We arrived on Langkawi island at midday, and i could not wait to catch up with our two friends who were already there. We checked into our crappy budget bungalow resort then tracked them down by screaming their names until they finally heard us and came to the door! They'd already been on the island a few days, and had mopeds rented, so straight away we jumped on and did a bit of a tour round the island.
Langkawi is beautiful but not at all what i was expecting. We'd come from the southern islands of Thailand which are also beautiful, but full of backpackers and are known worldwide for being party islands and pretty lawless. This could not be more different.... Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, and so you can't drink beer freely during the day (something which was standard in Thailand)! In fact you can't even buy alcohol in most shops or restaurants...randomly the only place i could f
ind to buy a few beers was a fruit and veg shop!
So anyway, riding round the island, covered up rather than just in our bikinis, we started off by visiting a secluded beach called Tanjung Rhu, where we sat around drinking from coconuts and, as usual, enjoying the sunshine.
ind to buy a few beers was a fruit and veg shop!So anyway, riding round the island, covered up rather than just in our bikinis, we started off by visiting a secluded beach called Tanjung Rhu, where we sat around drinking from coconuts and, as usual, enjoying the sunshine.
In the evening we d
rove to the top of a mountain where we sat, with a few cans of beers the boys had managed to buy somewhere, and watched the sunset over the whole island. (i love a sunset)!
rove to the top of a mountain where we sat, with a few cans of beers the boys had managed to buy somewhere, and watched the sunset over the whole island. (i love a sunset)!The following day, Sander, Pablo and I went on a ride round the island to the waterfalls and hotsprings. First stop was Durian Perangin waterfalls which was at the top of a steep mountain with hundreds of steps, but completely worth it. The view was spectacular across forests as far as the eye can see. The water was freezing but fresh and crystal clear. Even better was that we were pretty much the only people there so we got to enjoy it in peace.
After this, they took me to see 'Snake Man', who is in the Guinness Book of Records for being crazy enough to stay in a house for 35 days with 250 poisonous snakes! He is also the man the islanders call when they happen to find a 10 foot python in their back garden! Thankfully, i'm not fazed by snakes at all, so i went to each cage and held all the different kinds that i was allowed to.
Next, the 5 of us went to Telaga Tujuh, 'Seven Wells'. These were even higher up a mountain, up even more steps. In fact i had to stop about 5 times just to make it to the top! Right in the middle of the forest, full of loads of monkeys which of course we fed peanuts to, the seven wells are natural freshwater rockpools, running into a hug
e waterfall. It was so beautiful it was hard to believe they weren't man-made. We stayed here for hours, sliding down watery slopes and diving around in the pools. We were there so long that we got to see yet another beautiful sunset!
After a few days of glorious sunshine at the beaches and riding around the island feeding monkeys, as you do, we were ready
to all fly together to Kuala Lumpur, where again, we were going our seperate ways. Although....we couldn't leave the island til Pablo had conquered his fear of heights
and gone up the Langkawi cable car which takes you 700 metres above sea level to the top of MaChinchang mountain. Keeley, also afraid of heights, refused to come!
e waterfall. It was so beautiful it was hard to believe they weren't man-made. We stayed here for hours, sliding down watery slopes and diving around in the pools. We were there so long that we got to see yet another beautiful sunset!After a few days of glorious sunshine at the beaches and riding around the island feeding monkeys, as you do, we were ready
to all fly together to Kuala Lumpur, where again, we were going our seperate ways. Although....we couldn't leave the island til Pablo had conquered his fear of heights
and gone up the Langkawi cable car which takes you 700 metres above sea level to the top of MaChinchang mountain. Keeley, also afraid of heights, refused to come!Once arriving in Kuala Lumpur, our first flight in 4 months of travelling, and after an emotional farewell, seeing Sander off to Sydney and Pablo back home, Keeley, Paddy and I headed into the city late at night and found ourselves a cheap hostel right in the centre, ready for a good nights sleep. They stayed for a day, and so the three of us, along with a French girl called Flo that we met in the hostel, headed to the Petronas Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world.
After Keeley and Paddy left that evening, i stayed with Flo and we went into the city to see China town at night, and it was just like a market in Thailand, selling the same old useless crap and the same market traders hassling you to buy it.
The next day we got up early to buy our tickets to get up the to bridge joining the 2 towers together, on the 44th floor. You only get a few minutes up there but it's enough time to see across the whole city for miles, and was completely free which was an added touch!
After we did this, we headed to the Orchid and Hibiscus Gardens....not something i'd normally be int
erested in but Flo wanted to go so it was something to do! To be honest it was something i think my mum and dad would enjoy more! But it took up some time when otherwise i'd be wandering aimlessly around the city. Other than this Flo and i just messed around in the city, trying not to spend much but still having a good time!
erested in but Flo wanted to go so it was something to do! To be honest it was something i think my mum and dad would enjoy more! But it took up some time when otherwise i'd be wandering aimlessly around the city. Other than this Flo and i just messed around in the city, trying not to spend much but still having a good time! I'm still not quite sure what a Malaysian person looks like.... KL is so multi-
cultural, you see all nationalities from English to Indians and everything inbetween. I know i say this about every country in Asia, but the people here were really friendly and helpful. And they speak the best English of all the other countries i visited.
KL was so expensive in comparison to Langkawi, and all other countries i went to. I spent a few da
cultural, you see all nationalities from English to Indians and everything inbetween. I know i say this about every country in Asia, but the people here were really friendly and helpful. And they speak the best English of all the other countries i visited.
ys there just doing the general touristy things, and with different company which made a nice change to spending the previous 2 months or so with the same group. As i was now on my own i decided i wanted to see Singapore, but i then heard it is so expensive and not backpacker friendly in relation to cost, so i decided to leave after 3 and a half days and instead flew to Melbourne to stay with an old friend Beau....more on that when i have the patience to write another entry on my blog!!
