Visit Perak 2012 - Pulau Pangkor.

Do you know next year will a Visit Perak year? If not, then you must living in cave. You are lame.

So, in conjunction with Visit Perak 2012, I am launching my very own Perak Tour and and tell you how amazing actually Perak is! Yeah, clap clap. Kaboom kaboom (This is the sound of fireworks, just so you know my launching is super happening).

Well, even 2 weeks before the new year arrive, my tour had actually kicked off. Me and buddy went to Pangkor Island! Even there's not much excitement as Pangkor is near to my home, I still can't deny Pangkor is still one of the island with many beautiful beaches around. Yay, Pangkor! See how excited I am!

To get there, you can either use Marina Island to get on a ferry or from Lumut. Marina Island is a new place without much happening around, though the distance to Pangkor is quicker, which a ferry only take about 15 minutes to get there with safer parking space and less crowd. Compare to Lumut, which a ferry needs 45 minutes to Pangkor, limited parking and crowded jetty. However, I still chose Lumut as for my buddy, this is his first time to Pangkor. By going through Lumut, there's more to see, more to shop and during the 45 minutes trip, you can enjoy more time on the ferry going through Naval Base. 

Pangkor is rich with many chalets and hotels. Most of them are not that expensive. You can find a lot at Teluk Nipah and Bogak Beach. I selected a chalet at Teluk Nipah as that is the place for water activities that I've planned the next day. During this school holidays, usually the price would be a bit expensive compare to non peak seasons, but still, the chalet only cost me RM95 which is rather cheap. I would strongly suggest you make a reservation before you came since the peak season would invite so many tourists that these chalets usually will be fully occupied.

We had drizzle at noon by the time we arrived, so we got ourselves to a nearby kopitiam near the jetty where now the commercial area is located. With new renovated shops houses, these place looks sophisticated with many choices of souvenirs, clothes, satay fish and dried seafood.  We didn't get ourselves dried seafood there however as I had other places that I would recommend later. When the sun re-appear, we went to the Dutch Fort. There's nothing much here, but visiting this place is a must if you're in Pangkor. Missing this place is like you're not going to Big Ben when you're in London. Yes, this is the big ben of Pangkor. The iconic place o Pangkor I would say.

By the way, we got ourselves a rental motorcycle. You can book it when you buy your ferry ticket in Lumut, and it only cost you about RM35 for a day rent. It is so much easier to move around when you  have your own transport. And after getting ourselves around Pangkor on the bike, stopping by at the Bogak Beach where currently there is a lot of water activities compare to my previous visit and the fishermen's village, we got back to Teluk Nipah and had a little swim as it get a bit cloudy.Teluk Nipah is the IT place for Pangkor. The beach is beautiful, peaceful and calming. Watching sunset the side of the beach is priceless.

The next day, to avoid ourselves to get sunburn, we got ourselves out to the sea as early 7.30 in the morning. Then by 8.30, we went for kayaking for 45 minutes, and it only cost us RM10 per person. Cheap eh? Right after that, we went for a boat ride to snorkeling area. Only RM15 per person with no limit time. The place was a little bit crowded, but definitely worth it. After 1.5 hours snorkeling, the beach boy whom got us there took us around with his little boat to an awesome ride around Teluk Nipah. With that, both us only spend RM25/person for water activity. This is super cheap alright.

We got back to our chalet at noon, checked out and went to Pangkor Gallery ( a new place ), with some artifacts, old records, photos. You'll get to know new things on Pangkor which even I did not. Next we went to the seafood factory near the chinese village. This is the place I propose to get your shopping on seafood. This factory is rather cheap with variety of food. From fried seafood, seafood snacks to satay.

We finally got on a ferry after queuing up for almost half an hour as many were going back as well. As what I can conclude, it is a beautiful island and totally affordable for you to come over with families. So spend some time and have a visit to this fascinating place, Pangkor.