Jason’s Blog

VOYAGE DE PANGKOR

A Lamerz’s point of view

It all started of with Joel asking me to join them for Penang since it was school holidays anyhow. I didn’t want to go for any of those trips offered initially since I still have some left-over chapters planning to be done during the two-week break. But something just came into my mind saying that I should go since it was holiday and I should get some getaways just to relax my tensed-up mind. And I was quite excited and was looking forward to it. And just of a sudden, Joel brought forth a bad news stating that the trip to Penang was eventually cancelled due to some complications, one of them were due to financial hardships. Since it was so expensive as calculated, and now I was being informed there’s was no more trip in the midst of excitement, I tried searching for alternatives to reduce travel and tours expenditures. Pangkor, was the first alternative destination that came into my mind, since a shorter route will somehow help to reduce the price because it is situated just off-coast Perak compared to that of the island off-coast Seberang Prai. It wasn’t easy in planning this trip since everyone was still in the exam mood. Even planning would cause a person to ‘vomit blood’. Supposing Joel and I should work hand-in-hand in planning it. He asked me to study all information regarding Pangkor and he will do the rest of it. After few restless nights of studying, I finally compiled him a booklet of all the important information that he should know, from tariffs to places of interest. Unappreciated, he dumb it aside without even looking as soon as we got home after we had dinner together in SS2 that night. What to do? It seemed that I would have to do all the reservations? Well, we decided on Nipah Bay Villa, a villa owned by Mr. and Mrs. Sabtu (kind of a chalet) situated on the opposite side of the island in Nipah Bay, distanced 7 KM from Jetty, it was the only accommodation that attracted me due to its reasonable tariffs. The Dormitory package valued RM 130 for two nights per person including all 3 meals with BBQ on the second night. Furthermore, the room that we rented was quite well equipped, 8 dorm beds, attached bathroom with water heater, TV with Discovery Channel, and the most important thing was the air-cond. After all final confirmations were made; we booked on the package and payment was to be made three days after, to validate the reservation. After all agonizing nights studying PA, the night before the trip fell, it seemed everything was smooth going, even bus tickets to Lumut was ‘readily’ bought by Joel. 

7th June 2006 (يوم الأربعاء )

It all started at 8. That morning, mum and I left home early together. Mum fetched me to Puduraya Bus Station, but before that I accompanied her for breakfast and did some marketing in one of the back streets in Chinatown. Those streets were wet and stinky, chicken blood was all over the floor, I quickly got off as soon as marketing was done and had Wan Tan Mee with mum that morning. My watch showed 8.10am and eventually should depart to Puduraya by then. Well, all seven of us gathered at Platform 14 and I was surprised to see Ah Beh there as well because days before he informed that he couldn’t make it due to some personal circumstances. We waited for the so called “Ekspress Kesatuan” bus to Lumut. It really disappoints us. The bus left 15 minutes earlier without prior notice and this wasn’t the first time that happened to me. I really had a bad impression on busses in Puduraya, that why sometimes I rather take the train than the bus. Well, after all complications had been resolved, we were fortunate to have a bus that takes us to destination. No choice but to travel KL-Gopeng-Ipoh-Lumut instead KL-Lumut that took us almost half day. By the time we reach Lumut it was almost  late noon. It was interesting enough that we boarded the ferry with our belongings partially unattended as photos were being taken. All except Choy Wan climbed the upper deck and had a cool breeze. Again,  photos by photos in the midst of excitement and relaxation. I began to wonder why didn’t Choy Wan came up as well, when I went down, she looked so anxious and frustrated because she couldn’t find her handbag that contained her purse, IC, driver’s license and cell phone. She was in deep wretchedness and I went upper deck to inform the rest about that matter. Everyone scattered around to look for that particular handbag and to identify suspicious people. The ferry docked and there was still no sign of her handbag. Nothing can be done anymore, as we couldn’t have a spot check operation on all the passengers of the ferry, so to accept the fact that it has been stolen due to personal carelessness. As soon as we stepped on land, our first visitation was to the police station as to report the stolen handbag. After all hassles, we then  proceed on to our chalet in Nipah Bay. Upon arrival, I was quite impressed with the surrounding managed (Don’t know about the others). It wasn’t a five star hotel but it was just a nice place for  backpackers like us to accommodate ourselves. To the beach was our next destination, 2 minutes away. Joel, the kid was so fascinated, ran to the beach just like a child. It was so relaxing to look at the horizon and it was certainly an ideal place for releasing stress. Due to half the day wasted on transportation, no other places but just nearby the beach were our choice to be.

                                          The view was fabulous as the Sun ‘touches’ the sea water far away in the horizon. Took photos  of the picturesque view and those were the photos that I treasure a lot. Dinner was delicious but a little too spicy for us especially the fish. After bath, we preceded a night walk on the beach and witnessed some ‘blue tears’ or ‘蓝眼泪’ to be specific (a bluish-green mineral that illuminates only in dark when gently  rubbed on the sand). We didn’t wonder long that night as it began drizzling. No choice but the hotel room was our next place to be. After that we were all in the hotel room as the rain poured outside. Luckily Siu Fung brought a deck of poker cards as for our leisure activities. We played ‘Liar’ till late night and went to bed later on. Joel was complaining about his fear about the unseen that might just present at our room that night. So, I dragged my upper deck bed to the floor and had a night sleep beside him. Good boy, Joel. He obeyed by not kicking me at night which he did twice during our Kembara Camp trip.

8th June 2006 (يوم الخميس)

Was very tired due to lack of sleep the night before, my tiredness brought me all the way to dawn, even Siu Fung told me that I did speak in my dreams, interfered her night conversation with Ah Beh till 3am (I didn’t know I was talking to them in my sleep). Anyway, breakfast was told to be served at 7.30, so on that very morning, Sze Hui or Pn Chew to be particular, woke up and was the earliest, I’m not sure whether it’s true or not that she woke up at 5.30am as told. Anyway, she woke up and got herself readied and began to wake other people up. I was awakened almost the last by her whisper. So, all left for breakfast at the cafeteria by 7.30am. Breakfast that morning wasn’t that heavy, it was considered a light one. Toasted bread with butter and jam, scrambled egg with salt and pepper was our fillings for that morning. After that, we went to the shore to meet one of the beach boys that Ah Lian arranged with, the evening before, to have him as our water activity guide. Well, because Ah Lian and Joel had a few friendly conversations with those beach boys, therefore indirectly the both built some friendly bonding with the two beach boys. So, that morning, started at 9am, the two beach boys brought us island hopping, to witness the splendor of Pangkor and her sister islands mainly Giam. Giam is one of the attractive islands in Pangkor due to the clear crystal water surrounding it and because of its shape that looked like croc. Later we docked at Giam for snorkeling; everyone was fascinated to look at fishes and the living corals. After all had their snorkeling units worn properly, off shore we went. Poor Choy Wan, she didn’t want to snorkel with us because she was afraid that she might bring unfortunates to us because she claim herself unfortunate due to the stealing incident the day before. Due to over superstitious, she missed the fun. Snorkeling in the clear waters was fun and enjoyable. Various types of colourful sea fishes that weren’t easily seen on land, even in aquariums, were just right in front of our eyes. Pn Chew was funny, since that day I realized that she’s not only afraid of hairy and furry animals, she’s even afraid of fishes. She was screaming away when a few of us went throwing bread into the water near her. Eventually, after all the water excitement, we went back to Nipah Bay on motorboats and that was 3-4 hours later. As our friend, those beach boys charged us to the minimal rate. RM 100 was for all activities that morning for 7 of us. Our shadow was the shortest at that time and all had lunch back in chalet. Again, spicy food filled us full. After that, Ah Lian went renting bikes from the chalet which was two doors away by the name Ombak Inn. It was quite a reasonable one as for 24 hours cost only RM 15 per bike. After we deposited our valuables, all went over to get the bikes. There wasn’t much selection for Pn Chew because there wasn’t any mountain bike that was suitable for her height. Despite of her ‘shortness’, she chose the one that she could hop on after the seat was lowered maximally. Minutes later, our cycling adventure begun, our aimed destination was to town to make some withdrawal as we would need more cash for other water activities the day after. Cycled and cycled, everyone was cycling tiredly because of the hilly roads that we have  to go through. The glimpse of the open sea was amazing as soon as we arrived at the highest peak at Tortoise bay. After catching more breathe, our journey continues and we arrived at town minutes later. We proceeded on to Fu Lin Kong temple after that. Fu Lin Kong is one of the famous Chinese temples in Pangkor or perhaps in Perak that attracted thousands of tourists due to its little Great wall and its large stone with a ‘缘’ written on it. Poor Choy Wan prayed for peace and good  luck hoping that her fate will be better for the coming days. After had much photo taken, we proceeded to the Dutch Fort that was situated at Teluk Gedung, south of the island. They weren’t anything special about the fort except about its history stating that it was built in 1670 to store imported tin. The sun was setting fast and it was time for us to give it a move. Ah Lian and I suggested that we will take another route back to chalet, a much longer route compared to the route that was taken earlier, to catch more scenic views. We were happy as the roads weren’t that steep and were easier for us to cycle up, at the beginning. As we went further away from town, it was even easier for us to cycle. The adventure reached its climax when the roads began to have a bigger inclination. It was steeper than before. At that moment, everyone got down and pushed their bike uphill, and therefore some regrets came, I doubt that there were more hilly roads for us to cycle up before we even reach the turning point, indeed it was true. By the time we reached the turning point, it was already late dust. Standing at the highest point that any land vehicle can reach, a feel of success filled me. Going down the slope was fun but was dangerous because of the zigzags of the hilly roads. When we were almost downhill, we passed by Teluk Dalam. Teluk Dalam has one of the beautiful and high class chalets and villas in Pangkor Island. A place of quietness and tranquillity, it was indirectly the epitome of Pangkor. We couldn’t stop by for long because night was falling, therefore we continued on back to Nipah Bay later. As soon as we arrived back to the villa, everyone was almost ‘flattened’ on the floor due to extreme exhaustion. Surprisingly, the food that we were supposed to barbecue was done for us. Delicious well-grilled stingray, prawns and squids filled our appetite that night. We planned to have a good rest at the beach later, as Joel was too excited. But that night, Ah Lian, Pn Chew and I had some personal talks regarding Ah Lian’s affair, right after dinner while the rest when back to have themselves cleaned. We didn’t go to the beach at last as the talk lasted quite long. An eventual deep understanding I got from the talk and I began to see things clearly from then on. Anyway, three of us went back to room and bathe. Later, Pn Chew, Joel and I went out to buy supper and we bought grilled squid for RM 15 while other remained in the room playing cards. We ended our day quite early that night because everyone was in tremendous exhaustion after cycling for almost 18 km around the island, up and down the hills.

9th June 2006 (يوم الجمعة)

I refused to wake up early that morning, so I was left alone in the room to continue my dreams as the rest went out for breakfast. I didn’t expect Siu Fung and Pn Chew to be that kind hearted. They brought breakfast from the cafeteria for me. But anyhow I must thank the both for being such a Good Samaritan. Due to extreme exercise we had the day before, the girls had pains in their joins. Ah Beh and Joel failed to convince them for banana boat because they can hardly move anymore. Well, then I tried my best to persuade them by using some dirty tactics. Choy Wan didn’t want to move and was almost asleep. I wasn’t sure whether Joel’s socks were that smelly or not, so…I soak them in Choy Wan’s face and she woke up immediately. Haha… I could do the same thing to Pn Chew but I couldn’t do it to Siu Fung because she’s a big tough girl. I tried doing so and I gave up when she gave me a deep scratch with her fingernails on my arm. Ouch…Eventually, I and the three girls left the room when Ah Lian came rushing us. Seven of us were just nice for a banana boat, a prefect number almost for everything. The banana boat wasn’t that exciting after all because it wasn’t driven fast enough. Later that morning, we kayaked. First it was Ah Lian and Pn Chew, followed by Joel and I and eventually Ah Beh and Choy Wan. I bet the first and the second pair didn’t go out so far, and we were kayaking near shore around Giam and Mentagor Island. The brave ones were Ah Beh and Choy Wan which went out far to the open sea, until we hardly see them from shore, they were like two orange dots in the horizon. They went really far away from shore, surpassing the buoy line. We were worried at that time, worried that they couldn’t come back to shore due to big waves. We eventually seek help from the beach boys and they told us they couldn’t help us by kayaking out there unless if he uses a motorboat because big waves there can easily sick a kayak. But after awhile, the two orange dots became larger to our sight and we knew that they were approaching us. So, Pn Chew, Su Fung, Ah Lian and I went back to chalet to bathe and packed our lunch while Joel was on the beach waiting for their return. We checked out at 2.30pm and left our luggage near the reception counter and had lunch by the beach.  We then extended over rental period of the bikes and went cycling to  Teluk Dalam, where    Pangkor Airport was situated. After much pictures were taken, we then  departed back to return our bikes, and bought some souvenirs at the nearby shops, especially Ah Lian. We then took the taxi to jetty and hopped on the ferry later. Back to mainland half hour later, and took the 6.30pm bus back to the humid and busy KL via Bidor. Finally, we arrived at the capital around 11.30pm, in where we started. The 3 days 2 nights Pangkor trip ended there and then.