Tawau

See

thumb|The historic belfry of Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia; it's the last historic pre-war building of Tawau

Buy

thumb|Lions Club Tawau Monument at Jalan Utara Tawau Bazaar opposite to Marco Polo Hotel is the best place to buy goods such as Batik sarongs, merchandises, Sabah T-shirts, handicrafts, branded cosmetics with cheaper price.

Eat

Sabindo Hawker Center offers a variety of seafood stalls at Sabindo centre. From Chinese, Malay and Thai tom yum seafood stall, it is just located along the waterfront in town. The stalls offer very competitive prices for the selective catch of the day. Makanan Laut 101 serves excellent crab and shellfishes with vegetables at incredibly low prices.

At night, numerous stalls set up around the town. Many sell

Sulawesi Coto Makassar (Makassarse beef soup), a Bugis specialty; Saggar/Pisang Goreng (banana fritters), 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 coconut jam), Bubur Chaca(a dessert broth with tapioca, sweet potato and sago), etc. Nasi Kuning or yellow rice is an Indonesian specialty that cannot be found anywhere else in Malaysia. The rice is cooked with coconut milk and turmeric (known as kunyit in Malay), which in turn made the rice look yellow in colour. In Tawau 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 0.40 to RM 3.00 per serving. Mee Tauhu or tofu noodles, a classic Sabahan breakfast. Noodles served with several variations of tofu sauce.

Sleep

Promenade Hotel De Choice Hotel, Phone: +60 89–776655, +60 89–776761, +60 89-776760 Kingston Hotel Phone: +60 89–702288, +60 89–702388, +60 89-702588

There are many hotels in Tawau, a few of which you can book online, but often there are promotions available when you walk up. One comprehensive website to check for hotels is http://www.etawau.com/Hotel/index.html which also lists prices. There are apparently no hostels in Tawau. Also, be aware that in many of the hotels the internet connection is sporadic, only available in the lobby, or not available at all. There is one gaming internet location in the hotel area called Command open until midnight.

Stay healthy

There are a number of medical and dental clinics available. Most only operate until 17:00 but some remain open until 22:00. Klinik Famili have doctors at 5 branches around Tawau and its branch at Kompleks Tanjung operate until 22:00 everyday including weekend and public holidays. Other clinic, Sabindo and Sabindo Square open until 21:00 and 20:00 respectively. The other clinic, Fajar and Jalan Paya opens until 5PM. In case of emergency, please contact 089-767878 during office hours or 089-760817 after hours.

General Hospital Tawau has 24/7 ER department open to all who need it.

Go next

Nunukan - an island in North 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 North Kalimantan, which is about 120km south of Tawau. As of 2023, no direct ferry connection exists anymore, you have to go to Nunukan first. Semporna - a town famous for its many dive operators offering dives to Sipadan island.