Biking Around Pangkor Island

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Malaysians are like good scouts: trustworthy, honest, straightforward. Pre-post-modern (that's a compliment). Earnest.

We like that in a culture, or a person. Keep irony in its place.

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Visiting a "touristy" place like Pangkor is not so bad when a) it's off-season, and b) most of the tourists are not American, or even Caucasian. KLers (residents of Kuala Lumpur) come to Pangkor on weekends and holidays. We arrived on Sunday. Other than a few groups of Malays (employee meetings of some kind?) it's pretty quiet. Except when the bored employees of empty hotels in our neighborhood blast the karaoke. Always the Asian pop music! Don't they listen to any other genres of music?

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While waiting at the jetty for Melody and the kids to come on the later ferry from Lumut, I had some quality time with the Chinese guy who rented us the motorbikes. He volunteered "You have a good President. He won a medal" (a reference to Obama's Nobel Peace Prize announced a few days before). "Anyone can become leader in USA, no matter what color. Not like here, where leader can only be Malay."

"What did you think of our last President?" I asked. He shook his head.

"He likes war. People like peace, but he likes war."

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The food on this trip has been a mixed bag so far. The best was an Indian restaurant (for the banana leaf curry) and a food court in Melaka (for the coconut Laksa). I've had more American food than I wanted, at the behest of my traveling companions. Including scrambled eggs and white toast three mornings in a row at the Ombak Inn, and spaghetti last night for dinner ... with chocolate mousse cake for dessert. OK, but not what I really came to Pangkor for.

Several of the dishes at ethnic restaurants have been disappointing. The guide books praise the cuisine to the skies ... that's marketing I guess.

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A few days ago Melody & I both notices that a week of tropical heat and humidity has plumped our skin, erasing a decade or so of incipient wrinkles! If only you coul bottle that and sell it in West Texas....

My friend Dan asked if I was doing a travel blog. That sounds too much like work to me. I like writing a travel journal, but people can read it later, after I've edited it. Editing generally improves writing.

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Photos

Beach restaurant
I don't care for TomYam seafood stew. Too much lemon grass. Benjamin ordered toast.

Monkeys Take Over
Just before he drove away....

Chinese Cemetary
A passing Chinese women told us Pray! Don't Touch!

Bikers
Just like the Malaysian families, except with more helmets.

sinking ship
A stop on our circumnavigation of the island by motorbike. In the background, a Malaysian Navy ship, purchased from the US, on fire and soon to sink.

Whimsical temple 1
We loved this temple built into a cliff beside the beach.

Kayaking
A short kayak ride to some OK snorkeling. Some fish, lots of fat black sea slugs. I suppose they aren't good to eat. Melody got a painful stick from a fish fin.

Whimsical Temple 2
Melody told me later that this little house is structurally unsafe.

Our Nice Landlady
The owner of our "chalet". And us.

By the Jetty
Soon we leave ... too bad ... maybe we'll come back someday?