Hotel Excelsior Pangkor

... be nice and cozy and chilled out (like Pulau Weh, my last island, which was so wonderful)...but actually it wasn't. On the plus side, I had the beach all to myself most of the time and it certainly is a nice beach, but on the downside, well, I was alone most of the time, and the town wasn't so friendly. So I just spent two days on the beach topping up my tan (don't laugh) and reading two whole novels (okay so they were of the chick ...

... didn't seem to do the trick. But we persevered, got on the ferry back to Lumut, took the bus to Ipoh, waited 5 hours for the overnight train to Hat Yai. The minute we stepped foot in Hat Yai, we flagged down a tuk-tuk and asked to see a maw (doctor) at the clinic. He took one look at us, listened to our stomachs and then unceremonouously declared that we had food poisoning! He sent us on our way with a bag of drugs and told us that ...

... had a tranced-out crazy look on his face...I'm pretty sure he was on something. Sometimes the guy also did some sort of dance to the drums being played around him. To top it off, he was smoking what appeared to be a cigar, but I'm not positive. Following the guy was a small float with a shrine to some deity. I noticed a couple of other "hooked up" guys as well...some of them actually pulling the floats along. Most of the Indians seemed amazed ...

Pangkor island is a favoured holiday destination for Malaysians. However there is a popular backpacker haven - Teluk Nipah. We arrived in order to use up a couple of days before hitting Kuala Lumpur. The best beach we have come across for a few weeks we spent the day topping up our Tans and acting like children in the burying each other in the sand James amused himself digging holes!!

... get to for even more information that may come handy that day. The less developed a country, the harder it gets. Travelling implies staying in rooms that are usually not too clean, not to mention the numerous places that are outright nasty. Cockroaches and rats are common roommates to travellers. Travelling means finding out the rules of the game over and over again in each new town, each ...

... this afternoon since we figured that the remainder of our time here would be "more of the same". I guess the old saying is true: we really never know what lies around the corner. November 5 - Leaving Pulau Pangkor Well, our drive back to the jetty to catch the ferry to the mainland was in daylight! What a pretty little island. We sort of feel like we gave it a bum review, but I guess that was the "backpacker" (aka "cheap") part of the island. Other beaches looked ...

The little restaurant TJ's across the way does breakfasts, so we have eggs, toast, beans and tea and all for under a pound. We take a leisurely walk past Nipoh beach to Coral bay, which is a bit quieter. Decide to spend the day lazing on the beach and take it easy. Watch a couple of hornbills in the branches above us. They have huge yellow beaks and look quite ridiculous when they take off as if they weren't meant to fly at all. My ...

... hanging out by our clothes, which made us uncomfortable. So we got out. We walked down the beach to try a restoran (where most of the other campers ate) but it was a big mistake. The service was slow, the servings were miniscule, and nothing was tasty. Ugh. We walked back along the road. The boys retired early, but Pat and I stayed out on the beach talking to Sandy and Kevin. To bed again after lights out.

... and tea for a long time. There was a lovely sunset walking back to mini-camp. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me at the time. When we got back, Markus and Moshe went to bed while Pat and I stayed up by the beach -- talking about Malaysia, AFS, and almost everything else. Soon, two suspicious figures approached and we decided it was getting crowded. I should deviate from my narrative for a moment to mention that this was an almost entirely mat-saleh camp. There ...

... and had a terrifically marv-e-lo time. Pulau Pangkor is off the West Coast and about 140 km north of KL. Mommy didn't want us to go to the East Coast because it is supposedly expensive and dangerous. Anyway, last Wednesday, the 14th or so, Markus, Moshe, Pat, and I took a bus from KL to Ipoh. It was express, semi-air-conditioned, and only cost M$8! The trip was not overly exciting. Markus and I played a game of Othello and spent a long time talking about ...