Sandakan Christmas

The drive from the airport to the town runs past decaying waterside villages and developments. Our hotel, the Four Points Sheraton rises 26 storeys above the waterfront. We are spellbound by the seaview from our room on the twentieth floor: below is the infinity pool; and across the horizon are the golden clouds framing the sunset.









Christmas dinner in the bar is seafood chowder, sherbet lemon ice, ribeye, turkey, and raspberry bavarois... washed down with an Argentinian Malbec. Noisy Brits down margaritas, football plays on the telly, and bar staff sport Santa hats.