Where is Pangkor?

Pulau Pangkor is an island off the west cost of Peninsula Malaysia and in the nothern state of Perak.

The capital town in Perak is Ipoh, which if my history lessons do not fail me, started out as a tin mining town. But today, to most Singaporeans, Ipoh is more synonymous with Ipoh Hor Fun, which is a local hawker dish made from white flat noodles (kway teow) in a brown sauce topped off with shredded chicken meat, green leafy vegetables and braised mushrooms. Unfortunately, not many places in Singapore have good Ipoh Hor Fun, and so to avoid disappointment I don't usually order it. Anyone out there know where to find good Ipoh Hor Fun in Singapore? In fact, does anybody even know whether Ipoh Hor Fun is sold in Ipoh? Anyway, I'm disgressing...

Most people access Pangkor from a coastal town which is also in Perak, called Lumut, which is about 84km south west of Ipoh and about 2 hours drive north west of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. From Lumut, you can actually see Pangkor. Ferries depart from Lumut to Pangkor every half and hour and takes about 30 to 40 minutes.

Lastly, what is also significant is that Pangkor is along the Straits of Malacca. Unfortunately, what this means to the tourist is that beaches in Pangkor can never be as good as those on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia which face the South China Sea.