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LUMUT - It was in the Year 1989. My younger brother was yet to come to the world. I was the only precious child in my family. We lived in Ipoh in that year - my family moved from town to town every two or three years due to my dad's relocation of work. My dad always bring my family to holiday trips. To get to the nearest beach, it was Pangkor Island. I was ten years old at that time. My cousins' families often joined us for the trip whenever they came to visit us in Ipoh.
I could not recall any five-star hotels in the island. Most of the beaches were dominated by chalets then. In this photo, we stayed at the A-frame chalets. We had always frequented at Sitiawan for yummy seafood. Today, we could have seafood on the island. My cousin said the A-frame chalets were probably located at Teluk Nipah, but today there is no sign of any A-frame chalets there. A look-out view point tower is the only thing found at the roadside of the deserted Teluk Ketapang, just before Teluk Nipah.
By looking at this picture, there were lush greens around us. And there were a big Pangkor Anchor and Seafood Restaurant near this chalet. My dad wore glasses because he was short-sighted. My mum wore a pair of sunglasses. And my mum and I wore the same pair of penguin shoes. We were like sisters posing the same fashion. The McDonald's pouch on my waist was put to good use, and it was freebie at that time. We used our floor mat from Thailand whenever we go for beach trips.
I remember I used to be afraid of swimming. I almost drowned here while swimming at the shallow water. I could not see anything underwater and I swallowed the salty water. My male cousins and my dad were good in swimming, so they often rescued me. I would cry, thinking someone had drowned me. (I could not make out why!) I was a pampered child that I only took swimming lessons after I graduated from my university! Besides swimming, we also had human sand wrapping, sand building, kite flying, and kayaking. It was fun time.
My mum and I used to stroll on the beach to collect seashells. The beach was quiet during the evening because many holiday makers came for day trips. Most tourists were Malaysians from Perak. There were stalls along the beach, selling batik dresses and kites. My mum bought me a green batik dress and today it is rare to find pretty local-made batik dresses. Since I had one, I had fallen in love with batik dresses.
Today, my family still go to Pangkor Island for holidays. There are five-star hotels, foreign tourists, hornbills and Chinese seafood restaurants on the island itself. There are boat rides to several islands including Pulau Sembilan and Pangkor Laut. Strolling along the parts of island, is like walking back to the past as there are still remains of old buildings and dry seafood industry. In my recent trip. I just had noticed how beautiful is the blueish green bay sighted from a different angle, and saw the drawings on the Sacred Rock. Although I had been there several times, there are bits of the Island yet to be discovered properly - trek the hill, watch the milky way and cycle around the whole island.
