Pulau Pemanggil - best time to go

 

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The monsoon season in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia sets in by end-October and lasts through till early-March. But the best time to visit the Pulau Pemanggil is from end-March to June and September to mid-October.

Amenities

Telecommunication

The island has 2 public phone booths provided by Telekom, our largest telecommunication company. One situated at Kampung Buau, which is in good working order and the other at Kampung Pak Kaleh. Be sure to purchase a telekom phonecard before you leave mainland, in case the local provision shop runs out of such supplies.

Electricity

Electricity is on generators for the moment but there are plans for the National Electricity Board (TNB) to connect the island in the future. For the time being, electricity is from 7.30pm to 7.30am

Photo Developing

There isn't such facility on the island.

Money Changer

All transactions are conducted in Ringgit so get your money changed at Mersing or book your tour package, transportation and accommodation with your tour agent

Language

The villagers converse only in Bahasa Malaysia and their island dialect, which is a variant of our national language. A few may be able to converse in pidgin English but if you do have problems, the staff at Lanting Beach Resort are conversant in English so try seeking them for help.

Things to Buy

Fishing boat models

Pak Boh lives in a little hut at the edge of Kampung Buau. He retired from his fishing career a few years ago, leaving his enormous task of bearing the responsibility of his large family, to his older boys. While sitting and pondering on the porch one fine evening, an idea came to him to continue his childhood hobby of carving. Having studied the shape and sizes of all kinds of boats passing by his front porch over the years, he began making mantelpiece models for sale.

He and his eldest son climb the slopes in search of the wood to harvest for his boat models. The wood is then left to dry in the sun for at least 2 weeks before Pak Boh tends to it. From memory and also from his experience as a fisherman, Pak Boh carves and structures the blocks of wood using only the most basic of tools - a knife, a mallet and, a pencil for marking the outlines. The rest is from memory. He specialises in traditional fishing boats and the boats are available either unvarnished or fully painted. My recommendation would be to go for the unvarnished version as Pak Boh usually works in dimly lit conditions which leaves such intricate work as 'model-painting' a little too much of a challenge for him.

And it's nicer to add your own finishing touches to the model - the unvarnished boats cost RM45 each on average, but ask again as there are various sizes which can cost between RM35 to RM75 each. Durian

the season arrives in August and is plentiful all over the island. Only thing is that the ubiquitous monkeys on the island may get to it before any of us do! Sold at RM2.00 each

Mangoes

The season runs from May to September. You can get the boys to collect these mangos but only for a fee though. Sold at RM1.00 each

Food & Drinks

Food is usually provided at the resorts and is included with the accommodation packages. But if you so choose to walk around Kampung Buau, you may chance across a stall that sells 'satay landak'. This is a specialty here and yes, to confirm that your expanse of Bahasa vocabulary still serves you well, it IS 'porcupine satay' - cringe!!!

You could get some basics like fried noodles, maggie mee (instant noodles) and hot drinks for sale at the local café but no ALCOHOLIC drinks served on the island. So please BYOB if that is one of your main SOS's in your survival kit!