Pangkor Island- A Little Gem

April 7, 2014

After five hours travelling north from KL my friend, Matin, and I arrived at Lumut on the western coast of Malaysia.

After a 45 minute ferry ride we arrived at our resort-Purnama Beach Resort which is set down a little lane off the main road. The accommodation is great- set in lovely gardens with a swimming pool- the rooms themselves are a little dated and quite small but you’re not in your room all that much anyway so not a problem.

We ventured out to explore our surroundings which didn’t take long- the whole resort is tiny (beautiful, but tiny). In my opinion if you want the tranquility of the beach in the day-time and just a place to chill out, then this place is for you. However, if you want bars and restaurants for fun filled nights then think again- there is one restaurant (that we found) that sells alcohol. Don’t get me wrong I can live without it but I do enjoy a few drinks, especially on holiday. Here is a mostly Muslim resort and, as such, most places do not sell alcohol. So after a little sulk, thinking what the hell we were going to do for the next two nights, I decided to get over it and enjoy my time there.

It is a beautiful place- the tree lined beach with the clear green water, of the Strait of Malacca, lapping onto its shores. It is not busy at all with only a few enjoying the water sports facilities. It is far too hot for some of the people who come on holiday here- they come out to swim and enjoy the beach later in the day when the sun is on its way down (unlike me who laid there for six hours and ended up with a burned back- not cool!) A cultural difference you see in most Asian countries- the locals all swim in clothes and keep out of the sun and they find it strange that western folk are happy to bare their skin, in swimwear, and lay there until they go brown (or red in my case). Although I had a couple of Muslim ladies ask me for a photograph with me in my bikini. I said “no” at first not realising what they wanted but then obliged them and off they went- maybe the talk round their dinner table later that evening!

There are animals on Pangkor. Oriental Pied Hornbills are large birds and seem to be happy to be among humans- it was amazing to see so many of them, on roof-tops, in trees, in restaurants. And Macaque monkeys come to human inhabited areas to scavenge in the dustbins and restaurants- it is exciting to see for the first time but for the locals they are a nuisance, who soon shoo them away when they get to close. There are also majestic sea eagles hovering over the bay- huge birds even from that distance away- unfortunately I didn’t get any photographs of them.