borneo

Ten Best Destinations at West Coast, Sabah, including popular destination like Kinabalu park, the marine park and the butterfly park.

Popular open air seafood restaurant at Seri Selera, located right in the middle of the city.

WWF reckons that Kinabatangan floodplain is one of the only two places on earth where one can watch 10 primate species at a single place.

Kinabatangan river, with a length of 560km, is the longest river in Sabah. It stretches, from the interior of Sabah all the way to its river mouth which opens out to the Celebes sea. The river runs eastward most of the time. The floodplain of Kinabatagan, the largest in Malaysia, is a refuge to the many wildlife in Sabah, as most parts of Kinabatangan forests have been converted to palm oil plantations. These small corridor of riverine forests are all but the only place left for the wildlife to move around. WWF, a conservation organisation, reckons this is one of the two places on earth where one can watch 10 primate species at a single place, some of these animals like Proboscis monkey and the Borneo Pygmy Elephants are endemic to the Borneo Island. Lonely planet guide book even mentions that Kinabatangan area is Malaysia's gift to the world for its wildlife and nature. This is of no surprise that in 1920 the Johnson family from Kansas, USA came to Kinabatangan, North Borneo (now Sabah), to document and film the wildlife and native people.

An old house with a rich history at the western hill of Sandakan town.

After paying the entrance fee, and walk through a small hut that acts like a time travel portal, visitors are transported back in time to a period that resembles the British era of North Borneo from 1930 to 1950. Upon passing a small garden with its well kept lawn, a beautiful and charming British style colonial house appears and it is begging for the visitors to come in for an historical experience. This house,“Newlands”, was once occupied by the Great American writer, Agnes Keith. She even wrote her award winning book, Land Below the Wind which described her Borneo experiences, at this very house. Apart from Land Below the Wind, she also wrote two other books, namely Three Came Home, and White Man Returns. These three books help to promote Borneo and in particularly Sabah tremendously to the Western World. Restoration of the house was started in 2001 by Sabah Museum, and in 2004 the house was opened to the public. In honour of Agnes work the Malaysian government has named the house Agnes Keith House, a special tribute to this award winning American authoress.