Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Langkawi 

Langkawi is a duty free island on the north west coast of Malaysia and is so close to the boarder of Thailand you can actually see it when you are on the Northside of the island. Langkawi is a big island and is duty free to help promote tourism. To get to Langkawi from George Town you can catch a direct ferry for 21 Aud pp. Or to save a few bucks (like we did) you can catch the ferry from George Town to Butterworth (this was free although I'm not sure it was supposed to be, whoops) and then a bus from Butterworth to Kuala Perils 5 Aud pp. From Kuala Perils you catch a ferry to Kuah, Langkawi 6.50 Aud pp and then because the island is so big you have to catch a grab to the area you choose to stay.

Sunsets Langkawi

We chose to stay in Pantai Cenang which has the main beach and most of the restaurants. It took 20 minutes to get here from the ferry. The accommodation we stayed at was RL budget for 15 Aud per night. It was clean and the staff were really helpful. In actual fact it was really nice staying somewhere for more than a few nights as Luke and I needed a bit of a break from constant travelling (nothing like a holiday from your holiday).

Pantai Cenang Beach 

We can understand why the Government has made the island duty free to promote tourism because the island really isn't that crash hot. First let's discuss the beaches.. They were actually relatively clean and less packed when compared to Bali beaches. But there was still what Luke and I like to call "the circus" going on everyday. What this is is tourists, majority of who can't swim, are on banana boats, parasailing, and jet skis around the bay. Which is great if that's what you are after but Luke and my style is much more mellow, we like to enjoy the natural beauty of the place. The next thing about the beaches is that the water clarity is poor, it was so cloudy that you couldn't see your hand if it was 15cm below the surface. I know, I know, we are being picky. But for those of you who know us water is our everything and its pretty much why we came to Asia s to enjoy the beaches, so it was a little disappointing at Langkawi.

Now if you aren't confident on scooters (me) but want to learn to ride, Langkawi is the perfect place. There is hardly any traffic and the road surfaces were fantastic. Luke and I rented a scooter from our accommodation at 9 Aud for 24 hours. You really need a scooter or car to get around the island, unless you want to splurge on taxis or grab. Scooting around the island really was one of the highlights for us.
On one of our scooting adventures we came across the most beautiful waterfall Termurun Falls. It was completely secluded when we got there and the water was nice a cold- which was a welcome change from the lukewarm ocean. This is the less popular waterfall because it is further away from the main tourist spots, but well worth it.

Luke enjoying having his natural shower
(thank goodness because the back sweat is real in Asia)

We also went to a more common waterfall called 7 Wells which was still beautiful but full of people. The walk to get there is up about a million steps (it may have felt like this due to my lack of exercise the last few months, but still there was still a lot of steps!). Right near this waterfall is a gondola ride up to one of the largest peaks on Langkawi. Apparently this is the steepest gondola ride in the world. I can tell you from first hand experience of someone who is scared of heights, it feels bloody steep! We were lucky we got there just in time to take in the view before the cloud coverage came in. This was fantastic on the way down because it wasn't as scary as you couldn't see anything! - Luke wouldn't agree as it was a rather expensive excursion.

7 Wells Waterfall

Gondola, I swear it is steeper than it looks

Monkey at the top of the gondola ride

Langkawi is definitely a place for people in the afternoon/ evening but not for partying (figure that one out). We tried to go into town to get some food before midday and it was a laughable attempt. If you stay here try and get breakfast included or at least have a late sleep in. Becuase if you are an early riser you will be going hungry for a few hours. Luke and I couldn't figure out if this was because of ramadan or that was just the way of the island. None the less it wasn't ideal.

Well off to the next destination of Kapas Island, fingers crossed it will be a bit more of an island paradise Luke and I have been dreaming of.

Lots of love,
Claire and Luke (Luke was drinking a coconut whilst I wrote this so he counts as a co-author too right?)

Kata Beach, Thailand