“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Even a morning in bed, surtout que Monsieur a été malade toute la nuit – too much air ? We breakfast lunch at 13h, after a trip to the bakery next door where we buy for 6WD (1,5€) Malaysian pastries with trust in their external appearance and gestural advice from the friendly saleswoman who knows only a few words of English. The result is not bad : two appearances of chocolate bread, a donut with coconut and least pleasant surprise is the increasing… Cheese ! Joyce nous fait cadeau d’une sorte de bahn bao – Vietnamese stuffed brioche – also coconut. We taste all this around a tea before Joyce ask if we can rent two of his bikes (15RM – 4€ for one and 24 hours), mais leur petite taille et les soucis sur celui de Monsieur nous font nous décider pour un scooter (35RM – 9€) that we will not regret !

Sculptures à Foo Lin Kong

Sungai Pinang Besar, Foo Ling Kong

After half a tank of gas 4WD (1€), we head south – rolling left – et le village of Sungai Pinang Besar – small interlude lexical : sungai signifie rivière, pinang est une herbe à chiquer, besar veut dire grand, tandis que kecil veut dire petit, Joyce thank you for the explanations ! We cross the whole village to find at the end the Chinese temple Foo Lin Kong. The colors are shimmering and the place is full of Malaysian tourists as well as local. Before arriving in the heart of the temple we pass some cheap souvenir shops and a semblance of pagoda (spécial pensée pour l’un de mes oncles, “oh one more pagoda !”), if the inside is quite simple, one can not help comparing the rest of the buildings in an amusement park : a mini Chinese wall, false barriers wood plaster… But the place remains friendly and full of life, for motivated some steps you can admire a beautiful panorama overlooking the temple, the village, the bay and off the Malaysian mainland.

Taxis de Pangkor

Always Coca-Cola 🙁 Arrêtez de polluer !

We continue south, turn a moment in the eponymous and largest city of the island before pushing further to the ruins of a Dutch fort built in 1670 to store tin from the mainland, specifically Perak (Malaysian state which belongs Island), destroyed 1690 par les malaisiens mécontents de certaines méthodes des néerlandais pour obtenir le métal, and rebuilt in 1743 before being abandoned 1748 and finally rehabilitated in 1973 to become a historical monument. A little further on is a “sacred rock” engraved with the monogram of the Dutch East India Company – Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie ou VOC – created 1602 and often considered to have been the first multinational in the world. Besides one can recognize the engraving of the lion appearing on the coat of arms of the Netherlands.

Dutch fort ruins

Fishermen's hut

Back to Pangkor Town to cross from East to West Island – the road is a cul de sac at the south end of the island, There is also only one road going around the island ! – in direction of the city of Pasir Bogak. We stop for a moment just a little further north of the city near a small viewpoint where we meet our first long-tailed macaques.

Macaque Long-tail

Macaque and our Honda scooter

Then still up to the north we're back in Teluk Nipah, the city we got yesterday out of our journey in the jungle ! It was at Coral Beach we decide to park to go to walk on the beach and enjoy a cocktail on the terrace of Daddy's Cafe with a small salad (41RM – 10€). There are many more Europeans on this side of the island and the prices are higher – so to speak – This is the tourist area. Waiting for the sunset we wander in the Lin Jee Kong Temple – Always park-like, there is even statues of Donald and Mickey semblance to entry ! – clouds tarnish the landscape a bit but we still take full eyes.

The pilot !

Au temple Lin Jee Kong

Bathers at Coral Beach

Sunset on Coral Beach

We return at night to cool – almost – with a stop at Pasir Bogak to buy some cookies (9,30RM – 2€). Back in Sungai Pinang Kecil we go to restaurant “Chicken Shop” – comme une envie de frites pour Monsieur ! – we find closed due to rain likely. Ce sera Nasi Goreng et nouilles avec boissons (26RM – 6,5€) before “More beautiful life” Malaysian !

Other photos from Malaysia are visible here !