Yes we finally made it to Pulau Pangkor but not after a few more hiccups. Anyone travelling with a CashPassport card should know that the MBankMalaysia will not accept them so after a prolonged trip around Lumut I was able to access an ATM and we made it to the island with some cash in hand.
After the guide books had warned us off Bogac beach we opted to find a place at Nipah but it didn't take long to realise that Nipah had now become the favoured spot.The locals have managed to block out any view of the beach unless you are actually on the beach. The whole road has been consumed by food or clothing stalls of an extremely haphazard structure. For Australians the beach is a minor anti-climax but that isn't unusual. The water is a bit cloudy,tepid in temperature and leaves a fine film of brown on your body when you come out. The location though is beautiful especially early morning or late evening when the proliferation of watercraft is diminished.
My recommendation would be to find a spot on Coral Bay the next beach around from Nipah. There is a bungalow tucked in the southern corner which is right on the beach and would be great for a long stay but was unfortunately booked for the extent of our time there. There are lots of options for accommodation and I would recommend you spend time looking before deciding. We stayed at Ombak Inn just up the last lane on the northern end. Great hosts and a clean bungalow.
The food on the whole is poor compared to what is available on the mainland. We were looking forward to lots of fresh fish but the standard of cooking and the raw product was below par.Much of the fish was red flesh,seriously overcooked and prepared in unhygienic conditions so I would recommend sticking to the restaurants and guesthouses and choosing standards like nasi goreng and mee goreng and/or western specials.
Of course our departure wasn't without the usual misinformation problems. We checked our guidebook info with the hosts who confirmed that we didn't have to book a bus to Taiping as there were at least 5/day from Lumut.On our arrival at Lumut bus station we were informed that there was only ONE bus to Taiping each day and it left at 9.30 am each day. Fortunately an Indian store keeper was ableto negotiate for us to hitch a ride on a Butterworth bus which dropped us in an unknown town where we were to catch a blue bus to Taiping. His prediction was true thanks to the help of the Butterworth driver who hailed the blue bus for us and we completed a side of the road swap.
Taiping is great but more news and info about it in the next instalment!!
