INTRODUCTION
The third largest town of the state of Sabah, situated on the island of Borneo. It is a relatively new town in Malaysia, boomed in early 80's for its lumber and cocoa farming industry. Today Tawau is a bustling town where it is a transit point to all neigbouring islands such Sebatik, Nunukan, Tarakan, Jolo and Semporna islands.
DIRECTIONS TO TAWAU
By plane
Tawau International Airport (IATA: TWU, ICAO: WBKW) is the second international airport of Sabah. There are flights to Kuala Lumpur (2 hr 30 min, daily), Johor Bahru (2 hr 30 min, every Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun), Kota Kinabalu (45 min, five daily) and Sandakan (45 min, twice daily) on Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia and FlyAsianExpress (FAX).
The airport is about 35 km away from the town. Airport taxis available and operated by the Malaysian Airport authorities charge RM55 for one way trip to the town.
The going rate for a taxi ride from the airport to the city is around RM20 (as of October 2006).
Alternatively, there is an airport bus service operated by Kasah Transport (S) Sdn. Bhd. (Tel: 089-950208) to the city for RM10. The departure times of the airport bus from the city to the airport are as follows: 630am, 815am, 1100am, 100pm, 430pm (as of August 2006).
Caution: there are ATMs and a currency exchange at the airport but if you're arriving late it'll almost certainly be closed and the ATMs are not always working, so make sure you've got some Malaysian ringgit before you arrive as you'll need it for the taxi or the bus.
By coach
There are daily buses to Kota Kinabalu, but it's a rather painful eight-hour journey. There are buses from Lahad Datu (2 hr 30 min) as well, one of them is Ali Topan Ekspress (Tel: 089-767858, 013-8862348, 019-8634797), departs at 330pm for RM15.
By ferry
The main ferry connections are to the Indonesian cities of Nunukan and Tarakan, both in East Kalimantan province.
- To/from Nunukan: Two departures daily from Tawau at 1000 on the MV Mid East Express (Tel: +60-89-774100), and at 1500. From Nunukan, departures are at 0900 and 1400. Tickets cost RM40 one-way and journey time is 1 hour.
- To/from Tarakan: One departure daily except on Sunday from Tawau. Indomaya sails every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1130, while Tawindo departs every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 1030. Tickets cost RM75 one-way and travelling time is 3 hours.
GETTING AROUND TAWAU
Taxi - Taxi fares around town would cost around RM5, and to housing area at RM7 at most.
Bus - 50 sen to travel within town areas. And about RM2 to the rural areas like Balung and Merotai.
THINGS TO DO
Diving
- Sipadan - The only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising about 5000 feet above seabed.
SHOPPING
Central Market or known as Pasar Sri Tanjung. It offers goods arrived locally and neigbouring islands (such as Nunukan and Tarakan).
CUISINE
Eat
- Sabindo Hawker Center offers a variety of seafood stalls at Sabindo centre. From Chinese, Malay and Thai tomyam seafood stall, it is just located along the waterfront in town. The stalls offer very competitive prices for selective catch of the day.
- Makanan Laut 101 serves excellent crab and shellfishes with vegetables at incredibly low prices.
- Mongolian Chicken Rice on Jalan Chester offers one of the tastiest Chicken Rice in town. The small outlet is always crowded.
At night, numerous stalls set up around the town. Many sell
- Sulawesi Soto Makassar (buffalo soup), a Bugis specialty; Pisang Goreng (fried bananas), Ubi Goreng (fried tapioca), Onde-onde (glutinous rice with savoury taste roasted in banana leaves), Kuih Pandan (Pandan rice cake), Karipap (Curry Puff), Kuih kacang (Peanut pancake spread with Kaya coconut jam), Bubur Chaca(local dessert served with tapioca, sweetpotato and sago in sweet coconut milk) & etc.
- Nasi Kuning or yellow rice is an Indonesian specialty that cannot be found anywhere else in Malaysia except Tawau. The rice is cooked with turmeric (known as kunyit in Malay) and coconut milk - which in turn made the rice look yellow in colour. It is usually served with a piece of fish deep-fried in dried chilli sauce. This can be found in almost any Malay restaurants or stalls around Tawau but sometimes also sold in some Chinese coffeeshops. To further enhance the taste, the rice is usually wrapped in banana leaves. Price ranges from RM 0.50 to RM 3.00 per serving.
- Kam Ling Seafood (Add: 25 Sabindo Open Air Food Stall, Tel: 089-756457, 016-8262511, 017-8982511, 019-8832511), contact Mr Wong to place reservation if you like to taste fresh seafood. Dinner for 2 with fish and 2 dishes costs about RM35. You may like to try Kam Ling's very own Kam Kat Lemon (lime lemon juice, RM3) drink after seafood to clear the heat.
Drink
- Zenzi Dance Club - formerly known as Frequency. Located behind Maxim seafood restaurant at Fajar.
ACCOMMODATION
Budget
- Hotel Murah - RM39 for double room.
Mid-range / Splurge
- Belmont Marco Polo Hotel
- King Park Hotel
- Heritage Hotel
JUST OUTSIDE TAWAU
- Nunukan - an island in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, is just one an hour away by ferry. 2 departures daily from Tawau port.
- Tarakan - a town on an island of the same name in East Kalimantan, which is about 120km south of Tawau.
