It’s our last full day in Langkawi. We’ve spent much more time on the beach than I had anticipated. After a less than successful trip on the cable car on the first day which I’ve already talked about, we then thought for the second day it would be good to get a taxi and go to Kuah. Whilst looking online for accommodation I had come across a lot of seemingly nice hotels in Kuah. The main reason for choosing the Frangipani Resort was it’s location on the beach and fairly close proximity to lots of restaurants. However, having noticed lots of hotels in Kuah, I naturally assumed there must be plenty for tourists to see and do in the area. Wrong! When we arrived and started walking around we soon realised that it’s not at all a very nice place. One mediocre mall and then a 15 minute walk to the jetty where there is a huge statue of an eagle, the significance of which I have no clue. Generally, everything seemed a bit on the grubby side and even the jetty which I’m assuming is the towns biggest tourist draw was a bit grotty although that didn’t seem to deter the usual hordes of selfie takers, and yes, you guessed it, most of them were Japanese. Speaking to a group of Dan”s friends since getting back to KL, they confirmed what we were thinking, that yes, Kuah is a shithole! I’ve included this photo because the eagle was pretty much the only thing worth looking at there. There’s even a fat selfie taker to give some sense of scale!
As we walked away from the jetty and the huge eagle we came across a Monitor Lizard who looked as though he was in the process of emptying a rubbish skip looking for food. He didn’t seem to appreciate us stopping to watch and in the second photo which I managed to pull from a video, he looks none too friendly to me. It was at that point we thought it might be wise to back off a little!
Lynne then decided we should walk back the way we came in the taxi because there was a shop she wanted to visit in the hope they might sell swim suits. She had looked at various ones already but they only seem to cater for tiny women or alternatively the coverall types which are obviously meant for Muslim women. On the way there we came across a food market and spent 15 minutes or so wandering around taking in the various sights and smells. Some of the food looks and smells delicious but I find there’s still that little voice telling you it might not be all that clean because it’s cooked in the open air. One stall in particular was selling donuts and other assorted cakes but I only have to see one fly on the food and that’s enough to put me off! After the market we found the shop, which had taken a half hour to walk to (in the heat) and it turned out to be a total waste of time. Once again there were only Muslim cover all swimsuits so we went out to get a taxi. We’ve used Grab a lot while we’ve been in Langkawi and the service is just as efficient as in KL but some of the cars leave a lot to be desired. This one was particularly rickety and the driver was about the most unfriendly we’ve come across. I always make a point of saying thank you very much at the end of a trip but this guy gave absolutely no reaction. Most of them are quite cheerful and will wish you a nice day or something like that but this last one was just a big fat misery! Ah well, not everybody can be happy go lucky like me, can they?
So, since the first two days where our chosen activities were slightly less than 100% successful we’ve spent our time mostly on the beach or in the water frolicking like water babes! Trouble is I’m pretty sure a water babe (whatever that actually is) wouldn’t be as knackered as me after spending time in the water. It’s easy getting in, but when you try to get out, the waves keep pulling you back in and if you let them knock you off your feet you end up getting scraped all over the sand and it’s the very devils job to get back up again. Today, Lynne and I returned to our room carrying half the beach with us. Me with it in the pockets of my shorts and one or two other unmentionable places and Lynne’s hair was full of sand. I can’t speak for Lynne’s unmentionable places as they’ve long since been declared a no go zone for me! Anyway it took us both 15 minutes in the shower to dislodge it all.
On Sunday Lynne decided that we should walk back to the Cba restaurant which we had liked so much on our first night just to book a table for later that evening. This involved passing all the shops of Pantai Cenang so, as you might expect, progress was slow as there are certain types of shops which Lynne finds it impossible to pass by without looking at and reading the labels of every item on sale. As we walked up the short lane from the hotel to the main road we saw this guy flying among the branches overhead. I’ve only ever seen Hornbills in zoos previously so it was a rare treat to see one in the wild, although it’s a pity he didn’t pick a better perch to sit on while I photographed him. A day or so later we saw two in the trees on the main street so they’re obviously not exactly a rarity!
Having walked all the way to the Cba restaurant which I’ve since worked out is a total of 5.8 kilometres there and back we were both knackered thanks mainly to the heat, so we decided to have an hour in the cool of our room before spending the rest of the day getting bashed about in the sea again. Later we went back to Cba again but we took a cab this time and walked back again but in the relative cool of the late evening. Before going out to eat on our last night I popped down to the beach to see if we might at last, get a sunset. The resulting image which I was quite happy with was as close as we ever got. Moments after this shot the sun disappeared behind another bank of low cloud.
All in all we had a wonderful time in Langkawi in spite of our less than successful couple of days exploring. Everywhere we ate the food was wonderful, the weather was great after the initial downpour the day we arrived and enjoying spending lots of time on the beach and in the sea came as a huge surprise to me. We both left for the airport wishing we could have stayed longer!
At the airport we sat in the departure lounge and watched passengers getting off an Air Asia flight. We were quite surprised to be invited to board the same plane almost immediately the last passenger came off. It seemed just like getting a bus. Obviously no cleanup time or any of that. Just, bish bash bosh off you go! Also, we were less than pleased that in spite of the fact that we had checked in online the day previously and chosen our seats, the girl at the desk had put us in different seats in separate rows. Thankfully, the flight only lasted 55 minutes so not really a big deal but irritating nonetheless!
So, now we’re back in KL and waiting for our next trip which will take us to Vietnam. The plan is for three nights in Halong Bay and then onto Hanoi for four nights! That’s definitely gonna get us out of our comfort zone! Watch this space!
Wandering Wildman 