Daytrips at the mainland: Perak

Introduction

Although Pangkor has great beaches, there's a lot of things to do on daytrips with Pangkor and/or Lumut as a base. I have collected some good tips for you where to go if you feel you want something different.

All are possible to visit for just one day since they are in a range of about 100 km from Pangkor Island. Transport is not difficult to arrange too.

We have set up some tours on the Malaysian mainland. You can do these trips in half - or even a full day if you feel this. Get a bicycle or a motorbike to explore the area around Pangkor. read more here for your first trip. But let's first see what you can visit in a radius of about 100 km from Pangkor.

So on this page we will focus on the State where Pangkor is located in: Perak. Here is a list of towns in Perak, each has something special to offer.

• Sitiawan
• activities around Lumut
• Ipoh
• Kampar
• Taiping
• Kuala Kangsar
• Pantai Remis
• Teluk Intan
• Pasir Salak

Further there are two other beaches which are worth a day visit. These are:

• Teluk Batik
• Teluk Senangin

Sitiawan

Many local people will tell you, there's nothing much to do or to see in Sitiawan. Sitiawan is located just 10 km on the mainland. It's a sleepy little town. It's the only town near Pangkor where you can do a bit of shopping (although Seri Manjung has a shopping center too). Not for nothing yours truly lives here!

Check the shopping page for more info

Sitiawan itself has a few attractions which are worth exploring. Around the town there are a few typical Chinese graveyards. More about those graveyards, you can read here.

Why visiting a cemetery? Simple, these Chinese graveyards are worth a visit. The graves are beautiful and in the whole of Malaysia you will not easily find graveyards like them here.

In between Sitiawan and Kampong Koh is a nice Buddhist temple. It's a fairly new temple with Thai and Chinese features. There is an active Buddhist society in Sitiawan who do their very best to keep the temple in good shape. A visit is well worth. Read more details about this Thai-Chinese Buddhist temple here

Special activities around Lumut

Around Lumut there are some things to see and do which are worth to explore. River fishing, the way the local people in the kampong do is different from other ways of fishing with rods and nets. Read more about river fishing around Lumut.

Around Lumut there is quite a bit of beautiful mangrove forest left which is worth to visit in a small boat. Just outside the town you can be as far away from civilization as you can imagine. Just you and your company and the wildlife in the swamps. Great experience and easy to combine with a check on the local fishing activities in the Dingding river. Read more about the mangrove forest park outside Lumut.

Ipoh

Ipoh is the state capital of Perak. It is a the third biggest city of Malaysia with a population of over 600.000 people. Ipoh was never a real ming town. However, it owes the mining industry a lot on its existence.

In the late 19th century the city was known by the British as Epoh. The name however originated from a local tree known as pokok ipoh. This particular plant is known for its tree sap. This sap is poisonous and it was used by the orang asli in their blowdarts.

If you there is one good excuse to visit (or stay longer) Ipoh, it is food. There are many cheap and not so cheap restaurants and hawker stalls in the Old Town and in the New Town. The Old Town has some excellent breakfast and lunch places while the New Town is more into the lunch-dinner places.

Ipoh is famous for its fruits (pomeloes, peanuts and durians from the Ipoh area are famous throughout Malaysia) and its cuisine. Ipoh natives claim that the water in the area makes the food especially tasty. The water here is relatively hard due to Ipoh being located amongst a large karst formation. Also, many Malaysians know Ipoh for its excellent and very varied Chinese food.

And Ipoh is quite famous for it's castle. Kellie's Castle (sometimes spelled as Kelly's Castle), just 15 km out of Ipoh is worth a visit. The castle has a long and quite sad story which you can reads here.

For more information on Ipoh, please visit our Ipoh page.

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Kampar

Kampar, at 90 km from Lumut is a charming little town that, at first sight little offers to visitors. But as it goes in Malaysia, once you know what you are looking for, you find it an intriguing place. The town itself is about 80% Chinese. Food wise you will not be disappointed with the roti kari ayam (halal), a bread with inside chicken curry.

In the neighborhood you will find the Gua Tempurung caves, the longest caves in Malaysia. Few people visit and it's a real shame. Even for someone like me who is not much "into caves", it was a fascinating experience, every THREE times I went!

Other options to do are the spectacular white water rafting, fishing in the nearby leftovers of the tin mine industry or go for some jungle treks and see the biggest flower in the world.

Here's a lot more about Kampar and a good place to stay in town

Read and see more about the Gua Tempurung Caves

As Kampar is a little hard to reach from Pangkor/Lumut, you may want to use our taxi service.

Taiping

Here's another great city for one of your daytrips. Taiping is sometimes called the Town of Everlasting Peace. This is because of its slightly cooler climate (a bit in the hills) and tranquil surroundings which creates a relaxed atmosphere.

Taiping is located 95 km north of Pangkor and Lumut. It is a great day out to visit this old city that has roots that go back to the early days of the tin industry. All over the city you will find traces back of the old days in the form of colonial buildings. It is a very Chinese town with long streets and shops decorated in Chinese style.

The city once was the administrative center for the Sultans until Ipoh and Kuala Kangsar took over this role.

One of its pride and joys is the Taiping Zoo. Here you find over 1200 animals of 160 species in a natural setting. The zoo was established in 1961 and is owned by the Taiping Municipal Council. The zoo is located at the Taiping Lake Gardens and is open daily from 8.30am to 6pm. The zoo has a unique Night Safari which is open from 8pm to 11pm on weekdays and until midnight on weekends and public holidays.

Kuala Sepetang

Just 15 km away from Taiping lies the sleepy town of Kuala Sepetang where you can visit the nature mangrove reserve park, a great visit, trust me. Many people in the village depend for their business on the mangrove forest, either in fishing or in the charcoal factory. Here's more about the Kuala Sepetang (in fact, it's the even tinier village of Matang) charcoal factory of Mr. Chuah and his family who have this business since the 1930's.

Click here to read about the charcoal factory.

More on Taiping, check our Taiping page

More on the Taiping Zoo, click here

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Kuala Kangsar

Once the beating heart of Perak, nowadays a nice day (or afternoon) out if you stay at Pangkor. Kuala Kangsar is much smaller then Ipoh and less busy. There are some nice colonial buildings and early 20th century palaces of the various sultans in town. And for that reason is Kuala Kangsar still called the Royal City.

The Sultans of Perak used this town as their administrative centre since the mid 1800's. The British have used Kuala Kangsar too for the same purpose. Even the Japanese during their occupation in the Second World War had a headquarter in Kuala Kangsar.

The main object of visit is the Mosque, a beautiful building just outside the city center. Nearby is the Sultans palace, a museum and gallery.

Kuala Kangsar can be done in a day trip combination with a visit to the town of Pantai Remis.

For more information on Kuala Kangsar, please visit our Kuala Kangsar page.

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Pantai Remis

It is not far from Pangkor and Lumut and therefore easy to do on a daytrip. Pantai Remis is a sort of "One Street Town". The town is located 35 km north of Lumut on the sea side. On the way north you will pass the little town of Segari in the hills. Around Segari are some beaches, very remote and seldom visited by foreigners.

But Pantai Remis is busier. Many people here live on the fishing industry. The One Street is filled up with little shops and in the evening hawkers sell excellent fish, crab and prawn dishes. `

Just north of Pantai Remis is located the little town of Panchor. It is a very Chinese little fishermen village. Many of the houses here are build in the sea water although there are no beaches here. Most people have a boat and almost all live one way or another on the fishing industry. This means, they are either fishermen or work i.e. own a fish farm.

If you are lucky one of the fishermen is willing to take you on his boat to go out on the Straits of Malacca. It is a well known day out for families from Singapore and good fun.

Read here about what happened during those specific daytrips.

In between Segari and Pantai Remis, there is a remote beach to be visited: Pantai Pasir Panjang. There's no public transport but if you have your own car (or taxi), or if you are a long distance cyclist, you can find it easily.

From the direction of Pangkor, drive/ride north to Taiping. After Segari but before Pantai Remis, you will find a junction for the Lumut Power Plant. Follow this road for a few kilometers until you find an asphalt road to your left. At the end you find the turtle breeding station. Turtles are endangered species in Malaysia. This station collects eggs laid by the turtles on the nearby beaches. They do that since robbers (mostly of human nature) do rob the turtle nests as it is a delicatessen and brings in good money.

When the eggs come out, the little turtles are freed into nature. In one of the pools they keep a few very big ones. These turtles are there for the tourists as an attraction.

At the station you will also find a lot of information on marine life and other endangered species. Highly recommended visit.

Here's more about the Turtle Breeding Station in Segari

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Teluk Intan

Teluk Intan is located 70 km south of Lumut and Pangkor. The original name of the city is Teluk Mak Intan which was changed into Teluk Anson by sir High Low in the high days of Raj. Only in 1982 it was changed into Teluk Intan (Diamond Bay).

Teluk Intan contains quite a few colonial building but the city's pride and joy is a leaning tower which is described as the Tower of Pisa of Malaysia.

The tower was build in 1885 by a Chinese contractor: Leong Choon Choong. The tower is over 25,5 meter high and was once used for storage. During the Japanese occupation this tower was a watchtower for the Japanese army. Later the tower became headquarter for the Boys Scouts. You can climb the tower, no admission and is most of the day open for public.

Apart of the Leaning tower, you can visit the Hock Soon Keong Temple, the first Hokkien temple in Teluk Intan. The Sri Thandayuthapani temple in Jalan Bandar is near the clock tower and worth a visit.

As Teluk Intan is near the Straits of Malacca and a river arm, there's a long tradition in boat building. Even now Teluk Intan has a few boat yards.

But, to be very honest, the Tower is not bad, as one of your daytrips to Pasir Salak, you can visit it, otherwise... it's not Pisa in Italy.

Getting there

All the mentioned places are easily available by bus from Lumut. For the details, please visit our Getting there page.

Pasir Salak

At Pasir Salak modern Malaysia history started. The Malaysian government build here a very nice complex of buildings to remember those who fought for the freedom of their country. There's a memorial for J.W.W. Birch, the first Resident for the British occupiers and an excellent museum.

Further you will find some excellent examples of traditional Malay style houses. A big recommendation to visit Pasir Salak. For more information, please visit our Pasir Salak page.

Getting there

A bit of a problem. Your best bet is by taxi since it is 60 km away from either Pangkor or Ipoh. There is no regular bus service. We offer an excellent taxi service to Pasir Salak, check our taxi page for details

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Teluk Batik

Teluk Batik is in Malaysia known as one of the best beaches around Pangkor. It is easy accessible for locals but without your own transport you have to use a taxi.

Teluk Batik is a pleasant beach although not as clean and as nice as the beaches on Pangkor Island itself.

Also, since the beach is so popular, it is usually busy, even during the weekdays. The question is why go to a beach as Teluk Batik if there are some excellent beaches on Pangkor. The reason for a daytrip can be to see and enjoy with local Malaysians a day on the beach.

Getting to Teluk Batik

The easiest way is by taxi. it should not cost more then a handful of ringits.

We have made some awsome photos of Teluk-Batik.html

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Teluk Senangin

Teluk Sengangin is not much visited by tourists but its is a great destination for a daytrip. In fact, when you are staying at Teluk Dalam you have a view on Teluk Senangin on the main land.

Teluk Senangin is not a very developed beach. During the weekends it can be a bit busier, especially during holidays and then the food stalls will be open. Locals come here for a daytrip and a picnic at the seaside. However, at week days you will probably the end only visitor and the whole beach is yours.

The beach is a few kilometers long stretch of white sand and (when there is no wind) blue water. In the village fishermen working on their small boats and nets. There are a few basic chalets available but no shops.

Most people bring their own food and you will see many locals coming here for a daytrip picnic. Here are some photos of Teluk Senangin.

Getting there

There are no busses to Teluk Senangin. You have to take a taxi which will take about 30 minutes from Lumut. Since it is a bit off the beaten track you have to arrange something with the taxi driver to pick you up later.

If you have your own transport, take the road out of Lumut to Taiping and The Damai Laut. After about 15 km you will find a junction to the Swiss Garden Resort and Damai Laut Spa. Take this junction and follow the road for another 5 km. You have arrived in Teluk Senangin.

Do not confuse Damai Laut with Damar Laut. If you take the junction Damar Laut, you will end up straight in front of Lumut on a dirty muddy riverbank.

We made some awsome photos Teluk Senangin too.

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