Pulau Pangkor

Total Damage: RM180 (including car rental, accomodation and bus ride)

Back to Pulau Singapura where everything connects 📶 An infinite thank you to the people who have guided and connected with me along my short-lived adventure. Had such an amazing time and honestly speaking, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm actually still feeling surreal about the entire experience I've just went through. I'm not too sure what has gotten into me, the desire to leave momentarily has been growing increasingly strong lately, especially after the final assignment has been submitted and I have officially concluded my first semester at college. The unassuming Pulau Pangkor located in Lumut in Perak state in Malaysia was never on my bucket list but restricting myself to a shoestring budget brought me on a journey for my new discovery.

Albeit the limited time before the new semester grind, I decided to book a bus ride to Lumut and head over to Pulau Pangkor, a small island that is about 30 min jetty ride away. My bus arrived at midnight on Friday at Concorde Shopping Centre, and it took us to Kuala Lumpur before its terminal stop at Lumut, Perak. (You can book it from www.busonlineticket.com at around SGD $30-$38) In fact, I was the only passenger who alighted at the jetty terminal. The ride took a total of about 8-9 hrs and I reached at around 8 am in the morning. Upon arrival, you will see the ticketing counters for the purchase of the ferry tickets, it costs about 10 RM per pax for a round trip. The ferry leaves at multiple designated timings and the last ferry will be at 8.30pm.

Being alone, and especially being a female, places me in a vulnerable position. I get alot of comments "Why are you doing this alone?", "It's so dangerous", "Are you out of your mind?" I mean I get it, and I understand the concerns, but to put this in a big picture, there are dangers lurking everywhere you go. As long as you are not naive or complacent, especially when everything seems to be going smoothly, I think it is relatively alright to travel solo. I get extremely guarded in new situations and I guess that comes in handy in times like this.

Moving forward, I arrived at Pulau Pangkor and headed over to SPK guesthouse to receive assistance on how to get to my guesthouse as stated in a message sent by Booking.com. I stayed at 54 guesthouse, just a couple of houses down the street. It was a homely experience, and the facilities were pretty satisfactory for RM70 (a little steep IMO). I was alone on the second floor and it was kind of scary but on the other hand, I was enjoying the peaceful silence. It was fairly easy to find the place and the location is pretty convenient to get to key landmarks as well.

Pangkor Town: 10-minute drive away

Pasir Bogak: 15 minutes drive away

Teluk Nipah: 20-minute drive away

Lumut Waterfront: 20-minute ferry ride

It seems like everyone knows one another and looks out for one another, similar to a village community spirit at Pulau Pangkor. Fun fact: People actually leave their car keys in the car and leave their doors unlocked? Kind of baffled but also its pretty endearing to learn of how trusting they were of one another.

I rented a car for RM50 and headed over to the beaches, which was the highlight of my trip. It was the first in a really long time that I have taken the front wheel and admittedly, I'm a little rusty. But a little practice and crash course works. The only problem? Majority of the signboards are in Bahasa Melayu and I have no idea if I am on the right track, mostly depending on my intuition and gut feeling to manuveur around. Asking strangers for help also works, but here's the part that screams stranger danger; a really weird guy almost hopped on the car when I asked for directions and i pressed on the accelerator immediately. Talk about a close shave, but generally speaking, majority of the people there are very willing to help out and they really go the extra mile for you. I'm always on the lookout for motorists/cyclists/goats/monkeys/dogs who have the tendency to appear out of now where, especially when there are plenty of blind spots. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL, I can't emphasise this enough.

I parked at an observatory tower en route to Coral Bay where I met Denni (@junketeer) who came by in a scooter, a California girl who works as an English teacher in BeiJing, China. She has been away from home for four years?! We had a long chat about travelling and an exchange of cultures over ice cream as well as an imprompto photoshoot at hippy cafes and backgrounds. We were supposed to meet once more for breakfast before she headed over to Penang but we missed each other and there wasn't any wifi available. I was initially scheduled to leave Malaysia on the Saturday night. but decided last minute to head over to Penang instead, which I will be covering on in another post.

Off I went to island hop for a cost of RM30 + RM5 tipping. We went to a total of two beaches and four islands (Turtle Bay, Monkey Bay, Nipah Bay, Coral Bay, Man Bay, Mentagor Island and Coral Island) which was pretty worth the price, snorkelling was also included in the itineary. Mind you, the boat operator did some pretty legit hair-raising stunts. Talk about adrenaline rush.

Later that night, my guesthouse owner also invited me to feed a family of wild boars, and from what I was told, they come out at night at the children's playground? I was pretty taken aback to hear that. I have actually never seen wild boars upclose and that was a pretty cool night adventure.

Woke up at 6.45 am in the morning to catch the sunrise at the kelong, just a short drive down from my guesthouse. It was raining the previous night, and when I turned around, I saw a full rainbow. It was such a spectacular sight. Can't emphasize how beautiful the sight that was unfolding in front of me was. After which I drove to Dutch Fort and Fu Ling Kong Temple to do some cultural sightseeing. It wasn't anything spectacular to say the least, but since I was there and there was some time on my hand, why not? It was a bonus that I chanced upon this middle age man who volunteered to give me a 2 hrs tour since I wasn't very sure on the directions. Hitchbiked to a shipyard where he works, and he literally drove me to the edge of the wooden planks. Was scared out of my wits for a couple of minutes, I was grabbing on to my life so dearly. It was cool to find out hidden gems like this. I have never imagined such an adventure coming from a guy like him.

Food-wise, I didn't thought there's anything much worth mentioning in Pulau Pangkor. Maybe Daddy's cafe, for its ambience and setting. There was a couple of tourists who were there for dinner as well. I was planning to catch the sunset, but it was a stormy night. Kind of disappointing to say the least but the food was still pretty worth the price. Paid RM26 for a local fish fusion dish and the portion was huge, that was actually the most extravagent dish that I ordered throughout my trip, On a regular basis, I say RM3.5 will be sufficient to get you some decent street food, as long as you are not a picky eater.

The laid-back atmosphere, clear beaches and enticing bargains in Pulau Pangkor was a great experience, and extremely underrated. I'm glad to find myself on a spontaneous vacation here, a much needed respite from the pandemonium of the metropolis back in SIngapore. Xx

P.S. I did receive some goodwill from the locals around, free treats and extremely good bargains, therefore the low costs. Tip: Be friendly and genuine when getting to know them, and they will reciprocate ;)

#Malaysia #solo #retreat #holiday #travel #vacation #beach #budget