Hi everyone! I'm finally back from my getaway trip to Langkawi with Marcus, Milo and freeuns and as promised here is a slide show of pictures from my trip. Hope you guys enjoy!
Day 1We departed from Changi Airport T2 at 6.40pm and arrived at Langkawi Airport just before 8pm. We were quite surprised we had to make our way from the runway to the airport on foot. Pretty neat experience and although the airport is small in size its pretty clean. Zackry's Guest House has arranged an airport pick up for us and by the time we got out, the driver was already waiting with my name on a placard. Our accommodation is about a 15min drive from the airport and Steward, an English man was on hand to receive us and process our check-in. We were given a short personal tour of the guest house and its facilities before we retired to our room. 4 to a room, 1 queen size bed and 2 single beds...pretty neat! After unpacking, we decided to check out a convenient store around the corner that rents cars and we needed to stock up on our booze and necessities! Dumped our purchases back at the loft and continued to explore our surroundings and found ourselves having drinks over at SUNBA. The night was still young and we were the only patrons. Tiredness and hunger fell over us and we heard each other's belly growling. Restoran Mangga! Had Nasi Goreng Ayam myself...probably the best tasting Nasi Goreng I ever tasted.
Day 2Woke up to an extremely blazing morning...as weather reports suggest, this is rare. Decided to swap Day 3's itinerary to today to enjoy the beach. Before that we had to get our car! Rented a Kancil for RM60/day with no petrol included...our 1st full tank pump cost us RM30. Heaven...drove down to the beach to have brunch at this resort...nothing too fantastic but prices were still relatively cheaper compared to Singapore. Tanned and swam in the sea for about 3hrs before we couldn't take the heat, skin was beginning to burn. Drove back to the loft to shower...and enjoyed a cold bud! Heaven again...headed down to the Go Kart track for a race with the guys. I came in last but otherwise I has a great time. Almost collided into the daredevil Milo who eventually won but freeuns backed out and volunteered to take pictures of us instead. Next stop Oriental Village and the Cable Car! Milo and freeuns started getting cold feet the moment they saw the cable car take off from the base station. Haha but it was an experience. The view up there at 700m+ after sea level was breathtaking. Could see the entire stretch of Langkawi from up there. They even had this suspension walkway that linked 2 of the lower peaks together and the entire walkway was supported by just a fragile looking structure. Milo and freeunds almost pissed their berms there...fun! Wanted to check out the famed Seven Wells but it was too late but at least we caught a glimpse of it during the cable car ride. Drove back to Pantai Tengah where our loft was located and had dinner at Restoran Mangga again.
Day 3Today we decided to take it easy after a night of heavy drinking. We were gonna go on a road trip instead to explore the island. Had breakfast at Cactus...highly recommended for reasonably priced good food. Very chill out place to have breakfast. Drove down to another waterfall and we sorta got lost a few times by missing turns but eventually we found our way. We were all still recovering from the sun burn from the previous day and when we saw the ice cool fresh waterfall forming extremely tempting dipping pools, we regretted not bringing our swimming gear. Its so beautiful and to be honest it looks like something straight out of some paradise. Definitely going back there for a dip the next time I'm there. Took many pictures there and was just absorbing the sight. Once we hit the road, a heavy storm caught us by surprise...couldn't go to places with no shelter so we just had to drive on and on...passed by the Hot Springs village and decided to go take a look as it was sheltered but there was nothing much so we left. Fortunately, the rain stopped as we reached the Wildlife park. Stopped there for lunch but did not go in. Decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at Kuah Town...the main town in Langkawi. It reminds us a little of JB, very congested with buildings and traffic. Capped off our time in Kuah by visiting Eagle Square, were the icon of Langkawi a giant statue of an eagle is erected on the tip of the bay overlooking the sea. Headed to Fat Mum's...absolutely delightful seafood dinner, cheap and nice...except for the black pepper beef which was tough. Wrapped up the day by checking out the nightlife! Based on the recommendations from the guy who served us at Fat Mum's, we checked out Aseania Hotel's disco, famed as the most happening place in Langkawi...we went in while the live band was performing...all I can say is I've heard better and was quite disappointing, only during the break did the music pick up when the DJ took over. Left shortly as the crowd was getting undesirable. Last stop was back at SUNBA, it was already full swing when we reached there but the music sucked so bad it seems it's catered for only 1 group...Reggae! The crowd was much better though!...freeuns was already talking nonsense and loudly at this time...he acts like that when he drinks. Headed back to crash for the day.
Day 4Our last full day in Langkawi and we decided to go for island hopping, engaged the boat operator to take us to Pulau Dayang Bunting aka Lake of the Pregnant Maiden, Eagle feeding and lastly to coral island. We didn't have breakfast that day as we did not want to feel sick during the boat ride...based on my experience in Tioman but the boat was a speed boat so you don't feel the choppy seas. We were famished by the time we reached Dayang Bunting. Lots of monkeys and I caught a glimpse of a dolphin or whale...can't tell only saw the tail followed by the sea spray from the nozzle. Nice...its suppose to be good luck. Nothing much at Dayang Bunting except the massive amounts of steps that need to be climbed to reach the lake. Some small kid almost drowned...irresponsible parents. Eagle feeding was probably an eye opener, the boat man will throw some pieces of meat into the sea and slash water around that area to attract the eagles. A few seconds later you'll see dozens of these majestic birds swooping down from the skies using their talons to catch the meat. And our last stop coral island...nothing much except the beach is slightly nicer than Pulau Langkawi's. Tanned and swam again...haha! Reached the loft to have a quick shower before finding food. Had lunch at Gecko's and the Nasi Goreng there is nicer in my opinion but the Tom Yam soup is killer...almost cried. Headed down to Underwater World...its abit different compared to Sentosa's because its more of an Underwater zoo not bad but the 3D show could have been longer. Everyone feeling tired, we went back to sleep till dinner time. Wanted to have Stingray and Satay for dinner and we drove all over the place to find. Finally we got re-directed at Lucky Restoran to May Hiang Restoran. Pretty good food there and cheap too. End of the day.
Day 5Breakfast again at Cactus before we returned the Kancil. Settled our laundry and internet charges at the guest house before flagging a cab to the airport. Departed close to 11am and arrived back at 12.15pm. Home sweet home!
To summarise the trip...GREAT. I would highly recommend Langkawi as a short and relatively cheap destination. Langkawi is made up of 99 islands and the main island is called Pulau Langkawi...thats the mac-daddy of islands there. I think at low tide there might be a few more islands to add to the 99. Langkawi is a duty free island just like my Tioman trip last year but with much more to do and roads making the island more accessible for exploration. Food is cheap, locals are relatively friendly and willing to spare some tips to tourists in almost perfect english (except in Kuah - Main town). Booze prices are a dream come true as well as faqs and cigars. Avoid booking tours to Langkawi as it is usually overpriced. It is relatively easy to self plan the trip there as most almost everyone that can provide you what you need can speak english. Research well to get a rough idea what is the tour about and how much it would cost. If any of you need my help just contact me. I can provide you my research materials and lowest cost estimates for activities.
