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MY OVERWATER BUNGALOW
This was my first time staying in an over-water bungalow since the island of Taha’a in French Polynesia (near Tahiti) a few years back. My room at Pangkor Laut was similar: spacious with high ceilings, dark wood floors, a large balcony with deck chairs, a bathroom with an oversized tub, and windows that open onto the sea. The shower head too was oversized, though neatly hidden in the ceiling, and provided excellent water pressure. All the rooms have air-conditioning, a comfortable king bed, a desk, telephone, large toiletries, hairdryer, mini-bar, coffee/tea machine, a CD player, and an electronic safe.

UNEXPECTED BUNGALOW GUESTS
The resort is so beautiful that I filled up an entire 1 GB SD card in the first couple of hours. As I sat on my bed downloading the pictures and videos to my computer, I heard a noise outside. I got up to see what all the ruckus was about. Guess who was on my doorstep? The monkeys! They were cruising along my balcony — I couldn’t believe it. I thought one of my colleagues had put fruit on my doorstep as a joke, but no one did. The monkeys were just checking out their neighbors.

DINING AT PANGKOR LAUT
There are nine different places to dine at the resort. At the Samudra, guests get authentic Malay and traditional Chinese cuisine at a restaurant built on stilts over the sea near the lobby. The Palm Grove Café, also near the lobby, is where the extensive buffet breakfast is served with tropical fruit drinks (these guys make the best and most unusual banana pancakes). Oasis Bar, next door, has drinks and snacks. Uncle Lim's Chinese restaurant was my favorite – not only for the open-air design, with dark wood and colorful red lanterns throughout the interior, all atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea -- but because Chef Uncle Lim made the best honey crispy chicken I ever had. Below Uncle Lim’s is the Sri Lagenda Lounge, where many people meet for pre- or post-dinner drinks. Sri Lagenda Lounge and Fisherman's Cove are the restaurants folks must walk through to get to Spa Village. Fisherman's Cove serves fine (and the most expensive) dishes, including fresh seafood, steaks (the beef is from Australia), and Chinese and Italian cuisine (this is the only restaurant with a dress code, which means no shorts or flip-flops). The Royal Bay Beach Club is located next to the lap pool in the Spa Village, and offers light breakfast, lunch and snacks throughout the day. Then there’s Chapman's Bar. Located on the other side of the island at Emerald Bay, it serves sandwiches, salads, local dishes and traditional satay. It’s the perfect place to go to after the jungle trek (more on that in a minute).

SUNSET CRUISE
Guests can also arrange for a quiet, romantic four-course sunset dinner at sea aboard the resort's teak wood boat (called a tongkang). Another great way to spend the evening and meet other visitors: Every Thursday the resort takes out its other boat. Honeymoon couples and returning guests can travel around the island to watch the sun set.

ACTIVITIES AT PANGKOR LAUT
Most people who come to Pangkor Laut want to relax. But there plenty of activities to keep guests busy: tennis and squash courts, two swimming pools, a workout room, a TV room (there are no television sets in rooms), yoga and tai chi quan (scroll down for more on this), and a popular daily jungle trek. Don’t let that term scare you – it sounds a lot more strenuous and adventurous than it really is. Yip Yoon Wah (people call him Uncle Yip), the resident naturalist, is retired and loves to talk. The 2-kilometer path he uses takes his group 2 ˝ hours to complete, though it could actually be done in 15 minutes (there is also a much longer trail). But if you go through the rainforest on your own you will miss Uncle Yip’s informative talk. He explains everything -- and I mean everything -- pointing out interesting wildlife like the macaque monkeys (I saw 20 at one time), a wagless pit viper (see the video below), and a tropical monitor lizard the size of me. I actually thought it was a Komodo dragon, but Uncle Yip set me straight. There is no charge for the walk.

EMERALD BAY
Once through the jungle you arrive on the other side in beautiful Emerald Bay (there is a free shuttle back). Emerald Bay was chosen of the Top Ten Beaches in the World by the London Daily Telegraph in 2003. I might have agreed, except it had recently rained, and the 80-degree water was littered with plastic bags. The resort has a special sifter boat to pick up the bags, but unfortunately it’s not enough. Villagers just throw their garbage and plastic bags in rivers, and after a storm the plastic bags make their way out to the island. I think the government could rectify this problem by putting nets at the mouths of the rivers, and of course educating the villagers about the importance of not littering.

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