First time in three years

by Vivienne
(Melbourne Australia)

Dinner at Daddy's

I picked Pangkor at random - it seemed close enough and far enough from KL, low key, ie: not Penang or Langkawi, with beaches and basic accommodation.

Bus to Lumut took 6 hours with me and 3 French guys the only Westerners. Ferried from Lumut together and caught a 'big pink taxi' into Teluk Nipah.

Decided to resist an urge to tag along with the French guys on their whirlwind trip around Malayasia and got down to serious relaxing and immersing myself in the local 'culture' (as much as one can do in a week). Practiced my French with the guys, as I was heading for France after Malaysia and waved them off on their adventure.

Left to my own devices, I settled into the Havana Beach resort - very comfy, great location across the road from a quieter bit of the beach and really friendly, helpful people running the place. Lots of sleeping, walking on the beach, reading, writing, swimming, eating and dreaming.

Cycled around the island in torrential rain (heaps better than in the blazing sun!), encounering hills that neither the bike gears nor my inexperienced legs could handle, so hoofed it a bit. Stopped to check out a Chinese temple and hillside cemetery, Hindu temple, the Dutch Fort and inscribed rock under its own portico. Pangkor town for a bit of shopping, chatting to locals when I stopped, past the satay factory and the ikan bilis producers. Fascinating how the locals houses back out onto the sea shore, each with their own pier (usually with a fishing boat moored to it).

Another day I kayaked to the islands off Teluk Nipah - Metagor and Giam. Both have thick jungle at their centre and are surrounded by rocks and small sandy bays. Loads of oysters on the rocks, which provided a delicious fresh lunch! At the back of Giam, the crocodile/ alligator rock definitely has the appearance of a sleeping reptile. Sunning and reading on the little beach of Giam with noone around - bliss!

Back at Nipah, I went searching for a variation on the ubiquitous Nasi Lemak offered at every beachside stall and found Daddy's Cafe, around the corner from the main Nipah drag. Daddy's did great food with a bit more emphasis on creative use of fresh produce, flavours and presentation. Tables on the beach as the sun set over Giam, friendly service and cold beer - what more could you ask for? Daddy's became my place of choice after a lazy or active day. Exchanged interesting travel snippets with other travellers and got to know the guys that ran the place. Met the resident scorpion 'Sparrow', who'd been found in the jungle. Checked out the phosphoresence one night as I tried to help Jack learn to swim - hilarious! Jack and I had fun but I don't think teaching swimming is my forte.

The day before I had to leave for KL to catch a flight to Paris, I sprained my ankle. Not the sort of thing that's handy when you're about to spend four weeks in Europe. But even the prospect of hobbling around for the next four weeks didn't cloud over how chilled I'd become from my week in this relaxed place. First time in three years I'd been sooo relaxed! Viva Pangkor!