Langkawi

A Travel Journal by K.A. Lim
Langkawi
11th Dec - 14th Dec 2006

Air Asia with it's "now everyone can fly" tagline painted on the side of the Airbus 737 certainly makes travelling much more affordable. I booked through the net onto this no frills of food and drinks on board budget airlines and begin my travel exploration on my new journey of retirement life. Departing form Kuala Lumpur LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal), the flight took about an hour to arrive at Langkawi.

Langkawi is made up of 99 islands. Situated north of Penang in the Malaysian state of Kedah, travellers can make their way there by air or by ferry from Kuala Perlis, Kuala Kedah and Penang.

After collecting our baggage from the Langkawi Airport conveyor (AirAsia allows only 7kg hand held bag per person on board; baggage in excess of the 7kg has to be checked in) and some tourist brochures, guide map of the island from the Tourist Information counter, we approached the car rental counters located inside the arrival hall and hired ourselves a Nissan Sentra car for 3 1/2 day at RM350. The rental does not include fuel and the fuel gauge was indicating low. Driving out of the airport, we immediately looked for the nearest petrol kiosk and topped up the tank for RM45 of petrol. We had booked the AirAsia package with accommodation at The City Bayview Hotel situated at Kuah town. It took us about 30 minutes driving to the hotel. Located right at the heart of down-town Kuah, the hotel is only a stone's throw away from the seafront and the shopping-cum-business complexes.

The name 'Kuah' is a Malay word meaning 'gravy' and is associated with an ancient legend of two battling giants who overturned a gigantic pot of curry at the spot where the town now stands. A replica of the giant pot was erected at the Legenda Park.

While my wife was having her massage at the hotel's spa, I went down to the lobby business center to book a trip to Pulau Payar for the next day's activity. The 7 hours package costs RM200 per person travelling by fast boat to the Langkawi Coral platform at Pulau Payar Marine Park. Buffet lunch is included as well as snorkeling and shark feeding activities. A cheaper rate of RM105 per person is offered by another tour company which takes one to a picnic at the island beach.

In the evening, when the sun is less intense, we went to the famous Eagle Square. According to local folklore, Langkawi is coined from the Malay word "Lang" and "Kawi". Lang is a brown eagle and Kawi is a local manganese stone. The ancient fishermen must have seen eagles flying clutching the manganese stone. Today a square is build at the Kuah Jetty with a magnificient statue of the brown eagle majestically poised for flight, overlooking the sea, greeting visitors arriving to the island. The square is also beautifully landscaped and features scenic ponds, bridges, covered terraces, restaurants and barrel vaults made of bricks. Its close proximity to the sea and the soft breezes makes it an ideal spot for leisurely walks in the cool evenings.

On the 2nd day, we had an early breakfast provided by the hotel. At 9am a van came to pick us up from the hotel and sent us to the Kuah Jetty. We were met by representatives of Langkawi Coral and, together with the rest of the holiday tourists, led through the jetty onto a modern air-conditioned fast boat for Pulau Payar Marine Park. The journey took an hour and we arrived at the company owned sheltered platform. Everyone was excited to get into the water but we were held back by the organiser, who briefed us on some do's and don'ts - such as no stepping on corals while in the water, allowing small fishes to feed from our hand but not catching them and no using of soap or shampoo during shower. Snorkel, mask, life vest and fins were provided but we prefered to use our own gear as we have bought them along.
The water is warm with lots of small fishes. However, we were disappointed that the water was not as clear as our snorkeling experience in Pulau Tioman. The wave was quite strong, causing us to float violently and preventing us from enjoying much of the brownish corals we saw. We had a wide selection of food for buffet lunch at noon onboard the platform. After lunch, the crew ferried us in a small boat to the jetty where they were going to feed sharks. They threw pieces of chicken meat from the jetty to attract the attention of the sharks. We saw many baby sharks as well as barracuda snapping up the bait. Later they went down knee deep into the water to feed the baby sharks at the beach front. The boat took us back to the platform and we had our fresh water shower at the 4 cubicles provided at the platform. While waiting for the rest, we went down behind the platform below the deck. It has a section underneath that is submerged in the water and with glass viewing windows. We could see many people snorkeling and many small fishes gathering close to them. At about 4pm we were taken back to Kuah jetty and buses were arranged to send us back to our hotel.

Our 3rd day began with an early breakfast before driving to the Bird Paradise Wildlife Park. For senior citizens, the entrance fee is RM10 per person. The 1st section displayed the parrots and they are very gentle when picking up the nuts we fed them. I am not a fan of caged animals as the next section housed monkeys, squirrels, crocodile, ebino peacock, eagle and many more. However I enjoyed walking into a large bird enclosure and had a wonderful time with the tiny love birds that flew and rested on our hands to feed the seeds on our palms. Before exiting, we passed through the souvenier shops and they have a wide variety of display. Next, we drove to Galeria Perdana, with an entrance fee of RM3 for senior citizens and RM2 per camera. This place houses the collection of gifts and awards given to Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammed during his 22 year reign as prime minister. We drove further and stopped at Air Hangat, a hot spring tourist attraction.

Further up, we stop at the Black Sand Beach and had a coconut drink before we proceeded to the Handicraft Center. We continue our journey to the Oriental Village. Entrance is free and there are 30 or more retail outlets offering a variety of souvenirs, handicrafts and T-shirts. The outlets were built in Asian style structures. Fountains, lakes, Japanese bridges, restaurants and the Oriental Village Inn can be found in this place as well. At the far end of the village is the Langkawi Cable Car Station. We were disappointed as the place was closed for maintenance works on that very day. Driving out the Oriental Village and turning left, we went to the Seven Well Waterfall. It was a steep climb of about 25 minutes before we could see the waterfall. The seven well is further up the climb and feeling tired we discontinued our journey. Sweating, hot and hungry, we drove back and stopped at a KFC outlet for a meal. Next we drove around visiting the Berjaya Hotel, Langkasuka Hotel, Pantai Cening and the Underwater World before heading back to our hotel for a rest. By night fall, we had a lovely seafood dinner by a river side and ended the night with some shopping of chocolates and Baileys Irish Cream at duty free shops at Kuah town.

On the 4th day, we were determined to complete our Langkawi experience by taking a ride on the cable car to Gunung Mat Chinchang. We arrived early and had to wait till 10am before we could buy our tickets at RM15 per person. The cable car ride was a great experience and it actually turned a corner at the mid section. Once we reached the top at 710m above sea level, we were greeted with a magnificent view of the island and the sea. We walked further down to the curved suspension bridge and were amazed at the structure constructed. With sunny weather and a blue sky dotted with white clouds, we took many pictures at this lovely location. We returned to our hotel and checked out by 1pm. We received a phone call as well as an SMS informing us by AirAsia that our 8:20 pm flight home that night has been retimed at 10:40pm. At a coffee shop, we had our favourite mee jawa and fried mee for lunch before we headed to the Fish Farm. The walk out to the Fish Farm is quite a distant from the shore on a shaky wooden walkway. There are several fish cages built on giant floating drums at the Fish Farm. We walked back to shore and had a plate of fried soft shelled crab at the Fish Farm restaurant. We droved to the airport and returned the rented car and did a last minute shopping at the duty free shop while waiting for our flight. At 10:40pm we were allowed to board the plane and were on our way home to KL. A memorial and pleasant domestic holiday trip.