September in Sandakan
The present town of Sandakan is known as the gateway for destinations in Sabah, such as the Rainforest Discovery Centre, Turtle Islands Park, Kinabatangan River and the Gomantong Caves. However, the town of Sandakan, in its heyday as a timber centre, once claimed to have the greatest concentration of millionaires anywhere in the world! The city was rebuilt on its present site in 1879, after an earlier settlement accidentally burnt down. The region had been known for centuries for its pearls, camphor, bees’ wax, sea cucumbers and edible birds’ nests, attracting traders from the nearby Sulu Sultanate and from as far as China.