Langkawi is a back-pack destination. What do I mean by that? You put three T-shirts, 2 shorts, your bathing suit, toiletry bag, camera, a good book into your back-pack, call the cab and drive off to Terminal 2 at Changi Airport!
It's a perfect weekend beach destination from Singapore. Now that we're talking about beaches ... I'm very curious to see if Langkawi measures up. I have to be honest that I've heard very mixed reviews about Langkawi over the years ... from 'wow, spectacular palm-lined sandy beaches' ... to, 'well, there's really nothing there to do'.
So with back-pack in place ... off I go to the airport to catch up with Robin, who's flying in from Zurich ... to board the Silk Air flight to Langkawi.
Landing in Langkawi you realize that Langkawi is not an island, but a cluster of islands. Located on the Western side of peninsular Malaysia, just off the Thai border, this archipelago is picture perfect. Although a tropical island, at this time of the year the landscape was uncharacteristically brown, which is due to the lack of rain that they've had over the past couple of months.
The beaches are idyllic, with beautiful long strips of white sand, lined with palm trees. Looking towards the horizon you see all the different islets close-by, stationary in the sea, changing colours and texture as the day and light changes. What was impressive is the peacefulness and quietness of the Pantai Tengah beach, which is in the south-western part of the island. There was no loud music, no screaming kids, no obnoxious groups ... just sun, sea and the sound of wind rustling through the palm trees. And as we drove around the island, it was wonderful to see the streets and towns clean of litter.
Yet the one thing that bothered me was that the water was not overly clear. It was very murky. You could have been in a lake. You didn't have to walk far into the water before you didn't see your feet anymore. I thought this may have been just on our beach, but when we did the island-hopping tour, I realized that the water was murky everywhere. Moreover, there are jelly fish in this part of the island. I was warned about it in the Lonely Planet that I browsed beforehand, but was convinced of it when we saw a huge jellyfish ... and I mean huge ... stranded on the beach on our first morning walk. You would not want that to end up on your head as you dive in!! And perhaps the water clearness and jellyfish are seasonal, like in parts of Thailand, but in January the water was such.
To end, I've come to the conclusion that Langkawi is the perfect weekend destination where you book yourself into a luxury resort, pamper yourself, relax by reading a book, go for a few tours and then return home relaxed, tanned and re-energized.
It's not a party island, it didn't seem to have the clearest water, and somehow lacks the refined air of Bali ... said that, you will still have plenty of natural beauty to wow you every evening when the sun sets into the sea.
HOW TO GET THERE:
The first thing I love about Malaysia ... no visa required! Always a great bonus. And secondly, getting to Langkawi is easy. From Singapore you can fly Silk Air and the flight is only 75 min.
Arriving to the modern airport in Langkawi was a breeze. Customs and pick-up of luggage was very efficient, so it was in no time that we were heading towards our hotel.
While at the airport, make sure you get some cash from the ATM's. Going around the island, I did not see many ATM's ... so the advise is, get cash when you see a bank machine! The other one I saw was at the Underwater World on Pantai Tengah.
On the way home, our flight leaving at 2045, we decided to have dinner at the airport. Wrong decision! We ended up eating at Kenny Roger's (for a lack of choice) and regretted the dinner soon after. My advise ... eat in town!
HOTELS:
> Hotel Frangipani: is a simple hotel on the long strip of beach at Pantai Tengah, on the south-western part of the island. We had a simple bungalow right on the beach ... the water little over a hundred metres away. The hotel is a so-called eco-resort, where they educate the staff and guests how to operate harmoniously with the environment. This includes training staff and guests on recycling, reusing and reducing in a resort environment. Amongst other activities, the resort collects rain-water to supplement its water needs and also has it's own wetlands where chickens and ducks are bred for eggs and meat, as well as where they grow various crops. Although I'm ashamed to say it ... what I also loved here is that they had excellent wi-fi coverage all over the resort. For example, at this moment I'm sitting right on the beach facing the sea and the islands in front of me ... and am online! Gotta love modern tech!!!
> Bon Ton Resort: a 'simple yet stylish' boutique hotel/restaurant in Pantai Cenang. The property has several different types of rooms in beautifully restored old Colonial, Chinese, Penang and Black & White houses, that were brought to this plot of land from the mainland. Besides, the grounds are beautifully manicured with several long and modern lap pools. From the restaurant area you're overlooking a pond filled with lotus flowers, and the bar adjacent to the restaurant is a perfect place for a gin tonic, while playing cards with your mates. And if you're wondering why there are so many cats roaming around ... it's because the Bon Ton is also a cat and dog shelter. The only downfall, it's not located by a beach ... instead it's right next to the airport. But it may well be worth the 'inconvenience'!
> Casa del Mar: this is the other boutique hotel that I saw, but didn't get a chance to go in. The exterior looked like a Spanish hacienda and was done very tastefully. The people I talked to said it was a very nice property. Plus it's on the beach!
> the luxury hotels The Datai Resort, Four Seasons Resort and Tanjung Rhu Resort are all located in the northern part of the island, which is more isolated yet more pristine. If you're a Singapore Resident, check for special discounts that some hotels give for guests living in the MerLion City.
> A day at the Four Seasons Resort and Spa
THINGS TO DO:
> island-hopping half-day tour: this is the way to see the beauty of the Langkawi archipelago. A variant of a long-boat takes you to three nearby islands, which gives you a glimpse of the lush tropical nature that comprises the many beautiful islands that are sprinkled around this western part of Malaysia, right on the Thai border. We first went to Pulau Dayan Bunting (Island of the Pregnant Maiden). This, the second largest island in the archipelago, where the majority of the island is a Geoforest Park, also has a sizeable lake in the southern part. As the boat approached the Island of the Pregnant Maiden, you will see why it's been given such a name. It has something to do with the topography of the island, as seen from sea level :-) Once the boat moors there, you're given an hour to do the short hike up to the lake, observe the multitude of cute monkeys that try to snatch everything away from you, and then you can either swim in the lake or rent a water bicycle and peddle around. The next island is Pulau Singa Besar which is an eagle sanctuary. This time you don't disembark from the boat, but you moor the boat just off the mangrove filled coastline and observe the eagles dive into the water to hunt for their prey. It's nature at its best ... the simple process of acquiring food with utmost grace and agility. This is also where we learnt that Langkawi means Lang- for eagle and kawi- for rock. Seeing the big white and brown eagles dive into the water ... it made sense! The last stop is Pulau Beras Basah, an island with a beautiful sandy beach where you stop for a swim, and if you've ordered a BBQ with your tour, this is where you have your lunch. After some tanning and swimming and eating (if you paid the supplement!!!) you then head back home to the harbour where it all started. The downside to this tour ... don't think that you're the only one/party/boat going out. We were enjoying the lake, eagle watching and swimming at the beach with hundreds of other people. Private this tour is not :-)
> Alun-Alun Spa: if you come here for a massage, I would skip the package deals and just go for a massage. I did the Healing Package ... and was not overly impressed!!
> cable car to top off Gunung Machinchang: I would have liked to do this, however, although sunny, most of the days we had on Langkawi were quite hazy with visibility not being so great. So to take the cable car to the top of Machinchang (708 m) and see a bunch of haze ... we decided to instead do the boat trip ... which I highly recommend in any case.
> Outdoor activities: from jungle walks, mangrove treks to all the imagineable water sports, island-hopping day-trips with a yacht or fishing trips ... Langkawi has got it. And the agency recommended for booking your trips is Asian Overland Services.
RESTAURANTS:
> Bon Ton Restaurant: what a fantastic al fresco dinner place! A wonderfully refined environment, with great service ... and exquisite local food. Try the Nyonya Platter, a combo of 9 different local (Chinese and Malay) specialities. A sensory delight. And if you're still hungry, the desserts are tasty and the portions huge!
> Sunsutra Nouveau Restaurant: located right across from the Frangipani Hotel, the King Prawns in a cream sauce were to die for! A fantastic place for an exquisite dinner with a very modern-Balinese design. They also had some impressive metal art pieces ... the vase made out of metal ribbons and the sperm like statue gracing the entrance were especially astounding.
Bojan Tercon
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