Langkawi

Quick Facts

Type: Island
Best Date to Visit: May-Jul
Expense: Cheap
Things to Do: Jet Ski, Beach walks, Paragliding, Shopping, attractions
Points of Interest: Pantai Cenang beach, Eagle Square, Sky Bridge, Golf
The Good: There is something for everyone, quiet beaches
The Bad: Transport is somewhat difficult, too quiet for some

Brief

Langkawi is a group of islands on the west coast of Malaysia part of the Kedah state. Known as the Jewel of Kedah Langkawi is a popular place for tourism with its dive sites, many water sport activities and attractions within the main island.

Langkawi Experience

Langkawi was a place with bountiful attractions to see and a magnitude of activities to do. Langkawi was an itinerary I miss-planned when working on this visit, I only planned a two days stay resulting in not much time to see and do everything possible. Langkawi was an eye opener for me and I enjoyed every minute of it, I only wish I had stayed a little longer to see and do more. That’s a learning curve for me I guess, to never underestimate an area and do more research. However for the things I did do I cannot exaggerate the fun and enjoyment I had.

The Beaches

Firstly in Langkawi you must visit the beaches especially the ones in front of Pantai Tengah and Pantai Cenang. The sand was white and powdery and at times you will see amazing small crabs digging holes (harmless). Furthermore the beach is beautiful and scenic but best of all it was very quiet only seeing a few people from a space in the whole beach (well when I was there). At night although unlit the shores get a little more livelier with some shisha stands opening and a little more families roaming, this is a brilliant place to chill and unwind where some music are played and fire dancers perform.

The Pantai Cenang strip is a brighter and noisier place with various malls, market stands and restaurants. In my opinion this area or nearby place is the best place to stay as this is convenient for food, shops and even some attractions, other areas are difficult and may need some sort of transport.

One of my favourite place in Pantai Cenang and Langkawi altogether is the makeshift food truck park (I don’t know its formal name) which only appear in the evenings. Here you can dine on a budget with some of the most delicious food and drinks you can find on the island. There is a variety of different foods from burgers, local BBQ, rice dishes, fruits and many different beverages, anybody will be spoilt for choice. Furthermore these food trucks do have seats and tables usually reserved for customers who buy from their truck. A popular place for all tourists looking for a new experience.

There’s Plenty of Attractions

Pantai Kok probably has many of the most popular attraction in Langkawi. First we start with the best known mountain on the island Mt Mat Cincang which has a lot of attractions around its area. One of which is the Sky Bridge (cover attraction in Langkawi) the longest free span and curved bridge in the world. This is a brilliant place to visit and a sight to see even for me who is not brilliant with heights. To get here you will need to take the Langkawi Cable Car (Sky Cab) which is around a 15 minute ride from the oriental village to the top of Gunung Machinchang where the Sky Bridge is located. However after reaching the peak of the cable cart ride you will still need to get a Sky train or do a nature walk (tickets needed for both) in order to reach the sky bridge, a money rouse if you ask me. The SkyCab was safe and had brilliant views however in my opinion needs updating as it can get very hot inside the cabins as there is no air conditioning only small open windows. There are different types of cabins from standard, glass bottom and a VIP cart (don’t know the difference) however I’m not too sure about the prices. The Oriental Village below the mountains is an attraction in itself. My SkyCab ticket included 2 other attractions the 3D Museum which I thoroughly enjoyed and the Sky Rex a virtual reality simulation worthy to spare 5minutes for. There are also other attractions within this area but I deemed these would be for children and didn’t have the time. You can easily spend a whole day around this area alone (I spent half a day) as there is just so much to do, something for everyone.

Other attractions around Pantai Kok but missed due to time were the Telaga Harbour Park, Telaga Tujuh Waterfalls (seen from the Sky Cab), Bird Paradise, Crocodile Farm and many more. Not too happy about missing some of these.

Time for a Little Adrenaline Whilst Exploring

We also did one of the main activities to do in Langkawi the Jet Ski tour which we did with Wave Quest Watersport which was the company in front of our hotel. Its important to know there were plenty of different operators so I will just describe my experience with this company and I cannot guess the experience on other jet Ski tours. The tour we did was the Island tour which was a 6 hour tour visiting 8 different islands. The jet skis with this company were the one of the best quality I have ever used in a tour and I have been to quiet a few. The vehicles had two storages, one larger one in front of the jet skis for bags and the other in front of the driver for smaller items such as water bottles and smaller gadgets, no other jet ski I have used before had any storages. The tour also provided each individual with a waterproof bag to put all belongings in, a very well organised jet ski tour company from the start.

Firstly we stopped on our first island Beras Basah  island one of the two islands we got off to roam. This island was basic for me, nothing made me amazed the only plus were the population of monkeys. After about a 40 minute stopover we then went right back to the seas for hours of jet skiing we passed various of Langkawi’s magnificent island formations including Tuba , Lima, Singa, Jong Island passing some smooth and some aggressive but fun waves. Then for lunch and a longer stopover than the first we got off at the Pregnant Maiden Island. Here we got to swim in the fresh water lake which was fun and serene, a much more interesting island than the first stopover.  Although a lunch stopover there were not too much to eat in this island there were only a burger and a rice stand. After about a 1hr stopover we then head for the jet skis again and to visit some of the other islands including an echoing island. Finally ending this amazing tour we went to the Eagle point at Singa Besar Island where we fed eagle, this was an incredible sight to see and a worthy ending to a fantastic Jet ski tour. All in all this to me was the highlight of Langkawi a nice way to see many off Langkawi’s islands.

The Big Eagle

The next day, we visited Kuah Langkawi’s largest town. This is the place where most ferries enter and depart, it is not the place to look for beaches as in other locations around the island. I can only describe this place as more of a boat port area with a few malls built to appease tourists. We headed straight to Eagle Square and one of the main spot here is the Datarang Lang a 12 metre tall statue which overlooks the scenic harbour. A nice monument to see but would advise to visit in the morning or evening when the sun isn’t too strong. Apart from that there is nothing really to see here just a few nice views and a traditional market.

Other places to visit in Langkawi that we didn’t have the time to visit are Galeria Perdana Museum, Under water world, Durian Pernagin Waterfall, Telaga Tujuh Waterfalls and a whole lot more. Sadly with only 2 nights in Langkawi we only visited a few places.

My Conclusion

Langkawi is beautiful, I didn’t expect too much before I got there but after just one night fell in love with the calm laidback conservative culture, an island that didn’t bow down to the western way of life by filling it with bars and clubs like other island destinations in Asia.  Places for alcohol was a little bit difficult but you’ve got to appreciate their culture. Nonetheless Langkawi was a magnificent place with plenty points of interests and loads of activities to enjoy. The island was much more special as it had both natural attractions along with man made ones. The Sky Bridge is a must visit albeit expensive and the Jet Ski tour is something everyone that is able should do. I think maybe 3 or 4 days is required to fulfil a trip to Langkawi

Reference:

http://www.panoramalangkawi.com/skybridge/

Categories: Asia, ProfileTags: Asia, Blog, Malaysia, Profile