Last day - Sandakan POW Camp then homeward bound

A straggler heads out to sea.
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Sunday 24 August 2008

Turtle Island to Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur and home

Visiting Sandakan POW Camp is a thought provoking experience. “Lest we forget.”

A wake-up knock on the door at 05h30 had me in the shower shortly afterwards, this time not so sulphurous, thank goodness. Whilst waiting for our boat to be readied, the rangers told us that 1080 eggs had been retrieved during the night and that 10,000 hatchlings had been released by dawn. They also reported that one hawksbill turtle had laid some eggs. This seemed to excite the rangers as these creatures are very much less common than the green turtles. As we walked to the boat there were still some stray individuals struggling their way towards the water. We wished them a safe journey as we began the last day of our journey to Borneo.

Fishing fleet at Sandakan
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Back in Sandakan, this time landing at the main jetty, a much more salubrious location than the one we had left from, we were served breakfast consisting of rice, fried egg, some little sausages, tea and toast.

Then we were driven into town where we had an hour to buy last minute things before leaving Borneo. I took the opportunity to buy a pair of shoes as mine still smelled so much from their earlier ordeals... no not smelled – stank! I didn’t like being close to them so I can only wonder what my fellow passengers would have thought on the flight back to Aussieland! A pair of quite reasonable looking cross-trainers cost me the equivalent of AUD30.

Sandakan POW memorial - a thought provoking experience
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Our next stop was at the infamous Sandakan POW camp. One of the signs at the camp reads..."During late 1941 and early 1942 Japanese force swept south in a series of victories that brought the Second World War to South east Asia and the Pacific. Many allied service personnel became prisoners of war. In July 1942 nearly 1500 Australian POWs were shipped from Singapore to Sandakan and forced to build a military airfield at the command of the Japanese. In 1943, over 770 British POWs arrived followed by a further 500 Australians. All of these prisoners were housed here at Sandakan. In January 1945, the first of three "Death Marches" took place when prisoners were force marched 260 kilometres to Ranau. This march claimed large numbers of POW lives. (Two further "Death Marches followed). By the end of the war, only 6 were still alive and they survived because they escaped." You read that right - only 6 survivors! A sign exhorts us to remember: " Lest We Forget" but the experience here is so thought provoking that no-one who visits is ever likely to forget these brave POWs.

A jolly Buddha in the temple!
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This memorial also commemorates the suffering and sacrifice of the local Sabah people and their soldiers.

Some metal relics survive on the site, otherwise the old camp is now well maintained parkland with a memorial building which contains pictures and stories of its awful existence. Visiting there is a thought provoking experience. “Lest we forget.”

From there, we made our way to the Puu Jih Syh Buddhist Temple which sits atop a hill above Sandakan Harbour. This is a grand building in the best of Buddhist traditions with oodles of gold, red, pink, green and blue paint. Red paper lanterns swing lazily from the ceilings above richly carved columns and fearsome demonic figures although a much more benevolent Buddha or two sit or stand in prominent positions. The view over the harbour is spectacular with the docks at the foot of the mountain and many islands dotted around all the way to the horizon.

Gates of the Puu Jih Syh Buddhist Temple
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Our very last stop before leaving Sabah was lunch in the best hotel in town. Talk about the tour company wanting to leave a lasting impression! Nonetheless, it was a wonderful way to finish the tour. The buffet was excellent with lots of seafood, European and local dishes to choose from.

The 45 minute flight to Kota Kinabalu was uneventful. Now as I write, there is a 2 hour scheduled lay-over before the flight to Kuala Lumpur. There have been many cancellations due to bad weather and I must admit it was pretty black and threatening outside. Now 15 minutes after our scheduled boarding time we see that the Departures Board indicates our flight IS boarding after flashing “CALLING” for the last 45 minutes. However, there is no activity at Gate 4, the one indicated on the Departures Board for our flight, so it’s time to ask a question or two. Later:

Sign re the "Death March" at Sandakan POW Memorial
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I found a guy in a Malaysian Airlines uniform who told me that we should be at Gate 3! The board still said Gate4! Now if that doesn’t make for stressful travel! So off I went to Gate 3. And here at Gate 3 there is absolutely no activity either. Our flight has been delayed further with estimates of between a 20 minute and an hour delay. By now though, there are some planes flying around again, so something must be happening.

Our difficulty is that we only have 2 hours in KL in which to connect with our Sydney flight! If we waste much more time here, will we make our connection? There is a glimmer of hope as there are 7 on board the flight that I know of who are transiting through to Sydney. Will they hold the flight until we arrive? We can live in hope!

Sandakan POW story
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Later:

We eventually left exactly 2 hours late which cut down the connection time to zilch! On arrival in KL those connecting to the Sydney flight were collected together by a man holding a sign saying SYDNEY. There were other men holding signs saying LONDON, PARIS, AMSTERDAM and ATHENS so we weren’t the only ones holding up the departure of onward flights. We were ferried through Immigration and Customs with great efficiency and onto the train that transferred us to the terminal where our plane was waiting. We were all very grateful to MH for holding our flight which left only 30 minutes late. The pilot said he could make that up, estimating that we’d arrive in Sydney all but on time. I wondered if my bag would arrive with me! Did it get the same preferential treatment as me in KL?

Waterlily at Sandakan POW Memorial Park
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To cut what could have been another lost travel bag story short – yes, it did.

And now I’m home, looking through all those travel brochures that arrive with great regularity in our mail box to decide on my next adventure. But I can assure you all – and me – that wherever it will be, it won’t include climbing mountains in hot, tropical, steamy weather!