Langkawi

Days 60-63

Our twin hulled ferry speeds us away once again from the pier, this time from Langawki Island towards the Thai mainland.  We have been sleeping late and exploring Langkawi at our own pace, which although quite developed and frequented by tourists is absolutely stunning and of course being Malaysia, the food is second to none.

The main resort in Langkawi is at Pantai Cenang, which is a 25km taxi ride away from the ferry dock. We shared the taxi ride with an Australian couple who like many of the tourists here appear to be on short term holidays. In one sense this leaves us jealous as these guys seem to spend money willy nilly, but on the other we can smile smugly safe in the knowledge that they will be returning to work in a week or two while we are exploring a new destination. Interestingly, most if not a healthy percentage of the tourists here are Muslim from various countries judging from the women's headdress. The Saudi women in particular are a comical (sorry but it is!) sight parading down the beach completely shrouded in black beside their husbands donned in swim trunks. I couldn’t imagine how hot it would be under all that black, but I guess if they are used to 50°C (122°F) heat in their home country 32°C (90°F) should be no problem.

Langkawi is our first stop on our last bout of beach hopping as we make our north up the Malay Peninsula towards Bangkok. Cenang Beach is a fairly well developed strip of restaurants, hotels, and souvenir shops not dissimilar to Belmont Shore in Long Beach, California (without the horrendous traffic to get there). And being a Southern California belle my wife's favourite place is the beach, so that's the first place we headed. Being deathly pale who's annual trip to the beach in Rosnowlagh involved a freezing Donegal Bay coupled with sunburn, the beach isn't quite my scene, but I don't mind it as long as I have a good umbrella or an overcast day. Cenang was indulging me this time though with overcast skies, which didn't help the beach aesthetics but it was stunning none the less, immediately triggering the debate about the best beach so far; the current title holder being Goa's Palolem. Judging purely on beach looks alone Palolem's sweeping crescent probably shades it but Cenang wins this one over all with its tropical island setting and lack of gawking locals.

South of Langkawi lies a series of small uninhabited islands. They are shaped in the limestone karst cliffs that are stereotypical a South East Asian island paradise and we took a day trip out to them on Tuesday (23rd). One of the islands has a freshwater lake that is actually below sea level enclosed by the cliffs, apparently inhabited by a white crocodile, but this didn’t deter my wife from instigating a bout of cannonballing (waterbombing) among the bathers. Another island had a beautiful beach inhabited by thieving monkeys, one of which wasted no time in having a look in my wife's momentarily unattended bag and he was remarkably unwavering in his inquisitiveness as I ran towards him shouting. Eventually though I was close enough for him to judge a getaway was the best option and he prowled off empty handed. 

One thing that Langkawi does not lack is quality food and it is just as cheap here as on the mainland. On Tuesday night we rode our rented scooter the few miles away to the weekly night market. The night market has a weekly rotation around different locations on the island, selling mainly food and drink. At least that is what we were there for and we wandered the stalls sampling the different foods which mainly involves barbequed meat on a stick in different guises, including traditional Malay satay sauce. All super delicious and cheap, we left with our stomachs full as well as our pockets. On top of the hawker stands and curry houses, the night markets are an additional star on the already amazing repertoire of Malaysian cuisine.

Much to my dismay the small backpack that I had purchased at a Kuala Lumpur market started to tear apart after only a week of use, so another one had to be purchased (yes I know there's a lesson to be learned there somewhere!).  I bought another this time from a proper shop, as you may know I am not the biggest fan of golf, but an Arnold Palmer branded bag got the nod. It looks the sturdiest and the best value and I am fairly confident that this one should last out the trip.

Yesterday (24th) with our scooter, we visited the area around the limestone craig Gunung Mat ChinChang that overhangs everything in Langkawi. It has a wonderful waterfall and pot holes called the Seven Wells on its slopes. But to top it all off, there is a cable car going right to the top of the mountain, an impressive bit of Engineering, but it is an incredibly steep incline over the jungle canopy that left my wife white with fear. On reaching the top of the island you are rewarded with incredible views of the island and the surrounding sea. 

Having cleared immigration we have now officially left Malaysia and it safe to say we have enjoyed our time here. Food is the main attraction in Malaysia along with KL's skyscrapers, Penang's history and Langkawi's natural beauty. Also let’s not forget in our case the return to relative civilisation after travelling in India.

But it wouldn’t be fair to leave Malaysia without mentioning the famous Durian. There are many tropical fruits in Malaysia but the lingering stench from these brutes is everywhere in this country and the taste is renowned as a great divider. Pictured in the front left to the photo below the Durian looks like a medival mace that has been bent out of shape, the outer shell is cracked open to reveal a yellow flesh surrounding the inner stone and the flesh is the creamy goodness (?) that Malaysians crave. I remembered them from my last trip to Malaysia and my memory told me that I liked them so I was keen to get another taste and for my wife to try one. We bought some from a market stand in KL and we both absolutely hated it. I was telling myself that it was an acquired taste and that I liked it before so I persisted until it was all gone. Once finished I started jogging my memory to my last encounter with a Durian and I remembered that I had actually hated it on that occasion as well! Oh well, only had 24 hours of burps and repeating from the stink to live with. So although Malaysia has amazing street food I will have to refrain from naming it the culinary capital of the world based on the existence of these dreadful things.

We are now headed to southern Thailand, famous for its glorious beaches and islands. Although plentiful, many of the islands are now high end resorts or crawling with rowdy "gap year" students, so deciding on one was our biggest problem. We settled on the Trang islands in the south as they are relatively undeveloped islands and don't require a torturous journey for island hopping, so our next stop is Koh Mook.