Langkawi, Malaysia - page one of three

25 June to 4 July 2013

Tracey and I revisited Langkawi, a holiday island off the coast of Malaysia. The pictures are a mix from both of us.

Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th June 2013

Our plane to Kuala Lumpur...

...was delayed so we missed our connection for the flight to Langkawi, but Malaysia Airlines were well organised and there was a man waiting for us when we landed with new boarding passes for a plane 90 minutes later.

This was also delayed slightly, the result being Tracey and I arrived on the island at noon on Wednesday rather than 9.30am. This didn't really matter as check-in to the Langkawi Lagoon Resort wasn't till 3pm.

Some of the hotel rooms were on stilts going out into the sea (but not our room).

The hotel swimming pool looked nice but we never went in it; we did all our swimming in the sea and lakes.

As it was, they let us check in straight away but we needed to wait for half an hour while our room was readied. We spent the time drinking our welcoming drink, a strange turquoise thing, but very refreshing.

The room was nice, spacious and as its name suggested (Hill View Deluxe) had a view of the hills.

Neither of us got much sleep on the plane, so we had a three hour nap and then took a taxi to an area of the island we knew well from our last trip. We were a little disappointed that a lot of the beach bars have disappeared and replaced by people hiring out ski-jets. We did though have a drink at the Babylon Bar, which we think was called Reggae Bar last time, while we watched the sunset.

We ate at a Thai restaurant. Tracey had flattened chicken and rice and I had chicken and pineapple fried rice. We then did some shopping for provisions before heading back to the hotel.

Nothing particularly interesting to report on the beer front - Chang from Thailand, Tiger from Singapore and Sapporo from Japan - basic mass produced lagers; Tiger was the best of them.

Thursday 27th June 2013

There was a really impressive range of food to suit all nationalities at breakfast.

After we'd eaten, Tracey and I were picked up at the hotel and taken to Jetty Kilim for the Kilim River tour. Here are the pictures form the Kalim River tour.

That night, we went out for a not too good meal, had a few drinks and retired exhausted after our river tour.

Friday 28th June 2013

After breakfast, we went for a walk down the beach.

We booked an island hopping boat tour for 2pm, but at lunchtime we were hit by a massive thunderstorm the result of which meant the sea was too rough for the boat trip, so we re-arranged for Sunday.

We had lunch in an English tea house (very nice steak pie).

We then did some shopping and headed for the beach. It was still raining, but we did the British thing of me paddling in the sea with my jeans rolled up and wearing a hat. Later, Tracey lay on a sun lounge sipping wine while holding an umbrella.

We were rewarded shortly after when the rain stopped and the sun came out and we went swimming properly.

Tracey found a baby:

That stretch of beach was where we stayed last time and we were pleased to discover the Oasis Bar had survived the cull, so we spent the early evening there eating dinner, drinking beer (Tiger) and wine while watching the sun go down.

Saturday 29th June 2013

Today we hired a car; Tracey did the driving and I, sort of, the navigating.

We headed for the north of the island and our first stop was the Langkawi Craft Complex (no photography allowed), a mix of shops and two museums dedicated to the island’s culture. Did you know that shadow theatre was traditionally performed at circumcision ceremonies?

After a couple of attempts, we found the black sand beach, though only bits of the beach were black and it provided a lovely view of the cement works.

We took our lives in our hands and walked out along the rustic (rickety) pier...

...and then back to the car and along the beach road and discovered, wait for it, the Scarborough Fish ’n’ Chips Shop. This beach side café was run by a guy called Dhillon who lived for eight years in Leeds and used to go to Scarborough for his fish and chips. We didn’t try the fish but the chips were very authentic.

Next, we took a long and winding road (about 13km) to the highest point on Langkawi – Gunung Raya – to eat in the Sunset Café, which was closed for lunch. So Tracey settled for a cup of tea and me a beer while we admired the view.

From there on to the island’s capital Kuah, where we had a look at the famous eagle statue and walked a little on the beach.

We nipped back to the hotel, showered and changed and went back to Kuah for the night market. A little shopping and eating ended the day.

Given the lack of good beer, I bought some bottles of the Belgian La Trappe Blond from a supermarket to drink in the hotel room and Tracey a bottle of Vodka Mudshake.

Sunday 30th June 2013

In the morning we went on the beach and swam in the sea and had lunch at the English Tea Rooms.

Birds on the beach (above)

Some people make normal sized sand castles...

...but some people just have to make the biggest.

In the afternoon, we went on the island hopping tour that had been postponed from Friday.

Here are pictures from the island hopping tour.

That evening I watched the grand prix in Debbie’s Irish Bar. This mean this year I have watched the Malaysian Grand Prix in Britain and the British Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Monday 1st July 2013

Monday turned out to be a bit of a dead day as we both woke up with holiday tummy.

Tuesday 2nd July2013

Tracey and I were still feeling a bit weak after yesterday and neither of us could manage much food, but we did go down to the beach in the morning and sat watching the waves and had some photos taken by this odd sign.

In the afternoon, we took a cab to the Oriental Village and spent some time walking around the shops. Tracey was attacked by rabbits.

Tracey enjoys feeding the rabbits...

...until one of them bites her.

Tracey inspects the damage.

In the afternoon, we went for another walk along the beach and then Tracey bought some Vodka Mudshakes to bring back to England, where apparently they are very difficult to get.

Wednesday 3rd July2013

We started our last day on Langkawi with another trip to the beach and a little bit of swimming, despite the sea being quite rough, and then back to the hotel to pack for the journey home. We both made it back safely if more than a little tired and achy after the long flight.

And, finally, thanks to Melati for doing our laundry.

Here are pictures from the Kalim River tour.

Here are pictures from the island hopping tour.

Here is an article I wrote about eating and drinking on Langkawi.

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