PANGKOR ISLAND – CORAL BAY BEACH

On July 16 I awoke early to chickens and the chattering of birds and monkeys! I had anticipated seeing the dawn on the paradise-type island in the rain forest of Malaysia at a place called Coral Bay Beach on Pangkor island just north of Kuala Lumpur by three and a half hours. I had planned on writing about my peaceful time in Bali this month, but am too distracted by the the happenings here. I sit in my two man tent now, watching the waves as I write. 
The night before last I felt elation as we got out of the cab from the ferry that brought us from Pangkor city. This came after riding on a smallish ferry from the mainland. 
What I saw reminded me of the dream so many people have of relaxing on a tropical island when they retire, white sands, blue sky, blue-green sea in a forest facing the ocean. 
We had brought provisions for camping: a tent, water, rice, snacks, band aids, antiseptic oil, mosquito repellent, and needle and thread. 
We pitched our tent quickly on the smooth sand, just in time before the wind came, bringing with it a fairly strong tropical storm. Luckily some people had left a tarp behind that we ended up using on the top instead of over the tent! The rain pressed upon us so hard that rain came through in places we could not even see. My husband scooped and scooped out the water with his bare hands. We had expected heat to be our main problem, but no, water became our enemy. It hadn’t rained for over two months. I think I must have brought the rain from Oregon. I had read before coming that Malaysia has two seasons, dry-wet and wet-wet. We came in the dry-wet season. 
After out hot and humid night in the tent, we awoke to a beautiful dawn and swam in the warm waters of gentle waves. We returned to monkeys raiding our locked tent! We caught them eating our chocolate cream cookies. 
My husband, unfamiliar with monkeys except for the tame trained monkeys from Marrakesh, being from the desert, wanted to protect me as I collected the scattered cookies from the ground. He raised up a board that rested against a tree, ready to keep the ten or so monkeys that had encircled us away from me. 
I had sat down under the trees to enjoy some potato chips when two of them on branches above me started to pounce! These monkeys surprised us with their aggressive behavior. When we took our food inside they went away. 
The next morning, after spending the night trying to keep the rain out after an even more ferocious storm, we awoke to the waves coming up within maybe ten feet of our front door. We had to move the tent and our luggage to higher ground. 
The monkeys having eating many of our snacks, we had to find dry wood to build a fire. We are still working on that challenge. 
So, goodbye from higher ground. Thank God we woke up before the big wave came!!!!