The sea of Malaysia was calm like a lake of oil; the moon, rising behind the forests of Borneo, gilded the waters and made the white houses of Labuan sparkle, huddled along the shore like a flock of seabirds at rest. Behind the city, the immense jungle stretched dark and silent, like a mysterious world ready to devour that of men.”
(The Tigers of Mompracem by Emilio Salgari)
Sandokan is a story that belongs not to an era, but to an imagination. Even before becoming a television series, it is a gateway to a world that, for generations of Italians, has carried the colour of copper, the scent of wet forest, and the deep sound of the South Seas. The return of the Tiger of Malaysia, today embodied by Can Yaman after the iconic Kabir Bedi, reawakens that ancient desire: to depart toward an elsewhere that is not only geographical, but emotional.
The success of the series, an imposing production, strong audience numbers, and a second season already announced, has rekindled attention on a Salgarian universe that never truly stopped living. But what truly matters for travelers is another shift: Sandokan no longer remains confined to the screen. It becomes an invitation to seek out the real places that inspired the myth, above all those of Malaysia and Borneo, which have always held a privileged place in the Italian travel imagination.
Sandokan travel itinerary Malaysia reframes pop culture travel demand into a structured Malaysia and Borneo itinerary rooted in experiential depth.
Salgari’s Malaysia: a mental landscape before a geographical one
Emilio Salgari never saw Malaysia. Yet he managed to describe it like few others. Labuan, in his novels, appears as a threshold: light-colored colonial buildings reflecting the sun, a harbor animated by voices and different languages, the jungle beginning immediately beyond the apparent order of civilization. It is a place of tension and fascination, where the salty air blends with the sweet scent of tropical vegetation.
Even today Labuan preserves this ambiguity. Walking among its historic buildings means feeling the weight of colonial history and, at the same time, sensing the pull of the open sea. The sound of boats, the opaque color of the water at sunset, the heat that envelops without respite—all contribute to a sense of suspension, as if the journey could veer in any direction. It is here that Sandokan takes shape both as a character and as a state of mind.
Borneo: the tiger enters the forest
If Labuan is the threshold, Borneo is total immersion. Here, Malaysia ceases to be a backdrop and becomes a physical experience. The forest is not observed; it is crossed. Humidity settles on the skin, sounds never arrive in isolation: a rustle, a distant call, the slow flow of a tea-colored river. Green is not a colour, but an infinite stratification of shades.
In Mount Kinabalu National Park, clouds descend low in the morning and wrap the trails, turning every step into an act of attention. Here the journey is synesthetic: the smell of wet earth, the sudden silence broken by a wingbeat, the view that opens unexpectedly onto a deep valley. It is easy to understand why Salgari populated these lands with totemic animals and rebellious figures. Nature is not a backdrop, but a dominant presence.
Farther east, along the inland rivers, the longhouses of the Iban communities tell of another rhythm. Wood creaks underfoot, smoke from domestic fires permeates the air, and stories are still passed on by voice. Sleeping in these places means relinquishing part of one’s control and accepting a form of hospitality that is essential yet profoundly human. It is here that the myth of the Tiger of Malaysia ceases to be romantic adventure and becomes a relationship with a living territory.
A journey that speaks to the senses before the map
Borneo is not consumed quickly. Even the most iconic experiences—the encounter with orangutans, river navigation, trekking through primary jungle—require time and a willingness to listen. The journey slows, forcing a recalibration of expectations. And it is precisely in this slowness that the spirit of Sandokan is rediscovered: not conquest, but resistance; not superficial exoticism, but coexistence with a complex environment.
For the Italian traveler, all of this resonates with a deep memory. The South Seas, Malaysia, and Borneo have never been just destinations. They have been bedtime stories, pages read in youth, and television images that sparked the desire to depart. The new series brings this emotional heritage back to the surface and makes it current once again.
Italy is a distant echo of the myth
Italian locations, particularly those in Calabria, remain in the background as a narrative echo. Their role is not to replace Malaysia, but to prepare the gaze. They are places that have been able to evoke an elsewhere, reconstructing sets and atmospheres with great effectiveness.
An itinerary inspired by the series can begin right here. Tropea and Capo Vaticano offer beaches such as Grotticelle, where transparent water and white cliffs convey a sense of primordial freedom. Sunset horseback rides, simple dinners overlooking the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola, kayaking along the Saracen Coast, experiences that speak an adventurous yet accessible language.
At Le Castella, the Aragonese Castle rising from the sea becomes an imaginary port, a starting point for boat excursions and tales of modern pirates. At the lakes of La Vota and in Gizzeria, the landscape grows wilder: marshes, dunes, birdwatching, and mountain bike routes that introduce a more direct relationship with nature.
It is a journey that does not claim to “be” Malaysia, but evokes its atmosphere. An intermediate passage, useful also for the trade, capable of building short-haul themed packages and testing audience interest before proposing true outbound travel.
On the footsteps of Sandokan: an itinerary through the landscapes of myth
Following Sandokan does not mean chasing a precise map, but recognising an atmosphere. His world is made of thresholds: colonial ports that smell of salt and wood, slow rivers penetrating the forest, islands that promise freedom. This itinerary proposes a real journey through Southeast Asian places capable of restoring the breath of Salgari’s narrative, with Malaysia as the narrative heart and Borneo as total immersion.
The ideal starting point is Labuan, an island and port that in the novels represents the boundary between colonial order and rebellion. Here, the day begins early, when slanting light strikes the façades of historic buildings and the sea is still opaque. Walking along the waterfront means listening to the rustle of boats and sensing that subtle tension Salgari described: European civilization just steps away from an as-yet untamed elsewhere. Labuan should be experienced slowly, letting heat and salty air build an initial state of mind rather than a checklist of visits.
From the port, the journey truly begins with the transfer to Malaysian Borneo. Landing in Kota Kinabalu brings a clear sense of changing register: the horizon closes in, vegetation advances.
Mount Kinabalu National Park is one of the most powerful stops for rediscovering Sandokan’s soul. Here, the forest is not scenery, but an organism. Trails rise through sudden mists, the ground is elastic with leaves and roots, and sounds arrive layered. Walking at dawn, when the mountain is wrapped in low clouds, restores that feeling of proud isolation that runs through the entire Salgarian cycle.
Descending in altitude, the itinerary continues along the inland rivers of Sabah. Slow navigation on light boats allows entry into the rhythm of the jungle. The banks are a succession of deep greens, interrupted by sudden animal calls. It is in this landscape that encounters with orangutans—always mediated by local guides and conservation contexts—take on symbolic value: the perception of a possible, fragile yet real coexistence between humans and nature. Here, Sandokan is not a romantic hero, but a figure of precarious balance.
The journey continues toward Sarawak, the region that more than any other embodies the fluvial dimension of the myth. Traveling upriver along the Batang Ai means gradually moving away from infrastructure and approaching a world that lives by different rhythms. The longhouses of the Iban communities, built of wood and facing the water, offer an experience of essential hospitality. In the evening, smoke from domestic fires mingles with humidity, and stories still circulate by word of mouth. It is a place where travel becomes listening, and where the idea of Mompracem as a “refuge island” finds a real, unspectacular translation.
To understand the conflict that runs through Sandokan, a brief detour to Singapore completes the picture. Ordered, luminous, hyperconnected, it represents today as then the face of commercial and colonial power. Visited after Borneo, Singapore appears as a sharp counterpoint: advancing modernity, efficient and seductive, yet distant from the sensory intensity of the forest. It is a useful passage for rereading, by contrast, the rebellious choice of the Tiger of Malaysia.
The itinerary can close by ideally returning to Labuan or by choosing one of the small islands off the coast of Borneo, where the sea resumes its central role. Here, amid snorkeling and silence, the final breath of the journey is found: not the conquest of a place, but the sensation of having crossed a coherent world made of water, forest, and boundaries.
Mompracem
In this journey, Mompracem is not merely the imaginary island of Salgari’s tale. It is a psychological metaphor for travel itself. A place that does not exist on nautical charts but that we recognise instinctively, because it inhabits our memory and our need for freedom. As in the emotional cartographies mentioned in the related article, Mompracem becomes the inner refuge we move toward every time we depart: a mental space where identity recomposes, where travel ceases to be consumption and returns to being choice. It is the safe harbour to which we return, often without realising it, at the end of every authentic experience. And perhaps this is why the landscapes of Malaysia and Borneo continue to speak to us so deeply: because, like Mompracem, they offer the concrete illusion of an elsewhere that gives us back to ourselves.
Beyond the series: Sandokan as a key to reading the destination
In this sense, Sandokan is a conscious pretext. It serves to reopen a dialogue between narrative and geography, between fiction and real travel desire. Malaysia, and Borneo in particular, emerge as destinations capable of offering deep, non-serial experiences at a historical moment when many travellers are seeking authenticity and meaning.
Following the footsteps of the Tiger of Malaysia today means accepting a journey that engages the senses, memory, and imagination. A journey that does not promise absolute comfort, but restores intensity. And perhaps this, more than any gossip or location, is the true legacy of Sandokan.
“On the Footsteps of Sandokan”: from narrative to offer, implications for the trade
The impact of the series is also measurable in data. Searches related to “Borneo” and to Calabrian locations have recorded a significant increase, a sign that pop culture continues to influence travel desire. For the sector, this opens concrete opportunities: combined itineraries of 7–10 days, small groups, themed experiences such as yacht charters in the Tyrrhenian Sea or jungle treks in Malaysia.
Calabria can benefit from an “exotic” repositioning, while Malaysia has the opportunity to present itself as a conscious alternative to overcrowded destinations in Southeast Asia. A narrative that starts from fiction and leads to a more mature form of tourism, capable of valuing territory, culture, and local communities.
The itinerary is structured as a modular and progressive journey, with a medium–low level of difficulty, suitable also for young travelers aged 10–12 and up. The ideal duration is 10–14 days; the main destinations (Labuan, Kota Kinabalu, Sarawak, Singapore) are well connected, equipped with reliable healthcare facilities and certified local operators. Outdoor activities (jungle walks, river navigation, wildlife observation) take place on guided, non-technical routes, with no need for climbing or demanding trekking. More intense segments can be replaced with softer alternatives.
The itinerary works particularly well because it combines:
narrative and adventure (Sandokan as the guiding thread),
direct experience of nature (forest, rivers, wildlife),
educational value (biodiversity, indigenous cultures, colonial history).
It stimulates curiosity, imagination, and a sense of limits without resorting to artificial playful formats. It is a family- and youth-friendly itinerary with high experiential and cultural content, easily adaptable by the trade into small-group formats, for curious families or educational travel, while remaining consistent with the principles of responsible tourism.
A myth that continues to travel
On the footsteps of the Tiger is not, ultimately, a journey across film sets. It is a path through an imagination that Italians recognize as their own. Sandokan becomes a narrative pretext, a red thread linking Calabria and Borneo, the Mediterranean and the South Seas, proximity and distance.
And perhaps this is its most enduring value: reminding us that travel is born first in the mind, then in books, today in TV series, and only finally in the choice of a destination. Malaysia, with its history, forests, and seas, remains a promise. It is up to the traveler to decide when to claim it.
By Daniele Di Stefano
Essential references
Primary literary sources
The Tigers of Mompracem, Emilio Salgari
The Pirates of Malaysia, Emilio Salgari
The Reconquest of Mompracem, Emilio Salgari
Audiovisual and journalistic sources
Sandokan, Lux Vide / Rai production
Articles and specials on Rai News and Rai Cultura dedicated to the series’ production and locations
Official video content and clips on RaiPlay
Location and production sources
Official communications and materials from the Calabria Film Commission
Press kits and production notes from Lux Vide
In-depth articles on sets and locations published by Italian entertainment and culture outlets (December 2025)
Tourism and contextual sources
Tourism Malaysia – materials on Borneo, Labuan, Sarawak
Historical documentation on Labuan and Sarawak (British colonial period, 19th century)
