A day trip to Pangkor Island

On Monday, May 1 being a public holiday, we decided to visit Pangkor Island.

Unlike those from afar, it took just over an hour’s drive to Lumut, where we parked for the first time, at the spanking new multi-storey carpark operated by Majlis Perbandaran Manjung.

We read the handwritten notice outside the cashier’s window stating it costs 40 sen for the first hour and so on and was pleasantly surprised when the cashier mentioned, for today, it is only 30 sen per hour, and first hour is free! This is definitely the way to go for a local council to attract business.

It was a pleasant start to our day trip to Pangkor Island. On our way to the jetty, we noticed modern looking structures all round, a vast difference from the old shops and stalls. A man asked if we were going to Pangkor and he offered a discounted return ticket at Rm8 instead of Rm10 for each person. To reassure us, he gave us a calling card too.

Instead of only one ferry operator, now there are a few: the original Pansilver, Duta Pangkor and Mesra Feri. The last one suggests cheeky management because the slogan on their ferries show ‘Naik Selalu’!

When we were in the air-conditioned ferry, I realized what a bargain it was for Rm8 return. We noticed the ferries stopped taking or dropping passengers at Sg. Pinang Kecil (or Keling Wan to the locals). Upon arriving at the main jetty, we were surprised at the crowd! Jam-packed waiting to board, all the way to the entrance of the building, making it difficult for disembarking passengers to pass through.

What a difference a day made! Most of those people have luggages, suggesting they have just checked out. It seems all the hotels and chalets were fully booked from Friday to Sunday. Even the taxis had exceptional business during the long weekend.

We were lucky to be on a day trip at the tail end of the chaotic period. While walking around, a minibus offered to take us and we got another good deal for Rm1.50 each all the way to Teluk Nipah!

We placed out the mat which we had brought along and tried to read the newspapers. Soon we dozed off. Shortly after, I was awake just to make sure nobody tried to snatch my wife’s handbag! Always thinking of security.

After enjoying the sea breeze, we decided to have a cup of tea. Then we looked around the shops to see what they have to offer the tourists. We walked all over the place, checking out hotels and chalets for future visits. To our pleasant surprise, a few hornbills appeared, looking for food. We managed to get fairly close to two young birds, judging from their smaller beaks and ‘horns’. They were quite used to humans and we were told, around 4 pm, they would be looking for food offered by the locals.

When we were ready to leave, we tried to stop passing taxis but the drivers kept pointing us to the taxi stand. Later, we realized that they have a queue system! The journey back to the jetty was comparatively expensive, at Rm10 for two. But we have no complaints, having been lucky earlier!

For the return ferry journey, we had to wait about half an hour because of the few passengers.

Back at the car park, for about 6 hours, we were charged only Rm1.50! We just couldn’t get over the offer. On the way, we saw cars parked out in the open and which we were sure they had to pay much more. If only they knew!

For dinner, we tried a new route to Kg. Koh but ended up in Kg. Cina! It was not because we could not find Kg. Koh but we found a row of restaurants and we were tempted to try one. For a ‘ikan bawal putih’ steamed Teochew style, a sizzling plate of ‘o-chian’ and a stir-fried vegetable, the bill came to only Rm42!

So ‘cuti cuti Malaysia’ can be cheap for the budget conscious.

How are we going to get used to a holiday in UK this July?