Pulau Pangkor - Malaysia

Pulau Pangkor - Escape to the Paradise and Relaxing Island (sometimes too relaxed)

After the stress of Kuala Lumpur as a big city, we now set off to our next destination: Pulau Pangkor! After a three-hour bus ride and half an hour of getting lost, we arrived on the small island.

We took one of the small pink taxis and drove to our secluded beach on the west side of the island. Upon arrival at Nipah Bay, we checked into our small apartment and took a walk around the area.

Equipped with flip-flops, we hiked along the coast and made our way to Coral Beach. Once there, we walked on an empty sandy beach as the sun slowly set on the horizon. After a short walk through the jungle, we reached a very deserted part of the island where only a few fishermen were fishing and we could enjoy the sunset.

I wanted to continue hiking to an abandoned spot and take some photos when I noticed something between my toes. After a moment of thought, I realized it could be a leech. And indeed, it was. I was very startled, removed it, and then it bled like crazy for the rest of the evening.

We made our way back and visited a small restaurant called Daddy's Café for a drink.

The next morning, we didn't want to waste any time and rented 2 scooters to explore the island, which has a total size of 18 sq km. We circled the island 3 times that day.

The scooter is the main mode of transportation on this island, so renting one was very simple. And off we went towards the north coast of the island, passing by the small island's airport. After a short while, we came across 2 fishermen who were trying to catch their daily fish supply at an abandoned hotel's pier. Since there was a pier here, we thought that maybe there was an abandoned hotel in the jungle waiting for us. So we rode our scooters on a narrow road into the jungle and then continued on foot as a huge fallen tree blocked the road.

After spraying ourselves with mosquito repellent, we found ourselves climbing a small hill. We could hardly believe our eyes when we saw a roughly 1.50-meter-long monitor lizard sleeping on the road in front of us. It was so startled when it saw us that it slipped down the slope. After a short walk, we arrived at the abandoned hotel, explored the surroundings a bit, and flew our drone for a while.

Then, driven by hunger, we went in search of breakfast and rode through the "highlands" of the island. At this point, a winding road leads from the western side to the eastern side of the island. In a small suburb, we found a Chinese restaurant where a lovely lady served us a delightful breakfast.

We spent the rest of the day circling the island multiple times. An awful sight awaited us at the harbor, as a dockworker simply threw plastic waste into the ocean. These are the negative images in Asia that one inevitably sees. The people here have a different understanding of the environment, animal welfare, and waste disposal.

Obviously, the fuel gauge on our scooter was broken as we had been thinking the scooter was fully fueled the whole time. Fortunately, right in the middle of the town, both of our scooters ran out of fuel at the same time, so we had to park them. We found a small gas station, communicated with hand gestures, and ended up buying a canister and 10L of gasoline for 10€.

Right next to the parking lot for our scooters, there was a small roadside restaurant that offered Thai specialties. What can I say, the food was AMAZING! I had never eaten such a spicy soup in my life, but the Tom Yum really left an impression on me. In the end, we paid very little, so we decided to come back here the next day.

Since our village was not very busy during the weekdays and people only flocked to this part of the island on weekends, it was the right decision to eat in town. The food at Nipah Bay was alright, but nothing special.

A Day of Extremes - Swimming in the Morning, Jungle in the Evening

In the morning, we had a perhaps foolish idea: we wanted to swim to the small island located about 1.2 kilometers off Pangkor. Shoes off, towels set aside, and off we went. Of course, I was fully loaded with equipment as we swam for about 40 minutes against the strong current. I was very relieved when we finally arrived. The people who arrived by boat looked at us as if we were shipwrecked.

Since there was nothing special on that part of the island, we started to walk around it. The rocks were very slippery, so we had to be careful not to slip. After about halfway, we came across a small estuary, which was also the place we really wanted to go to. Here, at the reef off the island, there are many fish that come quite close to people. But appearances can be deceiving. The fish are here because incredibly many tourists throw bread and other food into the water.

A bit disappointed with the island, we made our way back and the ordeal through the sea began again. After about 40 minutes, we arrived back, exhausted but happy, at our starting point.

Since it was Friday, more Malays and tourists flocked to this part of the island, so more shops along our usually deserted street were open.

We really wanted to visit a small untouched part of the island again and asked our receptionist if he knew a way into the jungle. He was very friendly, gave us a stick for defense, and rode us to the edge of the jungle on his scooter.

He told us to be careful to remember the path we walked and to watch out for animals and plants. In addition to monitor lizards, Malaysian rainforests are home to snakes, giant ants, spiders, bats, and other animals and insects.

After about 30 minutes of hiking through the jungle, we stood silently and looked at a giant flying lemur that was taking a nap on a tree trunk in front of us. The small trail through the forest slowly led us uphill, with the climate in the forest almost suffocating us. Imagine a rainforest like a huge sauna that also gets quite loud (especially at night). A little desperate, we briefly searched for our way back to the edge of civilization and found ourselves back at the small stream where we started after about 1.5 hours.

In the rainforest, we discovered something amazing: a primeval giant. A huge rainforest tree with a diameter of at least 6 meters, roots that have already made deep marks in the ground, and a crown that spreads vertically over several meters. I had always wanted to see something so amazing, on the edge of such a big tree that has experienced so much and has been standing here longer than humans have inhabited this island.

Once outside, we immediately thought of leeches but at the same time were actually sure that nothing had happened this time since we were wearing long clothes and sturdy shoes. A quick look at my originally green pants, which now had large red stains, revealed that the leeches had also taken the opportunity to bite me. Same procedure as last time, same result: bleeding!

In the evening, we wanted to try a recommendation from friends who had been here 2 months ago. Located on the promenade, there were small restaurants offering freshly caught fish, and we were told to try the fresh squid rings. What can I say, they were truly the best I've ever had.

Then we wanted to eat Thai food again at the roadside restaurant, so we took one of the pink taxis to the town. Packed with people and without seat belts, we arrived after a short ride. The Thai food was perfect once again, and for dessert, we had something special: ice cream balls in a milk bun.

It may sound strange, but it was really delicious.

Our time on the island was now over, and our next destination was the interior, to Ipoh.