Lessons Learnt in Langkawi Part 1

That's the eagle which is suspected of giving Langkawi its name.

Lesson #1
You will come back from your holiday in Langkawi with your skin resembling the colour of an overcooked currypuff, so don't bother writing an entry beforehand expressing your hopes and dreams of a non-burnt future.

It's just like what drroza said; " Your island trip will have some form of education or other. Just be on the look out and for sure you'll learn something useful". Well, here is what I learned as I enjoyed my holiday in Langkawi.

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On the day of travelling, we took heed of Pycnogenol's advice and set off very early in the morning. By early, I meant somewhat around 4 a.m. As we tried to find our way into the highway, I was quite surprised to see a few eateries still occupied with customers who were having either a very late dinner, or a very early breakfast. This was somewhere along Kepong and Segambut.

Lesson learnt: There are people out there who have the feeding habits of bats.

Eventually, after a few wrong turns and some half-hearted bickering, we managed to get ourselves into the highway. From there, it was smooth sailing all the way to Kuala Kedah. Of course, we stopped at one of the RnR centres for Subuh prayers and had nasi lemak to fill up our tummies (mind you, the nasi lemak was nothing to shout about), but that is of no significance to my tale, so I'm going to leave that bit out. Eyh?

We arrived at the Kuala Kedah jetty around ten. By that time, the sun was already shining brightly; and let me tell you, the sun shines brighter in Kedah than it does in other Peninsular states. Yes, it does. Eventhough it was only 10 o' clock, I felt like it was already noon. My dad left the vehicle at one of the 'car kindergartens' and was charged RM30. After having ensured that we hadn't left anything behind, my family and I made our way inside the jetty complex(?) to purchase our tickets. By chance, we were in time for the 10.30 ferry. Splendid!

Guess which one was our ride for the day.

We 'rocked and rolled' on the ferry for about one and a half hour whilst being served with the Thai movie Tom Yum Goong (Gung?). For those who don't know it, the story is about a young Thai lad who goes on a continental search for his kidnapped family. Continental because he ends up in Australia halfway through the movie. By the way, the family that I mentioned earlier takes on the form of a 3500 kilogram mother elephant and her baby. How can a Thai chap belong to a member of the Elephantidae family? Bugs me.

Lesson learnt: If you can't stand rock and roll, then you had better just stick to television. Also, Man and Elephant may be related, eventhough they look nothing as much as the other.

Finally, we arrived at the Kuah jetty somewhat around noon. Surprisingly, we were greeted by cloudy skies and wet floors. In other words, it was raining! Fancy that, rain in Langkawi!

Since most of the family members were already famished, we decided to have lunch at the LADA complex. No, it's not a chilli research buliding. LADA stands for Langkawi Development Authority, and they have a very nice cafeteria where you can have your fill. Luch was followed by some shopping at the shopping complex situated conveniently next door.

By 3 o' clock, we were ready to check in at our resort (by the way, we rented a sporty Wira to get around). The Perdana Beach Resort is in Padang Matsirat, a 15 to 20 minutes drive from Kuah. It's a nice, quiet place where you can relax far from the hustle and bustle of town.

Not wanting to waste precious time, my family and I bathed, donned fresh clothes, said our prayers and went to town. After driving around for a bit, we eventually arrived at Idaman Suri. Idaman Suri happens to be the hip place to buy household items such as melanine cookeryware (is that even a word?!), pots and pans, travelling bags, woodcrafts and chocolate. Is chocolate a household item? I very much doubt it, but my sister thinks otherwise.

My siblings ogling at some kind of machine from the past. I think it's called a public phone.

Only people with 'Wan Thai' can enter this restaurant. Those with two thighs are not welcomed.

Both my parents did some extensive browsing. I should've known better that that was a sign of things to come. We went window shopping until late into the afternoon. On our way back to the resort, we stopped by a beach to watch the beautiful sunset.

Note the boat under the tree

Playing against the sunset.

(to be continued.....)