Monday, December 11, 2006

The Water Villages 061206

Leaving Sepilok we go for a drive, follow the road to the airport and around it, till we come to a dead end, and to a peaceful colourful Malay village at the edge of the coastal mangroves, called Batu Putih.


On the way back to Sandakan, along Jalan Buli Sim Sim, this ugly water village greets us. It's being demolished to make way for a new development project. I believe this is the site of the original Sandakan settlement and ...


... it sits virtually next to the narrow opening of the bay. That's the notorious Sulu Sea out there.


Another water village on the bay, this one much more presentable.


There's a big mosque nearby and from its car-park, I view the mosaic of rusted zinc roofs.