PANGKOR ISLAND

PANGKOR ISLAND, HERE I COME!!

As a Perakian, one of my favorite tourist destination is Pangkor Island.

It used to be my 'holiday paradise' during my younger days, whereby the island used to be a fun filled place for vacation.

It has not changed drastically from my younger days till today – it is still the laid back town it used to be.

I have been to Pangkor Island countless occasion – either for holiday with my family members or to cover assignment during my days as a journalist.

FU LING KONG TEMPLE

The west coast of Pangkor is famous for its beaches, resorts and hotels.

The popular beaches are – Pasir Bogak, Teluk Nipah and Coral Beach.

I love the hornbill which is found plentiful around this area.

The east coast of Pangkor is where all the residents live, and where many of them work in local foods and fisheries activities, including the dry fish factory, boat workshops and fish farm.

FISHERMEN VILLAGERS

It is interesting to stop over the boat maker site, located in the east coast of the island.

Other attractions in the east coast include – Dutch Fort, Batu Bersurat (Tiger Rock), Fu Ling Kong Temple, Sri Pathirakaliamman Temple, tombs in Kampung Teluk Gedung and Tortoise Hill.

DUTCH FORT

It is advisable for tourists either to book a van or cab – to visit the places of interest which takes one day. Alternatively, one can book a motorbike and ride around the island at his own pace.

CORAL ISLAND

Pangkor Island is a resort island in the Manjung District, Perak, with a population of 25,000. Nearby islands include Pangkor Laut Island, Giam Island, Mentagor Island, Simpan Island and Tukun Terindak Island. The major industries of the island are tourism and fishing.

READY FOR FUN RIDING ON STARFISH

Historically, Pangkor was a refuge for local fishermen, merchants and pirates. In the 17^th century, the Dutch built a fort in an effort to control the Perak tin trade known as the Dutch Fort. In 1874, it was the location of a historical treaty between the British government and a contender for the Perak Throne known as the Pangkor Treaty, which began for the Pangkor Island group was the Dindings.

The State Government has recently approved the island to become a duty free tax island with effect from next year.

LANGKAWI ISLAND

LEGENDARY LANGKAWI ISLAND

It was a colleague's wedding, I was motivated to attend cum enjoy a one week stay in Alor Setar, Kedah.

She was a former colleague from HSBC Singapore, and together with two other colleagues – we made a trip especially for 'her'.

Obviously, I have never really visited this northern town, except I frequently bypassed the padi field town via a highway to Hatyai, Thailand.

All I understand is Kedah - is a state of padi fields which one can view/access to it – via the highway.

 WEDDING OF HUEY MING AT ALOR SETAR

The wedding took up two days, while we (two ex colleague and myself) took some time off – just to visit the tourism places such as Bukit Perangin Jerai.

After the wedding, we continued our holiday to Langkawi Island – my first time to the island of Geoforest.

In the morning, we took a ferry ride from Kedah – Langkawi , where we stopped over for a day trip in Langkawi Island.  

CROCODILE FARM

Luckily, we reach early morning – and we were in time to cover some tourism  places namely - Telaga Tujuh (The Seven Wells), Makam Mahsuri (Mahsuri's Mausoleum), Crocodile Farm and the Underwater Aquarium.

We rented a car – and there we go – to view the places mentioned above and took a slow drive around Pantai Cenang which is lined with coconut and casuarina trees.

MAHSURI'S MAUSOLEUM

The 'must visit' place is the Mahsuri's Mausoleum where Langkawi was built - with a legend woven into its history – tragic story of a beautiful young lady named Mahsuri, and a tale of love, jealousy and a curse that was placed upon the island by her for seven generations.

Langkawi is a truly wonderful island located northwest of P. Malaysia – is a district and an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea. The islands area a part of the state of Kedah which is adjacent to the Thai border. It is also an administrative district, with the town of Kuah as its largest town – s a duty free island.

UNDERWATER ACQUARIUM

In June 2007, Langkawi Island was given a World Geopark status by UNESCO – conservation areas include Machincang Cambrian Geoforest Park, Kilim Karst Geoforest Park and Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park (Island of the Pregnant Maiden Lake).

The Langkawi Island was also made popular by the current 7th Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, while he was serving as the 4^th Prime Minister.

By evening, we departed the island via a five-hour ferry ride to Penang, undergoing quite a choppy sea condition before reaching Penang.

4 – 8, OCTOBER, 1996

KOH SAMUI

KOH SAMUI - ISLAND IN THE SUN

My family and relatives sign up for a 5D4N tour package by coach from Ipoh to Koh Samui, which took about 8-hour to reach the destination.

What I fall in love with in Koh Samui are - the beaches, rock formations and temples. The town itself is very peaceful as the government wants to maintain it's quietness and relaxing mood for tourism purposes.

Koh Samui Island is a holiday paradise – an ideal place to relax which covers 44 sq km and is shaped like a triangle.

Koh Samui is the third largest island in Thailand, is an island off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus, Southern Thailand. It is part of Surat Thani Province – granted municipal status in 2012.

KOH SAMUI

The island was probably first inhabited about 15 centuries ago, settled by fishermen from the Malay Peninsula and Southern China. The name Samui may derive from the name of a tree known locally in southern Thailand.

Koh Samui's economy is based on tourism and exports of coconut and rubber.

It has beautiful beaches coupled with coconut trees which assured visitors of peace and tranquility here and the popular beaches are Chaweng, Lamai and Menam.

Although there are world class resort hotels and restaurants, commercial development has been deliberately limited so that Samui can continue to exude its natural charm.

GRANDMA AND GRANDPA ROCK FORMATION

Koh Samui holiday will be incomplete without visiting rock formation called the Grandma Rock and the Grandpa Rock (Hin Ta & Hin Yai Rocks), found in the beaches. Of course, the rock formation of this kind – is my favorite place in Koh Samui.

Other worth visiting places are the cascading waterfalls of Hin Lad and Nai Mueng. There is a full day excursion by boat to the u Koh Angthong National Marine Park which features 40 islands with natural caves, blue lagoons, stunning rock formations, and inland salt lake surrounded by sheer cliffs, unspoilt beaches and coral reefs.

One can also go for temple visitation namely Wat Sila Ngu Temple, Pagoda Khao Hua Jook, Pagoda Laem Sor Temple and Wat Khunaram (Mummified Monk) and the Ban Lamai Cultural Hall.

DECEMBER 26 -30, 1995