Langkawi, Malaysia

 My readers would have known by now, I love the combination of the sun, sand & water. Though I am still not very comfortable with all water activities, I let go and have fun. This trip planning started with Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  However, we had heard so much about Langkawi, hence we clubbed it together. This write up is on Langkawi the Jewel of Kedah.

 Don’t we hear most of the honeymooning couple say that Langkawi is a beautiful island? I realize nowadays newlyweds are flocking to Europe or other exotic locations, However go back a few years, Langkawi was among the top 5 honeymoon destinations for Indians. I usually don’t believe the honeymooners because I am not sure how much of the island they have seen and experienced. However after my experience with this one, I give Langkawi a thumbs up.

Now this again was one of my early trips where we were a bit skeptical/unsure about online hotel bookings. Hence we followed reviews or brand names. My experience turned here. We booked 2 hotels for 2 days stay, one was much more expensive than the other. I realized that the not so expensive one suited us better. Travelers who like luxury, this part isn’t meant for you. Most place of stay though not expensive are neat and clean and basic, I have written this as most of us are unsure of cheap accommodation. I have just about started upgrading my accommodation, it does feel good. However the basic ones weren’t so bad either.

Our flight from Kuala Lumpur landed in the Langkawi international airport around midnight. Note here- Please eat your inflight meal or carry food as nothing was opened near our resort in the night. In the morning too we realized there were just a few food stalls around. I have learnt to carry Cup Noodles everywhere I go because No.1 I love them, No. 2 After 2 days of eating out I usually have had enough and crave for our Indian spices & No 3. Most important is sometimes there are no places to eat close by and I wouldn’t want to waste time searching for one.

1st day went in exploring the beach our resort- Corrie Chalet was located in. The Pantai Cenang Beach. It is a lovely beach to swim in. We did just that and a little bit of walking around in the city center. Langkawi is a duty free island, I didn’t buy anything apart from tons & tons of chocolate. I am no chocolate lover but imagine going into super markets filled with chocolates with over the top marketing.  So well, the temptation got the better of me and I didn’t regret it one bit.

The cable car in Pantai Ko is worth mentioning, The start of the cable car ride is located in the quaint Oriental Village which is like an open air mall, there are a number of adventure activities, shopping, a lot of food outlets, spas, and even night stay accommodation. A whole day can easily be spent here. The main attraction here is the Langkawi Cable Car, it takes visitors up to the peak of Gunung Mat Chinchang, where the Langkawi Sky Bridge is located. You get a view of the beautiful ocean and the lush green forested slopes of the mountain infested with a large variety of birds and animals. (The sky bridge was closed for maintenance when we went). I would recommend this. For people scared of heights- You may want to think twice, it can be a bit intimidating.

We then shifted to our luxury resort. It had wonderful interiors, lovely swimming pool on the beach but this beach had corals so apart from sitting on the beach (which was very hot during the day) we could do nothing else. It was far from the city center too Hence though more luxurious I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

You cannot leave Langkawi without a visit to the famous eagle square, it’s a manmade structure of an Eagle. The most crowded spot in Langkawi. However it symbolizes the culture of this lovely island and some say that Langkawi means Reddish brown eagle.

Langkawi though is a tourist destination, the locales are mostly farmer and do not depend on tourism for their source of income. However they do realize that tourists will keep coming round the year because of what it has to offer.

Note: There are a lot more activities like a boat ride into the Kilim Mangrove forest, adventure activities which I didn’t write about as obviously I didn’t try them out.

Readers do comment if you too have visited the Lovely Island of Langkawi and do let me know any activity I missed out on.

The pics will be uploaded later.