Been there in 2001.
Sandakan was very small but with two unused aviobridges.
Only thing visiting here were MAS Fokker 50s and 1 734 per day to KL
Kota Kinabalu,
The main terminal had two unused rooms on the upper floor, above departures, where the windows could slide open for photography.
Very scenic, with small tropical islands in the background.
On the main road to the city there is a hotel with roof top bar, but this was closed during my visit. On the opposite side there is a beach resort, can't remember the name, but there are places there as well. On that side is also the GA ramp and the Cargo ramp. Which can not be seen from the main terminal. Even then it had traffic upto A330 size.
A lot has changed since Streep's visit: suggest to check http://www.malaysianwings.com;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; there you can find good photo-spot and other information of all MY airports
A lot has changed since Streep's visit: suggest to check http://www.malaysianwings.com;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; there you can find good photo-spot and other information of all MY airports
Are you sure about the website ?, the domain http://www.malaysiawings.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is invalid ?
At that time KK was having some refurbishment done, airside in the terminal there were very limited views - mainly through heavily tinted glass. (Designed to keep the sun's rays out rather than to stop the enthusiast). Landside there was a maintenance hangar for (at that time) MAS Fokker 50s and Twin Otters, to the left of the terminal - best to check it from landside, its not easy to see from airside. Traffic was not particularly busy - a mix of MAS 737s, Fokker 50s with the odd wide body stopping off en-route KL. The odd foreign carrier popped in like Brunei and Dragonair A320 series.
I stayed in the Shangri-La Tanjung-Aru Resort (known locally as STAR).
Its a wonderful place although a bit expensive by Malaysian standards, but cheap to Europeans! If you look at Google Earth, its the cross shaped building at the northern end of the long beach that stretches up from the airport. The long beach is public and you can walk the full length of it to a couple of vantage points where the beach meets the runway. Its a long hot walk although you can paddle through the sea - its mobbed with locals at the weekend but midweek you'll get the beach to yourself! The vantage points - at the fence - look directly over the runway to the main terminal.
Low costs like Air Asia(along with GA, fuel stops, cargo etc) use the terminal 2 to the north of the runway. Worth having a wander around as there may be something exotic but views are limited. Near the entrance road to Terminal 2 and closer to the city, there is a small supermarket - taxis are used to dropping tourists here and often hang about to drive them back. Directly opposite the supermarket, there is a road leading to the perimiter fence, its possible to walk along and find a good spot here. Nobody seemed to bother me - just some friendly taunts from passing motorists who thought I was crazy to stand in the heat of the sun watching aircraft. A few even stopped to offer me a lift back to somewhere more sensible!
Things might have changed in the terminal area but I doubt if much else will have changed since then.
As for Sandakan - well, not much happens here. I'm assuming that you are flying on a dy trip from KK to see the Oran-Utans in which case go for an "A" seat on the early morning outbound and you might be rewarded with the sight of the sun rising over Mt Kinabalu - at rather close quarters.
Once you get to Sandakan, you may well be the only aircraft on the ground. There is a small hangar to the right of the terminal used by the local helicopter company - if these are active, you'll see them. I was also lucky on my return at night to see a YS-11 operating a flight to the Philipines. There was also a Malaysian AF C-130 in the circuit. Discreet photos were possible although distant to the runway. There's not enough traffic to merit wandering great distances to find better spots.
One small point to note is that if you are interested in registrations as well as photos, all aircraft joining the tower frequency tend to give out their registration (often just the last 3) - also on calling for start. So for example you can watch from the STAR hotel while getting the registrations over the radio. I dont know if scanners are legal in Malaysia - I wouldnt risk using one at the perimiter fence but sitting on the beach or at the hotel with the radio in a pocket or bag and a set of earphones coming out is unlikely to attract any attention.
Hope this helps - enjoy your trip to Malaysia - the country is beautiful - costs are cheap and the people are wonderful - I wish I was going back this year.
Le Addeur noir wrote:It is not allowed to posess,much more to use a scanner or any other radio receiver that is able to receive VHF frequencies in Malaysia.
Any use of a scanner in Malaysia should be discreet.
Thanks for clarifying this.
I've visited the country often and used my handheld scanner in the hotel and beach but I've never taken it to the airport. I'll bear this in mind for next time.
Since I am planning to visit Malaysia in May 2009 - both Western Malaysia and Sabah/Sawarak (Eastern Malaysia) - just in case if there is some time left next to wildlife photography can someone tell me (preferably first hand) the possibilities of taking pictures at military air bases as there is mm's used for full frame shots, problems with authorities, tips what to do and what not to do, etc.
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