Langkawi, Malaysia

Our night bus to Kuala Perlis was uneventful in a good way. However, it was not easy to sleep as there were so many stops and the driver was talking loudly and playing loud metal music to keep himself awake. I was happy he was awake to keep us safe, but a bit more sleep would've done us some good. 

We arrived at the port around 8 and had to wait for the 9:30 ferry. We grabbed some delicious roti across the street and were soon on a fast, overly air conditioned passenger ferry where they played what seemed like a locally made horror movie on the tvs. It was pretty intense for a ferry with families with little kids yet no one seemed bothered. 

Upon arrival, we learned that there were no local buses on the island. We were on the other side of the island (which is 120 km in circumference) and took a taxi for 30 ringgits to Zachary's Guesthouse. We were real lucky we reserved a place ahead of time as there was an air show that weekend and the island was packed. We saw other people struggling to find a place. 

I mentioned in earlier posts about how expensive beer was in Malaysia. Not in Langkawi. The government apparently decided in the interest of tourism not to tax imported goods in Langkawi. You could buy a beer in a convenient store for 1.5 ringgits (in Kuala Lumpur it was 5-6). However, even after not drinking for a week, we still didn't really take advantage of this news for some reason. Maybe it was the heat. 

The first day we checked out the local beach across the street and then went out on an island hopping tour. We went to 3 different islands including Pregnant Island which is an island that is shaped like a pregnant woman lying down. This island harbors a massive fresh water lake surrounded by lush green peaks. The swimming was refreshing and worth the trip. However, I noticed we were two of the few swimmers as many of the visitors may not have known how to swim and there was no shallow water, merely jumping off a dock and rolling in the deep.

That night we went to dinner next door with some people from our guest house. We had a delicious and surprisingly expensive piece of fish. In hindsight, totally worth it. 

The following day we rented a motor bike (scooter) as we needed to buy return ferry tickets the day before our trip in order to ensure we made the ferry to catch a pre-booked night train to Bangkok. It was my first time riding a motor bike and my first time having someone behind me as well. Alex held on tight, and I drove slowly and stayed to the left. Yup. Left. At one point we ran into a rotary (traffic circle) which was quite a trip going around it clockwise. At another point, I almost hit a monkey. 

After grabbing our tickets, we headed to the best beach on the island up north. We stopped off at a new Buddhist temple under construction and then at a roadside cafe for a cheap lunch. We got to the beach and were amazed at both its beauty and its emptiness.

This was weird. He wanted to take a picture with us and this was his idea of a pose.  

That night we headed to a once a week night market. We sat in traffic for quite a while along the main strip of the main beach. However, it was worth the wait and the ride. The market was packed and full of all kinds of bbq, fruit, and tons of new things to try.

I highly recommend renting a motor bike when visiting Langkawi as it is such a large and beautiful island with so much to see. We paid 40 ringgits for 24 hours and filling up on gas was almost nothing. Just be careful. 

The next morning I returned the motor bike and we grabbed a cab to the port. There was TONS of traffic due to the airshow and we nearly missed our ferry (and hence train). We arrived 10 minutes late and the boat was thankfully still waiting at port. We made it.

From the port back in Kuala Perlis, we jumped in a cab to Arrau where we awaited our 19 hour overnight train. 

Next stop Bangkok.