Dublin, “Town of the Hurdled Ford” is the thriving capital city of the Republic of Ireland. It is noteworthy in terms of its vibrancy, its nightlife and its tourist attractions, and is the most popular entry point for international visitors to Ireland. As a city it is disproportionately large for the size of the country, well over a quarter of the Republic’s population lives in the metropolitan area. The centre is, however, relatively small and can be navigated by foot, with most of the population living in sprawling suburbs.

Highlights
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland is the national museum in Ireland. It has three centres in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.

The National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. The Gallery has an extensive, representative collection of Irish painting and is also notable for its Italian Baroque and Dutch masters painting. Entry to the gallery is free.

Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle is a major Irish governmental complex, formerly the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922. Most of the complex dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland.

Chester Beatty Library
The Chester Beatty Library was established in Dublin, Ireland in 1950, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The Library is one of the premier sources for scholarship in both the Old and New Testaments and is home to one of the most significant collections of Islamic and Far Eastern artefacts. It includes the Gospel of Mani believed to be the last remaining artefact from Manichaeism.

The Bram Stoker Museum
Opened in July 2003, this visitor centre is a must for lovers of Bram Stoker and his creation Dracula. The museum offers a spine chilling experience featuring many aspects from the lives of both Bram Stoker and Dracula. The visit starts with a trip through the “Time tunnel to Transylvania” and into “Dracula’s Castle”. Next is the “Blood Laboratory” and “Dracula’s Lair”.

Dublin Sightseeing
Hop on and off the open top bus tour around the city. Stops at all of the major tourist spots, and you can hop off and on as often as you like. The bus drivers are very friendly too - a great way to get a feel for the layout of Dublin, and is reasonable.

Dublin Ghostbus
A special theme tour provided by Dublin Bus. This tour takes you around Dublin’s haunted sites on a gothic style-decorated theatre bus guided by live storytellers. Dublin Bus claims this tour is the only one of its kind in the world. In any case, a must for lovers of gothic tales, but not for the timid.

Guinness Storehouse
Retells the story of Dublin’s most famous drink. The exhibition is interesting and is self-guided. Price of entry includes a pint at the seventh floor Gravity Bar, which has good views over Dublin and forms the head of the giant pint of Guinness formed by the atrium. If the taste is a bit too bitter for you, ask for blackcurrant in your pint - but beware, this will upset the purists!

Eat & Drink
Dublin has a wide range of good quality restaurants, most of which are, however, horribly overpriced by European standards. Main course prices range from €10 at the lower end up to around €40 at the higher end. Wine in restaurants is generally marked up from its already expensive retail price by a factor of at least two and three times retail price would not be uncommon.

No visit to Dublin would be complete without a visit to one (or ten) of its many pubs (last count says there are over 600 pubs). Drink is relatively expensive: a pint of stout costs around €4.50 and up, while lager costs around €4.90 and up. Pubs are open until 11:30PM during the week (although many bars have late licenses up to 3AM), and as late as around 3AM on weekends, depending on the pub.

Get Around
Bus
Dublin’s extensive bus network (usually yellow double-deckers) radiates from the city centre to the vast suburbs surrounding it. While it’s easy to travel from almost anywhere in outer Dublin into the city centre, very few buses travel east-west across town, necessitating a trip into town and then out again. Dublin Bus also runs airport, Nitelink and sightseeing tours. Costs vary and tickets can be purchased at over 350 ticket agents throughout the city or in the Dublin Tourism Centre. If you do not have a ticket, you will need exact change to buy a ticket on the bus - the driver will let you know how much you owe, depending on how far you are going.

Car
Traffic in Dublin is a nightmare and car parking is an expensive headache. With severe congestion, scarce parking, diligent traffic wardens and even more committed car thieves, it’s hardly worth driving in central Dublin. But for excursions, a car can be a great way to get off the beaten track, particularly on Sundays when public transport is infrequent.

Taxi
Taxis are expensive, and a perennial shortage (despite 6000 new permits being issued in 2001) means it can be hard to catch one, especially around the weekend after the pubs close.

Many of my friends have asked me over and over again when will i feature Sandakan…the town where i grew up for more than 15 years. Well folks…it’s finally here. I wish to dedicate this special review to my late father who raised me up in this town.

Sandakan town

The well-known Sandakan roundabout

Overview:
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo.

Sandakan was also known as “Little Hong Kong” at one time and was first and foremost a port for the export of logs and timber. In fact, it was said that Sandakan timber went into the building of Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. Depending on your sources, in its heyday, Sandakan used to boast of having the greatest concentration of millionaires in the world! No bullshit. Just asked the Sabahans and you will get the same answer. Today, it is known more as the gateway to nature’s most prolific treasures in Borneo.

Wisma Sandakan

Sandakan town Centre

Sandakan town centre

Highlights:
As Sandakan was almost totally destroyed in World War II, there are few surviving buildings of any age. Some of the main sights today include:

Agnes Keith House
Also known as Newlands - two-storey home of local author Agnes Newton Keith and her husband Harry (the Curator of the North Borneo Museum) from 1930 to 1952. The house was destroyed in World War II and was rebuilt on the same site. Mrs. Keith wrote several books about Sabah and its people, including Land Below the Wind, Three Came Home, and White Man Returns. The house has recently been restored after a number of years of neglect.

English Tea House - Located in the grounds of Agnes Keith Museum, fine restaurant on the hillside above Sandakan serving traditional English and Asian cuisine. address: 2002 Jalan Istana - tel: 6089 222544

Sandakan Memorial Park - built on site of the Taman Rimba prisoner-of-war camp.

Japanese Cemetery - housing a memorial to the Japanese war dead on Borneo.

St Michael’s and All Angels Church - Home to my kindergarden, primary and secondary schools, this beautiful granite church was built in 1897 and is one of Sandakan’s few surviving pre-war buildings. It was recognized as one of the world’s heritage since year 2005.

St. Michael’s Church, Sandakan

My school…St. Michael’s Secondary School

Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple - completed in 1987, this fiery red and gold temple overlooks the town centre.

Sam Sing Kung Temple - completed in 1887, it is the oldest building in Sandakan.

Sandakan New Market - one of the largest and busiest in Sabah.

The old wet market which no longer exists. Photo taken in Feb 2007…two days before they shut down

Crocodile Farm - located 12 km (7.5 miles) out of town, it houses more than 2,000 of the reptiles in concrete pools.

Sepilok - The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre is where orang utans rescued from plantations and also from being kept as pets are re-adapted to living in the jungle. Most popular are the twice daily feeding times when the orang utans come out from the jungle.

Turtle Islands Park - Three islands in the Sulu Sea where you can see turtles laying eggs and also turtle conservation at work. You can only stay on Selingan Island.

Gomantong Caves - The massive cave is home to swiftlets and their nests are harvested as a Chinese delicacy. The harvesting processes involves people climbing to the roof of the caves with bamboo poles and ladders.

Accommodation:
Ease Boutique Hotel Sandakan
Hotel Hsiang Garden
Hotel Sandakan
Sanbay Hotel
City View Hotel

Best Way To Get Around:
Taxi - travel by taxi out to places such as Sepilok or the War Memorial is easy, however fare negotiation will be required as meters are not commonly available.

Bus - there are buses and vans going everywhere in the areas around Sandakan, to the airport, Sepilok, Buli Sim Sim etc.

By foot - Sandakan is only a small town and it is easy to walk around. There is a walking trail which covers all the main sites.

My classroom and my seat

St. Michael’s Sandakan school logo