Pangkor Island vacation 2022

It’s been a while since we last visited Pangkor island with the family. The last time we went there for a family day event, Adam and Mia were a bunch of wee little kids and I think Hana wasn’t even born yet. It was an impromptu holiday plan we made for the long Deepavali weekend. My parent in law was coincidentally in Manjung at the time so we decided to hop on to Pangkor after visiting them.

The drive to Lumut was a breeze thanks to our turbocharged X50. We booked the ferry tickets at Marina Island jetty which were pricier than the regular Lumut tickets but a lot less crowded. We didn’t want to risk the Deepavali crowd. We parked our car at the designated car park which cost 20 ringgit per day, expensive I know but at least it’s relatively safe and we didn’t need to bother our relatives to drop us there. After like 10 minutes later we arrived safe and sound at the Pangkor main jetty.

We took one of the familiar pink Pangkor vans to get to our hotel at the Puteri Bayu Beach Resort. Since it was last minute, we could only snag two standard rooms for RM230 each to fit all six of us. I must say the rooms are a wee bit small and they could improve on the facilities and cleanliness, especially the bathroom. I’m still bitter that they don’t provide any hairdryers and instead offered to loan us one from the front desk for a 50 ringgit deposit. Incredulous in this day and age.





The upside of this hotel is that it’s a beachfront property and you could walk straight out to the beach. There’s a small swimming pool as well should you decide to not bathe in saltwater. The beach is relatively clean compared to say Port Dickson or Dungun. There’s the odd animal dung here and there but apart from that it was quite spotless. The less accessible a beach is, the less polluted they are I conclude. The kids had a ball playing and bathing in by the sea. Right opposite of Pasir Bogak beach where we stayed is the exclusive Pangkor Laut island resort which starts from RM2,096 per night. Will we ever get to stay at such a luxurious resort? Not anytime soon and not with my current pay grade. Remind me to get a better paying job.



Fortunately for us, dining out is not much of a problem because there were a couple of roadside eateries operating about 5 minutes walk from the hotel. We had lunch and dinner at two of them and the prices were actually reasonable for a tourist attraction. If you didn’t know, Pangkor island is in fact a duty-free island and you can find duty-free shops dotted everywhere around the place. Linda and the kids had a ball picking up duty-free chocolates at a store nearby and she even went home with a brand new pot.

The next morning we had some mediocre breakfast at the hotel café. The menu consists of fried rice and noodles, sausages, baked beans, samosas, porridge, toast and some more noodle soup. I’m not sure whether they are still recovering from the economic effects of the lockdown or they’re just being cheap. I would rate their breakfast as 2 and the hotel overall 2.5 stars. Honestly, we’ve had much better-tasting food at other hotels at the same price range.



Since we’re short of time, we didn’t get to try any of the activities like island hopping plus snorkeling or visit any other part of the island. Perhaps we could return again some day and stay longer at a better hotel. All in all, it’s a two days well spent at an island resort not far from KL. Plus we get to visit relatives.

Aqiss riverside camping

I don’t know when my wife got the camping bug but I reckon it was either from his siblings or from some groups on Facebook. Being an avid hiker/camper myself, I see absolutely no problem with that. We’ve planned for our first family camping trip for a while now. We’ve been gradually buying camping equipment and gears - tents, sheets, pots and what not. Our first big family camping trip was supposed to be last month along with my in-laws but unfortunately my parents-in-law got Covid while staying at our place so we had to do a raincheck for that.

The next camping trip did actually happen. Linda found this little place near Batu 12 in Gombak, not far from UIA. I’ve never heard of Aqiss River Camp before so I had no expectations of that place. After an hour’s drive from Semenyih, we reached the campsite which goes through a picnic site (I didn’t notice the name) and up a steep hill which my beat up old Alza barely manage to climb.



At first glance, it was a proper campsite with a proper flat camping base, a little verandah right next to it, toilets, running water and a power point somewhere. I fumbled a bit trying to set up the new big Quecha living room tent for the first time but managed thanks to some help from a bystander. The tent says it would fit 6 people but honestly 5 would be more comfortable.

The Relang river right next to the camp was flowing with a fairly strong current thanks to the rain the night before. Still, Mia, Hana and I managed to take a dip for half an hour or so in the freezing cold water although we stayed mostly by the river bank. We had barbecue cooked by Adam that evening. The campsite was fully booked that weekend so we had neighbouring campers all around. They all looked like seasoned campers unlike us and we didn’t chat much with them.



Being in Gombak, the cell and Internet reception was pretty good there. At least the kids and I don’t get too bored when we had nothing to do that night. Adam spends most of his time either doing homework or revision. I admire his dedication. Me, I tried to sleep early to catch the early morning football later that morning. You know the one where we lost 3-2 to Arsenal due to some shambolic refereeing and VAR. Like I said, the tent could barely fit 6 people and I think I speak for everybody that we didn’t have a good night sleep that night with so little space to even flex your muscles. Next time we’re gonna need two tents for the family to sleep comfortably. The fact that the Karak highway is just next door and you could hear the loud traffic noise 24/7 didn’t help at all.

The next day we had a proper bath in the river now that the currents had calmed down considerably and the water less chocolaty in colour. Everybody joined in for the morning shower. Not long after that we packed up and left the site.

How was our first family camping trip? It’s a mixed bag really. Memorable but it could be more comfortable. Now I’ve been with about half a dozen hiking and camping trips before but this family camping trip is a lot different from what I’ve gone through. For my hiking trips, we pack light, most of the time with no tents but fly and sheet and minimal gears so that we don’t have to carry all the heavy stuff throughout the trip. For a family camping trip, we tried to be as comfortable as possible. That’s why we packed up as much stuff as we could fit in the car including the non-essentials like pillows, speakers, tables, extra food and cooking utensils . Since we could park the car right next to the campsite and we could pretty much unload everything easily, packing light is not an issue.

Would we return to Aqiss again? I doubt it. The loud noise from the highway was the dealbreaker. Next time we would find somewhere more peaceful and quiet, like literally. That said, Aqiss River Camp is conveniently located right next door in Gombak and the facilities are adequate so if you don’t mind the noise, it can make for a good family camping site.