After a week of full on activities we decided it was time for a rest (and also time to do some washing!!!) The guys from Nature Lodge very kindly drove us right up to the front door of a hostel in Sandakan located on the waterfront so we didn't even have to think about finding somewhere to stay. We decided to splash out and opt for a seaview room which at 2pm had really pleasant views at 8am the next morning however it was a completely different story as the tide had brought in piles of rubbish. The people of Sandakan blame this on the illegal Philippino immigrants who live in run down floating houses located on the coast just outside of the town. We did actually drive past these 'slums' on the way into town and the whole area was absolutely covered in rubbish and waste - I bet it absolutely stinks in this heat!

As well as doing the laundy we also walked the Sandakan heritage trail, some of the sites were very unexciting but 2 were particularly good these were The English Tearooms and the Agnes Keith House. Before WW2 Sandakan was the wealthiest place in Borneo, primarily because this is where the employees of the British Borneo Company lived, but during WW2 the Japanese raised the town to the ground. Now it is a relatively ugly concrete town though it does appear to be undergoing some renovation particularly on the waterfront. The English Tearooms are a relic from these bygone years, a colonial building complete with croquet lawn, resident peacock and piped 1930's music to really transport you back in time. We had afternoon cream tea there in a pavilion overlooking the town - it was so so good!

The Agnes Keith house which is located next to the tea rooms was the home of the American author Agnes Keith. Agnes was married to an Englishman who held the position of chief conservationist for the British Borneo Co and wrote books about her life in Borneo. The most famous is called 'And three came home' which is about her period as a POW - she actually hid the notes for her book both in the ground and in her clothes. When they first lived in Sandakan they built a wonderful house overlooking the harbour but the Japanese destroyed it so on their return to Borneo (they initially left Borneo to recuperate) they decided to rebuild their house in exactly the same place and in the same style as the original one. She used to refer to the house as a ghost of a house and many people claim that they have seen ghosts there.

The other reason why Sandakan is so memorable is because it is the place where our computer broke. We had been recommended a rooftop bar at the Nak Hotel so we decided to give it a bash. I have to say that the bar itself was great but as we were sitting having a drink and putting the photos onto the laptop it started to drizzle, the guys who run the hotel decided to put up some tarpaulin to stop us getting wet but unfortunately they didn't secure it properly and it flew up with the first gust of wind knocking a drink over our (allegedly) waterproof computer rendering a number of the keys unworkable including 2 vowels - aaaggghhh!!!