You can also share the taxi with some other people and therefore you'll pay only RM 2-3. We knew exactly where to go (Nipah Bay Villa) but if you don't have any idea just tell Teluk Nipah to the drivers and there you can start your search.

At Nipah Bay Villa we had a comfortable stay, but I must say that the service is not a very good one. You'll have the same breakfast every single day (if it's included). There is no Swedish bar where you can choose your food. The rooms in the chalets are ok. But there is no hot water and you might find lizards inside if you leave the door opened. You might have troubles with the mosquitoes because there is nothing to stop them in the windows or at the door. It is good because you have air conditioned and a TV and therefore you can relax after a hot day spent on the beach or around the island.

Anyway...as an overall, I think this place is one of the best ones on the island (quality-price).

On the island you have to rent a scooter. it is the best way to get around and to enjoy journey. If you rent a cab to take you around, it is not so much fun. But pay attention: you have to drive on the left side; many people do not have patience and will pass you whenever they can. Plus, the island there are many turnings.

As for the food...go and eat in the local restaurants, there where you can see the locals drinking a beer or eating a plate of fried noodles. There is the best food and the cheapest one. We have stayed in Teluk Nipah and there are several restaurants that combine the western food with the local one, but trust me it is not very good. It is for tourists...and I think that says everything . This is another reason why you should rent a scooter. Like that you can go whenever and wherever you want.

The beaches....my favorite one is Teluk Segadas, the one that you reach only after crossing the jungle. It will take you around 20 min from the main road...but trust me, it worth to get there. The beach is white and the water is great: calm, warm...There is one advice here too: go there for a swim only after midday, because then the low tide finishes. Otherwise you'll see a lot of rocks and you'll have to go far into the sea to be able to swim. And when you are in the water try to assure your belongings, because the monkeys might steal something from you. They did steal the wallet of one of my friends...they actually opened the backpack and took it it form there. he could manage to run intro the jungle and get it back...but it was not funny at all. Another beach that I prefer is Teluk Nipah, it might be crowded sometimes, but the sand and the water are great (we were there during public holidays). And the third one is Pasir Bogak, there is the perfect place to take a walk in the sunset and to enjoy the sounds of the sea.

In total we have stayed on Pulau Pangkor for 6 days. We had a great New Year's Eve party (organized by the locals) together with our friends from Australia and France. We did a wonderful trip around the Island with a fisherman's boat...we met great great people with a lot of positive energy.

My last advice: try to enjoy the simplicity of the local life. Eat with the locals, drive where they drive, try to smile and to talk to them, they'll be more than happy to communicate with you and to help you. Enjoy your trip!

Jonathan's version

December 30th Irina and I jumped on the plane and made the great 7 hour voyage to the tropical city of Kuala Lumpur. Leaving Seoul it was minus 6 so course walking into the airport in Kuala Lumpur with our winter jackets and jeans was fun with the temperature at about plus 25 (which is around 85 in America). Checked into the Concorde Hotel by the airport and called it a night.

December 31 we arranged a taxi to drive us to the southern part of the country to a port town calledLumut. yes we took a taxi and let me tell you something about this grand taxi experience, a beautiful KIA Sonata leather interior a morning paper and coffee waiting for yours truly. Irina and I felt like diplomats.

Our driver had to be some kind of ex formula one racer because we didn't leave 150 kms the whole way. The four hour drive was cut into 3hrs total.

While driving to Lumut we were able to see the country in its beauty. Palm, banana and rubber trees everywhere in sight along the road. We caught the ferry to Pulau Pangkor (island). It was the first chance to see a fully multi racial society in Asia for me. Malaysia has three distinct influences in its country first being Malay, Chinese and Indian. Blending these three cultures together creates a great deal of harmony between them and what is the medium for them to communicate?? ENGLISH. Everyone speaks English perfectly in Malaysia, it is mandatory that everyone speaks at least English as their second language before they leave high school.

There are also many Dutch in Malaysia as this was a country which the Dutch used for natural resources such as Tin. Not only the Dutch were present in our trip but we also met many awesome people from all over Europe from east to west to Scandinavian.

When we arrived at our Chalet we met up with Irinas friends (Alex and Carmen) who joined our trip at the last minute from Australia. Of course they were Romanian, so I got to practice the language more but one of their 4 languages is English so there was no problem to communicate. They are fantastic people with so much life and energy and they made the trip that much more exciting. That evening after a much needed swim in the ocean we were joined by a wonderful French couple from Paris for dinner. We had awesome discussions and shared many laughs of different stories and experiences. We then went to another section of the island for a New Years party.

Wow! what a New Years experience, great music, awesome people and great food. Of course there were lots of fireworks and many locals smiling and dancing. At the end of the evening our luck had it that there were no more taxis and we had at least 3 km to get to our Chalets. Alex and Laurant (the guy from Paris) were approached by the DJ of the event.

He asked them what our situation was, he said "Not a problem" he took out his sound gear from his big truck and told us to jump in and he would take us back. I mean can you imagine that???!!! So we jumped in and continued to have fun. This is the first of many experiences which show how great Malaysians are.

January 1st we rented a scooter and I learned how to drive on the other side of the road. Yeah it was pretty hard on the nerves seeing traffic from the other side especially going around turns but I got the hang of it.

Carmen and Alex, Irina and I drove around the island and stopped by the Dutch Fort. Nothing really to see there but it is what is beyond the fort that interested us the most. There is a secret beach called Teluk Segadas. We parked our scooters and hiked through the jungle for about 20minutes. Yeah we hiked through a REAL jungle! Awesome! We arrived to the beauty of silence, nothing but clear soft white sand and beautiful clear ocean. Simply the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in Gods creation.

While playing in the water for a while, a fishing boat arrived in the cove and out piled a big family of Malaysians. It was nearing the end of a national school holiday for students so every Malaysian family was taking full advantage of the time off by hitting the beach. The boat was a pretty good size, after a while we went over to the men and asked them if we could go out on the boat. After a few negotiations of price we found ourselves being toured around the Island with a very friendly Malaysian man. It was a wonderful time to see the island from the boats perspective. The man was fluent in English and was explaining many things about the island. Again extremely generous and kind.

When we returned from the tour we were greeted by the ever smiling family. We went over and played with the children and traded lots of laughter together. NOW, when we got back on the beach we left our backpacks under some trees. The family wanted to take a picture with us, when we were setting up to take the picture we looked over to our backpacks, only to discover that a family of monkeys had discovered our belongings.

At first I looked at them with amazement, then the next thing I saw was the monkeys unzipping the backpacks and tossing our stuff everywhere!!!! Alex and I immediately ran out of the water. It turned out that the monkeys nearly ran off with Alex's wallet!!! The monkey had it in its hands and was almost up the tree when it dropped from its hands. All I could do was laugh and think of the VISA commercials. One for the books though. After a couple minutes we had the picture and returned to the chalet.

Alex and Carmen decided to rent a car and drive around the country the next day. Irina and I stayed on the island, so we said our good byes and continued our vacation. The rest of the week consisted of us waking up to beautiful sounds of the jungle, laying on the beach taking photos, meeting great people and eating so many great Asian dishes.

We returned to Kuala Lumpur Saturday Jan 6 where we stayed with an amazing Malaysian man named Raz. What an amazing person to spend time with! He has the most interesting job, he teaches jungle survival. He also is a very famous individual in Malaysia. He is one of the leading experts in helping the government in recovery of people who are lost in the jungle, he is also a person who leads expeditions to save injured elephants in the jungle. He is very wise beyond his years. He took us around the city and showed us more of the Malaysian food. Irina and I did our own exploring of the city, the Chinatown area. We also saw the Twin Towers its a magnificent sight. We also went to the largest bird park in the world, an orchid park and butterfly park. Simply fantastic city with so many lush green areas.

We said goodbye to Malaysia January 7th and returned to the frigid South Korea. In the airport Irina and I reflected on our time, we had great weather it never rained in the day. We had amazing friends join us and were able to meet some incredible people. The people of Malaysia are extremely blessed with an outward and wholesome soul. They smile without reserve and extremely intelligent people. Moreover they are extremely helpful and an ever content people to be surrounded by.

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