Tribal handicrafts made by Borneo's tribal people make lovely souvenirs.

Browse our Sandakan Shopping Guide for some great souvenir ideas to take home from your holiday in Sandakan. Shopping in Sandakan is fun, with a variety of shopping options available, and many of them located next to the best restaurants in Sandakan too! Check out our Malaysia shopping guide for some great tips for your Malaysia shopping experience.

Sandakan Shopping Guide

Souvenirs, postcards and some useful stuff like sweatshirts can be bought at reasonable rates at a small gift shop in Labuk Bay. This shop has a wide range of interesting merchandise on offer.

Air conditioned multi-storied shopping complexes, open bazaars, night markets (known as pasar malam) and sidewalk stalls - these are the options for shopping in Sandakan open to visitors. Most retail outlets keep open till 10 pm.

If you are looking for souvenirs that are uniquely Malaysian set your sights on pottery, rattan, silver, pewter and brass items made with intricate craftsmanship. Malaysian Batik will lure you with its dazzling colours and bold designs.

Malaysian shopping outlets also stock up on various items sourced from all over the world. So you can buy the latest in designer apparel, footwear and accessories here. If you are looking for electronics gadgets, computers, cameras or electrical appliances you will find those too. Think of something and it will be available here.

Souvenirs galore await you and rest assured there is something for everyone.

People back home will be avidly waiting for souvenirs when you announce a trip to Malaysia. You will be inundated with a variety to choose from.

You will have a tough time deciding between varieties of trinkets, costume jewellery, key chains, fabrics and the like. Tribal handicrafts made by Borneo's tribal people make lovely souvenirs.

Vivid and glistening pareos and sarongs are bound to catch your eye. Do pick up pearl jewellery to go with it too. Necklaces, earrings, captivating brooches and loose pearls will greet you wherever you turn.

Looking for curios to spruce up your home décor? Carved items, picture frames, exotic masks, rattan baskets and stunning wall panels will vie for your attention. Rattan baskets in various shapes and sizes are favourite buys with visitors to Sandakan.

If you are lucky you may even find unusual items like a sompoton (a traditional wind instrument), a handbag with a wooden frog that ‘sings' when its back is stroked or even a blowpipe used by headhunters!

Bargaining in Sandakan

Put your shyness aside and bargain for all you are worth. Do make an effort to pick up some of the local lingo and bargain with gusto. The best approach would be to do a survey first, getting a feel of the prices and the merchandise on offer. Then roll up your sleeves and plunge into serious bargaining to get good deals. After all you would not like to be in a situation where you buy some stuff in a hurry only to discover it being sold for less elsewhere!

Sandakan Souvenirs

Souvenirs consisting of Borneo's traditional artefacts and handicrafts made by Borneo's tribal people are sold in many shops. You will also find a lot of modern souvenirs.

Here is some information about the local merchandise you can pick up in shops in Sandakan:

Rattan

Rattan is thin but long lasting palm wood that is sourced from Borneo's lush rainforests. Rattan is tough enough to be used in house building and making farming equipment. Several household items traditionally used by the locals are made with rattan.

You may find mats, baskets and fish traps catching your eye. The multipurpose rattan baskets can be really useful as they are light yet strong. To cater to tourist tastes rattan is used to make flower vases and pen holders too.

Beads

You will find the colourful and skilfully made bead jewellery worn by the tribal people in Borneo very interesting. The Rungus people hailing from Kudat are very skilled in beadwork. Bangles, ear-rings, brooches, necklaces - name it and they make it. Their designs are inspired by tribal folklore.

Parang

The parang is a crescent-shaped traditional knife used by both tribals and urban dwellers. Most households have parangs as they are very useful. Now, Parangs are commercially produced; however, the Bajau from Kota Belud continue to make parangs using traditional methods. Tempered iron is used to make the blade of the knife, and the sheath and the hilt are made using carved wood.

Tudung Duang

Tudung Duang is a fabric cover used to cover food. These are made in bright colours with attractive motifs and are used by the locals to keep insects off prepared food.

Wood

Items of everyday use are made by tribal groups from Sarawak and Sabah, using skilful woodcarving techniques. Weapons, boats, bowls, blowpipes, figurines and ritual masks are some of the common wood carved items made.

Pottery

Clay is moulded by skilful tribal hands into useful items like drinking water cisterns, ceramic stools, lamps, ashtrays, mugs, and teapots. To cater to tourist tastes they also make decorative vases and jars and even photo frames. The Chinese residents of Borneo are skilled at pottery.

Pua Kumbu

The Iban people from Sarawak make a beautiful fabric called Pua Kumbu. Lovely patterns are woven and transferred to vertical threads using the tie and dye method. This fabric is then used to make overthrows, sarongs and the like.