Details Of Tawau

Lots of good things to stare at in Tawau, those little details that give a place a little identity.

Disco mosque dome.

Way to up-cycle an old chair, nothing a lot of plastic wrap can't accomplish. Eyes need to match the outfit.

Vices evidence in a stairwell.

Hawker stall staples, chicken wings marinated, ready for grilling and a beverage cooler dunk.

Tough town. "Do not take my Singer!"

Time to take a look at the local fishermen. Busy sorting the catch and a portrait.

What did you catch today?

The Big Shop In Tawau

Nothing more central in a Malaysian town than the central market. Tawau has a big one, crammed with all food stuffs, clothing, hawker stalls, home goods, all one needs throughout the day and more.

Keeping watch over one's stall.

Pro tip, use a little plastic wrap to make the cut fruit look super shiny. The specialty in Tawau, dried fish.

Market sign, everywhere you need to go, in pictures.

Shiny pots. The place is customer friendly. Pre-bagged mixes of vegetables that are prepped for juicing.

What do the kids do while the moms are working the stalls? Make their own fun. Ode to Helen Levitt.

The Architecture Of Tawau

Tawau's a typical Malaysian town, heavy on the use of concrete with a sprinkling of mosques around.

City vista, receding to jungle.

Classic government buildings, sprouting from the overgrowth and a funky, curvy library. Nice carports.

Old Tawau, a 1960s concrete jungle.

Busy commercial area. The old Bandar mosque.

Inside the bigger, more modern, Al-Khauthar mosque.

Patina rising, an old apartment building and a ruined house.

Tawau is on the water, with a view of Indonesia in the distance. Stroll the promenade to see it.

Subterranean Hotel Blues

Apologies to Bob Dylan and his masterful song about The Man sticking it to the little guy and also the accompanying video, full of flipping signs.

There's a hotel in Tawau, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia (whew) that could make a poor guest blue. So many signs, so many warnings.

At check-in, the mean rundown. No Seafood! No stinky Durian! No fires, smoking, animals or vaping! What's left?

Add water and your bathroom is lethal. Your problem. You ingest it, you pay for it.

Even the lobby reception area has a mean mom-type of warning. What kind of flop house is this place?

Back in the room, putting a price on smoking. Did someone say price on something? How about everything. Yep, there's a replacement value list for absolutely all items in the room. By all means, take a mattress, maybe a TV or coffee table. You pay.

Back down in the lobby, you gotta separate the riff-raff from the valuable luggage.

Tawau, Sculpture City

Every town needs a gimmick these days, in this Instagram-drenched world. It's doubtful Tawau will suddenly become a hip mecca for self snaps anytime soon. No matter, civic pride is on display with a handful of fun sculptures scattered around the downtown.

Tawau is located on the coast and fishing is big industry. Bring on the seafood sculptures. First up, Mr. Crab in a roundabout.

What's up fish? Moving on land, a big flower for a flower bed.

Uh oh, it's time for a little WWE between species.

Back to the seafood theme, shellfish edition. Lobster and prawn.

Er, um, a fish out of water.

The City Mosque Of Kota Kinabalu

There's a grand State mosque and also a grand City mosque in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. If you're meeting someone at the big mosque, make sure to be specific.

The City mosque, Masjid Bandaraya, opened in 2000 and its main feature is a man made lagoon surrounding most of the building. The nickname, of course, is the floating mosque.

Grand.

(Holy) house rules. Inside at the front entrance, religious knick knacks, topi hats and a massage.

The columned central interior.

Ladies in waiting. Muslim girls and Chinese tourists, eager to wear the Islamic coverup and have their picture taken. Go figure.

The reflected night glow.

Che Sui Khor Moral Uplifting Society

Wow, a religious mouthful. Come one, come all creeds and join in divine celebration at this Kota Kinabalu, Borneo institution. The society embraces all faiths and cherry picks what it deems the highlights of Islam, Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity. Despite the wide inclusion of religions, aesthetically, the complex leans Chinese temple tropes.

The highlight, a 12-story pagoda.

Inside the main hall, it's business as usual, stuffing packages of prayer offerings. Some light reading on the rack.

The memorial hall. Golden.

A couple of details: Sparkly Buddha and an elaborate, exotic downspout sort of flower sculpture on a retaining wall.

Buddha to infinity.