Fashionista Escapades: Pangkor Island

We stayed at The Orient Star, Lumut the night before our trip and lucky for us, there seems to be some fair going on right next door to the hotel.

As with most fairs in Malaysia, most of the stalls would appeal most to kids and children as they focused on selling toys and what-nots.

However, there was a ferris wheel but we opted not to ride the wheel.

So for those who are interested in leaving for Pangkor, well, let me give you some travel advice:

The hot sun can be quite harsh, more so when you're on the beach, so you might want to bring a hat to help you shield yourself from the sun. There's plenty of stalls selling large oversized straw hats in Lumut so make sure you equip yourself with one before leaving for the island.

1. To reach Pangkor, you must take a ferry from Lumut. If you don't know, Lumut is about 1 hour's drive away from Ipoh, the capital of Perak. The ferry costs about RM10 to and fro and once you've bought your ticket, keep your ticket stub for your trip back.

There's plenty of ferry shuttle service from Lumut to Pangkor and as you can see, this one is quite empty. The actual truth is, there's an open deck upstairs (we are on the lower deck of the ferry) so most of the passengers are actually on the open deck enjoying the view.

2. In Pangkor, there are various modes of transportation that you can choose from; you can rent a bicycle if you're environmental conscious, or a motorbike (especially suitable for couples) or a car. Prices vary, bicycles may cost you RM15 a day, motorbikes about RM30 per day and car would be around RM20 - RM30 per hour. Depending on your group size and your budget you can choose which package will suit you most. Other than that, you might also want to consider renting a minivan (inclusive of driver) who can bring you to any spot you like, or can drop you off at any resort. As we rented the car, I am not sure how much the minivan would cost you. If I'm not mistaken the charges are minimal.

The Dutch fort in Pangkor.

3. Activities in Pangkor ranges from the normal sunbathing and a swim at the beach to snorkelling, renting a jetski or island hopping. As time was of the essence, we only had time to go round the island, took photos round tourist spots (on good example is the Dutch fort), did a bit of sunbathing and browsed for some souvenirs to bring home.

Jetskiing is one of the best ways to take advantage of the surf and sun.

White pristine beaches at Pangkor Island.

Barefooted might be the best way to go =).

You might also want to get some souvenirs as a memento of your trip to Pangkor:

Turtle fridge magnets. 

Or some bead necklaces.

Dried prawns and anchovies.

I find Pangkor to be a beautiful island. I loved the beach and the sun and the sea. I loved everything about it. The town was so small and quaint. We went round the whole island for only an hour, it was that small! The only setback was that we didn't have enough time and therefore we didn't go for any water activities at all. I was so looking forward to snorkeling but unfortunately time didn't permit me to go for it. As we only had half a day, we went to Pangkor at 10 am and had to leave by 3pm, we didn't check any hotel and there wasn't any facilities at the beach to permit us to change without breaking the rules of modesty so we decided to forgo any activities that involved getting wet and having to change.

All in all, I was quite satisfied with my trip but I was hoping for a bit more from this trip and wasn't able to satisfy my hunger for a bit of snorkelling but it was a good time off session from my hectic work.

Cheerio!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo