Day 39 - Sandakan -
Trip Start
Mar 17, 2008
1
33
49
Trip End
Apr 04, 2009
Next day we thought might be an Internet and movie day, but after breakfast at the Hawaii Cafe (same as dinner), we thought we'd pop to the tourist info centre to check out ANZAC day details. The lady was very, very helpful and answered all our questions plus more. We discovered the Heritage Trail pamphlet and thought we'd check a few things out. Next door was the free museum - very basic but some interesting info and great photos. Next was the hundred stairs - now in major disrepair despite not being very old! Up the jungly hill to the not so well-kept Rotary lookout and the gorgeous English teahouse. Here we felt completely spoilt and very confortable as we watched people play croquet and sat at our wicker table with our cold towels sipping an alcoholic drink (yay for bourbon - for days there has been a choice of only beer) and admiring the view. Though hugely expensive compared to local food downtown, we had a delicious and large Western lunch. We could have settled in there for the long haul, but the cost and the need to check our email for ANZAC day details meant we headed back down, after viewing Agnus Keith's house from the outside. And so our quick trip out in the morning took us all day. Terry (an Aussie from the jungle trek) had arrived along with a girl from Wales, Nia and so we went to find stage 1 of Harbour Square (the first step towards more upmarket commerce/retail/food that would likely attract tourists) [as well as hopefully improve the quality of amenities for locals of course]. We succeeded, though finding a safe that sold beer was a little more difficult. But we were soon seated on the waterfront with beers for the boys and juice for the girls. Had a very relaxed time and greatly enjoyed the ultra cheap food (eg. 4Rm for a noodle dish). And it was back to the room for more movies (I am Legend - not a good bedtime movie).
