Nipah Bay, my new hometown

Provided by Pulau Pangkor.com 2004-2008

When one needs to recuperate, it's always best to do so in a relaxing place. For me, it's Pangkor Island. Not only I love the island, the journey itself is something to look forward to. Whether on the highway or the upgraded trunk road where we pass by Sekinchan, the rice bowl of Selangor, there's always something for us to see and enjoy. This time, I'll make sure to have my Telfast tablets on the ready, just in case my histamine levels decide to play 'polis sentry' and run out of whack. Chris & I will also grab our motorbike (AND helmets - yes, mum) at the jetty as soon as we arrive to eliminate the need for taxis. Since we've toured Lumut on our last Pangkor trip, we'll give Lumut a miss.

I'd like to visit the Dutch Fort this round. I'm not sure if I'm up to hike through the forest to get to the white sands of Segadas Bay. I'll keep quiet about it for the time being, lest Chris gets one of his brilliant 'let's go hiking' ideas.





I'd also like to check out another historical site: the Foo Lin Kong temple. I've always been a fan of
buildings and I must admit, the Bedrock-style entrance caught my eye. That and the miniature Great Wall of China that they've got there. I miss that part of Beijing since I am no longer traveling on a regular basis to that city. The temple's on the foot of Pangkor Hill on the village of Sungai Pinang Besar. This would be a cool thing to do before going back to Nipah Bay and walking along the beach stalls scouting for ice kacang & laksa utara.

After that, the best thing to do would be to walk along Pasir Bogak Beach and see how different the sunset looks, a few kilometers north of Nipah Bay. I'd recap the day with a relaxing supper at Daddy's Cafe back on Nipah Beach. I'll sip my tea, Chris his Tiger, while we both listen to the waves.

Parts, integrated? For sure.

2008: the year of mortality?

I just saw that I have 4 farewell posts for this year alone. I finally said farewell properly to my gram and I also wrote about the deaths of Chris's mum, Tan Sri Eric Chia and Prof Randy Pausch. I felt a little bit sad and I thought I'd ring my friend, Dr. Ng, to say hi. He was at his desk and we had a quick chat regarding our mixed feelings on 2008. He didn't sound too hot either; usually he'd be very happy to hear from me. One thing for sure though: he's still alive, and as per his reminder to me, so am I. The living must continue to live. That thought brought my first real smile to my face today. I must admit, waking up thinking that I NEED to be at my desk by 8:30am every weekday morning or else I have to sms the big boss does not make me jump out of bed in delight. I suppose I'm just not too happy with the fact that being at my desk at 8:30am does NOT guarantee that I leave at 6:00pm on the dot.

Wait a second - of course it does. With proper planning, I can make it happen. Now this is getting interesting.

I feel a bit more cheerful now. I'm not yet too thrilled about giving up my Friday to finish my work in the office. I used to have the option of working off site for Fridays. It was a different kind of freedom knowing that I had created that time-off option for myself for the last 6 months. In fact, my employer still owes me 2 Fridays. I'll send in my time sheets and plan for those days.

I'm dreaming of the seaside again. I'm going back to Bangkok next February, God-willing. Until I can plan a quick beach weekend, there's always Ramesh's beach birthday party in Attic this weekend, and there are always my flickr Pangkor photos and my post on the lovely weekend.

In the meantime, here are my toes in the sand. Nipah Bay, I will return.

...barefoot in the sand, motorbiked 'round the island

Can you schedule something spontaneous?

At least I think that's what happened.

For several weeks now I had been feeling rather out of sorts with work. A project that I am taking care of, that's supposed to be my baby, has reached a plateau and I just lost interest in driving it. Coupled by a few more urgent and important assignments that need my input, I just let the original content project slide. I almost snapped at everyone every time, and MM has not been much of a help, acting macho with me when he didn't need to; he looked as attractive to me as the punching bag I have hanging from a ceiling hook in my living room. Honestly. MM, if you're reading this, YOU KNOW who you are. So I decided that I will go for a weekend retreat. Something soothing, something nearby, something that would not burn a hole in my pocket.

Last weekend, I just couldn't wait any longer. I was getting grumpy at every little thing and every time I stood in front of my dresser mirror, I see myself in a bathing suit, about to head into the sea. I mentioned my plan to my travel buddy and upon mutual agreement, we left on Saturday, on our road trip to Lumut. The ultimate backup plan was to check out Lumut, use the return ferry trip to check out Pangkor, then surf around Sitiawan, Sri Manjung, maybe even Teluk Intan, before returning home to KL. So, regardless of what Lumut and Pangkor had to offer, accomodation-wise, we would be ready, and we'd have a great time anyway.

Both Lumut and Pangkor had reasonable accomodation for us, and we checked into Hotel Putra in Lumut. Grimy bathroom and the rooms smell like broom cupboards. I never was one to spend long evenings in hotel rooms anyway (unless I was staying in Bangkok's Royal Orchid Sheraton and Sheraton Laguna Phuket) so I had a lovely time exploring Lumut. The shops, the interesting hotel signs, and a nice chill-out pub named Rockafellas.

Adik, who recommended Rockafellas, managed the camp that would be our accommodation on Pangkor Island. I loved it! I had so much fun and for once, I found it difficult to leave the cool waters of Nipah Bay beach.

It was a good weekend, and now I'm back, ready to drive the project again, and be nice again to MM. Heh heh heh..

Mission accomplished

Got my ice kacang.

Had 2, in fact - one before dinner in Lumut and the other, featured here, after a long walk along Nipah Bay. Cooling, refreshing, invigorating. And I wasnt just talking about the ice kacang.

A well-deserved break, for sure!

Immediate action needed

Something short, something sweet, something economical, and I'm not even talking about me.

I'm talking about a nice little getaway, a trip near to home. About sipping ABC and watching the world go by at Lumut waterfront. The ferry ride to Pangkor Island, walking around the markets, just walking around in general.

Yeh - immediate action indeed.

Dream destination

Who would have thought I'd find my dream destination in the Sep 10 edition of Newsweek?

At first glance, the pristine blue-green waters looked like Mauritius or Bora Bora. Upon reading I found out that it's Zanzibar. Zanzibar is actually the name of a group of tropical Indian Ocean islands just east of Tanzania. Pemba and Unguja are the two main islands. Unguja is the largest island and is commonly referred to as Zanzibar.

I found two lovely options for this island. One is Matemwe Bungalows (matemwe.com) - the lodge that features a porch with huge hammocks and a sumptious bath. For those who need to make contact with the outside world, they offer internet and telephone/fax facilities; television still hasn't made it to paradise. That sounds good to me.














Low season is from early Jan to end of March, the whole month of June and Sept to Dec 20. At 230 USD per person per night sharing, that's something to work towards.

High season's during New Years July-Aug and Xmas week.

Visitors are recomended to set aside an afternoon to get lost in the city of Stone Town's labyrinth of whitewashed houses, bazaars and courtyards. I'm excited already at the prospect of viewing the architechture, based on the island's Persian and European influences.

The second option that I discovered was Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski. I've stayed at the Kempinski in Munich and Beijing, and they've always felt very metropolitan and urban to me. A little bit lab-like environment, even - them being entrenched in German processes and efficiency. SoI'm a little surprised to know that there's a Kempinski in Zanzibar. I wonder if it's as efficient as their other hotels.

They've got this celebration package from USD 1192.00 for double occupancy in a Garden room double. This package include:

Four nights accommodation + Full buffet breakfast,
Round-trip airport transfers,
One bottle of champagne upon arrival,
Aromatherapy massage for two,
A private candlelight dinner for two,
A shopping and sunset dhow cruise.

A quick search on kayak.com showed direct flights on Kenya airways from Bangkok from about 2000 USD. Whoa. Maybe I'll stick to the luscious islands of my hometown state of Terengganu.

Meanwhile, here's an interesting factoid: Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock group Queen, was born in Zanzibar. He was originally named Faroukh Bulsara, and his father, Bomi Bulsara, was an Indian-born accountant who worked for the British Colonial Office in Stone Town.

The water slide is here

Y mailed me photos of our Rawa Island vacation. I'm already thinking of my next trip there...

Here's my fav spot to read and relax.

Watching the sunset with a cold drink - the best thing to do there.

The water slide - favored by kids and adults alike!

Recharged, rested, browned ;-)

I finally went on a short vacation. Every year, me and Y, my college buddy, would go on our Cuti Cuti Malysia trip. She's a snorkeling fanatic, and learning diving as well. As for me, I'm just happy to tag along and enjoy quiet times by the beach where I'd be going through the same routine cheerfully:

1. before leaving the room / hut / chalet, I'd slather sunblock / tanning oil (depending on whether I feel like I want to marinade myself with cream or oil
2. pack my canvas tote with my book(s), sunblock, tanning oil, mineral water, small change (for ice cream yum yum), shades (not the Combat head teacher, but my sunglasses hehe), notepad / journal, beach towel or face towel
3. find my spot on the beach and make myself comfortable on the sand or on the deck chair
4. wave to Y occasionally when she sees that I'm out already
5. take a dip in the sea
6. come back and return to my reading / writing / snoozing
   
7. repeat steps 4 to 6 as often as I like

What I didnt know about Rawa Island is the fact that it looks exactly like the pictures. Many times I have seen places that made me think "which angle did the photographer take the photo from?" because they have no resemblance WHATSOEVER to the brochure pictures promoting the place.

The water was clear and the beach was clean. We could snorkel right in front of the beach, much to Y's delight. We started our journey at about 7:00 am and we drove down to Mersing. The boat ride took about 35 mins and I was relieved to find the island jetty to be of the higher version, where I wont have to wade towards reception with my knapsack in tow (I was prepared for that, anywho). Walking along the jetty, I saw how the jetty's function was expanded: there was a water slide built into the jetty infrastructure. There were already kids screaming in delight when we arrived. Did I mention that the water was so clear we could see the corals and the fish swimming about when we look down from the jetty?

In the evenings, after dinner, I'd walk along the jetty. I'd look up and see the stars and recgnize one or two constellations. Even though I have very short hair, I could still feel the breeze ruffling them. Looking out, I could see yellow and white lights from other islands and fishing boats blinking in the distance. The guy who takes care of the sea sports hut told us that if the water's cool enough, black-tipped sharks would swim up right until the spot where the water slide is. I didnt see it when I was there even though I kept a lookout for the 2-metre fish.

I definitely will return to Rawa Island. I promise.


Images courtesy of rawasfr.com