We arrived in Langkawi, off the north west coast of Penninsula Malaysia (just north of Penang) on Monday after a 90 min flight and took a taxi to Holiday Villa and Beach Resort at Pantai Tengah. This ride took us past Pantai Cenang which is the main tourist strip. Our resort was at the southern end of Pantai Tengah. Langkawi's main draw cards are its beaches and green interior. A cluster of 99 islands, most of Langkawi’s offshore islets are jungleclad atolls, or karsts. The main island, Pulau Langkawi, has a mountainous interior, encircled by villages, rice paddies and jungle-covered hills. It seems to draw most of its tourism as a result of its duty-free status since all the tourists leaving our resort in the ensuing days had bags and bags of shopping. We went straight across the road to Cactus for lunch then after a rest went for a walk around the grounds and along the beach, the longest stretch of beach on the main island. We still haven't seen the sun.
Langkawi is known for the most beautiful beaches in Malaysia, and that may well be true, but they just don't rate with Australian beaches. From the waterline the sand reaches tall coconuts and casuarinas behind which are quite a few restaurant choices, spas, tour operators as well as a mix of low-budget hotels and a few all-inclusive resorts which stretch all the way to a small cape that separates P. Tengah from P. Cenang. Between these it is common to find many ugly building sites that look like they haven't seen action for a long time and may never see a completion date. On the water people were enjoying parasailing and boat trips.
We finished up at the swim-up bar in the pool. The relaxing and drinking continued on the Munro balcony before dinner at the Boat Restaurant again, just across the road. So far, so good, although there was no sign of a sunset despite our outlook across the beach to the west.
We had arranged a bird watching morning on Tuesday with Dev's Adventure Tours and Heather decided to join us since Michael and Duncan were going jet skiing. Unfortunately it was overcast and threatening rain and even though we had the opportunity to cancel we decided to go ahead. We were met by Wendy who took us to a mangroves area first, then up Gunung Raya, the tallest mountain, and then to rice paddy and pond habitat. We saw more than 30 different species, some new ones for us, despite the weather. Migratory birds from North Asia, which migrate south along the East Asian flyway to spend winter in Indonesia and Australia, are naturally funneled through this area. Resident birds include a variety of Kingfishers which love the mangrove areas.
The rare Brown-winged Kingfisher was one of our first finds.
The Common Kingfisher is not at all common in this part of the world so it was a thrill to find it too.
The Collared Kingfisher is more common, and noisy too.
The Oriental Pied and Great Hornbill were both highlights too.
Birds are not the only thing you find in the skies overhead. Here, parasailing is very popular with the tourists and the newest form is Tandem Trike Pramotor.
The overcast skies continued so we spent the rest of the day on the balcony sending emails and reading. What struck us both about holidaying in a Malaysian resort was how many Malaysian tourists there are. It shows how the country's economy has improved in the 30 years since we holidayed at The Golden Sands or Bayfront in Batu Feringhi and all the customers were westerners. Dinner was at Istanbul Restaurant in Pantai Cenang, about a 20 min walk.
We woke to the sound of rain on Christmas Eve, the conditions are getting worse instead of better. Looking up the weather forecast we are in for stormy weather today and tomorrow, and then it doesn't look like it will improve much. Unexpected for this time of the year and it is quite widespread affecting Singapore, peninsular Malaysia and further afield. We jumped puddles to get across the road to Cactus which served a great breakfast then read until it looked clear enough to venture downtown again for supplies and a light lunch. We didn't want to eat much since our hotel booking includes a banquet tonight to celebrate Christmas Eve. Eric and I ventured out for a walk looking for birds in the afternoon but instead found a lovely outlook just around the point on Tanjung Malai overlooking the islands to the south.
The food was limited only by how much a person can eat in one sitting and we did our best. As traditional fare they had seafood platters for entree, roast turkey and beef for main and plum pudding for dessert. Alongside all that were the trimmings and Asian style banquet offerings as well. Like I said, we did our best. We were entertained by singing and dancing, Santa arrived for the little ones and a guitarist did some pretty good impersonations of Jimi Hendrix. Who would have thought we'd be listening to a Jimi impersonator on Xmas Eve? Finally there were the lucky draw prizes and we were among the winners, taking home a shirt, hat and bag.
On the morning of Christmas Day we woke to clearing skies so after a tipple of champagne and some croissants on the Munro balcony we had a light breakfast at Cactus and then made our way poolside.
We tried in vain to Skype with family during the day but the network was struggling so had to give that away. We wandered back downtown to the end of P.Tengah for lunch at La Chocalatine, a French bakery we had spotted earlier that supplied those croissants. The furnishings were simple, in fact we chose to sit on the patio, while the the focal point is the display cabinet featuring brioche, the flaky croissants, mouthwatering chocolate delights and raspberry tartlettes to mention a few. The chef loves entertaining and bemusing his clients with French questions and responses so was very entertaining and his Salade Nicoise c'est fantastique!
The weather deteriorated in the afternoon, can you see the rain bucketing down here?
The next morning we hired a car and went driving. It was a pleasantly clear day so we headed first to the Cable Car. From the base, you are taken up to Gunung Machincang on gondolas for views of the surrounding forests, the Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells) waterfall, as well as out to the Andaman Sea and a number of the islands in the archipelago.
The best decision we made at the base was to skip the huge queues by paying for express lane tickets which still only cost about Sg$40.
At the Intermediate Station, we were able to alight and join a guided nature walk for about half an hour before continuing to the top.
Had binoculars for a chance sighting of birds but we were all too busy watching our footing in the damp conditions.
At the top station platforms provide views with cool breezes, at 708m above sea-level. There is a skybridge here too, but it is closed for maintenance at the moment.
From there we went on to the bottom of the Seven Wells waterfall. We were all looking for some lunch by the time we arrived but we discovered that this was not the best place to be served good food.
We ambled up to the lower pool and watched for awhile as the water cascaded down. It was impressive to see from the cable car but none of us were interested in scrambling to the top pool.
One of the best things here was seeing the Dusky Leaf Monkey or Spectacled Langur. Grey-black in colour, this species is easily recognised by the white rings around the eyes.
We dropped Duncan back at the hotel and then drove on to Kuah Town, the main town located on the southeast corner of the island. It was very unimpressive but we did find Langkawi Fair which advertised Clarke shoes and I found 2 pairs that fitted. Since the island is duty free that was a bargain.
Then, as we had a coffee, it began to rain and continued to get heavier and heavier; a real tropical downpour where vision was significantly reduced and water was soon overflowing gutters and garden beds alike. We watched it until it seemed to ease a little and then Michael carefully drove us home. It continued to rain though not so heavily, so we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant.
We woke to sunny skies in the morning of our last day (typical) so made our way to the beach and lounged under the shade of the trees and umbrellas provided.
Very nice. First time we have really done this for any length of time. Look at that blue sky and there are shadows!
After lunch we shared the extended time in the Munro's room as they had arranged a late check out. Our Air Asia flight departed on time and we arrived home....to more rain. But the good news is we were not one of the 155 passengers returning on Air Asia from Surabaya to Singapore just a few hours later. Our thoughts are with their families.
The Oriental Pied and Great Hornbill were both highlights too.
Birds are not the only thing you find in the skies overhead. Here, parasailing is very popular with the tourists and the newest form is Tandem Trike Pramotor.
The overcast skies continued so we spent the rest of the day on the balcony sending emails and reading. What struck us both about holidaying in a Malaysian resort was how many Malaysian tourists there are. It shows how the country's economy has improved in the 30 years since we holidayed at The Golden Sands or Bayfront in Batu Feringhi and all the customers were westerners. Dinner was at Istanbul Restaurant in Pantai Cenang, about a 20 min walk.
We woke to the sound of rain on Christmas Eve, the conditions are getting worse instead of better. Looking up the weather forecast we are in for stormy weather today and tomorrow, and then it doesn't look like it will improve much. Unexpected for this time of the year and it is quite widespread affecting Singapore, peninsular Malaysia and further afield. We jumped puddles to get across the road to Cactus which served a great breakfast then read until it looked clear enough to venture downtown again for supplies and a light lunch. We didn't want to eat much since our hotel booking includes a banquet tonight to celebrate Christmas Eve. Eric and I ventured out for a walk looking for birds in the afternoon but instead found a lovely outlook just around the point on Tanjung Malai overlooking the islands to the south.
The food was limited only by how much a person can eat in one sitting and we did our best. As traditional fare they had seafood platters for entree, roast turkey and beef for main and plum pudding for dessert. Alongside all that were the trimmings and Asian style banquet offerings as well. Like I said, we did our best. We were entertained by singing and dancing, Santa arrived for the little ones and a guitarist did some pretty good impersonations of Jimi Hendrix. Who would have thought we'd be listening to a Jimi impersonator on Xmas Eve? Finally there were the lucky draw prizes and we were among the winners, taking home a shirt, hat and bag.
On the morning of Christmas Day we woke to clearing skies so after a tipple of champagne and some croissants on the Munro balcony we had a light breakfast at Cactus and then made our way poolside.
We tried in vain to Skype with family during the day but the network was struggling so had to give that away. We wandered back downtown to the end of P.Tengah for lunch at La Chocalatine, a French bakery we had spotted earlier that supplied those croissants. The furnishings were simple, in fact we chose to sit on the patio, while the the focal point is the display cabinet featuring brioche, the flaky croissants, mouthwatering chocolate delights and raspberry tartlettes to mention a few. The chef loves entertaining and bemusing his clients with French questions and responses so was very entertaining and his Salade Nicoise c'est fantastique!
The next morning we hired a car and went driving. It was a pleasantly clear day so we headed first to the Cable Car. From the base, you are taken up to Gunung Machincang on gondolas for views of the surrounding forests, the Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells) waterfall, as well as out to the Andaman Sea and a number of the islands in the archipelago.
At the Intermediate Station, we were able to alight and join a guided nature walk for about half an hour before continuing to the top.
At the top station platforms provide views with cool breezes, at 708m above sea-level. There is a skybridge here too, but it is closed for maintenance at the moment.
From there we went on to the bottom of the Seven Wells waterfall. We were all looking for some lunch by the time we arrived but we discovered that this was not the best place to be served good food.
We dropped Duncan back at the hotel and then drove on to Kuah Town, the main town located on the southeast corner of the island. It was very unimpressive but we did find Langkawi Fair which advertised Clarke shoes and I found 2 pairs that fitted. Since the island is duty free that was a bargain.
We woke to sunny skies in the morning of our last day (typical) so made our way to the beach and lounged under the shade of the trees and umbrellas provided.
After lunch we shared the extended time in the Munro's room as they had arranged a late check out. Our Air Asia flight departed on time and we arrived home....to more rain. But the good news is we were not one of the 155 passengers returning on Air Asia from Surabaya to Singapore just a few hours later. Our thoughts are with their families.
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