Sandakan Memorial Park

Now don't be too upset, but for some reason at this point my camera decided not too record any pictures I have taken. Yet, I'm sure you can bear with me despite the lack of pictures.

Sandakan Memorial Park

So after all the wildlife, it was time for some sightseeing. My next stop was Sandakan Memorial Park, which I had a bit of trouble finding with buses. What ever would have I done without the help of locals?

While this is set in a beautifully landscaped park, it does little to ease the chill created by the horrifying accounts of the treatment of British and Australian POWs at the hands of the Japanese between January and August 1945. These prisoners had been captured during the Battle of Singapore in 1942 and had been relocated to Borneo to work on an airstrip. Conditions were very poor for them with scarce rations and medical attention as well as general mistreatment.

I had never heard of the Death Marches until my visit here. These series of three forced marches took the prisoners from Sandakan to Ranau. In total, 2,345 prisoner died during these ordeals. It is believed that all remaining prisoners were shot about 6 days after the actual end of the war. However, six Australians managed to escape and survive - four of them long enough to give testimonies in front of tribunal. Their escape would probably not have been possible without the help of the Bornean Resistance and the Filipino guerrillas. The resistance fighters of North Borneo seems to be an overlooked subject, but you can read a bit about it here.

Reading these testimonies and looking at the honor roll was the most disturbing part of it all and even the beauty of the park can't really warm you up after learning all of this. 

Six Survivors

Left to right, starting from the top: Lance Bombardier William 'Bill' Moxham, Gunner Owen Campbell, 

Bombardier Richard 'Dick' Braithwaite, Private Nelson Short, Warrant Officer Hector
‘Bill’ Sticpewich, and Private Keith Botterill

You can always read up more on the actual fact on Wikipedia, but I recommend this article and this one as well for a more personal account. If you are really interested, you can also read a longer account here.

As I final note, I do wonder why allied forces bombed the camp when it was clearly indicated that there were POWs stationed there?

between January and August 1945.

Day tour of Bohol

I had too many regrets with my first trip to Bohol that I had to go again before leaving the Philippines. I started this second round in Bohol with a day tour of the main attractions of the island. For this, I hired a driver and his scooter for the day. He was really happy to get the business and I even got to meet his family as we stopped to pick up an extra helmet. We then hit the road to go to the Loboc River Cruise, the Chocolate Hills, the Butterfly Farm, the Man-made Forest and the Baclayan Church.

Baker's Hill, the Penal Farm and Baywalk

Baker's Hill

We made a quick stop by Baker's Hill and its beautiful grounds. It was a nice walk and I got to have some tasty foods from a stand. There are many tables and the place would be ideal if you have children as there are many statues geared toward children as well as a nice playground.

Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm

Iwahig, the prison without walls... Now that is a concept that really sparked my interest! This minimum and medium security prison is situated on 45,000-hectares of land nestled in between mountains and ocean. It has no walls and its boundaries are marked off by a fence. The inmates are allowed to police and govern themselves, and there families can live on the farm as well. Inmates can also opt to learn a trade while they do their time. This is a win-win situation, as while the inmate learns a trade, the government has the opportunity to recoup the money for the prisoner's upkeep. Once the government has deducted the monies owed to it, the remaining money goes back to the inmate and their family.

I will admit that from my point of view, it was strange to drive through this farm, with the inmates walking freely about. Yet, if the system does work? It sure gave me a lot to think about and I wouldn't mind seeing the Canadian government piloting such a project rather than enforcing harsher policies.

While we drove through, every single inmate we drove past saluted us. I was taken aback by this interaction. It was refreshing though, reminds you first hand that the inmate are humans. I asked my uncle about escape attempt. He says it doesn't really happen here, since life is pretty good for the inmates and they get to have their families with them while they serve their time.

Baywalk

(Tasting new foods together)

The Baywalk is a nice place to have a stroll or to bike. They have also been relocating the night market there, so it's especially lively at night. We went there, the four of us, for a night stroll. I ended up tasting some pretty sweet street food, including urchin and a delicious kind of fresh seaweed (salty beads lining a stem, not sure how it's called).

(Tasting sea urchins)

Palawan Crocodile Farm

I headed to Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Park, a.k.a. the Palawan Crocodile Farm, with tita Carmen. In the  '70s, crocodiles were hunted extensively for their skin. This resulted in a decline in crocodile population and the creation of a conservation project. Later, in light of illegal trade the mandate was widened to include other animals that have been confiscated. They also are in charge of capturing crocodile which have attacked humans. They say that a crocodile that has tasted human flesh will always attend it again, I wonder if that's true.

We were met there by one of her nephews who works for the center. You can't wander in the park on your own, so you must wait for a guided tour, which thankfully are often enough (every 30 minutes I think, but don't take my word for it on that one). The visit started in the lobby where you could see the bones of a sperm whale and of Rio, who was once the world's largest crocodile.

(Rio's bones)

Hobbiton

We left Tasmania and landed in New Zealand, more precisely in Auckland. We spent a day walking around Auckland before heading on. Sadly, we were not able to go to the Observatory that night to watch the stars as it was cloudy. I was quite disappointed as I was looking forward to stargazing. However, exciting news: our next stop was Hobbiton! You know the set where the scenes of the Shire from the Lord of the Ring and the Hobbit trilogies were filmed?

 It was truly something else to walk around this fictional hobbit village for a day.

 

 

First, it was unbelievable to see the landmarks seen on screen, most notably Bilbo’s hole and its oak tree as well as the party tree (to which we owe the selection of the site during scouting). 

Then, you could only marvel at the amount of details that came into play. The oak tree (which was not an oak tree to start with) to which about 200 000 fake oak leaves were individually attached (the leaves ended up fading before filming, so they had to each be individually painted by hand), the hobbit hole doors – no two were the same – and each little accessory meticulously placed. 

 

Finally, there was the sheer beauty of it all. The gardens were all maintained as if people were actually living there. I, for one, could totally have imagined myself living peacefully in this idyllic setting.

And there's the Green Dragon Inn, where you can actually come in to have a bite and a drink.

 

Here is a sneak peak of the inside of the Inn.

This is a visit I definitely recommend to every LOTR and Hobbit fans out there.