Langkawi

Hello Loyal Readers!!!

We made a trip to the Malaysian island of Langkawi for a long weekend.  Many, many expats and locals alike have touted the beauty and ease of traveling to this island. I even found an article saying it is the Bali and Phuket of 40 years ago! wow.

Now to some background about Langkawi….I, in all honesty, had never heard of the place prior to moving over here.

As you can see from the map….in the top left hand corner is Penang and then right above it Langkawi. Langkawi is a archipelago of 99 islands.  As the map shows its proximity to Thailand is unbelievably close – so close in fact that we could see Thailand from our hotel and on the skycab.

Also, on the right side of peninsular Malaysia you see Tioman Island- east coast Malaysia. Remember we went there in July. Click here to read about it… Half the year (monsoon season – from about September through February) the east coast isn’t accessible. The water is just too rough, ferries stop and resorts close down. Langkawi on the other hand is an option for travel year round. It was low season when we went but we opted to go anyway. Our first day was a bit overcast but the weather soon cooperated.  For an exploratory first trip it was a good option.

Our flight left at 10 am but we left for the airport at 7. The traffic is so unpredictable and with a 45 minute drive without traffic….We always include a little cushion, time wise. The promise of Dunkin Donuts is a good motivator to get the kiddos up! The adults did not partake. You know that saying about donuts? It always seems like a good idea until one of them is sitting in your stomach like a rock.

We didn’t have to rush and just waited to board our flight….

The big plus of Langkawi? An hour flight and duty free! Meaning alcohol and other items (like chocolate) are not taxed as they are on the mainland….

YES!!!

D brought up an interesting thought on a trip to the grocery store recently. We found Cuban rum….Lightbulb….we can buy items here that we could never get in the states, like: Cuban cigars! I had to look and see if they even had them in duty free in Langkawi. I am not a cigar smoker (shocking, I know) but since there is an embargo on all things Cuban….

Then I saw the price…NO THANK YOU! That is almost $700 USD for that box of cigars. A picture will do just fine.

Back to our trip…

Our hotel provided free transport to and from the airport…

The Andaman was recommended by several other expats living in KL. It also got great reviews in several travel books; touted as super kid friendly. I’ll admit it was pricey compared to other digs. The lobby reminded us a lot of the Intercontinental in Jimbaran Beach, Bali. You could hear the gamelan playing as we walked in.

Nothing better for kids than free reign to let out some pent up energy….to bang a drum.

We were offered a sweet pandan, lemongrass and ginger drink sans alcohol….The girls loved it.

I loved this resort. It felt like they had taken a lot of care to keep as much of the rainforest/jungle intact. There was wildlife everywhere, truly wonderful.

I have a few readers who will go NAMELESS but are just waiting for a mishap or some misery….they laugh at my pain.

The first:

Oh the irony! One of the draws of this place was the feedback about how great the kids’ slide was. I knew that there would be construction at the resort (the north side was being renovated since it was low season) but not that the slide would be closed. It turns out that because the resort is in fact surrounded by rainforest, tree roots grew into several parts of the slide and kitchen structure near the pool. The slide needed unforeseen repairs ASAP. Nothing like watching a bunch of guys hammer away while you ‘relax’ at the pool.  It would have been nice to have been informed of this at check in….instead of in a small snippet in the hotel newsletter.

C’est la vie. Because really, the amount of traveling we’ve done is obnoxious….you have to be a bit flexible (being an expat is teaching me! I’m working on my mindfulness everyday).

We had lunch and since we are on vacay…..a glass of wine seemed appropriate, plus they had Char kway teow! Delicious and a new favorite of mine since we moved over here. Click on the name for more info – it’s basically a stir fried noodle dish. LOVE!

Then it was beach time!

It was a tad bit overcast our first day….but luckily no rain! even luckier we saw THIS:

If you remember my Boreno post, we were lucky enough to see a Colugo while visiting Bako National Park. Nothing prepared us for how close we got to the Colugos at this resort! Seriously! Check out my old post about Borneo and how far away the picture was….this sweet Colugo was just hanging on a tree as we headed down to the beach. On our way back to our room we saw it had a baby!!

We were so excited. These creatures are nocturnal. They are not marsupials but more primate like….the young cling to the mother. They glide, not fly….but are termed ‘flying lemurs’. They become active around 7pm. ‘A’ swears she saw one gliding but alas no one else in the family did. The scary part of her location was the fact that she was so low down on the tree. They are prey for eagles. Staff were marveling about how close she was and shared that National Geographic came to the resort a few years back to film a documentary. There were more Colugos at The Andaman than any place they visited in Borneo! They saw SEVEN and only ONE in Borneo. We felt so lucky. This totally made up for the slide being broken. 🙂

‘A’ was in heaven that there were so many millipedes…

It was a busy first day….S couldn’t even wait to eat dinner before she passed out. The life of a world traveler!

Our first full day started with a bang. Like I’ve said many times…breakfast being included is a must. Their breakfast buffet was top notch. Plus, they had a great deal where kids could eat lunch and dinner for a fee. The kids meal options were great. They were also very attentive to food allergies. win!

On any beach trip we take – we must build drip castles.  We also had a visit from a spectacled langur also called dusky leaf langur (monkey). These monkeys are rather shy and scared of people unlike the ‘naughty’ monkeys you see on the side of the road (or in the Monkey Forest in Ubud!). The ‘naughty’ monkey is the ‘long tailed macaque’. We were warned that these naughty monkeys had no problem  breaking in to your hotel room if you didn’t lock the balcony door. They are ready to steal your food. I am not lying!

lunch on the beach definitely requires a tropical cocktail…

It was a great day! ….floating in the ocean,  a kayak ride to collect some seashells from a small island close to the resort and swimming in the pool.

We figured we’d explore the island on our second day there.

The hotel was kind enough to let us rent a car….

our tin can I mean car.

He wanted me to document this with a photo. Seriously, this car was on its last legs…

And being that it was on its last legs…for all that is holy, do not DARE eat a durian in this car!

We looked at our map and headed right for the waterfall….It was an easy drive from our hotel.

Hello, remember who is writing this blog….I’m a rather cautious person by nature. I read this and have been keeping tabs on the number of flesh eating bacteria cases cropping up in the U.S. I was cringing watching more than one family with small children swim and wade in this water. It looked refreshing but being the rule follower that I am….well, we stayed on the trail.

Next stop: The Langkawi Sky Cab

Now that is a LINE!

We about fell over when we saw the line. It was a holiday weekend and all. What were expats to do? Pay through the nose for a front of the line pass. In reality, the cost would be about the same for anything like this in the U.S. Waiting all of 2 minutes to get on was well well worth the extra fee.

I’ll admit I was terrified. The views were wonderful but I couldn’t stop thinking about Magic Mountain (Valencia, Ca) and their own sky cabs. Didn’t someone fall to their death circa 1979 or so and they tore them out? Even Disneyland doesn’t have them anymore! My only consolations was a) This was an Austrian company who made the whole set up. You know, expert gondola manufacturers with all those mountains and skiing. b) The view was pretty amazing – gripping the side of the cab helped ease my anxiety a bit and at least I had a beautiful view before I plunged to my death with my whole family together….The glass is half full, see?

By the time we got to the station we were more than 650 meters above sea level. Metric system is becoming my friend….

The walkway was closed for maintenance. A theme now isn’t it? I’m glad that this was a short trip because many things were closed down being off season….

I believe that Thailand is the land mass in the distance behind us in the picture…

And with all aspects of traveling with children…..there is always a face like the one above at some point. She didn’t want to cooperate….so we let her sulk for a bit. Sulking can be good for the soul in limited quantities.

The island behind D, S and A is Thailand.

We made our journey back down the mountain and on to the marina for some duty free shopping and lunch….

This Yacht club was kind of sad. Having lived in Orange County for college and living in Newport Beach for a time….well, this was not the same. We ate lunch at a place recommended in the guidebooks. It was ok. I didn’t appreciate that my fish of the fish and chips still had the skin on when it was deep fried but oh well, roll with it…. We bought a few items at the mall – no prices that were amazingly cheaper but it was interesting to compare.

Then the fun started…..On our way back to the northwest side of the island….after the twisty windy roads….I look back and catch ‘A’ vomiting all over herself, the rental car and D’s backpack. The good news was that we had just pulled in to get gas (petrol). If you know me, I am seasoned when it comes to this…We just walked in and bought a huge jug of water and some paper towels. Never a dull moment, when you are traveling with our family. Needless to say it was NOT car sickness….as we had theorized. It was in fact a stomach bug that A was kind enough to share with S by the time we were settled back in KL. You aren’t a parent if you haven’t deal with vomit.

By the time we were cleaned up, it was time to head back to the hotel for bed….The next day we had our last dip in the pool….

Noticed this sign….eek!

And made a new friend:

All in all – thumbs up! It was a great trip and we definitely plan to head back for a short weekend again before we move back to the states. Until next time….