CNN’s popular travel website CNNgo.com has recently voted Sipadan’s Barracuda Point near Tawau as the world’s number one dive site.

Launched in September 2009, CNNGo is the internet’s leading source of travel news, information, inspiration, and on the ground, insider insight for luxury, business and leisure travelers and global enquirers. Currently it has around 250k Facebook followers.

The article that was just posted last month shows that Sipadan is well ahead of other more popular destinations such as Egypt’s Red Sea, the Maldives and Micronesia’s Palau. Layang-Layang Island which is located in the West Coast of Sabah made it to number #31 in this list.

The following was highlighted on their website:

Barracuda Point can be an intimidating experience. Fish stream along like traffic here, as if the streets of New Delhi have descended underwater. During these chaotic scenes, you may find yourself in the center of a giant barracuda tornado, while hammerhead sharks and flapping rays nonchalantly cruise past.

The sea turtles here are three-meter beasts, and jackfish swim in swirling balls in their hundreds. It’s home to the weird and wonderful too; look out for the strange-looking bum head parrot fish and eerie batfish.

Depth: 5-40 meters.
Visibility: 30 meters.
Location: North East of Sipadan Island only five minutes by boat from the beach.

The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau once said “I have seen other places like Sipadan 45 years ago. Now we have found again an untouched piece of art”. Looks like his claims can never be refuted.

Have you dived here before? Share your experience with us or on our Facebook group!

Popular fast food chain McDonald’s is set to open its first branch in Tawau, Sabah over the next few days.

Tawau joined as the third town in Sabah to have its own McDonald’s outlet. Despite the reputation of fast food outlets, Tawau folks and generally many Malaysians are still eager to dine and enjoy their ‘Prosperity Burgers’ here.

“To have McDonald’s opening an outlet here means signs of progress. It’s been a while since we heard the rumour about McDonald’s coming to Tawau and it’s here finally” according to a user on a popular Tawau-based Facebook group.

It is located near Mile 3.5 of Jalan Apas, the main road connecting Tawau and the New Tawau Airport. Giant Hypermarket is just 50 metres away so it will definitely attract shoppers and people living near this area.

Tawau’s outlet will operate 24 hours and also boasts a drive-thru for those who would like to grab a quick bite on their way to the airport and other towns in the East Coast of Sabah.

Update April 20th: It’s finally opened! Photo courtesy of Maya Wahida of Puadede.com.

Image: eTawau.com

It’s been a while since our last update, so do enjoy this video high definition (HD) of Tawau Hills Park shot by Jollence Lee.

Tawau Hills Park is the ideal place to get in touch with nature. Located some 24 km from Tawau town, the park is a popular spot for families and friends to enjoy a picnic or, for the more adventurous, spend a night camping under a blanket of stars.

The park serves as a vital water catchment area for the major rivers in this part of Sabah, the Tawau , Merotai, Kinabatangan, Mantri and Balung rivers. Covering an area of 27,972 hectares, the Tawau Hills Park was gazetted in 1979. It is home to numerous plant and animal species.

It is also the home to the tallest tropical trees in the world.

The second annual International Tawau Cultural Festival will be held for two days from January 28 to 29 this year.

Several countries will be invited to participate in this year’s International Tawau Cultural Festival which will be jointly organised by the Tawau Municipal Council, the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry and the Sabah Cultural Board.

Joint-chairman of the festival, Datuk Ismail Mayakob said invitation would be sent to countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei to participate in the event.

“However, they will only make normal performances because we want to give priority to the cultural performances by the various ethnic groups in Tawau,” he told reporters after a meeting on the festival Saturday.

So far, 24 ethnic groups had registered to perform at the festival.

If you’re happened to be in Tawau end of this month, be sure to catch this spectacular event!

Source: Bernama

If you’re a backpacker, saving cost and finding the cheapest the way to travel are your highest priorities. Here’s one of the most asked questions by travellers planning to go to Semporna: what is the cheapest way to get there from Tawau airport?

Since the new airport is located 33km from Tawau’s town centre and 1/4th of the way to Semporna, there isn’t really a direct way to get to Semporna from the airport except by Taxi. A taxi may cost you around RM100-150.

If time is not an issue then you can consider the following; assuming that you arrived during the day. There will be very few buses leaving for Semporna after 4pm.

1. Take a taxi from Tawau Airport to Tawau’s bus terminal for RM35. The bus terminal is located at Sabindo Square, near the post office and the Al-Kauthar mosque.

2. Once you’ve reached the terminal you can choose to take a mini van or a bus. Bus leaves on a fixed schedule whereby mini vans will wait until they reach maximum capacity before they leave.

3. The fare is RM10-RM15 to Semporna from Tawau. The distance is about 90km and will take slightly more than an hour.

Another alternative is to walk from the airport right to the main road (about 3km) and hope that a mini van to Semporna would stop.

Contrary to what you’ve read on travel guides, there are actually many interesting things to do in Tawau. Feel free to contact us or visit our Facebook page to ask any question.

As part of our effort to develop tourism in Tawau, we now offer affordable car rental services in Tawau.

You can choose to drive the car yourself or simply hire a driver to take you around.

With unlimited daily mileage*, you can drive to any destination without having to worry about paying extras!

Here’s a list of cars available and the daily rates in Ringgit Malaysia (RM)
(see www.xe.com for exchange rates, M: Manual, A: Automatic)

• Perodua Kancil 660 (M) – RM89/day
• Perodua Kancil 850 (M) – RM99/day
• Perodua Viva 660 (M) – RM89/day
• Proton Iswara 1.3 (M) – RM119/day
• Perodua Myvi 1.3 (A) – RM169/day
• Proton Saga BLM 1.3 (M) – RM159/day
• Proton Saga BLM 1.3 (A) – RM169/day
• Proton Wira 1.5 (A) – RM179/day
• Proton Gen 2 1.6 (A) – RM199/day
• Proton Waja 1.6 (A) – RM219/day
• Proton Persona 1.6 (A/M) – RM219/day
• Toyota Unser 1.8 (A) MPV – RM299/day
• Toyota Avanza 1.5 (A) MPV – RM219/day
• Nissan Grand Livina 1.6 (A) MPV – RM319/day
• Ford Ranger 2.5 (M) 4WD – RM319/day
• Toyota Innova 2.0 (A) MPV – RM369/day
• Toyota Hilux Vigo 2.5 (M) 4WD – RM369/day
• Toyota Hiace 2.5 (M) 12 seater van – RM369/day

Kindly note that vehicles are subject to availability during reservation. Our customer care representative will offer you similar type of vehicle if the type you requested is not available.

Your car rental is inclusive of free airport/hotel pickup/drop-off and free parking coupon.

2012 New Year Special! Take RM19.00 off for any daily car rental rate!

Rent a car now by sending an email to info@discovertawau.com or use the form below. We will respond within 1 business day.

[contact-form]

MASwings has unveiled its first three Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) routes as the community airline positions itself as a regional aviation player. Tawau and Tarakan will become one of the major routes.

This comes as a very good news to folks in Malaysia and Indonesia who have been urging both sides to reinstate the service about 2 years ago.

Tawau-Tarakan flight used to operate many years ago by now defunct Bouraq Indonesia. Currently, the only way to get to Tarakan from Tawau is through boat or ferry via Nunukan in East Kalimantan.

This route will be operated by MASwings’ ATR72-500 turboporp plane which could accommodate 72 passengers. There will only be economy seats available for now. The flight will operate three times a week.

Potentially, you can also fly direct to Bali from Tarakan. This seems like a great alternative for travellers.

If you plan to get an Indonesian Visa in Tawau be sure to check here for the new location as many guide books have outdated information.

Tawau’s new airport which is located about 33km from the town centre will become an international airport once again. Hopefully this route will reach more than 80% capacity.

Tawau produces a lot of national and international talents but they are rarely being recognized. I hope that will change soon. Here’s an interview of award winning artist from Tawau Bayu Utomo Radjikin with TheSundaily which was published online on November 18, 2011.

MALAYSIAN figurative artist Bayu Utomo Radjikin has had his work exhibited in the United States, Britain, Austria, India and elsewhere. The award winning artist tells theSun there is an urgent need to take our art outside Malaysia.

Your father was a teacher. Did your parents ever object to you being an artist?

No. Where I come from (Tawau, Sabah), as long as you have made it to university, you have made your parents proud. They will feel they have fulfilled their duty as parents. What course you take at university is never an issue. I took a degree in Fine Arts from University Technology Mara in 1991. They just want to see you succeed.

What has been the best compliment and the worst criticism you have received in your 25 years as an artist?

My name was surprisingly mentioned in school text books. It is a compliment when the young know of you and your work. As for criticism, I have yet to receive any.

Are the media playing their role in promoting Malaysian art?

The media wants to cover something that’s interesting. If art no longer interests people, you cannot blame the media for not covering it. Perhaps we should be putting on more exciting exhibitions to grab media attention. I do feel that whenever the media cover an exhibition, they are more interested in reporting who came to see it. Maybe artists need to explain an exhibition, so the media understand the concept behind it. In that way, they will be more tempted to write about it.

I would also like to see more in-depth writing on the arts. Everyone knows about the late Ibrahim Hussein and his work that is worth millions. Yet, there are no real discussions in the media on why it is worth millions or why it makes his a popular name around the world. Everyone knows that the late Syed Ahmad Jamal was awarded the Seniman Negara, but there are no real discussions about his art work in the media so that people will understand why. I may be asking too much of the media, but it would be good if we could have that.

NURTURING TALENT

Tell us more about your gallery, House of Matahati (HOM)?

It was created by Matahati, an art group consisting of five members, and was established in 2007 as an independent art space. Besides exhibitions, we have a programme to help nurture artists, especially young ones. We have a six-month resident programme for local graduate artists. We give chosen artists an allowance, basic art materials and a studio to work in. At the end of the programme, the work they produce will be exhibited in this gallery. So far, 11 artists have been on the programme. We also have international residencies where foreign artists stay at HOM for a month and interact and connect with local artists and the art scene. The most recent is the SAGE (Southeast Asia Art Group Exchange), where we are inviting artists from Indonesia and the Philippines to stay here in Kuala Lumpur and visit artist studios, galleries and collectors with the locals.

HOM also has the MEAA (Malaysian Emerging Artist Award) that is given to young and talented artists to pursue a direction in art practice, and lastly the Matahati Art Fund where some of the money we collect is channelled to artists who want to run art activity locally. We also give to relief funds such as after the Yogyakarta earthquake and the Mount Merapi eruption.

Some artists believe the government gives the arts less priority than other areas.

The answer can be yes and no. Culture and the arts are still on the government’s agenda, but of course culture gets more emphasis. Maybe the physical form of culture is more attractive. It is easier to sell as a brand outside Malaysia, to pull in the foreign tourists. There seems to be less dedication to showing our art outside Malaysia, I guess.

But recently, there have been increasing efforts to showcase our work elsewhere. However, some of us find the whole business of promoting our art outside Malaysia a little bit superficial. And when things are done superficially, they don’t last.

An example of superficial?

Contemporary art is very in now, so they make all our work fit into this segment. People in the art scene feel they don’t put the right work in the right perspective.

They have been promoting art outside Malaysia since late last year, and hopefully, there will be consistent efforts every year. We promote everything on an ad hoc basis. Consistency is important if we want to make an impact. All you need do is to consistently promote our work for five years, and you will see results.

We have put up many exhibitions, most showing local art to the locals. We feel good about ourselves. Other Asian countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are showing off their art abroad. We don’t even showcase our work in this region. When people think of an art hub in Asia and finding new talents, they don’t look at Malaysia. Most of the time, they go to Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

It is important to take the work of our artists elsewhere so that there will be a platform for new artists to emerge. If you look in a small pond, you will find the big fish eating the small fish. For the small fish to grow, effort must be made to take the big fish out of the pond and put them in the ocean.

The same principle applies in the art world. For young artists to grow in Malaysia, established artists must be given a different market to conquer. Of course we cannot place the whole responsibility of introducing our work to the world on the government’s shoulder.

In Indonesia, artists know the government cannot help much to promote their art, so they do it on their own. You find Indonesian art galleries, collectors and buyers so confident that Indonesian work will have international appeal, that they take the initiative to showcase artists and collections all over the world. That adds more value to the collections and the artists get exposure, too. Sometimes, I find Malaysian artists don’t feel the urgency of the need to take their work elsewhere.

Do we have work with international appeal?

Yes, but we don’t have to be super good to be noticed. People who look for art from other countries, are usually looking for something different – something they cannot find in their country, but something they can still relate to.

Some artists consider the National Art Gallery (NAG) a white elephant.

I have done a few projects with NAG and they are helpful and keen. But as a government agency, there is still red tape to adhere to. For me, if NAG is lacking in some way, the artists should come forward and make comments and suggestions, so that the gallery can run more efficiently. NAG is like one big umbrella and like it or not, Malaysian artists come under it.   NAG and our artists have a father and son relationship. The father should do whatever’s best for his son, but if he is doing something wrong, the son should tell him and work with him to make things right. Yes, there is some limitation there, but don’t make that a fence that prevents things being done. NAG has the power to shape the art scene.

What change would you like to see at NAG?

NAG staff and curators should get more training. I am not asking for world standards; if they can be as good as the Singapore Art Museum (SAG), I would be happy. At SAG, the curators often present well-researched art exhibitions. Often you find relevance and the connection between one piece and another. Sometimes NAG has too many exhibitions, which leads to lack of research and depth. But I believe they realise that and want to improve.

Some say art in Malaysia caters to the elite.

I don’t agree. The public can access art in this country. NAG is open to the public. Perhaps art is owned by the elite – it doesn’t matter who owns it. Manchester United may be owned by one person. But MU has fans all over the world who admire the players and feel they are part of the team as fans. Same goes with art. Look at the Mona Lisa – maybe one museum owns it, but everyone in the world sees and appreciates it.

OUTSIDE REALISM

What change would you like to see in the art scene?

I’d like to see artists working together to achieve bigger goals for Malaysian art. For example, we know Malaysians prefer realism work such as landscapes, figures, portraits etc. Artists should come together to get Malaysians to appreciate different types of visual art that are less popular such as abstracts. I know some will blame the education system for not educating students on art. But I believe the era of blaming the system is over. We, as artists, should take the initiative to educate Malaysians.

Why is it that artists don’t work together towards this end?

In most other art fields, they have to interact with others to get their work done. They cannot work alone. For example, a film maker must work with his cast and crew to complete his film. A choreographer needs to work with  his dancers to present his dance piece.

But a visual artist has the freedom to work alone. He can be in his studio alone and create his pieces. Artists are very individual and comfortable being alone. This is why I feel they should work together. They need a bigger voice to be heard; they need to be united to be seen.

You love creating work dealing with figures. Why?

I don’t have the answers to that. I think it’s better not knowing why you like something. I believe if you overanalyse, you might end up not liking it and stop doing it.

In art, an artist deals with something he does not understand. His search is what makes him keep doing it. The day he understands why he paints a certain theme, he stops doing it and moves to another. I believe the biggest difference between sciences and the arts is that science wants to be discovered, and art does not.

Islam forbids the painting of figures and portraits. How do you deal with this as a Muslim?

From what I understand, you should not produce work that will be worshipped like God. I have always been comfortable with what I have been doing. The day I feel uncomfortable doing figures, I will stop painting them. I have many young Muslims artists who come to me for advice on whether they should do figures and portraits, and I simply tell them: “Follow your heart. If your heart says don’t do it, then don’t. It is between you and God.”

Some say you are not versatile and adventurous with your themes.

An artist must do what is in his mind and heart. I have an artist friend who constantly changes his themes and techniques; he cannot do the same thing. He is simply following what is in his mind and heart. I want to change, but at this moment my body and my heart won’t allow me to. I still have so much more to discover in what I am doing now. I also don’t want to be forced to do something for the sake of showing my critics that I can be versatile.

Are there messages in your work?

These days, I am more interested in capturing emotions than having messages in my work. I am more interested in seeing the audience’s emotions when they see my work.

What is your advice to young artists?

If ten people graduate as doctors, you can bet almost all will become doctors. If ten people graduate as visual artists, you will find only two or three earning a living as visual artists.

Life as an artist can be tough; it cannot promise you an easy, comfortable life. Sometimes people buy your work and sometimes they don’t. But an artist must continue to paint in whatever circumstances.

Like everyone else, an artist’s life has its ups and downs. As an artist, you can really count the number of days when you are up. There are more down days than up, but those experiences shape and make you. To sustain yourself, you must be stubborn and follow your heart; you must really have a passion for art, which is a difficult thing to do.

***

Bayu’s Facebook fan page has close to 1,500 followers.

Photo and artwork: theSundaily.my, Bayu’s Facebook page

Over the past few years, Borneo is becoming a popular destination for Australian travellers particularly Sabah. Just recently, Australia’s Orion Expedition Cruises had made Tawau as their first port of call for ‘Across the Wallace Line‘ Cruise of East Borneo.

The cruise is named after English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who travelled and researched here in the 19th century and whose work prompted Charles Darwin to publish his theory of evolution.

For many Tawau folks this is an untold piece of history despite the fact that there’s a place called Wallace Bay near Island of Sebatik, right across Tawau’s Cowie Bay.

Travellers are taken on board a cruise ship called Orion II. It is a private yacht-like expedition cruise ship built by Cantieri Navale Ferrari of Italy. It served as a private yatch for a few years and later Orion II was relaunched in 2009 following an extensive technical refit. Orion II now offers the finest standards in small-ship cruise travel. She also has an ice-strengthened hull for voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic and is fitted with stabilisers. This link has more photos of this ship including her beautiful interior.

Orion Expedition Cruises described Tawau in their online brochure as “the third largest town of the state of Sabah. It is a relatively new town in Malaysia, boomed in early 1980s for its lumber and cocoa farming industry. Today Tawau is a bustling town where it is a transit point to the rest of the world and your farewell from this expedition.” An Australian traveller who joined this cruise in September this year had written a short blog about her trip. Although Tawau was the first port of call, there was really nothing mentioned about her experience in Tawau, unfortunately.

Well, I think Tawau has much more to offer than that. Tawau-based travel agents should take the opportunity to introduce travellers on this cruise to many of Tawau’s attractions namely Tawau Hills National Park – home of the tallest tropical trees in the world, Bukit Gemok Forest Reserve which was rated No. 1 must visit place in Tawau by Lonely Planet, Tawau Tanjung Market and many more.

The next planned cruises are scheduled to depart on 7 February 2012 and 22 September 2012. The cruise will take 10 nights in total and the ship will call at these ports, with Bali as being the last port of call.

Day 1 Tawau, Malaysia
Day 2 Pulau Derawan, Kalimantan
Day 3 Pulau Kakaban & Sangalaki, Kalimantan
Day 4 Sangatta River, Kalimantan
Day 5 Samboja, Kalimantan
Day 6 Lampuko Mampie Wetlands, Sulawesi
Day 7 Pare Pare, Sulawesi (for overnight land trip to Tana Toraja)
Day 8 Pare Pare, Sulawesi
Day 9 Makassar, Sulawesi
Day 10 At sea
Day 11 Bali

No doubt this is a luxury-class cruise for those who can afford it. We sincerely hope this is a good opportunity to help introduce Tawau to the world.

Credit: ORION II and cruise map, Orion Expedition Cruises. Alfred Russel Wallace, Wikipedia.

Lonely Planet had recently rated visiting Bukit Gemok virgin forest reserve as the number 1 ‘things-to-do’ in Tawau.

“Bukit Gemok is located about 10km from Tawau town centre, it’s a fantastic park sitting on 445 hectares of protected land. Developed in the early 1990s, the jungle here has only recently become popular with trekkers, Hash runners and tour groups – many consider it to be far better than the trails around Poring Hot Springs,” as described by Lonely Planet.

You can easily find Bukit Gemok on Google maps and the borders are visible from the contrast of oil palm plantations surrounding the hill.

Sabah Government did the right thing by declaring it as forest reserves in 1984. Over the past few years it has received government funding to improve the facilities there and a canopy walk was also built to make it more attractive and to let visitors experience how it feels to be standing as tall as the gigantic trees.

Mr. Lee Chye Ewe, a former teacher in Tawau and a very active member of Tawau’s community, had written a nice blog post about his trip there a few years ago. “What makes Bukit Gemok interesting is the challenging track to the top of the hill. There is also a canopy walkway, Titian Silara, which is 231 meter long. It hangs from a few trees on the top of Bukit Gemok and provides visitors a good view of Tawau town. The canopy walkway was the second one to be built here after the first one collapsed. It is worthwhile to take some difficulties to climb up the hill before enjoying the fantastic view,” and what Mr. Lee said is right.

The view from the top is amazing as you can see from the photo taken by Discover Tawau Facebook group member Mr. Ronny James Spisol. Tawau town, Sebatik Island and the Celebes Sea are visible on a clear blue day like this.

Bukit Gemok is thought to be an inactive volcano, which erupted thousands of years ago. It’s one of the many dormant volcanic hills around Tawau area.

Bukit Gemok is about 428 metres tall, and that means The Petronas Twin Towers (452m) are only a fraction taller than Bukit Gemok.

Bukit Gemok is not your typical tourist attraction site. If you wish to enjoy the fantastic view from the top, you need to spend at least 1-1.5 hours to hike up to the top; but what’s the rush anyway right? You can walk at your own pace while enjoying the fresh air and the untouched rainforest. There are 7 rest stations as you walk along the trails and one of them is as shown below. Check the weather forecast before going if possible, but then again, the weather in tropical countries such as Malaysia can change abruptly.

On your way up, you will see varieties of insects, giant red ants and if you’re lucky enough, even playful monkeys. Once you reach the top, you’ll know that it’s worth the effort. The trek down Bukit Gemok should take a shorter time, but be warned that the trail becomes muddy and slippery on rainy days so you must take extra caution.

A taxi ride from Tawau town will cost around RM20.00-30.00 (one way). It is recommended that you make returns arrangement with your taxi driver. If you feel adventurous, you can take a local bus from the bus terminal in town. Ask for buses that go to Bombalai, Merotai or Table, then tell the driver or bus conductor to drop you off at Bukit Gemok. You will need to walk about 5-10 minutes from the main road. A one way bus ride shouldn’t cost you more than RM2.00 per person.

The park is opened daily from 8am to 5pm and there’s an admission fee of RM1.00.

If you like to learn more about Bukit Gemok feel free to ask any question below or on our Facebook page.  You can also contact the Tawau District Forestry Office at +6089-7618 333 / 761 835 / 761 863.

If you’ve been here before, do you agree that Lonely Planet rated Bukit Gemok as Tawau’s number one attraction? Tell us what you think.