Tawau
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| Gambar 1: Tawau Sabah |
Introduction
Tawau is the third largest town in Sabah located at south-east and being famous for its fresh and cheap seafood. Besides, it is the largest argo-tourism destination in Sabah. Attractions here include Balung Eco Resort, Tawau Hills Park and Teck Guan Cocoa Museum and few others. Tawau is related close to Semporna.
Sources of information: http://www.sabahtourism.com/en/destination/district/4-tawau/
History
There are different stories about the origin of state’s name. The Tidong
community claims that the name came from the fishing hook which called Tawau.
The stories begin when the British came to the state where when the British
asked the name of Tawau River, Tidongs community mention the word Tawau as a
mistaken of Tidongs community as they think British ask them what are they
doing due to not understanding English.
On the other hand, Bugis claimed that Tawau means it is their “ownership”,
while the Cocos Islander community explained that Tawau came from the words “tawar”
in the meaning of no taste or lack of power of people felt when they entered
Tawau.
Each
local communities believed that the origin of Tawau’s name is related to their
community. From tradition view, there is a kind of very bitter herbal leaves
called “tawao” which is taken raw when encountered sugar level problems or
diabetic. This however is also said to be relate to the origin of Tawau’s name.
To find more on the Tawau History, feel free to read through the post by click the below link,
Sources
of information:
There
are pictures on the history of Tawau showing the development through years.
Please refer to this source of information:
http://www.etawau.com/history/1950.htm
Attraction
There is
not much in the Tawau Town itself but there are lots of attractions around the
town. All attractions consists of Central Market, the Fish Market, the Bell
Tower, the Al-Kauthar Mosque, Tawau Hills National Park, Bukit Gemok, Teck Guan
Cocoa Museum, the Madai Caves and the Tawau hot springs.
Refer
sources below to learn the detail about Tawau attractions.
http://www.etawau.com/IndexInterest.htm
Personal experience
I have
personally been to Tawau on 4 days 3 nights trip. Tawau gave me friendly images
as I was fully overwhelmed by the warmth of the locals. I went there with some
of my friend following a friend origin from Tawau. We were allowed to stay in
her house, welcomed warmly by them and able to enjoy the local cuisine and
learning their tradition.
My
friend hometown is located on a village not far from Tawau Town. Her house is
located on a small hill and was a little tilt which makes me felt nervous whenever
climbing it. Most of the house here are double stories and was combinations of
brakes and wood. On the other hand, another friend of mine that origin in Tawau
stays in a house which is high from ground due to the geographic factor. His
house is along the seaside which is in the area affected by the tide of the sea.
We could see the sea from his house and the view is indescribable. Every day
when the sea level increase, the water will flood into the area and making it
seems like the house is built in sea.
The family
cuisine in Tawau is mostly the same as the other region in Sabah but I found it
interesting when we are provided lunch on deer meat (venison). I were told that
the deer that we eat are those which the family hunt themselves in the jungle.
It is an amazing fact for me and was the first time I eat deer meats. Quite
delicious I must admit.
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| Gambar 2: Tawau Town |
I’ve
never been to much of the attractions but I do appear to be in Tawau Town a
lot. The town is not too busy yet still full of people. Since Tawau is along
the seaside, we can just feel the breeze from the sea when we are hanging
around the seaside. From the seaside of Tawau Town, we are able to have a view
of our neighbor country which is land of Indonesia over the other side of the
sea.
About
the local food, I was told that Nasi Lalap was a must to try in Tawau. Nasi
Lalap is basically rice cum chicken with a very unique sauce. My friend claimed
that Nasi Lalap in Tawas was the best among the Sabah. There are lots of stores selling that along
the Tawau Town too. Nasi Lalap is a new dish for me and it taste good. The rice
is in a form of either fried or not according to a person preferences and what
makes it special was the chicken and the sauce accompanied. The chicken of Nasi
Lalap is cooked in a unique way along with the spices and the sauce also specially
made with a really delicious aroma which makes me can’t help but have more of
it. The dish is too best to serve with a fresh coconut drink and with the feel
of seaside breeze.
I passed
through one of the attraction which is Bukit Gemok that usually a place for
jungle hiking. It is not really that fat like stated in its name “Gemok” and I wonder
where the name came from. However, the greenish view of the hills is a rare
treasure for me whom live in cities with less plant to start with.
Besides,
there was little experience that I found interesting and memorable. We were
given chances to spend a night or actually slept in a pavillion in the middle
of the sea. It is connected to the road by a small bridge build by wood. It is
quite scary at first since when we walked we were actually quite high on the
sea. We can hear the sound of the sea waves hitting the seaside and feel the
cold breeze at night. Furthermore, we were enjoying the full moon that night. Of
course it would be bad to mention that it rain in the middle of the night which
makes us have to ran back to our vehicle and head straight back to home.
We too
was brought to a high lands and we could view the whole Tawau below. The Tawau
city in night view is quite adorable and the light along the road is seems to
show that the day ever end when the night city started to operate. When we get
to higher level of the highlands, our cell phone was disconnect with Malaysia’s
mobile operator and we are connected to the Indonesia operator although at the
moment we were in Malaysia territory. It is a sign that shows we were really
near to the border of Malaysia and Indonesia.
The
Tawau city will surely become a place full with memory to whoever visits it in such
a unique way that the beautiful memory belong only to you.
Posts by: Leong Sook Yee BA 11110163 (Miyu Nancy)
Posts by: Leong Sook Yee BA 11110163 (Miyu Nancy)
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