Pangkor Island: quiet because of Ramadhan...

even the hornbills stayed away!

We left Batu Gajah after 4.00 pm for Pangkor Island... for a day trip! Parked at the open car park belonging to a school, opposite the multi-storey carpark. It was so empty that we could choose a space with shade under a tree. Walked past the booth to get a ticket and found the attendant sound asleep!

Walked to the jetty to get the ferry tickets and what a difference! The tickets were waved at us to attract our attention. The jetty was also empty compared to the crowd and queues when we brought along our Dutch visitors. On that day, it required 5 ferries which came almost at the same time to clear the crowd! Today, we had to wait for enough passengers before the ferry left for Pangkor Island. Even at this end, there were touts trying to get us to hire a car for Rm60 (it was Rm80 during the peak period).

As soon as we arrived Pangkor Island, a few touts tried to get us to hire a car. The car park was full of empty vans serving as taxis and as expected, a number of people approached us though we expected some order in the queue system. Still, a Chinese taxi operator convinced us that it was his turn, even though his van was parked away from the queue. The fare was Rm12 which seems to be the usual rate to Coray Bay (we were charged Rm30 the last time because of the crowd). On our way, the taxi driver said the place is normally very quiet during the month of Ramadhan, including National Day, much to our surprise.

When we arrived at Coray Bay, we could almost have the beach to ourselves! I could see only two men kicking a beach ball. A couple of guys sitting under a tree and another couple of Caucasians on the beach next to Daddy's Cafe. We spotted a couple of hornbills and expected to see more later but none came. The taximan explained that during Ramadhan, less people means less food and even the hornbills stayed away! Anyway, we arranged with him to fetch us at 7.15pm so that we can catch the ferry leaving at 7.45pm. The last one leaves at 8.30pm.

My wife showed Cheng how to change into her swimsuit using a sarong. She managed to do it too with a bit of help from her. You can take them away from the kampung (or village) but you can never take the kampung away from them! I was expected to look after the stuff, this time, not only to prevent theft from human, but some monkeys hanging around on the trees! They were very sharp when they see a human taking out anything from a bag. I have seen one climbing away after grabbing a packet of crisps!

Our recent routine with Pangkor Island or Damai Laut invariably includes dinner at the 777 hawker centre in Sitiawan. But this time, we tried another one nearby. Verdict, 777 has more stalls and more choices.

It was a good trip for bonding - the chats during the journey and memories of our trips to Teluk Batik when they were kids. The best thing was to be able to enjoy such trips without spending much money. That reminds me... when we were ready to leave, there was no one in the car park booth at 8.30pm! So we saved on parking too!

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