Day 02 - Monday, 061210
We had breakfast by the sea accompanied by the shrills of children playing by the beach. The clanging of woks by the busy cook & her high pitched chattering made me smile. What irony. Pangkorians speak the native Malay lingo with a Northern twang much like Kedah & Perlis even though they're nearer to Lumut.
The usual slang for Lumut folks & most of Perakians uses the Kuale intonation. I have a stong belief their forefathers - the seafaring people, originated from the North. As close as they can be, they speak a different tongue.
Besides that, she cooks one hellova delicious fried noodles topped with fried Buffalo's Eyed Eggs / "Telur Mata Kobau".
We didn't wanna gobble too much in the mornin coz there's lotta tough climbs. Its horror watching someone puke noodles...yikes!
Teluk Nipah and Coral Bay on the north west of the island is extremely popular with travelers from Europe. Teluk Nipah is "Indah khabar dari rupa" / The beauty is exaggerated & so misleading. The seafront littered with haphazard constructions & messy beach profiteers making a fast bucks. Food & souvenirs are rather high as it's a cutthroat business. Too many operators spoils these pristine beaches. Looks like a third world country coz they have this third world mentality.
Teluk Dalam boasts a very nice view but is not a place for you to swim as the are is muddy but there are other treasures here. You can indulge yourself with the locals to for clams. I think it's a great place to get away for the din of Pasir Bogak. Laid back & laze around is the perfect word for this place.
Passing by Kampung Teluk Dalam we to a dead end where there is a small jetty & a lookout point overseeing the kampong. It's riddled with plots of houses which bears resemblance to any kampong in Penang or Kedah. For once, I thought that I have gone back 40 years into the past.
It's compact, cute & beautifully crafted. Wouldn't mind spending my last days here... Well do you know that these sea fearing people are descendants of Kedahans & the Nothernites?
Pangkor hills are meant for MTBs or road bikes which are fitted with triple cranks. For someone as old as me, riding a RB in Pangkor is a no no. Way too steep for roadies. The gradient is somewhere beyond 15 - 20%! It's more Contandor's or Sherpa's terrain compared to armatures like us. Don't wanna burst my lungs & pop my heart.
Turn after turn from Teluk Dalam, the climb was so unbearable. Oh man, If I've had my 10kg's of luggage on the back wheel, I'll be beyond hell tackling these hills.
its simply breathtaking - the view is breathtaking & the hill took my breath away! Simply awesome. Even the vans, taxis & motorbikes engines were pressed to the limit. We riders were screaming our lungs out & the motorised bikes were shrieking their engines!
Full of sharp corners, hairpins, loop de loops, uphills & downhills - U name it, Pangkor has it. Not meant for the fainthearted but it's definitely worthwhile with lush greenery - beautiful fresh air.
A couple of haphazardly build shipyards dots the shoreline before Pangkor town. Blocks of used wood lay scattered by the rosdside inviting the dogs to poo-poo on it. This area is plain filthy.
One over-exited boy overtook us in town, showing off that he could ride faster than we old folks as two "Rempit Morons" cuts across us @ a junction. One km before the Duth fort you'll pass by the tranquil looking Kampong Teluk Kecik. One could see traditional kampong houses all the way. There is a homestay by within the kampong facing the beating surf. The Kampong Guest House - Cellphone : 012-5082227 Jue/012-4172227 Zam.
You can also try this lodge by the Malay Kampong
Dutch Fort
Its set a short distance from the ocean and consists of three brick walls with round windows at regular intervals. The ruins of the Dutch Fort on Pangkor Island are the remnants of an outpost of Dutch attempts to control trade in the Malay peninsula. In the Malay language, the fort is called Kota Belanda.
It was built by the Dutch in 1670 for storage and protection of tin supplies from the sultanate of Perak and later destroyed in 1690 by the Malays who were discontent with the methods used by the Dutch in obtaining minerals.
Plunder, plunder, plunder. Thats the only thing these colonials knew. They rebuild it again in 1743 and a force of 60 soldiers was placed to guard the fort until 1748, when the force was disbanded and the fort abandoned.
A mommy who was grilling fish for her daughter. It looks so inviting. Oh momma, ketchup with chili padi & onions would be just right. Fresh produce from the sea. No wonder these seafaring people rarely gets sick like us townsfolk.
I donno. My two cents worth - Pangkor needs a revival or so. beautiful beaches but not many tourist. It's a year end public holiday & yet humans are scare in Planet Pangkor. It's bad for business. The resort in Telok Dalam is fit for haunting.
The round island trip is lest than 20km, but if you're touring like us, who cares. You can take as long as you like. It took us almost 2 full hours. Next time, I would like to spend a nite in Kamponng Teluk Dalam.
We came to end of the round trip of Pangkor. 17km of tar road, climbing up was crazy, riding down mas sheer madness or probably suicidal!
Mad - Bad - but it's fun.
If you're the adventurous type, you can also take a short trip to Damar Laut @ a cost of RM5 to & fro, roughly 25km to the next populated area - Pantai Remis.
I'll try it one fine day. Probably dropping by my father's kampong house in Panchor, 30km away & getmy cousin to cook some crabs for lunch, then sleep & ride back to Lumut later in the afternoon.
We bid adieu to Vikri Beach Resort. Thank yu brudder for the great room & nice discounts.
3 boys & a bike
*Tip - leave Pangkor early & get the earliest boat out. Latest by 11 am or you'll get stuck with the hundreds or not thousand of jammed packed humans @ the jetty. It'll be beyond hell.
Best - ride a bike, you'll be given VIP treatment again. While hundreds wait for ages, you get to go home first! That's the beauty of being a bike bloke.
After settling down & all cleaned up, we cruised by the Lumut seafront for a shoort tour, courtesy of Tuan Azhar.
Tuan Aji Estima belanja us the "Special ABC"
Later that nite we were again summoned to Mie & Chot's Restaurat for some delicious fried noodles. Thanks Mie. Pak Hamid, Toki, Wak & the rest of the clan was there to help us the wok-full noodles. Yummy, we filled our tummy & our eyes grew droopy...
We later bunked in a small motel. Enuff to fit 2 bikes measuring 8.5 feet x 10.5 feet. RM39 - air conditioned, miniature TV & a common bathroom. Good enuff for a quickie... A-ha, ha! (Take on me).
Tn. Aji resting those tired pair of feet.
