERE BECAUSE OF FLORA AND FAUNA.NOT FORGETTING ABOUT CULTURE,TRIBES,HISTORY AND TRADITION IN SANDAKAN.THE PHOTO OF THE OLD BUILDING IN THE MAIN TOWN THAT YOU TOOK WILL NOT EFFECT THE NUMBERS OF TOURIST FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO VISIT SANDAKAN.
KENNY THE NERDY,
MAKE SURE YOU DON’T EVER COME BACK TO SANDAKAN AGAIN!BECAUSE WE SANDAKANIANS DON’T NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN SANDAKAN!IF YOU DO,DON’T BLAME ME BECAUSE WHEN I SEE YOU I WILL DEFINATELY KICK YOUR BUTT AND PUT YOUR OWN SHIT ON YOUR UGLY FACE!YOU TRY TO MAKE YOURSELF FAMOUS BUT YOU WILL NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE SO UGLY AND GAY!
SANDAKAN RULEZ!!!!!!YEAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!
Hey all those rude fact pointers, is kenny’s blog a wikipedia? Or an established online travel guide? Ponder that into whats left of your brain cell. Kenny aint an encyclopedia either. What kenny did here is simply his interpretation of Sandakan, and by the way those sandakan rednecks are replying, all i can say is “no wonder lar! Sandakan still like dat!”
darn you lol
why we get angry is the begiining of the post.
he showing the old city even though he standing behind the new develop building. is this fair?
all of the facts he say is out of sdk control.
the principle here is: is like when someone go to your house and make a bad comment – hot la, no nice painting, floor tiles sucks.
even though kenny blog cannot be become wikeipdia or travel guide,
but the negative impact had influence the sandakan image.
Sandakan is just developing…
should be developed long time ago
before KL but all the source
was feed to ur ass..
hua? He is giving his inpression of sandakan through his picture. If he take a picture of the new develop building, then tell readers its underdeveloped, doesnt dat leaves a funny feeling inside you when yuuuuu read it? If u skip negative comments, which by far outweigh positive comments (coz sum idiot is spamming), he had generated interest for people visiting sandakan. Then let them find out themselves.All i can say to all those fact checkers is..ur job aint done yet!!! the internet still contain moar “facts”!Start doing a better job or u all will get fired!! /sarcasm
I want to make some correction for you, Sandakan is NOT located at the Northern tip of Borneo. Your Geographic knowledge is terribly poor. Sandakan is located in the east coast of Sabah. A town which is located on the northern tip of Borneo is call Kudat and not Sandakan.
you can still check with the tourism board on the facts, 🙂
hai..which tour company arrange your tour there at Sabah? nice ka?
If you come to Tawau, u must try the food below and the CHILI SOURCE they served!!
1)Pork noodle, especially the chili source they serve
2)Soto Ayam with prawn ball
3)Tea time must try the ‘roti kahwin’ and the ‘yao zak guai with kaya’
4)Dinner must try the seafood
5)Supper, try the chinese style sashimi called ‘yu shang'(cantonese)
Mina
hi mr kenny sia. i’ve meet u in person during ur trip to sepilok urang utans centre. what can i say.. ur a quite down to earth person, moderate and quite polite. but, what i don’t get is why u can be rude in ur blog? why u don’t show the best part in sandakan? there is lots of interesting places that u’ve not mention such as there is pizza hut restaurant, giant supermarket, and why don’t u tell ur viewer that in sandakan EVERY MILE HAS ITS OWN CITY?
First time reading your blog, first time seeing so many sandakanians commented about your write up about sandakan. I am 53 years old, i like your style of humours. I am pleased that sandakan has not been invaded by Great Brands. To be frank, my family and myself seldom patronize KFC as we do have much better healthier local choice. but, we do go for pizza hut. I seldom buy things from bodyshop or other big brands. Some of my friends like bodyshop and watson very much,like buying the bleached coconut husk body scrubs or tooth paste etc. But I told them that I use sea salt as my tooth paste, and original coconut husk for cleaning the Wok to brush my body. I do not wear watch as already have it in the hand phone. Surprising, quite a number of rich men are doing that too. May be these are some of small healthy things help sandakanians to have better health so as to make better investment decisions. I do not know how true is that,a few years back, one UK medical professional told me Sandakan is town that have the biggest numbers of millionairs in Malaysia. I was quite skeptical about it and was told the facts was from a investment consultancy firm in UK looking for indication to follow how the richs are investing in their own country. Surprisingly, the intensity of the richs are in Sandakan. Most of the richs here are investing in Oil Palm plantations. may be this is the way to wealth in Malaysia?. Your report on the Conditions of Sandakan Town is okay to me. We need these illegal people to help bulid our economy and infra , since the local people is deserting the town, it is okay for foreign workers to stay in, better than for it to become pigeon holes. One thing good about Sandakan is free of disaters. I reckoned Sandakanians are very cultured and civilised. The air and water, come out from what we breath and drink, have experienced what is good or harmless. Since air have learned from us, so the wind is Sandakan is not violent, Water also learned it is good not to become tsunami. If the rich and famous in the world know about this secret, they may reside in Sandakan for not risking their life, and make Sandakan “a little Zurich”. Or, another new name “Sure-Rich”.
Another good thing about Sandakan is that we frequently have power cut, initially I feel discomfort, but later I found that this is a great arrangement for Sandakan people to have better health for free. It is the f.o.c saunna.
Sorry for all these wierd ideas. Maybe continues to write more in the future if still have the mood.
I admit there are some mistakes in the blog, but this is a personal point view, people make mistakes at certain times, judging (IMHO) it was just his honest opinion on his very own blog and space. Other tourists also made the same mistakes. There is no need to add ‘oil to fire’. The description had some mistakes but it can be kindly rectify upon a simple humble (knock behind the door) request.
Sandakan seems quite nice,hey Kenny, did you stalked me or did i stalked you.we went to Sabah at the same time…lol
I like beatrice tan’s post for being very objective and true at the same time~
It is true that this is your blog or whatever for you to put your own personal opinion. However, don’t insult without getting the facts right and we Sandakanians don’t like their hometown being trashed. I bet you don’t like yours being trashed like that either.
Your misleading facts include the direct flights, swimming pools, Sepilok, 24 hour shop, city towns. Get a local to tell you what is really like to be there.
No doubt that we have ugly city centre as the city centre moved to MILE 4. No doubt we are under developed, well at least we are not living in a hectic town. No doubt we don’t have 7 eleven, starbucks, coffee bean, mc donald and etc, there are other great local foods which could never be found in other areas of Malaysia and even in internationally.
You can blog well but just be more considerate on your post.
chill man….
i’m a sandakanian
and i’m more of a city kid
some of us love it some hate it
i love it when i know we’re all safe from all those dangers happening in huge cities but in sandakan i could just chill with friends and getting chased my monkeys/apes and we just have a good laugh…
but sometimes ireally need some sushi king/starbucks/malls and all,usually on vacation,next up!!!KL!!!!!
in sandakan i get to have peace and quite and be all spiritual with what God made…
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS~!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly, after finishing reading Kenny’s Sandakan trip, I was telling myself to plan a holiday there :). Coz I love nature and of coz the orang utan. I love to watch their look at close distance.
But after reading those aggresive comments, I hesitated…will anything happen to me if I have said something wrong accidentally when I am there??? I know you people love your hometown, but it’s a bit scary to re-act this way though.
Thank you Kenny for your write-up in your blog about Sdk.
For I wouldn’t be able to know how much I love my hometown and to know of other Sandakanites defending their beloved town too.
In addition to Jenny’s comment,Kenny,
if you must know, Sdk had produced 2 very renowned national swimmers in the early 1990s ; Alvin Chia and Lim Keng Liat.
Everybody has the freedom to write in their respective blogs but at least do some research on the concerned topic so as to appear dignified and not just to ramble on.
u may go to sandakan facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=chinfaye90%40hotmail.com&init=quick#/group.php?gid=52428866236
Did you meet up with the group of orphans left behind by Chinese laborers and their temporary wives from local tribes?
i’m from sandakan too……i strongly agree with some of the guys stated that sdk is an ugly town,underdeveloped n etc…..In fact, malaysia produce about 70% palm oil of d world,however sandakan already contribute about 30% of tat 70%. hahahaha who makes golden eggs?i think tat’s d answer y they drive sport car but yet sdk have no highway for’erm to speed.i’m still wondering how they use their 6th gear.And do not show off in sdk,unless u r super duper rich,possibly d uncle sitting next to u is your father’s biggest boss.
Dont judge a book by it’s cover.
I really agree that instead of taking it as a statement of insult, it should be taken as an alert as in improving the image of SDK and development of SDK. This is post where it should be shown to the politicians in SDK that how other ppls look at SDK. Take it as a wake up call.
Looks like in the 50’s
hi kenny,
Do u know a guy name sia yake tat live in sandakan,sabah??plz let me know if u do..thanx alot
holy 248 replies! You go Guy! Nice quick run-through of Sandakan. Sadly my articles are really long compared to yours. Anyway, great pics especially the mat-salleh one 🙂
Regards,
David
Malaysia Asia
Look, Monkey Ass Hole. If u dare to come one more time to sdk, for sure u couldn’t walk away wif live..
RW
Monkey Ass, a lot ppl travel a lot more kennies dick, if not happy, dun come n fuck off from sabah..
RW
God Damn Rite
Mr Kenniez Donkey Monkey.. Y dun u climb up til the top of KLCC n hit on ur bigger monkey chest n jump off~!??!
YYipiyankee Yr Mother Fucker~!!
RW
kenny
if you’re poor you wont say sandakan its like that~ you know you are lucky beacause you born rich~ do whatever you like~ but do you think back if you are poor guys the sandakan old building free to you sleep you want it?? you really is a cold blooded person~ everywhere got thier own life you can think bad of that but you cant judge that~ you thought you’re who?? you born in rich hometown so what?? please use your brain before judge sandakan!
I will definitely share this post with as much as Sandakians and Sabahan people. Let them see the view in this post..
Sandakies. In order to improve, we must face the fact & welcome other’s comment(positive or negative).
What is the wrong when people commented we have no 7-11 & Starbucks, sometimes out of electricity supply?? Why not make a positive step by changing the local ruler for a better experience??
Love the way you write, now i know what to expect in Sandakan 🙂
I was born in Sandakan.you were right Sandakan is stuck in the 70’s. All the major development goes to kk. After 30 years still hoping for change, the lousy local mayor change this leftout town status to a so call ‘nature city’. Thats mean no more worry by the local town board about modernisation. Even Government projects already planned and grabbed by other states company before we know a clue.HONESTLY I had tender a small government job but because the ‘boss’ (so call director was in kk, my quotation, even honestly cheap, you stand no chance to get it. Somebody in kk bought him with a heafty benefit. Like the crocodile you had seen, I think it should be relocated to kk.
Visiting my ancestor. I thought you are planning to go to Pak Gung San (sandakan red hill top). Haha. Only Sandakanian will understand first. Ask your commrates or your ancestor where is this place. Hahaha…