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.
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