What is there to do in Pangkor?

Beaches - Pasir Bogak

If you are not interested in the beach then Pangkor is not the place for you. Only resorts have their own private beaches which are probably better maintained then the public beaches. They are Pan Pacific, Pangkor Laut Resort and Teluk Dalam Resort. Pangkor Laut is reputed to have the best beach on the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia.

If you are on a budget then you have to make do with the public beaches, which aren't too bad, depending on where you go.

The beach an Pasir Bogak is crowded, chaotic and not very clean. One word of caution, no matter what you do, avoid the beach at the extreme northern end of Pasir Bogak. This is about 800 m from where the main activity on Pasir Bogak. The beach there is quieter with a few chlets fronting the sea. However, the waters there are infested with sea urchins! Unless you are a japanese gourmet chef, you definitely want to avoid swimming there.

Beaches - Teluk Nipah/Coral Island

The nicest public beach is Telok Nipah. Even so some parts are better than others. The southern end is more crowded with food stalls, vendors renting out canoes and where the large families hang out. Keep walking past this area past the rocks, which you can either clamber over quite easily or go by the road, and you will reach the northern end which is quieter and cleaner.

About 250m off Teluk Nipah is a little island called Coral Island. If you read the travel guides, thats the place to see corals in Pangkor. I can see that many many years ago, there were probably lots of corals around. Unfortunately, most of the corals there are dead or dying. As such, if you go to Pangkor, don't expect to see coral reefs. Even so, the island is still worth a visit. One reason is because there is a really nice beach there with the whitest, finest sand I saw in Pangkor. The other reason is that on the southern end of Coral Island, there is for some reason, an abundance of coral fish. On any given day you are likely to see several boats laden with tourists handing around that area. The boatmen throw bread in the water to attrach the fish and that I suspect is helping to maintain the fish population. So it is actually worth bringing a mask and snorkle to Coral Island to see the fish.

If you are a very strong swimmer, you can swim to Coral Island. Alternatively you can engage a boatman to bring you across. You can arrange for him to come by and pick you up later. There are tons of boatmen hanging around in Teluk Nipah, so you won't have a problem finding one. The other way to get to Coral Island is to rent a canoe. Again, there are quite a few people renting canoes on Teluk Nipah. If you care going to rent for a few hours, you can bargain for a discount. One word of advice, don't try to rent a canoe from Pasir Bogak and paddle to Teluk Nipah unless you have a sado masochistic streak. It is way to long and could be dangerous, especially if it starts to rain.

Sungei Pinang Kechil

Sungei Pinang Kechil (SPK) is not usually known as a tourist attraction, but if you come from a big city like I do, then you have to pay SPK a visit. SPK is a small town in Pangkor comprising entirely of pre-war shophouses. What I recommend is to go there for breakfast in the morning. The place is bustling and there are quite a few coffeeshops where you can have a bite. In particular, look out for this stall along the road which sells chee cheong fun that they make from scratch on the spot. Its quite fascinating to see what they can do with some flour, hot water and a towel. Watch how the locals go about their daily lives. Besides food you can see how the locals go about their daily lives. In particular, you will see how they do their marketing from stalls set up along the roadside, selling vegetable and meats.

Fu Lin Kong Chinese Temple

This is a chinese temple which is located in Sungei Pinang Kechil. The main attraction is a mini Great Wall of China which runs round the grounds of the temple. The temple and its grounds are very well maintained and makes for quite an interesting stroll. There is a pond there with some really huge fish that were up to a metre long! Try to go in the morning, to avoid the heat. However, remember that this Pangkor, don't expect to see anthing that will blow you away.