Langkawi, the island of legends (5D4N)

DAY 1: Settle down first

After checking into our resort in Pantai Cenang, we took a slow drive to Kuah town.

Decided to kick off our holiday with lavish dinner at Fish Farm Restaurant & Resort. The owner took care to decorate the surroundings with plants, woods, porcelains, boat and many other peculiarities. 

Lot 1986, Jalan Pantai Penarak, Mukim Kuah, Langkawi 07000, Malaysia (Formerly Langkawi Fish Farm Restaurant)

 The restaurant has a bridge that goes out to the sea. 

In the middle is another seating area for guests to enjoy the food with beautiful sunset.

 You can choose live seafood from the various fish tanks. Price is definitely more expensive than the average restaurant. But the overall package is acceptable. Fresh seafood and relaxing environment.

About the food:

I only managed to take 2 picture of the food we ordered. The shellfish ie lobsters and crabs were well done. Not over or under cooked.

We purposely ordered sea crab or literally translated as flower crab for its sweet taste. But these crabs need to be fresh or the meet will become disintegrated.

The giant grouper was a bit over cooked.

DAY 2: Time for some action in the sea
We took a day tour package to Pulau Payar Marine Park. It cost about RM120 per head.
The shuttle bus will collect participants along Pantai Cenang main road.
Then we board the ferry at Kuah Jetty. About an hour boat ride into the open sea.

Once we reach Pulau Payar, we will have to take another transit boat to the island.

If you are lucky, you get to board a transit boat that has glass bottom for you to get a teaser of what to expect in Pulau Payar.

The water is really clear and shallow. Good for kids.

The main attraction for me is swimming with the sharks. Don't worry, these are small sized reef sharks. Very friendly. I sat in the water quietly and they would swam by nonchalantly.

 The less attractive part: 

The place is too packed. 

There are no clean water other than sea water and rain water. 

The tour operator do not care about the environment. The signboards on dos and don'ts were left unheeded. The tourists feed the fishes with all kinds of food that I wonder if the fishes might get diarhea later.

THE MUST KNOW:

1. Bring plenty of water. The drinking water there is expensive.
2. Be wary of jellyfish. They are small in size but sting just as bad. 
3. Bring clothes and towel to change. 
4. Food included in the tour package is pretty bland. Bring backups if you have fussy eaters.

DAY 3: It's time to go up the Cable Car way

The cable car station is like a carnival. There are museums, arcades, rides and shops. To take the cable car, you have to buy tickets and entry to ride the cable cars are scheduled based on specific time.

NOTE: As you enter for the cable car ride, you can rent a pair of binoculars for RM10. Can be quite fun for the kids.

 The scenery and photography opportunities are ample along the way.

 The views either upwards or downwards are just as impressive.

Now about this sky bridge. When we were there, the proposed lift is not completed yet. So we have to pay to hike some very steep and narrow forest path to reach the bridge. My advise, those with bad knee, elders and children, may have to reconsider.

 NOTE: There are no shade on the bridge. Apply plenty of sun block and bring cap/umbrella. We got toasted bad. Even the top of our head (and we are not bald).

After coming down from the hill, we visited the 3D Art Museum. It was fun posing and taking crazy pictures with family.

 Walking around, there are also places kids can feed the fishes. I'd say, plan to spend a whole day here. There are plenty to do.

DAY 4: Must Not Miss the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park (Unesco Geopark)

We engaged a tour guide, which was worth it as he took care to explain many of the natural plants and wildlife in the area. As he is a local, he shared many of the plants uses and identification of good seafood (slurp)

The tour guide fetched us from our place of stay along the main road of Pantai Chenang. We were driven to the Kilim Jetty. We took a private boat since there were 6 of us.

We were brought to visit bat cave. The tour guide took the effort to explain the mangrove eco system to us. Introduced us to some of the mangrove trees and its uses.

The end of the trip we were brought to a floating restaurant. There were few sea creatures kept there where tourist can feed them. 

The highlight for me was feeding the stingray. They were huge. 

The kids get to touch them when they climbed up for feeding.

Note: Bring along hats, jackets and raincoat. It rained on the way back and it was cold.

In the evening, we went to the Underwater World. There was an Earthquake and Typhoon Pavillion. We paid about RM18-RM20 per person, we went into a standing platform and got ourselves shaken, blown and wet. What just happened? Was it worth it? Well, it is something we could laugh about now? Everyone came out wet, some part or another.

That was our holiday. The last day was spent eating, packing and flying home. Are there anything else to do? Yes. Till the next time we are there...

Honour in meeting a good samaritan

No no no... the person in the photo isn't the good samaritan. The photo is simply the great beginning of our journey to a tyre puncture in the middle of nowhere. This was how it began...

We went to Langkawi for a part leisure and part explorative tour. We hired a car at a bargain price. Happily we drove all around the island without a map. Just go along and stop whenever and wherever we feel like it. We kinda know that hired car tend to have inaccurate fuel tank indicator. Hence we had a good sense of pumping the petrol and apply some mathematical skills to estimate the total amount of kilometres we could make at certain amount of petrol. So far so good, and we applauded ourselves for our "wisdom". As we travel along the coast, the steering wheel felt heavier by the seconds. We started to feel a mild wobble in the car. Oh o! We knew what it was before we even got down the car. Sigh... well little hitches like this isn't a problem for both of us. We are experienced tyre changers. That was what we thought, until we checked the boot. Wowho... No tools except for a half filled spare. Don't panic, we could always call the agent. He said he could make it in an hour's time. An hour? Along this lonely winding road?I saw a Nissan coming. I started flagging for the car. Ben said no one will stop for us. Before he finish his sentence, the car cruise to a stop in front of us. A middle aged guy came down and walked to us smilingly. Why is he smiling? All the CSI horror took over my mind - scary. But we were desperate. We told him what happened. Without skipping a beat, he went straight to his car and took out the tools. Relief...nope! The tools doesn't fit our car's tyre screw. He assured us to relax eventhough the sky looks like it is going to get dark and rain pretty soon. He asked us to stay put, while he drove to get the required tools from his relative. He came back later with the right tools and helped us change the tyre. He never stop smiling and chatting with us. After everything is completed, he started packing and put the tools back into his car. I asked Ben if we should pay him some money. But how much? He is driving a Nissan, are we gonna pay him ten twenty bucks? As we were walking towards him, we were thinking his demand might be higher than what we have. As we reached him, he turned around and shaked our hands. He never said a word but shoved a souvenir into Ben's hand. And from that day onwards, we do not call bananas as bananas, but we call it a good samaritan's gift.
Mistakes learnt:

1. Check that the car you have just hired are equipped with all the necessary tools.
2. People from the city cannot underestimate the generosity of people outside the city.
3. Mosquitoes in the forests are very much larger and stronger than their town cousins.

Chenang Beach, Langkawi

Chenang Beach, Langkawi, originally uploaded by everythingasian.

If you like the beach, Langkawi is a good choice. What's more, the beer here is duty free. It may not mean a lot if your country does not have staggerring duties taxed on alcohol. But for us, oh it's heaven here.
Drinks aside, you'll find the island is full of legends and folk tales. Not much to boast except beaches at some part of the island is still beautiful. Water is still clear. We actually have fishes swimming around us in the sea. I think that says a lot more about a beach.