To celebrate my wife’s birthday, my wife and I wanted to go out of town. Take some time off. Relax. We’ve both been very busy at work the past month and thought we both needed a break – a perfect getaway.
There were a couple of things we had in mind. First, it had to be near. We don’t want to take another 8-hour bus ride to a very far island, only to go back again the day after. That’s what we did last year. After that experience, I don’t want to have to sit inside a bus again.
One option we thought of was to go to Port Dickson, a short 2-hour bus ride from Kuala Lumpur. Port Dickson, or P.D. as commonly referred by locals, is a very nice place, with a few beach fronts. I only knew “The Legends Water Chalet”, a hotel in PD as my team mates and I had a team building there last year. The hotel is very nice but it’s a bit pricey. Besides, my wife and I already went to PD a couple of months back. We spent the night at another place, a western cowboy style resort they call “Eagle Ranch”. We had lots of fun there.
For this year, we both wanted to try something new.
Then we heard about Pangkor Island. The island is a 4-hour bus ride from KL. It’s not as near as PD but it certainly better than an 8-hour bus ride to east coast Malaysia. The bus ticket is about 25 ringgit one way.
Early Friday morning, we boarded the Plusliner bus going to Lumut. Since it was a weekday, there were only a few of us in the bus. The bus left on time. Soon enough, we were already coasting along the highway going to Lumut. My wife was busy listening to her i-pod while I tried to catch some sleep. As we came near the Lumut town, my wife and I noticed that there were only 3 of us in the bus. Me, my wife, and the driver. We were the only passengers left.
It was around 1pm when we reached Lumut town. My wife and I were both hungry, and excited at the same time. The bus terminal is walking distance to the ferry station. We hurriedly went to look for the ferry going to Pangkor Island Beach Resort. We were lucky to find very friendly locals who pointed us to the right direction. The next ferry is 1:45pm, so my wife and I had an extra time to spare and have lunch.
We went back to the plaza to look for a place to eat. There were a lot of stores offering local delicacies, but we wanted to have something else. We looked around and found the only familiar fast food chain in the area, a local KFC store. We wasted no time and went immediately to have lunch. It’s nice to finally eat something after hours of travel.
After lunch, we went back to the ferry station. When we got there, there were already other tourists waiting for the ferry to arrive. From what I heard, it is a half-hour ferry ride to the Island. We were both excited as we boarded the ferry. We took some pictures left and right. Smiling. Laughing.
It was only 30 minutes but it seemed like an eternity. I was glancing at my watch every minute or so. When I finally saw the shores, it took my breath away. The fine white sand is inviting and looks very good to walk on. The sound of the waves are calming. It’s a paradise.
The hotel staffs were very courteous. Within a few minutes, we were on our room. The room is very spacious, adorned in the middle by a lovely king-size bed. The bathroom is very clean and I couldn’t wait to soak myself in the tub. From our room, we could see the infinity pool, overlooking the beach front and the enchanting sea. It’s a very nice place.
The resort is very secluded. It’s the only resort covering the whole beach front. The resort is enclosed like a cove, making it a very very peaceful, with only the sound of the small waves singing like a lullaby.
My wife and I enjoyed the walk on the beach early morning the next day. We even took a picture of the dazzling moonlight on the beach.
In the afternoon, we rented a bike and went around the resort. There were a lot of trees along side the beach. There was also a swing hanging on an umbrella tree. We went over, had fun sitting on the swing, taking some pictures, just having lots of fun watching the sea and time go by. This place is nice.
I really enjoyed my stay in the resort. I’m specially fond of these 3 things.
- The place is secluded, peaceful and relaxing.
- The staffs are very courteous
- The resort facilities are very nice and clean
On the other end, I also had some reservations to recommend the place as it might not be for everyone.
- It’s a bit pricey
- There were not much choice for food
- The beach is not very clear like those in East Coast Malaysia
If you’re looking for a place to relax with family and friends, and you have the money to spare, you will like it here. But if you’re on a budget and would like to do a lot of things, you might get a better deal somewhere else.
In the end, what matters is you enjoy it with someone you love. Have fun at Pangkor Island!