Sandakan: Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat

I planned a trip to Kinabatangan, Sandakan for New Year's 2012 - for the 3D/2N Wildlife Camp experience with Uncle Tan. Upon arriving in Sandakan, I had an overnight stay before officially leaving for the camp the next day. As of such I did not want to spend too much money on accomodation that I would barely be in. I booked a longhouse bunk for RM 30 (which included breakfast) for this purpose.

I saw the picture on Paganakan Dii in a magazine perhaps 3-4 years ago, advertising it as some exotic accomodation in a jungly locale. It offered free transport to Sepilok and it was at a reasonable price so - I definitely wanted to make a trip there at one time.
The longhouse dorm was fine - to my surprise when I arrived at the dorm at 9-ish the lights were off and everyone was sleeping wtihout any fans! I was shocked that the longhouse did not have any AC or fans as it was really humid, furthermore it was the rainy season! However, upon further investigation, it turns out that the longhouse dorm does have fans - it just wasn't switched on.

I immediately plugged in the standing fan and pointed it towards my bunk. The other guests were crazy for not putting on any of the ceiling fans on, as you know how humid it can get in this country. Furthermore, it had been raining in Sandakan - so the humidity factor is even higher than usual.

The staff there were really friendly, and helpful. The breakfast which was included in the rate was okay - self service coffee, toast, eggs and sausage (fine for a free meal). There was also free transfers to Sepilok Orang Utan Centre and the Rainforest Discovery Centre. I also saw on the board that there were also transfers to the Labuk Probisicis Sanctuary for RM 30 per person on the shuttle.

Overall, I found the place reasonable for RM 30 for an overnight stay for a first timer to Sandakan who wants to be near Sepilok. I would probably try the duplex rooms if I were travelling in a bigger group. I had very high expectations for the place based on years and years of expectations and although the place did not commit any huge hotel misdemeanours, it did not meet the huge expectations that I have built up over the years.

Hotel Details:

www.paganakandii.com

Sandakan: Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation centre

Orangutans at feeding times

The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre was fine. Based on the previous reviews on Tripadvisor and one of the hotel guests comment, I had lowered expectations of the Orang Utan Centre - in fact most people tell me that they prefer the Rainforest Discovery Centre over ths Orang Utan rehabilitation centre. (I didnt quite manage to make it to RDC- due to time and leech limitation issues).

They had a Malaysian Rate for the Orang Utan Centre - its RM 5 instead of RM 50 for non-Malaysians. For RM 5 and RM 10 (for cameras) it was fine - basically its 30 minutes of orang utan feeding at 10am and 3pm. When I was there I saw 2 orang utans clutching their babies having bananas and rambutans. The orangutans were definitely worth the fees - I would feel differently if I were paying RM 50 though.

The Orang Utan Centre also had some facilities such as - free lockers that can fit backpacks, a very clean air-conditioned toilet, an AV room and a basic display room for orangutan information. It also had a restaurant but it was a little overpriced - RM 6 (egg sandwhich ) RM 3.50 (iced coffee), RM 1-2 (hot coffee), RM 2 (mineral water). It also had full lunches such as rice and noodles as well as desserts like ice cream.

More orangutans at feeding times

A few things though - you can't bring in water, bags into the rehabilitation centre as the orangutan may grab them. Since its the rainy season (Dec-Jan), they also sell ponchos for RM 5.
In summary - I'm happy to have gone to Sepilok to see the orangutans at least once in my life as a Malaysian. For RM 5 admission + RM 10 camera - it was worth it. For anything more, Im not sure I would feel the same, as there is nothing much to do there except watch the feeding.
It is more advisable to come over when its not the rainy season in Sandakan - as it was raining almost the whole day - all the guests ran for cover as the downpour came over us in the middle of the feeding. The downpour was equivalent of a thunderstorm - those that cause flashfloods in the middle of KL.