Must-see attractions in Sandakan

  • Sandakan Memorial Park

    Sandakan

    A beautiful rainforest garden marks the site of a Japanese POW camp and the starting point for the infamous WWII 'death marches' to Ranau. Of the 1793…

  • Agnes Newton Keith (July 4, 1901 ? March 30, 1982) was an American author best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo (now Sabah) before, during, and after the Second World War. The second of these, Three Came Home, tells of her time in Japanese POW and civilian internee camps in North Borneo and Sarawak, and was made into a film of the same name in 1950. She published seven books in all.Sabah, Borneo

    Agnes Keith House

    Sandakan

    This atmospheric two-storey colonial villa, Newlands, tells the story of American writer Agnes Keith and her British husband Harry, the Conservator of…

  • Chinese Cemetery

    Sandakan

    Sandakan's Chinese Cemetery is huge. As you wander along the cemetery, you'll notice the graves become older and more decrepit – many have been claimed by…

  • Japanese Cemetery

    Sandakan

    A poignant piece of Sandakan's ethnic puzzle, this cemetery was founded in the 1890s by Kinoshita Kuni, known as the successful madam-manager of Sandakan…

  • Puu Jih Syh Temple

    Sandakan

    Wrapped in the usual firework display of reds, golds and twining dragons, festooned with lanterns illuminating the grounds like a swarm of fireflies, this…

  • St Michael's & All Angels Church

    Sandakan

    One of the very few surviving pre-WWII buildings, this pretty stone church (1893) sits as a relic of colonial times and a monument to Christian worship on…

  • Sandakan Heritage Museum

    Sandakan

    This small museum near the beginning of the Heritage Walk is a bit neglected but worth a look for the old photos and memorabilia of Sandakan's tumultuous…

  • Kampong Buli Sim Sim

    Sandakan

    This traditional Malay stilt village, located about 3km east of the city centre, is the original settlement Sandakan grew from back in 1879. It's still an…

  • Sam Sing Kung

    Sandakan

    The Sam Sing Kung temple (also pronounced 'Sam Sing Gong') dates from 1887, making it the oldest building in Sandakan. The temple itself is a smallish, if…

  • Malaysia Fountain

    Sandakan

    The fountain commemorates the independence of Sabah on 16 September 1963 with the departure of the last Governor of British North Borneo.