Pulau Pangkor - Perak @ 26th -28th May

It wasn’t a trip I expected or planned. My dad just told me to take leave during the last week of May. Not knowing where you’re going is a sheer surprise. It’s been ages since I went for holiday with my family. Too bad my sis wasn’t able to tag along.

Pulau Pangkor is the place I will be visiting this time. Till the day of the trip itself, the itinerary was still vague. There was very little planning involved. We don’t even have a map and we were completely relying on road signs. The only thing that was pre-arranged was our accommodation.

It wasn’t surprise that we made lots of wrong turns. The sign boards are confusing and hopeless. At one point it tells you to go straight, and then further up the road, you see another sign telling you to turn back. Sign boards just disappear and left you wondering if you are still on the right track. The general rule, learn from a friend of mine, was to keep going straight if there is no signboards. Anyway, the amount of time taken to reach Lumut Jetty was equivalent to the journey to Singapore.

Pangkor Island Beach Resort Jetty

It has been quite a while since I stayed in a reputable hotel. Most of my previous trips were either backpacker or small tiny hotels with no swimming pool. This was heaven to me. Imagine having both seaside and pool side view. I love the sound of waves crashing in.

Paradise

Rooms opposite mine

Sunset View

Buffet Area

I have never felt so relax. If you have read my previous travel blog, they were all the strenuous kind. Don’t get me wrong, I love this kind of adventure. I love walking and don’t mind the mud. But with the daily stress, whether at work or home, a relaxing time off is a great way to recuperate.

The following early morning, we stroll around the beach side before heading down to town. It cost RM30 to hire a taxi down town. Add another RM30 and you have a full 2 hours tour around Pangkor Island. Believe me, 2 hours is more than sufficient to visit all Pangkor Island attraction.

A half eaten crab

A giant lone ranger ant.

Just a comparison in size

Of course, as with all tours, a visit to the factory is a must. The guide gets loaded with commission every purchase we made. This is the seafood factory. The place where you get all your dried seafood, whether processed or non processed.

Fresh seafood product.

The next stop was the Fu Lin Kong temple. There was a major even happening there where lots of devotees and people come and pray. I didn’t take any pictures of the celebration as I am not sure if it’s allowed. A lot of them were in trance, representing a certain god. The temple was also famous for its mini great wall of china. Climbing up to the top allow you to enjoy a scenic view of Pangkor town.





Again as with all tours, there is no time to linger around. They will try fit in as many places as they could. After all the agreed tour time was 2 hours. We headed down to another popular Pangkor attraction, the Dutch Fort. Built in 1670, the fort was the Dutch stronghold against pirates and locals. It was abandon after it fell under the hands of a local warrior.

The Dutch Fort.

What’s left of the fort.

We pass thru the small town of Pangkor, but didn’t stop and headed straight to a seafood restaurant recommended by the guide driver. I don’t remember the restaurant name, but the food was so so only. Nothing spectacular and it wasn’t as fresh as I anticipated. The price…. Lets just say we got rip off. We could have gotten cheaper seafood in Batu Laut, Selangor. I have always though that seafood was ultimately cheap in Pangkor. After all, it is a fishing island. I guess we just didn’t know where to go.

Anyway, we pass our 2 hours time slot, but our guide was kind enough to stop us at the Lin Je Kong Temple. It’s a small Kuan Yin temple built on top of a small hill. Paid some respect at the temple, had a couple of shots and we were off to our hotel.

Lin Je Kong Temple

Fish Spa anyone?

Me! haha

The temple was over looking a beautiful beach.

Upon returning, to the hotel, we rested in the hotel room as the sun was scorching hot. I was relaxing outside the balcony, sipping my 100 plus (underage for to have beer) when there was a small commotion at the swimming pool. From a distance, you could see something black and long swimming in the pool. Hotel staffs were busy trying to get it out. Curious, I dash down to have a better and closer look. There a monitor lizard or so I think it is, taking its daily swim in the pool. It’s like a routine for the lizard to come swimming and the hotel staff trying to chase it out of the pool.

It was a really sunny day, and it’s no surprise it needs a swim

I spent most of my time at the beach after that. Hey, it’s not that I get to swim in salty sea water everyday. It’s just so relaxing lying motionless in the water. It’s a pity there weren’t any fishes swimming around. I was told that there were a lot of jelly fish around, but I have not encountered nor seen any, which of course is a good thing.

Happily submerging my dad’s camera in the water, I took a couple of shots, but the water wasn’t clear enough for underwater photography. It was also extremely difficult to stay still I keep getting pushed away by the waves. Haha, I lied actually, I was snapping like nobody business. But its true that the water wasn’t clear enough. Most shots however is me cam whoring under the water, which unfortunately or fortunately will not be displayed here. Ha ha..

Did you know Pangkor Island beach resort is home to lots of Hornbill? I’ve seen more of them in Pangkor than in Sarawak.

Hornbill feeding area.

And occasionally this little bugger.

By the way we were robbed by monkeys. Yes you didn’t hear wrongly. That explain why I call them bugger. Those horrible creatures actually came in our room through the balcony door and ate the whole tub of “Kai Tan Ko”, drank 2 packet of Dutch lady milk and ransack the fridge. It was like an organised crime. They know the room layout very well and only came for what they planned for, leaving the other stuff untouched. I couldn’t thank god enough, as my 70-300mm lens was lying on the bed, my lil bro handphone and my dad’s wallet was on the table. It was actually part of my carelessness, he he. I’ve forgotten to lock the door. There was a big sign warning to keep the doors lock as monkey knows how to open the door. Damn!

Anyway, that is basically about it. We left on the third day in the afternoon and headed home back to KL. Of course we stop at… (oh damn I’ve for gotten the name of the place again) for lunch. I promise to bring a notebook and a pen next time I travel.

The hotel swimming pool at night.

More beach shots.

Crabby Crab

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