A December to Remember - Pulau Pangkor / Melaka – Part 2

(1) I finally saw how real sea cucumbers look like.

When canoeing towards Pulau Giam (a small island facing Coral Bay), the water gets clearer and clearer, so much so that the sea bed can be seen. What can be seen then? Plenty of sea cucumber! I tried to tickle a fat sea cucumber with my index finger. It felt so fluffy and spongy. :P

Of course there were fishes, some corals and even some sea urchins. Oh.. I actually sighted twice when a relative big group of small fishes decided to leap out of water together. Pretty cool!

In fact, sometimes during low tide, one can simply walk from Coral Bay to Pulau Giam.

This is Pulau Giam viewed from Coral Bay

Gliding leisurely towards Pulau Giam. Gliding leisurely towards the broad horizon later when making round(s) around the little island.

I noted that our skin tone were so fair before our canoeing trip.
Although the sun almost went into hiding during the two hours, we still looked quite baked after the canoeing experience. :P


(2) You experienced “beach therapy”?

Wear a well-fitted floating device, a life jacket.

Just lie down on the beach at the coastline so that our body is partially submerged. Due to the inclination of the coastline, our lower part of the body is actually floating, but our head quite well-rested on the sandy beach. When the waves come in, we can be slightly lifted and become almost totally afloat momentarily. It’s okay even if the waves drag us slightly away from the beach and more into the water (for we were wearing life jacket).

“Beach Therapy”

Just relax, yes even our limbs.

With our eyes closed, listening to the gentle waves, feeling the cool light splashes, under the gentle heat of the sun… it was rather therapeutic. I almost felt asleep.

Oh, how can I forget?!
When we were just sitting by the beach, partially submerged in water, resting, there were quite many little fishes swimming around us, waiting to be fed, I guess. They must be the anchovies.


(3) The hygiene level of those street-side food stalls (街边摊) is questionable. We didn’t try it, and W almost.. almost tried it till he scrutinized how the food was done at one particular stall.

I mean how hygienic it can be when fried oily food is displayed (without cover) just by the road side? The roads can be quite dusty with many cars / taxi-vans / motorbikes travelling by almost non-stop.

It didn’t help if the same pair of hands can handle the handles of the motorbike, the money and the food in sequence without washing of any kind (as observed by W). Haha.. But food poisoning is not heard off in the region though.

A street-side stall.
On one side is the main street. On the other side is the beach.

Another street stall (to be operative only at night), left unattended in the day. I think the ingredients kena "robbed" by hornbills.

Nevertheless, some proper eating venues can really come up with simple tasty food. We were rather impressed with the small restaurant at Purnama Beach Resort, very nearby.


(4) There isn’t any vegetarian food stall in Pulau Pangkor. A driver told us vegetarian food will be sold only during the first and fifteen day of the lunar month. We didn’t stay long enough to see how and where.

But, of course, the chefs in restaurant-like eating places will cook anything the way we like it. I didn’t skip a single meal and every meal was rather nice and filling in fact.

However, when we were back in Lumut ferry terminal, a 5 minute taxi-ride took us to Sitiawan. And while we were travelling along Jalan Lumut, we sighted 3 pretty big vegetarian restaurants on the left. We didn’t dine there. A taxi driver directed us to another one, well within walking distance from where we alighted and leisurely look-look-see-see. Oh, I remember we only paid RM10.3 for the dinner for 3.

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Adding a little humour in our attitude, even when situations are unfavourable.