March is ending. I read in the newspapers spring is early in Europe. One of my friends in Maine USA says there is still 2 meter snow there. Here in Malaysia it's as usual around 32°C/90°F. Skies are blue, sun is shining and I was at Nipah Bay to cool off in the sea, well... the sea water was still 30°C so I should say I was getting sunburned. My friends at Nipah Bay Villa told me it had been busy in the first part of the year but April would be quiet.

So, if you decide to visit Pangkor, come NOW! You never know what happens. When I visited Pangkor just after Chinese New Year with some friends we found the monkeys doing some very strange things. Look here: http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/oranges.html

This edition of the Pulau Pangkor Newsletter is again full of surprises. What about Work From Home Moms? Or your host who was cooking himself? Let's see what I have for you:

• Create your own future with WAHM-IT, for Work-At-Home-Moms only!
• Destination of the Month: Taman Paya Bakau
• Chinese food
• Bananas in Malaysia
• Blogging for beginners and professionals
• Site-search and sitemaps
• 123 Greetings.com

Happy reading!
Peter van der Lans
Sitiawan

PS Let me know what you like and what you don't like. All comments are welcome. Click here to write your comment: http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/contact-us.html

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

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Create your own future with WAHM-IT, for Work-At-Home-Moms only!

Are you a mother that wants to earn extra to support your family? Nazlina is such a mother. Last year I got in contact with her because she wanted to ride a bicycle at Pangkor. She asked me to guide her around. A quite unusual thing for a mother with children as Malaysians do not seem to have an affection for cycling. We went to Pangkor by bicycle and Nazlina wrote a page about that adventure, here it is:

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

Nazlina also asked how I made my Pulau Pangkor and Bicycle Adventures websites. She told me she wished she could do something like this as she could use some extra money but.... no time and two children at home. As a mother she needed the time to take care of her children, 4 and 9 years old. After browsing on both websites she realized I was not building these websites to just entertain people. I was building them to earn a living with it.

So, she called and asked me if she would be able to do something like that too. Of course she would be able to build a profitable website. I gave her an e-book. That e-book was WAHM-IT, Working At Home Mothers.

Nazlina started reading and found the book so useful she became convinced she could build a website about a subject she really liked. It took her a bit of time but she started a website about spices and pickles.

http://www.pickles-and-spices.com

The website is VERY new, it is in fact only a week or 2 old, so don't expect an already full grown perfect website. But, she writes about what she loves most: pickles and spices. She writes when she has time, when the children are at school. And she told me it was great to do the research, it was (and I hope it still is) very doable. Nazlina works in her own pace and in her own time following the advice of WAHM-IT. .

So, is it for work at home moms only? Of course not. Get the E-book, it's FREE.

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

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Destination of the Month: Taman Paya Bakau

I know, it is maybe a bit inconvenient for you. Taman Paya Bakau is not in Pangkor, not even in Lumut. It is only a few kilometers out of Lumut on the way to Ipoh/Taiping. I still want to recommend it because it is such a nice place. Taman Paya Bakau is a small mangrove forest park just outside Lumut.

Just before I wrote this down I went there again. It was my third or fourth visit, I am not sure. Monkeys were climbing around, small red colored crabs were in search of food. Even a biawak, a monitor lizard showed up. Dangerous you ask? No, although the mangrove forest is a kind of swamp, the way you go through the park is on a bridge build a meter above the swamp. There's no danger to get wet feet. Explanations about the mangrove wild life are written on plastic boards. If you come with your own car, give it a stop, it's worth. And if you have an afternoon to spend in Lumut, waiting for the bus to bring you further into Malaysia, this park is only 10 minutes away with a taxi.

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/mangrove-forest.html

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Chinese Food

This time a little more attention for some Chinese food. Some of you may know I love Chinese food. I lived in China for almost 2 years and I got hooked on noodles, rice, dumplings and whatever I could find. I admit, sometimes I had no clue what I was eating. But cooking myself here in Malaysia? Nah... why bother as in Malaysia eating out is so cheap!

Until I found Nicholas Zhou's claim you can cook a Chinese meal in 35 minutes.

But I am a Dutchman, what do I know about "real" Chinese food! Hmm... good question. So I gave the e-book to a Chinese friend. And she was amazed by what the e-book contained. Since she is already a good cook (I am not), she cooked a few dishes based on Nicholas e-book. And boy, how enjoyable that was! As you can imagine, I was asking her to cook more meals for me, which she politely refused! She wanted to share the dishes with other friends and family! Bummer for me, so I have to sort out other dishes myself! instead of waiting for my friend to cook them for me!

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/chinese-recipes

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Bananas

And now we are talking about food, bananas are on the staple here in this part of Malaysia. Asia produces the small bananas. I was told there are more then 20 different in variety! And the Malaysians know very well what to do with bananas. Fried banana (pisang goreng or goreng pisang) and banana cake are widely available. Fortunately a lady sells pisang goreng nearby, so after finishing my newsletter, I will pick up some.

Any idea what else there is to tell about bananas? Check my banana page:

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

Interested in making your own banana dish?

http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/Banana-recipe-book

And if that is not enough, Safiah from Kuala Lumpur (talk about a WAHM!), wrote an excellent and extensive website about bananas!

http://www.banana-dessert-recipes.com/

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Blogging for beginners and professionals

What is a blog? Why do you want it? Do you need it when working on your website? Is it expensive? Can I make money with a blog? All those questions are answered by Gobala Krishnan. His impressive e-book gave me the option to add income to my pulau-pangkor.com website. Good work Gobala!

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

My friends Steve and Beth Sharp from Stoughton, Wisconsin, they own another great website:

http://www.wisconsin-dells-attractions.com

told me their son Andy was working on a website about blogging. All the basic information about blogs and how to start you find here

http://www.blog-how-to.net/

I find Andy's website such a useful addition to my own blog that I use it as an additional resource for my own blogs.

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Site-search and Sitemap

I know, it's disputable but I have to tell you how much I like my new site-search facility. The Pangkor website is and growing, I sometimes forget where exactly I have placed a certain subject. Therefore I use the Sitesearch of Freefind extensively. All of my pages are indexed so there you will find ALWAYS what you are looking for.

Use my Sitesearch to search your subject on the Pulau Pangkor website. It's a great little tool I use myself extensively because, as said, I forget sometimes where I left a page!

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

An additional bonus is the Freefind sitemap. Not perfect but very usable. I hope you enjoy these two little tools as much as I do.

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123Greetings.com

123greetings.com is your no.1 choice for sending online e-cards.

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 e-cards and exciting offers from our partners and sponsors. Just go get it and make your loved ones smile.

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

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