Pangkor Island

5 - 7 May 2023

5 May 2023

We woke up, packed, ate what we had on hand, then took a Grab (Uber) to the ferry terminal.  The owner of the apartment we rented said we could leave the car in the parking lot instead of paying for parking at the terminal...cool.  Ten minutes later we were awaiting the 12:15 PM ferry.

They ferry terminal area was pretty nice, having lots of places to take photos and such.  As I was on top of the "piano steps," I noticed a ferry boarding in the background.  Oh...I guess it is time to board.  I told the others and we headed to the ferry. 

We were a little anxious to get on board because it is general seating and not reserved.  We found some seats and then the ferry started leaving. Wait...it is only 11:50 PM?  The ferry isn't supposed to leave till 12:15 PM.  This is when we realized that we got on the earlier ferry, not the one we booked.  Oh well...

We arrive to Pankgor Island just 15 minutes later and headed to the taxi stand.  This island doesn't have Grab, instead it has Pink Taxis.  There is a board that lists all the prices, so we know how much to pay.  It cost us 15 MYR => $3.40 USD to get to our hotel that is just a 5 minute drive away, more than a grab would cost, but it is still inexpensive in our world.

After bringing our bags to the room, Tim and I set out exploring the area.  The hotel is situated in a small city  with multiple restaurants and venders, and the beach only 2 blocks away.

We walked along the beach and decided it was time for lunch.  I found a place called "Famous View Restaurant" so we headed there.  At the end of this road is the restaurant that wasn't there...humf...and it was a super hot walk to get there.  Oh well...

We knew there was restaurants by the hotel, so we headed back in that direction and found a Chinese seafood restaurant.  We ordered a couple of beers, fried squid, and a vegetable.  It was all pretty good.

Do you see that family sitting in the background of this photo?  Well...they had a plate of something delivered to their table.  I got up and walked over to them to see what they ordered.  It was a big plate of crab.  I said, "Wow!"   They then offered me some of it.  Of course I refused and went back to our table.

Then, a plate with ​some crab was delivered to me.  That was so nice of them, and it was delicious.  I went over to thank them and they offered me some more.  I told them I was full and then Tim and I made a quick getaway before they could deliver.

When we left the restaurant we saw Peter and Susan.  They said they talked to a guy about renting scooters tomorrow to ride around the island.  They also said that he took them to lunch and took them on a little drive around some of the sites.  Wow...the people on this island are so nice and giving.  

We walked to his stall and he said that he wanted to show us something, so we a loaded into his SUV and he gave us a ride up to a Buddhist Temple above the water.

Here is Mr. Lee leading us to a temple that is off the road.  We would never have found it if he didn't take us here.

Check out the amazing view from this temple.  

On the way back to town we stopped at a market area and he gave us 10 minutes to walk around.  During that time we were lucky to see a couple of Great Hornbill birds.

Mr. Lee then delivered us back to the hotel with plans for us to take him to dinner tonight to reply his generosity.  Until then, Tim and I decided to check out the hotel pool.  There just so happened to be a store attached to the hotel that sold beer, so we decided to have a couple.  We don't know if we are allowed to drink beer at the pool, but nobody said anything, so...

We stayed at the pool until it closed at 7 PM then went upstairs for showers and then met Mr. Lee and his wife, Peter, and Susan at a restaurant right next door.  

The ordering was already done, so we just sat and waited for the delivery.  This steamed fish was the highlight of the meal.

Here we all are....happy and full.

We said goodnight to Mr. Lee and his wife Kiki and told him we will see him tomorrow to rent the scooters.  We went back to the hotel, watched a little TV (opening ceremony of the Southeast Asia Games) then went to bed.

6 May 2023

The next day Mr. Lee brought us breakfast that we ate in a restaurant need his stall.  After we ate, we picked out our scooters and took off for the day.  There is a road that goes around the island that is about 10 miles, so we headed out counter-clockwise to start.  We passed many places that looked interesting, but we thought we could circle back and hit them later after we get a feel for what there is to see.

Our first stop was a beach area with a bit of a view:

After the short beach stop, we stopped at Daddy's Cafe. Mr. Lee said this is a good place to go to eat and watch the sunset.  We were stopping just to check out the place and the menu to decide if we want to come here, but decided to stay for a quick drink.

After Daddy's Cafe, we continued and completed the circle.  We then continued for our second lap and stopped at a Buddhist temple that Mr. Lee showed Peter and Susan yesterday.

The temple grounds of Fu Lin Kong Temple were super nice.  Tim and I enjoyed climbing the multiple stairs and paths that led to different shrines.  The view from the top was amazing.

Next stop is the Floating Mosque, Masjid Al-Badr.

They actually let us in after we covered our hair and legs.  I think this is the first mosque TIm and I have been inside.

On the way to the mosque, I noticed a rock, so we went back and stopped on the side of the road to check out Tiger Rock.  It is unknown what this rock is, but the locals believe it was carved by Dutch who used the island to try to control trade in the 1740's.

There is also a Dutch fort nearby that was built in 1670, destroyed by Malays in 1690, rebuilt by the Dutch in 1743, then finally abandoned in 1748.

We spent about 4 hours riding the scooter around the island after which we returned them to Mr, Lee, went back to the hotel, then went to the pool to cool off a bit before getting ready for dinner.  If you are curious, the scooters we rented  cost us 40 MYR => $9 USD for both scooters.

Mr. Lee picked us up at the hotel just before 8 PM and took us to Restoran Rong Su Xia.  A local place known for good seafood.

Mr. Lee did the ordering and then this was placed on the grill.  Grilled fish and grilled stingray.

He also ordered two mystery dishes (pictured on the left).  The right photo is the grilled stingray.

I have no idea what this is.  It seemed like shrimp or crawfish.  I have no idea and we couldn't get Mr. Lee to tell us what it was he ordered.

After dinner Mr. Lee took us to the shopping area to show us the lights.  Those colored bulbs handing down are actually jellyfish lights...cool.

Mr. Lee then dropped us off at the hotel.  It was pretty late and we were all pretty full, so we all called it a night.

7 May 2023

Today is planned to be a relaxing day.  Tim and I slept in, did some computer work (Bali planning), and headed out to find a late breakfast / early lunch.  We wound up at the restaurant we sat at yesterday with Mr. Lee.  This time we ordered food from the restaurant (me: Sweet & Sour Fish; Tim: Sweet & Sour Chicken).

After brunch we sat on the beach for a bit, then hung out with Mr. Lee, then went back to the hotel to relax in the air conditioning and do some computer work.  Around 3:30 PM we headed out to get a taxi to Daddy's Cafe.

It took about 10 minutes to get to Daddy's Cafe.  We them picked out a couple of sunbeds in the shade and ordered a bucket of Tiger Beer.  Our plan is to relax on the chairs, drink beer, and swim until sunset at 7:30 PM. 

​Ahhh...this is the life!

Time for a dip...but what kind of fish is this?!?  This dead fish was washed up on the shore...what the heck is it?  Maybe some kind of Boxfish?

The sun is about to set.  It may actually be a pretty nice sunset tonight.

Here we are enjoying the sunset.

Yes...it was a very nice sunset tonight.  

Towards the end of the sunset we got a table at the restaurant and ordered a pizza.  The perfect ending for a relaxing day.  By the way, the total cost for beach chairs, many beers, and a pizza was MYR 236 => $53 USD.

After dinner we grabbed a taxi back to the hotel and called it a night.  Tomorrow we take the ferry back to the mainland and drive 2 hours south to Kuala Selangor.  Until then...