Pangkor Bay View Beach Resort

I would give Pangkor Island an A+ for sunbathing and swimming and beach bumming qualities...but a C- on all the rest, unfortunately. My plan was to just hang out on the beach for about a week, because hanging out on the beach doesn't cost anything...but I should have picked my beach more wisely, instead of just going to the nearest one. Well, I was aware that this isnt the best beach in Malaysia, but I thought that a less-popular beach ...

... the hornbills - large birds with huge colourful beaks that flap around from tree to tree in pairs, squawking all the time. There's a lot of them and every day it's common to hear and see them messing around in treetops. Our first trip to Pangkor was on a weekend during Ramadan (Muslim fasting month) in October, and the place was positively deserted. We counted perhaps 15 foreigners in Nipah Bay, plus a handful of locals. We practically had the ...

... their house. I learnt so much about Islam, not that they were trying to convert me or I became well-desposed to do so. Ipoh is off the tourist radar but has much to see. There are a few impressive cave temples, British colonial archtecture and of course grand mosques. My friends took me to a wedding and a pre-Mecca visit ceremony. The Malay family interaction revolves around family. I was told that a wedding of 1000 guests was fairly ...

17/03 Have checked into the continental Penang after a bit of a fruitless search for a good hostel. We arrived in Penang and caught a local bus to the center, which I thought was fun but Trudie hated. All the locals and us were squeezed into this minibus, we had our packs of course. It must have been 35-38'C plus in the bus! It was about a half hour journey to the KOMTAR (I don't know what that stands for ...

After 8 weeks away we found a little piece of beach paradise on the west coast of Malaysia, on Pulau Pangkor. Sandy beaches, warm clear waters and not much else really! We spent most of our time lazing on the beach or at one cafe the whole week that served the chepaest food (all dishes $1) so we couldn't complain! But after 4/5 days of sunshine the ...

... 10 per person. We do all the checking in at the office and are given a nice chilled Coke and cold scented towels for the purpose of refreshment. Go and pick up the photos to a torrent of apologies about the breakdown yesterday then sit in the office and look through them. The office has arranged cars to take us the few hundred metres to the waiting speed boat - we could have walked it easily but as they say 'it's all part of the service' We are ...

... traveling with a bizarre German trio and a queer quartet of Frenchmen. But back to my story. Pat and I left the beach and decided that the only secure place was in our nest, so we went to bed. Five minutes later, we heard footsteps outside the cabin. We both waited for the steps to fade away, but they didn't. Someone was circling our cabin! Was it one of those suspicious figures on the beach? "Hello!" said a voice -- it was Doug, one of the UCSC students. They had built a bonfire on the ...

It was raining in the morning, so we didn't go to Emerald Bay as originally planned. Instead, we played cards all morning, and Pat told our fortunes. Ate at the camp canteen for lunch. Did very little between lunch and dinner. Pat and I jogged/walked down the beach to the government camp, then came back. We went for a swim, but it was very painful -- we kept being stung by something. Besides, there were two ...

... 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 ...

Journal: Mom drove us to KL bus depot. Took bus to Ipoh. Played Othello and talked about travels on trip. Stopped for oil, bought peanut butter cookies. At Ipoh, had chicken rice. Bus to Pangkor. Arrived right before ferry left to Pangkor Island. Taxi to mini-camp. Dinner at compound. Late night swim. Spent until 10:30pm or so out on the beach talking. Slept well. Excerpt from letter home: Well, I didn't go to the East Coast. I went to Pangkor Island instead ...