Tuaran
Encyclopedia
Tuaran is a town as well as a district located in West Coast Division
, in the northwest of Sabah
, East Malaysia on the island of Borneo
. Tuaran district has an area of 1,166 square kilometres and an estimated population of 94,100 in 2006. About half the population consists of ethnic Dusun
, a third ethnic Bajau
, and some Chinese
. It has a distinctive nine-story Chinese pagoda
as a prominent landmark.
Nearby tourist attractions are the Mengkabong Water Village and the Penimbawan Water Village, with stilt houses built by the Bajaus over the shore. There are three big resorts in Tuaran District: The Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort, the Mimpian Jadi Resort, and the Sabandar Resort. In addition, there are several small 'resorts' offering accommodation, food, and water activities.
The town has the great advantage for being a stopover town for travellers from the north towns (Kudat
, Kota Marudu
, Kota Belud
, and Tenghilan) to the state capital, Kota Kinabalu
which is 34 km to the south of Tuaran. The town has been expanding fast and but is now limited by the Tuaran river which borders the town on three sides, almost circling it.
Every Sunday morning, Tuaran holds a big natives' open market known as Tamu by the Sabahans. Harvests of produce from nearby villages and valleys are brought to the market, such as fruits, vegetables, handicrafts, fish, homemade traditional cakes, traditional homegrown tobacco, and so on. The tamu supplies many great photo opportunities for tourists. The variety of goods to be seen is very impressive for the visitor. The Tuaran tamu is second only to the one in Kota Belud in terms of size and exotica.
The name Tuaran is believed to have come from the Malay word tawaran which means 'bargaining' or 'sale'. This presumably reflects on the town's earlier role as a market where natives from the hillside villages brought their produce for trading with the coastal Chinese and other indigenous peoples.
who is famous for their unique traditional liquor, called bahar (toddy
made from coconut sap mixed with a special kind of tree bark known locally as rosok which makes the sap colored red). This drink has been confirmed by chemists to have a high content of anti-oxidants. It is unfortunate, however, that this drink would taste very pungent and unpleasant to the uninitiated, and it goes bad very fast, becoming sour within a day.
West Coast Division
West Coast Division is an administrative division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory...
, in the northwest of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, East Malaysia on the island of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. Tuaran district has an area of 1,166 square kilometres and an estimated population of 94,100 in 2006. About half the population consists of ethnic Dusun
Dusun
Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Due to similarities in culture and language with the Kadazan ethnic group, a new unified term called "Kadazan-Dusun" was created. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group...
, a third ethnic Bajau
Bajau
The Bajau or Bajaw , also spelled Bajao, Badjau, Badjaw, or Badjao, are an indigenous ethnic group of Maritime Southeast Asia...
, and some Chinese
Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...
. It has a distinctive nine-story Chinese pagoda
Chinese pagoda
Chinese Pagodas are a traditional part of Chinese architecture. In addition to religious use, since ancient times Chinese pagodas have been praised for the spectacular views which they offer, and many famous poems in Chinese history attest to the joy of scaling pagodas.-History:The pagoda is...
as a prominent landmark.
Nearby tourist attractions are the Mengkabong Water Village and the Penimbawan Water Village, with stilt houses built by the Bajaus over the shore. There are three big resorts in Tuaran District: The Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort, the Mimpian Jadi Resort, and the Sabandar Resort. In addition, there are several small 'resorts' offering accommodation, food, and water activities.
The town has the great advantage for being a stopover town for travellers from the north towns (Kudat
Kudat
Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....
, Kota Marudu
Kota Marudu
Kota Marudu is a tiny district of Kudat Division, Malaysia with approximately 19.17 square kilometres of land and a population in 2000 of more than 58,841 people, made up mainly by Dusun , Rungus, Bajau, Orang Sungai, Suluk, and Chinese .Located in the northern region of Sabah, bordered by the...
, Kota Belud
Kota Belud
Kota Belud is a town located in West Coast Division, in the center of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 72,337 in 2000, almost evenly divided between ethnic Dusun and Bajau with a sizeable proportion of Chinese ethnicity...
, and Tenghilan) to the state capital, Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...
which is 34 km to the south of Tuaran. The town has been expanding fast and but is now limited by the Tuaran river which borders the town on three sides, almost circling it.
Every Sunday morning, Tuaran holds a big natives' open market known as Tamu by the Sabahans. Harvests of produce from nearby villages and valleys are brought to the market, such as fruits, vegetables, handicrafts, fish, homemade traditional cakes, traditional homegrown tobacco, and so on. The tamu supplies many great photo opportunities for tourists. The variety of goods to be seen is very impressive for the visitor. The Tuaran tamu is second only to the one in Kota Belud in terms of size and exotica.
The name Tuaran is believed to have come from the Malay word tawaran which means 'bargaining' or 'sale'. This presumably reflects on the town's earlier role as a market where natives from the hillside villages brought their produce for trading with the coastal Chinese and other indigenous peoples.
Local Drink
Tuaran is the home of the LotudLotud
The Lotud are an indigenous ethnic group residing in Sabah, eastern Malaysia on the island of Borneo. They reside mainly in the Tuaran District to as far as Kampung Sukoli, Telipok in the West Coast Division of Sabah. Their population was estimated at 5,000 in the year 1985 but now believed to be...
who is famous for their unique traditional liquor, called bahar (toddy
Palm wine
Palm wine also called Palm Toddy also called "Kallu" written in Malayalam and கள்ளு in Tamil or simply Toddy is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, and coconut palms...
made from coconut sap mixed with a special kind of tree bark known locally as rosok which makes the sap colored red). This drink has been confirmed by chemists to have a high content of anti-oxidants. It is unfortunate, however, that this drink would taste very pungent and unpleasant to the uninitiated, and it goes bad very fast, becoming sour within a day.