Things to do in Pangkor

the beach at Teluk Nipah

 

1. At Teluk Nipah (where I stayed), you gotta try the banana pancake (lempeng pisang ye kawan2). Well, may not be as grand as Krabi Pancake, but at least we've got one also. And the taste is not bad. Eat it while it hot . It'll cost you RM1.50 per piece and open daily around 4 pm onwards. During weekend, you'll see a long queue and that's when you know you are at the right stall. 

Travel essentials

 

2. Compared to 5-10 years ago, night life in Pangkor and Teluk Nipah in particular could be dead boring. But all is not lost. Albeit the lines of street vendors and dim light, there is this Raggae Bar for shisha and coffee enthusiast (no liquor though). You will not miss it cos it's just by the road side facing the beach, right in front fo Lorong 2. Open daily until wee hours.... So, burung2 pungguk sekalian, korang boleh la lepak situ. Brader yang meniaga pun very friendly and quite a chatter box.  And, there's music too. If you are lucky, buskers will play there. Otherwise, layan je lagu from its jukebox.
3. HORNBILLS SPOTTING. Yup. Don't forget to look up when in Pangkor. You could spot hornbills flying and lepaking around almost an instant. In fact, there's this one chalet famous for its activities of feeding these wild Hornbills. If you wanna catch it, be sure to be in front of that chalet about 4-5 pm daily. Oh yeah, I forgot the name of that chalet. But it's located at Teluk Nipah. Be friendly and ask around. The people there knows. :) 

4. Pangkor also famous for its seafood by-product. Err... that's processed food, yes? I visited and shopped handsomely at Chop Ha LI at Pangkor town. It's located slightly inward from the jetty. Cheap and you can bargain if you buy more. Well, most shops sell at affordable price.  

the road to Chop Ha Li

The variance is around 10-50 cents I think. But it makes all the differences if you buy a lot kan. 5 posen diskaun boleh jadik 10 inggit kalo beli banyak... Well, not that I'm a cheapskate. You do the maths hehehe.

5. ACCOMMODATION. There are plenty of budget chalet hostel around. Pangkor is a good destination for backpacker, students or those who travel on a budget. Teluk Nipah have a number of alleys (lorong) that offer chalet and hostel at affordable rate. The rate starts at RM20 per nite. Most accommodation that I've seen are cosy and comfortable enough for your stay. After all, when you are on vaccay, you will not or should not stay in your room. Go explore. The room is for your good nite sleep only. Kan? Or am I wrong? Heh.

6. RENT A BIKE - MOTORCYCLE OR BICYCLE. Mark my word. Do not rent a car. It's a waste and Pangkor is not huge to begin with. It's merely half of Langkawi and its accessibility would only require two-wheelers. It is in fact, the best way to explore the island because again, Pangkor is relatively small. The good thing is, most resort / chalet / hostel offer bike rental. And yes, you gotta go and scout first. Boleh dapat harga murah. Normally, the rental cost is RM30 per day for motorcycle. 

7.INSIDER'S SECRET: At beach, apart from water sports (canoe, banana boat ride, speed boat, island hoppings, etc.) and swimming, you should have a stroll along the beach line. There, if you are lucky, you will spot local villagers donning an activity called "yatyat harvesting". Yatyat is a snail-like creatures and there are abundant of 'em hiding in between the wet sands. The locals like to deep fried the yatyat and serve with rice. Below are the yatyat:

8. GOOD FOR MONEY: Be on the ook out for budget beach resort because the motorcycle rent there gonna cos you RM30 per day. Others, between RM40 and RM50. Oh yea, this is the rate during peak seasons, weekends and holidays. 

9. When you have a bike, go to the Dutch Fort located about 1.5km from the jetty. Not many tourists know or even bother about this historical site especially backpackers. Well, not to blame them, the promotional part of it also lukewarm and it is not even highlighted anywhere. People will know bout it when you go on a guided tour.

  10. Wait, the excitement doesn't stop there. About 50m or so from the Dutch Fort, there's this Batu Bersurat (inscription on the stone). The Batu Bersurat marked the presence of Dutch merchants in Tanah Melayu back in the Kesultanan Melayu Melaka heydays. These inscriptions dated as early as 1743.

11. The inscription depicted:
a. Story of a Dutch baby  snatched by Malayan tiger at nite.
b. Letter VOC - a registered trademark of Dutch ship.

12. The best part is that there was no whatsoever descriptions or story behind these huge Batu Bersurat. The museum authority built a roof to cover it from ruin. That's just about it. 

Indrawati and her husband; an Indonesian. Prolly that's how she's got the name from.

My doodle on Indrawati. heh.

13. I was lucky to have met Indrawati Gunawan, a Dutch traveler who happened to be on the site. She was very friendly and warm and she was the one that shared the story behind this Batu Bersurat and the meanings of the carving on the stone. **a bit embarassed I must admit. Heh. 

14. At nite, Teluk nipah offers an array of seafood. There are plenty of 'em specializing in all-you-can-eat seafood from grill, tomyam, deep fried, tiga rasa and list go on and on. The trick however, is to find the good one and cheap. So far, I've been unlucky. The stalls I went to it's either delicious but expensive, cheap but tasteless or worse, expensive and tak sedap. Puih. Better luck next time!

15. To go from ferry to Teluk Nipah or elsewhere, use the public transport - the PINK VAN. Easily available and they roam all throughout the island. It'll cost you RM15 per trip to Teluk Nipah. That RM15 is per van, not per person. If you are alone or forever alone (haha) try to find someone and tumpang la. The van can accommodate about 6-7 people. 

Resit kena simpan!

16. The ferry ride from mainland to island cost RM10 for return trip. KEEP THE STUB cos you need it on the way back (they check!!)

17. I guess that's just bout it for Pangkor Island. 

Thanks for reading. MMuuahhhh.

apekTRAVELS