Sandakan Day Trip Part 2: Planks, Temples and Incense Sticks

Sim Sim
Sim Sim is a fishing village, accessed by wooden walkways over the ocean. The sea breeze blowing beneath the houses up on stilts acts as an air conditioner would, keeping the families cool inside their homes.

Our tour guide took us out onto one of the planked walkways, telling us a little about the families and the life of the locals. Little children sat on their verandahs watching us, waving and calling out 'Aloha' as we walked by. Large trays of rice lay out in the sun, drying out for dinner time.

Each house had very distinct features from the others. All different colours and sizes sat on top of the twig-like wooden stilts, holding up the houses from the sea beneath.

Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple
Inland is the Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple, that has panoramic views of Sandakan Bay.

Up here we took our shoes off and went inside the temple. Intricate patterns and drawings covered the walls. 

Giant statues majestically towered before my eyes. Nobody spoke as they stared in awe at the temples beauty. Only the sounds of a radio coming from inside a small room could be heard.

Burning incense sticks to make peace offerings. I made a wish.

I blew out the incense stick handed to me by the tour guide. Closing my eyes I made a wish and placed it in the altar overlooking Sandakan bay.

Exhausted, sweaty and overwhelmed, we headed back to Sandakan airport for a short flight back to Kota Kinabalu.

Yep, you guessed it. On our jet plane ride home, a frightening thunderstorm carried us across Sabah back to a very wet, very stormy KK.
You should have heard my mum shrieking on the plane.

Sunburn and Sunderstorm's

In Sabah the term Sunderstorm came in handy.
Sunderstorm: A storm that spontaneously breaks out in the heat of day, without warning, with sun still shining in the distance.

A storm brews off in the distance, obstructing any view of Mt Kinabalu

On our second day we spent the morning in the resort pool, lazing on the deck chairs and floating in the water. I'd been to Bali a few years back, so I was aware how strong the suns heat is and how badly sunburn strikes. But it didn't cross my mind that Borneo was a little closer to the equator than Indonesia.

Around lunchtime we headed up to our rooms to get dressed and take a short taxi-ride to Kota-Kinabalu city centre, where we would explore the markets and the shopping centres.

Sunset from the marina in Kota Kinabalu

There isn't much in the way of shopping centres or a 'mall.' But whatever you find will be cheap to say the least!
The locals around town are happy and friendly, all going about their own business.
If you need directions, we were lucky enough to have asked the right people each time, all who answered happily and IN ENGLISH! (To the best of their ability)

On our way back to catch a cab from a nearby hotel we wandered past the late afternoon fresh seafood markets and the stalls where you can buy literally any little trinket you can think of.
Yes the markets smelt a little odd, and my mum still swears she saw a rat run past my feet and through to the next isle... But that all adds to the mystery of the unknown city.

Seafood markets before the storm.

Deja-vu... A storm was brewing outside. The winds began to pick up and the breeze carried through the stalls and caught our ankles underneath the benches.

Storm's a brewin'

We hurried around town hunting down a cab. The rain began to pour, while the sun was still peeping out from the clouds.

Within minutes we were all drenched, the rain washing away the sweat that had accumulated on our pale skin through the damp markets.
My shoes filled up with water after unluckily putting my feed in a puddle off the side of a curb where we chose to hop into a cab.

Yet again, before we knew it, the rain stopped and cleared up for a night-time stroll around the resort.

Kota city lights in the background behind the pool.

Feelin' Sassy In Sabah

On Arrival in the entrance hall in Kota Kinabalu's Shangri-la Tanjung Aru, I looked out over the gardens and the pool. An enormous black cloud was looming far off in the distance.

Winds picked up and began tossing flower arrangements that were perfectly placed together in neat bundles before the storm picked up.

Flowers greeted us at the entrance to the Shangri-la.

Before I could pick up my bags and carry them to my room, the rain began to spit through the blinds, as the people in the lobby desperately tried to tie them down.


It was like Sabah wanted to greet us with a grand entrance, wind, rain, hail and sunshine. The lobby gave me a front row seat of the storm. I felt like I was a storm chaser, and I had struck gold in the centre of it. Little did I know that storm wouldn't hit the top of the list...

The calm after the storm.

Weather Warning

Late September in Sabah marks the early beginning of the monsoon season for the typhoon belt. So when you look up the weather, don't be alarmed or throw a tantrum when you see 'Chance of Thunderstorms' labelled under storm clouds with lightening bolts jolting out from underneath. The weather man is just being kind enough to be honest with you, and give you the heads up that around 3pm, there may or may not be a thunderstorm. (Let's go with yes)

Sabah is commonly referred to as 'The Land Below The Wind' because it is located just below the typhoon and monsoon belt.

I believe we were given false guidelines by the travel agent who said that October-March mark the wet season, and that April-September mark the dry season.
If I were a meteorologist/scientist/weather-woman I would title September as 'not-so-wet.'

To be totally honest, looking back now, I don't think we had one day without a little rain. But that isn't so bad. After sweltering in the heat, traipsing around the markets and having the sun burn into the back of your neck on a walking tour of the landscapes, a little rain is a gift from the heavens.

How's that for a view.

View from the left wing of the resort.

I'm a bit of a thrill seeker myself, so these severe weather warnings gave me something to look forward to when the day had been lazy and un-eventful relaxing by the pool.

In my opinion, the excitement of waking up and not knowing what to expect makes the trip so much more thrilling and much more memorable.