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Published: March 1st 2008
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We expected that the bus journey to Lemut (the port near Pangkor) would take much longer than the 6 hours we had been told, so we correctly engorged ourselves on an unhealthy Mc breakfast which we knew would keep our energy levels going for some time. The only problem was that we had a huge cup of coffee and coffee makes us wee like crazy...so we spent most of the journey with crossed legs hoping for a toilet stop!
The journey turned out to be 9 hours long with a surprise stop in Kuala Lumpur. Lemut was our transit point onto a modern catamaran ferry which speedily transported us to the island of Pangkor, where, to Donna's delight an army of pink Barbie style taxis were waiting to whisk us away to whatever destination we chose on the island. The cost for a ride to Teluk Nipah - the main tourist beach on the island - was MYR15 for 5 people (we shared with 3 Swedish guys).
Pangkor itself is surprisingly developed and not the typical island/beach scene we have recently been used to. This was good because it had proper roads, 24 hour electricity and lots of shops
to buy snacks to keep us happy!
Unfortunately we had arrived on Pangkor on a Friday. Due to its proximity to Kuala Lumpur, it's a popular weekend destination for Malays and therefore the prices of accommodation go up. We found this similar to Langkawi. After 30 minutes of looking and using our 6 night stay as a means of persuasion, we found a great room with air con, hot shower, tv and balcony for MYR60 (£9), a little expensive but it was the best in the resort.
Like the rest of Malaysia we had visited people were again very friendly. It was obvious from the first night we arrived that there was a lack of decent restaurants. Horizon restaurant being the only one we liked, serving large and good quality boneless meaty food. The beer here was the cheapest in the resort, but it was still expensive at MYR15 for a big bottle of Tiger (£2.30). This is our only problem with Malaysia that the alcohol is too bloody expensive. The Malay government could do with making Pangkor a duty free island like Langkawi and Tioman are.
Pangkor's beach was amazing, despite there being a few waves
'go on kiss the turtle's head' said Donna
...Neil will do anything for a funny photo opp! and jellyfish. We would rate it better than most of the Thai beaches we have seen...the water was so clean and clear and the sand was perfect, no rubbish in sight! Unfortunately Donna had developed a staphylococcus skin infection under her left arm from our time in Indonesia (we think originating from a Zara sale price tag stabbing!) and it had turned into huge, unsightly pussing boils under her arm. Yuk, eewww and oh my the pain!
We therefore didn't do much other than relax in Pangkor. It was heavenly, it was really nice to relax on a nice beach after spending strenuous days on Gili Trawangan's beach and lazing around out hotel pool in Kuta. This travelling business is really beginning to tire us out!
We have heard so many bad things about Malaysia from other travellers (admittedly this has been about Eastern Malaysia) which we are so surprised about. Malaysia is, without a doubt, one of our favourite countries in Asia, but we have only visited the west coast and Kuala Lumpur so far. The next leg of our journey would take us to KL for yet more sales shopping (at Donna's demand!) and a flight
to.............
............if you can guess our next destination, please send answers in an e-mail to us. We have to do something to prompt you all (with a few notable exceptions!) to e-mail us! First prize is a return ticket to where ever we are in the world (ahem, yeh right!).
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bill
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keep up the good work!
i love your blog! really good fun! as to where to next, india prehaps?