last vacation in 2009
i had my well deserved vacation in langkawi, with the knowledge that i will be swamped with new activities over the holiday season. the weather was good – no rain, bright and sunny in the night. the skies were blue and photography was fun. i’m glad i rented the tamron 28-75 lens with an aperture of 2.8. the fast lens comes in handy especially in my visit to the underwater world where the lights are dimmer.
we arrived in Langkawi at 8 pm, about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. and it was close to 9 pm by the time we checked into Mutiara Burau Bay Beach Resort. our first dinner in langkawi was a simple fare by the sea, a stone’s throw away from the hotel.
crispy squid
dec and feb is the squid harvesting period, therefore, there is an abundance of fresh squid captured from sea.
mangrove and geopark visit wasn’t in my initial itinerary. since it was a highly recommended place to visit, we signed up for half a day’s trip on our second day in langkawi:
bat cave
fish farm
crocodile cave
mangrove tour
eagle feeding
stop over on one of the island for a swim
the plan was to complete the mangrove tour, then proceed to langkawi cable car and seven wells.
it’s the school holidays season in malaysia and we aborted the plan to the cable car ascend up to the viewing platform. the approximate waiting time – 75 minutes for a cable car, 15 minutes up to the peak and another 15 minutes down.
visitors are not allowed to bring water into the cable car – a definite NO for me as the 10-minutes walk from the hotel to the cable car station in the sweltering heat left me dry with thirst. and to wait in the heat for close to an hour is a torture to the both of us.
the trail up to Seven Wells was no better, but we managed to catch our breath before our descend back to the hotel.
our third day was spent on land visit to the eagle square and underwater world. a few of the attractions – for instance, the lagenda park is closed for renovations, therefore we had to cut short in our sight-seeing tour near the jetty.
huge statue of the eagle in eagle square
one of my fav. shot on the clown fish
our last dinner in the island was at tenaga harbour park – about 10 minutes walk away from the resort.
spanish-themed restaurant – very romantic ambience after sunset
cordon bleu – chicken with melted cheese
seafood paelle for one – saffron rice with seafood (clams, mussels, prawns, fish, squid)
then we had tapas to go along with our tuborg beer.
fried spicy potatoes
fried calamari (squid – again!!!)
our last day was spent idling in the beach while waiting for our checkout at 12 noon. i regretted not trying our luck on the queue on the langkawi cable car, but there is always a second visit.
our room
garden view cabanas
berjaya langkawi resort – i would have opted for that if breakfast has been included in the room package
in the resort we put up is a haven for monitor lizards, squirrels, and other types of bugs and creepy creatures. i sighted a geeko in one of the corners of the room, on our last night.
a harmless monitor lizard
we dragged our feet and ass to the hotel – 4 hours before check-in time. as you can see, there is nothing much to offer in the small airport.
overall, the trip was great. the people in langkawi are friendly and i like the pace of life there, slow and relaxing. i have yet to visit the wildlife park, black beach, some of the smaller islands for snorkelling and langkawi cable car. probably i will be more equipped for sunset shots.
