Both Sides now…

Been here a few days now so some faces are starting to look familiar at the Sandy Spoon breakfast bar and naturally they have been appointed nicknames. There’s ‘Smiler’ who serves and looks as miserable as sin everyday, ‘Gunter’, a sour looking bald German fella with a chunky wife and then our favourite, ‘Fannypack’ who only has one pair of shorts and shirt and walks around sporting a massive, fully loaded, multi-zipped bum bag at all times.

fanny pack

noun [ C ]

 US

UK  

 /ˈfæn.i ˌpæk/ US  

 /ˈfæn.i ˌpæk/

(US also waist pack); (UK bumbag)

Morning fun is also had by turning the toast machine up to 11 when finished and sitting back to watch the pandemonium when the next sucker sticks in the bread and is helpless to retract the burning slice from the rotating incinerator before it’s too late…

Rules must be obeyed though, Wet ‘Cloths’ will NOT be tolerated.

That said, Iv already broken my own self inflicted rule, having gorged myself on fresh local Mango, Dragon Fruit, Watermelon and Jack 🍈 Fruit and a huge plate of Chinese vegetables including some rubber cabbage affair that resembled eating the pocket of an old farmers black Mackintosh…Strange fruit indeed!

For the younger viewers I must point out that a Mackintosh is an old gabardine raincoat and NOT a MacBook! #Neverstoplearningkidz

Had the obligatory tour of the island on the scooter like a couple of hairy bikers in search of food and hornbills, this time 🐜 yclockwise, so we have looked at the island from both sides now, but again to no avail…lunch was found courtesy of Fatt Kee again.

Disappointed, we dragged our weary arses out of the sea and tottered back to find….a pair of clumsy Oriental pied hornbills in the coconut tree 10yards from our crib!…At last!

That’s great…you travel 3 times around the island and the buggers are within feet from the balcony!

A classic that everyone needs to hear and look at life from every angle…you only get the one!

Shoeless…

Why is there always one shoe on every beach…?

Is it just me alone wondering this?

In my 57 and 3/4 years Iv been to many beaches and I can honestly say that I have never lost footwear. Sunglasses?…yes, by the bucket load, but Iv always got home without having to hop. What is it about folk when they leave the beach they don’t check? Hmmm…Iv got my trousers, my hat, my car keys and my wallet…oh, hang on…why have I only got one shoe on??

It’s pretty obvious to me but admittedly I ain’t your average Joe.

Not much to report today, apart from the sad washed-up sandal…it’s a ‘sign’ that its been a slow day but we have carefully circumnavigated the island clockwise again looking for the elusive bloody hornbills but only saw scraggy macaque monkeys and a large monitor lizard.

As the sun started to set I spotted a Tiger…

This blog is looking a bit ropey…

Better luck and much more effort tomorrow…I’d like to promise!!

“Shoeless in your favourite dress
You walk the shores
The waves carress your feet
You don't really mind”

Enjoy a bit of John Bramwell ‘live’ here (AKA I am Kloot) stood on a beer crate

Woke up this morning…

 

Always good to wake up in a morning but even better to have sunshine and a handy beach for a morning dip in the sea.

Now at Sandy Beach on Pangkor Island https://pangkorsandybeach.com/  Low season here so hardly anyone about and prices cheap for a nice chalet and more many places open on the West coast.

Had a spin round the island on a trusty rental just to explore and get to know the joint.

Then stopped for noodle soup…I love a photo with a lot going on and even though the noodle soup lady had been busy it was nice to sit and eat and see the view from her office.

Takeaway tea from the next village bay #Just Eat(Freshly cooked fish)

  

Oh and Yo…4 u homeys that dig da feed I have linked ma blog to ‘Insta’ in a vain attempt to get ‘in ya face’ and move with the times….u diggin’me?…I was ‘enlightened’ to sign up on to the dark web so watch this space for more regular ‘gourmet’ content Y’all…😎

Enjoy this track by a favourite band or I will ‘Pop a cap in ur ass’…

For the price of a cup of tea..?

Allah spoke to us via the Imam on top of the 🕌 to let us know it was breakfast time and then we were leaving on the morning 🚌 bus. It took us past the unsightly plastic covered hillsides and down to Ipoh. You can’t ignore the shocking scale of degradation of this area it as it detracts from the normally green 🌳 🌲 🌴 hillsides. It’s where 60% of all the veggies and fruit in Malaysia and Singapore is grown. I have to admit that it has left a sour taste in my mouth, to the point that I have decided make a stand and never to eat 🌽 and fruit 🍉 again! 

From now on I’m going to adopt a strict carnivorous diet to combat this and that way I will be doing my bit to save the 🌍 and il feel a whole lot better…

The tea plantations are tiny in comparison and really only kept for ‘tourism purposes’…What a price to pay!!

https://www.cameron.com.my/no-time-left-to-protect-cameron-highlands.html

From the bus terminal in Ipoh we ‘Grabbed’ it to the awaiting ferry at Marina Island for the short sail to Pangkor Island arriving in perfect time for next 10minute crossing.

By lunchtime I was having pork and rice knocked up for me at Fatt Kee’s in the town.

                                              Murtabak for tea! 

“For the price of a pint of milk
I'll tell you all I know
About the state of the world today
Sit down, enjoy the show..”

‘For the price of a cup of tea’ off the album ‘The Life Pursuit’ by the wonderful ‘Belle & Sebastian’ - wet your whistle and sit back to enjoy the track here.

Torn on the Platform…

 

A short taxi ride from the riverside hotel took us to Wakif Bharu for the morning train. The previous evening we had discovered that our plan of getting off at Kuala Krai and taking a boat up the river to Dabong was not possible as this service was not operating. Instead, a little torn, we purchased tickets for the end of the line, Gua Musang, continuing on into the internal jungle heart of Malaysia.

It got obviously more greener and more and more remote, calling at smaller and smaller platforms along the route until finally we got to the end of the line. At Gua Musang it was the same story, because of Ramadan everywhere is closed up. Another rethink outside a small shop to get some provisions and we were off again, this time by ‘Grab’ car as our decision was to continue on to have a look at the Cameron Highlands.

The road was pretty windy and bumpy so it was a relief to arrive at Tanah RATA in one piece but along the way we had witnessed the intensive ‘growing’ areas where Chinese companies were covering the hillsides in plastic sheeting to cultivate vegetables and plants on a massive scale of production that was unnerving.

The Cameron Highlands read well, a lovely area full of cultivated tea plantations..this was not the welcoming sight as we pulled into Tanah Rata. It was a mess of sprawling towns with little to attract an audience. 

We ate at the local nightly food market in the centre of Tanah Rata made the decision to leave the Cameron Highlands in the morning, slightly dissatisfied.

Hopefully a bit of Jack Penate will make amends!

Blue Monday…(or Tuesday)…

Blue Monday I’m afraid…following a great weekend of bone idleness and mooching about it’s time to get back to it. 

The morning alarm needed to be set to make the pre arranged meeting for 09:00 with strong coffee ordered to wake the brain. 

We have only ourselves to blame for this early start…we are heading out to the one of the tiny Perhentian Islands.

After an earlier mishap at the morning buffet where I ended up with bread and butter pudding with salad cream?, “the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast!”, it was time to go!

  

Our man arrived on the hour and took us to the RV point where 450cc of 4 stroke twinYamaha unbalanced horse power was waiting to whisk us on a 45 minute bouncy speedboat ride. Departing from Sungai  Setiu river Jetty it is the only way to access this tiny piece of exclusive aquamarine paradise on Lang Tengah Island, a marine conservation area for turtles and our destination for the next few days.

   

Snorkelling 🤿 about in the shallow clear waters the baby sharks chase the shoals of tiny fish by the jetty. The coral isn’t brilliant here, unfortunately bleached white and dead but the beautiful turquoise water is fab for poking about in.

 

It’s early in the season so once again very quiet and relaxing with not many tourists about to annoy us…time to put my feet up…!

Is that Blue enough for you?

Blue Monday is New Orders quintessential classic song…

Which way will I go…?

Now we are 200km further north to spend the weekend in Kuala Terengganu in the next state. 

We have discovered the ‘Grab’ car service for getting out and about now and it’s easy and cheap and a little fella turns up in a few minutes and takes you where u want. It took only a speedy 2 1/2hrs to get to the next accommodation with a great friendly and helpful driver, Azimi.

 

It’s a riverbank town and small enough to have a good mooch around where we found the vast market area of Pasar Payang, visited the state museum, the Masjid Kristal 🕌mosque and the great structure of Jambatan Angkat bridge which is the main landmark of the town.

The streets are full of food stalls so it’s a great choice of eateries so we will dine on the street in Chinatown.

Enjoying the hotel pool in the afternoon gave us loads of time to wonder which way to go next…??

 

Tonight, the streets are ours…

I can’t not choose at least one Richard Hawley track for this blog so here’s a track off the wonderful album ‘Hollow Meadows’ called ‘Which way will I go?’ and another off ‘Lady’s Bridge’ entitled ‘Tonight, the streets are ours’…so enjoy both to cover this post.