Pangkor Laut
Well, let me tell you about Pangkor Laut Island. It’s a tropical island resort that is heavenly! I was lucky enough to go there for a sandal photo shoot in mid-Winter.
Image: Emerald Bay Beach on Pangkor Laut Island wearing my Sienna blue sandals.
First of all, where is it and how do you get there? Pangkor Laut is a private island resort in Malaysia. It’s a 3 or 4-hour drive (depending on traffic) north of Kuala Lumpur on the west coast. You can book a helicopter transfer direct to the resort; however, we were travelling from Kuala Lumpur so we booked a taxi. Yep! That’s right you can get a taxi for a 4-hour journey for only 400 Ringgit. The taxi will take you to the resort’s office on the mainland and a boat transfer is included with your resort booking. The boats go at specific times, so make sure you check that your taxi will arrive in time to connect with the boat transfer.
The resort offers a choice of beautiful villas and over water bungalows. Staying in an over water bungalow was certainly a ‘bucket list’ thing for me but I will mention that it was a 15-minute walk to the centre of the resort and the terrain was a bit tricky too. That said, it’s fine if you’re wearing your Ankalia sandals. I definitely would not recommend heels at all for this terrain.
The resort has the usual things you’ll find anywhere in the world, such as spa treatments, a gym, tennis courts, two beach front pools and a selection of about 5 dining options.
We dined somewhere different every night. The two highlights would have to be night one when we dined at Fisherman’s Cove. We were outdoors over looking the beach and swaying palm trees. I had one of the best fish meals of my life. The other dinner to recommend was a private dining experience on the beach at Emerald Bay. We were right on the beach and we got lucky with a spectacular sunset.
Image: sunset on Emerald Bay beach wearing my Bianca sandals
Aside from the dining, being someone that is usually a ‘busy bee’ I found there was enough to do, to keep me challenged every day. I did yoga every morning and tai chi one morning. I worked out at the gym and also did a guided nature walk through the jungle over to Emerald Bay. I also did my own jungle walk, a much longer walk over to Emerald Bay on another day. There are also the usual water activities like kayaking, fishing and more.
There’s also wildlife on the island. We constantly saw the seven Hornbill birds, as well as several great big Monitors on the beach. They’re like a huge lizard or Goanna.
Emerald Bay was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. It’s one of those amazing tropical, white sandy beaches. It would be a hot contender for one of the top beaches in the world. It was the perfect location for our photo shoot of my new sandal range that is coming soon.
Image: Emerald Bay beach wearing my Sienna sandals
As I mentioned, flat sandals are a must on all the uneven terrain on the island. These are some of the sandals I packed for the trip.
Image: Ankalia limited edition luxury leather Swarovski crystal sandals
I also have to say the staff at the resort were wonderful - always helpful and smiling. Finally, coffee is important to me and yes, they had good coffee every morning.
So, if you’re looking for a Winter escape destination, Kuala Lumpur is only a 5.75-hour flight from Perth and it’s in the same time zone, so no jetlag at all. I would suggest having a couple of nights in Kuala Lumpur before the 4-hour car journey to the resort.
Would I go again? Well, I’m someone that likes to experience new places every time I travel. Pangkor Laut Island Resort was fantastic but I will be looking for somewhere new for our next sandal photo shoot.
Lots of love,
Cheryl xx
