Tawau

Tawau is supposed to be the second largest city in the state of Sabah. Well, when stepping of the bus gave a totally different impression. Aside from the new mosque which is probably one of the nicest mosque I have ever seen, the town of Tawau has absolutely nothing of interest at all.

As it seems, I was not the only white person in the town as at the ferry jetty I met a couple of Italians.

When arriving in town last night, I walked for a good hour, trying to find a bed under RM25 ($8), but for the first time it was really hard. And RM25 is comparatively speaking with the rest of the country more on the high end price.

I entered this pseudo shop, actually arranging plane tickets for other destinations in Sabah. The manager was a very nice man, very eloquent in English (he went to primary school in england). We chatted a bit about the town and Kalimantan (Indonesia born). He indicated to me a building where I could probably find a bed in my budget. When I told him I was from france he also told me that he once went to Paris as an exchange student from england, and absolutely loved its food, and...its women. He made me promise that the next time I would come to Tawau, I would bring with me a couple of French women for him. Lol funny man!

Anyhow, I finally found a place, definitely only used by desperate locals.
Big bed, though my feet didn't fit, so I had to sleep on the diagonal. A ceiling fan, quite loud. A shit hole, literally a shit hole. And a hose I found in room at the end of the hall, which I used as a shower. The bed didn't look so clean, but definitely way cleaner and without the cucarachas we had in Sibu or Belaga.

Anyhow, after that, I went around to get myself a cheap cellphone, it seems crucial to have one in Sulawesi for connectivity with some guides for the region of Tana Toraja.  Got a cheap Nokia.
Then, I really wanted to find some postcards of Mabul/Sipadan to send to my family and Sonja's little monkeys, but just like in the previous 3 cities I went to, absolutely not a single place where to buy postcards. So frustrating and unbelievable! I guess people in such places are now so well connected to the internet and through cell phones that postcards must seem obsolete to them. After all, it is now more symbolic than an actual mean of communication.

Finally gave up looking, night got dark and all shops closed down.
I stumbled upon a sort of night food stall hawkers, so I stopped there for diner.
The stall I stopped at, managed by a nice 51 yr old Muslim guy named Anwuar served mostly beverages, but Anwuar was kind enough to help me get food as well while sitting at one of his tables. I had my usual Meeting Goreng (fried noodles with eggs chicken, and veggies) yummy. I also discovered that Anwuar's wife, also a Muslim, but in her 30's knew how to make my absolutely favorite drink so fat: yagun susu. Basically a combination of the following: condensed milk, soy milk, sweet corn, sweet corn syrup, and shaved ice. Stir it and you get the best crunchy smoothie in the world!!!!!!
The whole diner cost me RM5.5 (less than $2).

I then got to my bed, and fell asleep to the sweet sound of salsa and other Latin songs playing on my iPod...