The Vacation: Pangkor Island

Honestly, the idea of going to Pangkor Island last month had never came across our minds and never been highlighted in our family events calender. It came out all of a sudden, when my brother in-law blurted to my hubby few days before their sister's wedding last month that my parents in-law really needed a getaway to a nice, serene place, away from home, to ease their minds and de-stress themselves from all the problems that life brings lately.

Of course, since we (I mean my family which consists of me, hubby and my two kids) have never gone to a vacation (one-day trip or a picnic at the waterfalls nearby is technically not considered as a vacation) with my parents in-law before besides the trip to kampung in Bandung in 2005, we felt that it was high time for us to spent time with them in their dream vacation.

The wedding was held on Saturday. On Friday, hubby applied two days leave, eventhough we hadn't really made up our minds on this vacation. Since I was considered as one of the wedding planners, with all the pains and backaches, I was not fully looking forward for a long journey right after the wedding. All I really needed was a good rest, sleep in my comfy bed. On top of that, I had a sound reason for being reluctant to that idea to Pangkor Island. Based on the doctor's advice, I shouldn't be so active , for I have a quite low-lying ant. placenta. That's also the reason why I often feel some kind of pain around my lower belly. So just imagine, after several days preparing the wedding, how could I possibly go for a holiday?

On the wedding day, after the ceremony, I suggested to hubby another vacation option, which is Cameron Highland. The justification? Well, first of all, if we go to Cameron Highland, we could just drive right from our house to the hotel's door, without having to take a ferry or speedboat. So basically, it's easier for me, and more relaxing. I could just sit in the car for a two hours journey, and I could avoid walking and bringing any luggage. Secondly, I have been secretly planning and dreaming to go to Cameron Highland in July to celebrate our wedding anniversary this year. Since we can only afford one vacation this year due to money constraints, I guess if we really had to go, we'd better go to the place that I have been dreaming of.

So, at last, later that Saturday nite, we told our parents in-law that we were going to bring them to Cameron Highland early in the morning the next day.

And as usual, I started busily packing all the necessary things to bring to the vacation that nite after definite decision had been made. Sweatshirts, jumpers, jackets, jeans, some food, etc...all the necessities for a 3-day-living in a quite a colder place than our hometown. Oh no...I had to do the laundary too...so that when we return home from our vacation, I wouldn't have piles of dirty clothes waiting me!

On Sunday morning, I cleaned the house and did some last checkups before leaving home. However an hour before we started our journey, hubby said to me that we ought to change our vacation destination since my in-laws insisted on going to Pangkor. O My God! This really made my blood pressure went up drastically. After all the packing works which I did last nite and sacrificing my nite sleep, changing the destination was the last thing on earth I would ever do. Don't get it wrong..I didn't mad at anyone let alone blame my hubby or my parents in-law, BUT...changing the destination means that I must re-packing our luggages! How could u bring jumpers, sweaters and thicks clothes to a hot, airy, sunny island?

So, I quickly threw away all the clothes in the bags on the bed and started to grab everything that I could. Swimming suits, short sleeve shirts, thin pyjama, sun-block lotion...etc...e.tc........I was quite surprised though that I all of a sudden, I was so energetic and all my pains and backaches disappeared.

So at last, we started our journey at eleven o'clock. In the car, all the way to Pangkor, I kept on praying and hoping that I could enjoy myself and Allah grants me energy and good health.

We managed to catch the 4.30 pm ferry to Pangkor Island from Lumut jetty. As we stepped our feet on the island's ground about 45 minutes later, it was drizzling. We straight away went to the resort at Pantai Pasir Bogak to get some rest as well as enjoying the seaside scenery. The kids were the most excited ones. They really love the beach. So, eventhough it was drizzling, they couldn't help themselves from running down the beach, catching up the waves and and collecting the seashells. As for me, I spent the whole evening walking down the beach, appreciating God's great creation and taking some pics. The cloudy weather made the air so fresh and breeze. Subhanallah, it was so relaxing and at that particular moment, I secretly thanked my husband for bringing me there.

The breathtaking scenery, the sound of waves, the fresh air, the horizon, the white, clean, sandy beach, the flying birds, it all helped to to unwind and really relax. Most importantly, my feelings and emotions were indescribable as I spent my time sitting on the beach.

The next day, early in the morning, we had a walk along the beach, enjoying the morning breeze and scenery. After breakfast, we (my parents in law and my family) enjoyed ourselves in the swimming pool, had some fun splashing in the water. The best part was, there were only US in the pool! Since it was Monday morning, there was hardly any other guests at the resort besides us. So we really enjoyed the privacy in the pool, something that we couldn't enjoy during weekends. We spent almost two hours in the pool. Hubby and Chichi joined us a bit late as they went cycling around the resort.

After Zuhr, we checked out from the hotel. We moved to another resort at Pantai Teluk Nipah. It was my idea, cos' I wanted to have a different experience at a different beach. This beach was not less breathtaking than before. At this beach..there were a lot of stalls along the road. So...my kids couldn't help themselves from the temptation to buy beach toys and clothes. We had our dinner in a nearby restaurant. At around 4.30pm, we rent a boat to Pulau Giam, an island nearby, which was popular for snorkeling activities. At first, I was reluctant to join the others snorkeling at the island. I just sat on some rocks at the edge of the island, watching Chichi and hubby excitedly shouting in joy as they watched various kinds of fish in the crystal-clear water. I just read Zabrina A. Bakar's book to kill the time. But, after half an hour, I couldn't help myself from joining them in the water. The joy was so irresistible. Tak tahan! That was my first time ever snorkeling. It was soooooooooooo enjoyable, exciting and fun. Once I jumped into the water, I didn't get out until one and a half hour later! I really enjoyed myself watching the fish, and the scenery under the sea. We also found some sea cucumbers and 'gamat' alive!


That night, we had 'siakap masak sweet sour', tom yam, and 'pari bakar' for our dinner. Wow, it was really a scrumptious meal! We went to bed quite early as we were really exhausted after the snorkeling activity that we had earlier in the evening.

The next morning, after breakfast, we just spent our time at the beach...we played swing, wrote our names on the beach, climbed some huge rocks at the beach, made sand-castles and took a lot of pics. Then, the kids played in the pool until noon, while hubby and I read newspapers and some books at the poolside. We checked out at about 1 pm, and hired a van for a tour around the island. We visited the monument of "Perjanjian Pangkor", the fishing village, the dried fish factory, etc. Eventually, we took the 2.30pm ferry to Lumut, the mainland.

The 3 days 2 nite vacation was really a memorable one and enjoyable. Everyone enjoyed the vacation, and we return home feeling refreshed, contented and relax.