We flew to Langkawi as part of a 3 centre holiday to the far east,it was a short flight from Phuket in Thailand.As we got off the plane,the heat once again surrounded us,we were picked up and taken on a short ride through small villages,untill we came to our home for the next 10 nights,the Berjaya resort on the north west corner of the island.The resort is large ,and alot of the 300+ chalets are situated way back in the jungle.We were very lucky,our chalet was near the front of the resort ,over-looking the sea.We unpacked,and went out exploring,we had seen pictures of the beach,but it is much nicer than we had expected,quite along,broad expance of sand,and turquiose/green sea.From the beach you can look up and see the mountains,and the dreaded cable car[i have a fear of heights!!!].The cable car is a new tourist attraction,that was only installed last year.You can walk to the cable car station from the Berjaya ,it is situated about 10 minutes walk away at the oriental village,another new attraction in Langkawi.The oriental village is a very pretty ,well laid out collection of duty free shops,and restaurants,surrounded by beautiful landscaped streams and gardens.One day we hired a couple of push bikes,and cycled to the huge waterfalls near to the hotel,it was a very steep hike up to the top,but well worth the effort,there were local children having a great time playing in all the pools of water,and monkeys running all over the place,we got some brilliant pictures of mothers with their babies.We hired a car,drivinge is very easy on the island,they drive on the same side as us brits,and the roads are relativly quiet,just watch out for passing buffalo's and monkeys.We drove all across the north of the island,stopping at the exclusive Datai resort,were we visited their "private" beach,imagine having a gorgeous 2mile stretch of white sand all to yourselves,it was bliss!!!.We visited the arts and crafts centre,where local artists and craftsmen were busy at work. We drove to the Tanjung rhu beach,this we thought was the best beach on the island, a lovely curving arc of white sand,hot,clear water and beatiful scenery,to gaze at.We went on a boat trip to the pular payer national park,this was a fantastic day out,we went with Langkawi coral who were excellant,they take you to this huge floating platform ,you eat your dinner on here,there are sunbeds,and a underwater viewing platform.All masks snorkles ,etc are provided ,and the fish are amazing,we swam with baby sharks,there is a beach you can swim to if you want a break,we really enjoyed this trip.
After alot of persuading i agreed to go on the cable car,the journey up the mountain was extremly smooth,but also ,for me quite nerve racking.The view from the top was quite something,you can also go in another car across to second station at the top.I did,nt feel i could face the trip down again,so we had a very enjoyable hour long hike down through the jungle.We found Langkawi to be a lovely island,very scenic,with beautiful beaches,and plenty of wildlife.The food was great,really cheap,and the duty free status of the island,meant that drinks and cigarettes were a real bargain.There were not many shops on the island,or much in the way of night life,even the main resorts of Kuta and pantai cenang were fairly quiet,and there are no big night markets like you find in Thailand.We loved the island,we may return one day,although i fear it will not stay so peaceful and quiet for much longer.If you love scenery,hiking,snorkling,and nature visit Langkawi.There are so many places to see in the world,but Malaysia will always be among our favourites.