View of a Local near Pulau Pangkor, Malaysia

In the spirit of “Visit Malaysia 2007” we stay in Malaysia for our second View of a Local interview this year.

This time we’re visiting music librarian Peter van der Lans, who for now has parked his bicycle near Pulau Pangkor. In this interview Peter talks about his travels on his bike and what Pulau Pangkor has to offer travellers.

Briefly, please could you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Peter van der Lans. I am originally from Holland but live these days in Malaysia.

At the age of 35 I decided that it was time for retirement, so I went on the road in 1989. I left my job, started backpacking in south east Asia, India, China, Nepal and Pakistan, but found soon it was not satisfying enough. So I picked up cycling again. I had cycled in Europe in the 80’s, but once I went travelling in Asia, I had forgotten most.

I am a librarian by profession, a music librarian to be precise, but most of my working life I have worked as a network engineer. Over the years travelling I have been teaching English in China. I run www.pulau-pangkor.com and www.bicycle-adventures.com plus a bike blog with recent things I did on the bike.

You’ve done a lot of long distance cycling. Where have you been with your bike?

My cycling goes all the way back to my childhood, when I cycled about 50-80 km a week from home to school and my judo school. Later I started travelling by bicycle in Europe. However, after a few years I got interested in other areas.

In 1989 first I decided to go backpacking in Asia for a year. When I came back, I bought a Koga Myata Worldtraveler. At the time, I didn’t know much about this kind of bike. Jim, as I baptized my bike, turned out to have its own free will. I wrote his story here.

My first journey went from Holland to north Pakistan and back. This journey went through Belgium, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Iran to Pakistan. I had to return briefly to Holland, then flew to Bangkok and spent 18 months or so in south east Asia and China. SARS drove me out of China to Malaysia.

After a year in the UK with my then girlfriend, we came back to Malaysia, Sitiawan where I started to think about what to do to make some money.

Pulau Pangkor.com was the first of my web sites. My travels gave me a good opportunity to write. Once the Pangkor web site was running, I started to pick up my dozens of diaries and went to create Bicycle-adventures.com, which is an ongoing project.

Although now living in Malaysia I keep on cycling. In 2006 visits by bike were made to Thailand, Laos and China. For this year Bali, Thailand and Burma are on the program.

What is it you enjoy about traveling by bike?

A bicycle gives freedom. No one tells me where to go, what time to get up or where to eat. Cycling is a way of meeting people on the road who seldom see foreigners, you can visit places way off the beaten path. I did the Lonely Planet trails and all I found was more white people. By bike I have the freedom to leave that all behind. After all, what’s the point of hanging out with your own kind in strange land? My own kind I can find in my own land.

Usually I tell people that cycling requires mental strength. No physical strength is needed. A good example is the story of Mr. Hu, who has only one arm and one leg and cycled 10.000 km at least. Age is not an issue either. Johan was 8 years old when he did a 250km journey on his bike with me.

Where will your bike take you next?

As cycling is an important part of my life, I will keep on cycling. However, last year I found pleasure in diving too. The idea for this year is to go back to Bali for a month to cycle and dive. I also want to visit Myanmar (Burma if you like) again. It’s 10 years since I have been there. I just finished a short trip to Thailand, and later this year I will be back in Thailand for more cycling and diving.

Do you have any advice for any travellers who wish to go on similar trips by bike?

The best advice, I can give for long distance cycling, is simply buy a good bike and start riding. The preferred bicycle is a kind of mountain bike, with front and rear panniers (making cycling easier), 26 inch wheels, because 26 inch tyres are more widely available than 28 inch.

If you start in Europe or the USA you may want to bring a tent and camping gear. Get good quality stuff which you can repair anywhere, if needed.

Do not prepare too much. A map and an idea where to go is more than enough. Along the road you will modify your destination anyway. If you do a journey through countries like Iran and Pakistan, bring maps of those countries as they are hard to find there. It may seem strange, but you do not need much more.

How long have you lived in Pulau Pangkor and what made you settle there?

I actually do not live in Pulau Pangkor, but in a little town Sitiawan which is just on the doorway to Pangkor. My reason for living here and not on Pangkor itself is that Pangkor is too small to live on, it’s mostly a tourist island. I prefer to live with local people and have all the facilities available cheap. Sitiawan is such a place. I do visit Pangkor regularly, as I have friends living there, it’s just 40 minutes cycling to the ferry, anyway.

I came originally to Sitiawan with my then girlfriend and lived here with her for some time. Then we split up, but I enjoyed life here so much that I stayed, and more than 2 years later I still live here, if I am not cycling in the neighbouring countries.

What do you like most about living near Pulau Pangkor?

Life here is relaxed, cheap, people are good, food is great, weather is great. I have all I need in life right here. Why would I go back to Holland to have a life with a boss who tells me to sit down and stand up, when he wants. Both Pulau Pangkor.com and Bicycle-adventures.com generate me enough of an income to make me a free man.

Is there anything you do not like about living near Pulau Pangkor?

The only thing I don’t like about living near Pangkor is the absence of a dive club. Pulau Sembilan, just off the coast of Pangkor has some awesome diving grounds. It’s sad that there’s no dive club available here.

Why should travellers visit Pulau Pangkor?

I usually say that there are two kinds of people who feel good at Pangkor – families on holiday and the long term travellers.

Families can enjoy a great holiday with good beaches, clean water, jungle treks, canoeing, excellent food and hotels in all price ranges. If families want to stay longer on the island, other facilities like golf or even carting are available on the mainland. Pangkor is easily accessible from both Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Some stay three weeks, do some shopping in Penang or Ipoh. It’s all within a short range.

The long term traveller can chill out here for a few days before hitting the road again. I like the island for what it is, a nice little island with good swimming, hard cycling roads (yes, the hills are very steep) and the villages with their fishing culture. And the prices are fixed, no rip offs, no hassle.

What do you wish travellers would do when they visit Pulau Pangkor?

Enjoy the island, have a swim, snorkel a bit, cycle around and eat some of the local specialties like dried fish and jellyfish. Pangkor is a no nonsense island, just chill out.

What do you wish travellers would stop doing when they visit Pulau Pangkor?

Although Pangkor is small, I think there’s enough to do for a few days. However, many people never explore the mainland near Lumut. There are plenty of very interesting things to do and see. Think for example of a mangrove forest trek or a boat ride through the mangrove swamps. Just a kilometer from Lumut, you can be as far away from civilization as imaginable.

A hike on the nearby hilltop, 300 meter high is a good way to spend a few hours.

And if you really want to find some local kampongs where life is not destroyed by tourism, why not take a bicycle or a motorbike and visit Damar Laut, opposite of Lumut. It’s hardly visited, and worth a visit for an afternoon.

Some people enjoy the Chinese cemeteries in this part of Perak. They are quite famous for their rich decoration and sure worth a visit. Some call me morbid, but a visit to the graveyard in between Lumut and Seri Manjung is an attraction, especially during the Chinese Ching Ming festival. There is no problem walking around the cemeteries as long as you don’t disturb the locals praying to their ancestors. And the graves are very beautiful.

If a visitor had time to do or see only one thing in Pulau Pangkor, what should it be?

Those who come for a day or two, visit the few attractions on the island, e.g. the Dutch Fort and the Fu Lin Kong temple, because they give a good view of the history of the former pirate island.

It’s absolutely worth to cycle/motorcycle around the island and for those who want to hike a little, do the short hike to Teluk Segadas, a small remote beach on the south west part of Pangkor.

If a visitor had time for only one meal in Pulau Pangkor, which dish would
you recommend?

Ikan bilis, or anchovies, is the specialty of this part of Malaysia, and the best ikan bilis is caught here at Pangkor. Ikan bilis is always served with nasi lemak, you could say, the national dish in Malaysia.

Do you have any other insider tips for visitors to Pulau Pangkor?

In general there is no best season to visit Pangkor. The monsoon, which shuts down the east coast of Malaysia from December to February, has little effect on this part of Malaysia. In Penang, the monsoon is heavier, as it is more inland, but for reasons unknown to me, the monsoon has seldom days full of rain.

Locals claim June and July are hotter then other parts of the year but I disagree with that.

Therefore the only time not to come are the public holidays and school holidays. It can be very busy with Christmas and Chinese New Year. But otherwise Pangkor is an oasis of peace and quietness. Of course, if you are searching for parties, you had better move to Penang, KL or other places.

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You may also be interested in our View of a local in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo interview in which Ruhaizad Daud tells us about his Borneo, the state of Sabah, East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo).

Don’t miss out on View of a Local in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia either, in which Meena Johnson talks about Malaysian food.

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