As said, 2006 is almost gone. Maybe it's a good idea to look at a few special happenings this year. I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter as much as I like writing it.

From Sitiawan Malaysia, I would like to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Hopefully next year we will have as many interesting items for you as this year.

Peter van der Lans
Sitiawan Malaysia
21 December 2006

• Passion is no ordinary word!
• Scientists find dozens of new species in Borneo rainforests
• Ma'soumah (15) and Salman (8) swim from Pangkor to Lumut
• Johan, an 8 years old Malaysian boy cycled from Sitiawan to Penang
• Climbathon, run up to Mount Kinabalu
• Hi-Q Organic Farm officially opened
• Teluk Segadas
• Golden Beach Hotel
• 123 Greetings.com
• Malaysian food: free e-book

You can read latest updates in my Blog:
http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/Pulau-Pangkor-blog-1.html

Or, socialize it with:

Automatic Social Bookmarking

Passion is no ordinary word!

Sitesell is the system I use for my websites and I don't want to use any other system ever more. For those who do not know Sitesell, the Pulau Pangkor website is build with help from Sitesell, Without Sitesell this website would never have made it in this form and run so well.

Don't know anything about sitesell? No problem, read here what Sitesell offers and why you wan it:

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/complete_site_build_it.html

However, you can build anything what you want, if there is no passion behind, it will never work out proper. People who know me personally know how much I enjoy working on my both (yes, I have another website) websites. Therefore, have a look here what passion really means in the case of building websites, it's passion that drives me to have these websites running:

http://passion.sitesell.com/webselling64290.html

-----------------------------------------

Scientists find dozens of new species in Borneo rainforests

Malaysia is again in the news. Dozens of new species are found in the Borneo rainforest. Borneo is divided by Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. According to scientists there were at least 52 new animals and plants found deep in the heart of the rainforest.

“The more we look the more we find,” said Stuart Chapman, WWF International Coordinator of the Heart of Borneo Program. “These discoveries reaffirm Borneo’s position as one of the most important centers of biodiversity in the world.”

This is exciting news. You can read the full article here:

http://www.panda.org/index.cfm?uNewsID=89620

-----------------------------------------

Ma'soumah (15) and Salman (8) swim from Pangkor to Lumut

Some may have already forgotten this extraordinary performance. It is February 2006 and the waters of west Malaysia are nice and warm. However, this day it's raining. Ma'soumah (15) and Salman (8) are ready for their biggest challenge in their life. They will swim from Pangkor to Lumut, an 8.9 km long journey which will take them almost 4 hours in the open water. The Malaysian Navy offers help with boats and emergency care, if needed. Ma'soumah and Salman do not need the help, they finish their quest and get their place in the Malaysian Book of Records.

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/salman-masoumah.html

-----------------------------------------

Johan, an 8 years old Malaysian boy cycled from Pangkor to Penang

Just recent a little Malay boy named Johan did something similar, he picked up his little bicycle and cycled from Pangkor to Penang, a journey that took him 5 days cycling, 1 day rest. Here's his story:

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/cycling-from-pangkor-to-penang.html

and a little more detailed:

http://bicycle-adventures.blogspot.com/

-----------------------------------------

Climbathon, run up to Mount Kinabalu

Talk about a life time experience, Ruhaizad Daud wrote an excellent page for the Pulau Pangkor website about this great event, the Climbathon, this year.

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/mount-kinabalu.html

As Ruhaizad Daud lives in Kota Kinabalu, he made some great photos of the event, check here:

http://www.mount-kinabalu-borneo.com/gallery/index.php

-----------------------------------------

Hi-Q Organic Farm officially opened

Prime Minister Badawia officially opened the Hi-Q Organic Park Hotel Resorts and Farms which will be build in cooperation with Taiwanese business men. It's a big project that will get the attention of businessmen and tourist alike in the next years. The idea of the project, conservation of nature which goes hand in hand with economic development. Read more here:

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/hi-q-organic-farm-in-pangkor.html

-----------------------------------------

Teluk Segadas

Unknown makes unwanted, I usually say. It's very true. However, sometimes you find something which is very unknown but still more then worth a visit. Teluk Segadas is such a place. It was my discovery this year at Pulau Pangkor (thanks Rose!). The beach is only accessible by foot through a piece of rough jungle. The walk is about 20 minutes but then you have a fantastic little beach in a bay for you. It's a beautiful place and little visited. A great place to enjoy the tranquility of Pulau Pangkor

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/teluk-segadas.html

-----------------------------------------

Golden Beach Hotel

This year the Golden Beach Hotel at Pulau Pangkor's Pasir Bogak openend. After a great renovation this hotel is one of the nicest, in my humble opinion, hotels at Pasir Bogak in its price range. Check the hotel information at my hotel page.

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/Pangkor-hotels.html

-----------------------------------------

123Greetings.com

123greetings.com is your no.1 choice for sending online ecards.

Or, if you want a weekly dose of fun and joy, you simply subscribe to the online email newsletters at 123Greetings.com ! This free weekly newsletter service is your one-stop fill for interesting updates on coming events, free ecards and exciting offers from our partners and sponsors. Just go get it and make your loved ones smile.

http://www.123greetings.com/newsletter/

-----------------------------------------

Malaysian food: Free e-book

The had last year in every issue some recipes of dishes you can find in and around Pangkor and in other areas in Malaysia. I have collected those recipes and put them together in a free e-book which, until now, was only available for the readers of the You may have missed the e-book last year. Here's your new chance. Have fun with the preparation of the recipes and enjoy your Malaysian meal.

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/ebookrecipes

-----------------------------------------