Langkawi

Day 1

After a quick coffee we jumped into a taxi headed for the airport and found ourselves with another chatty Taxi driver who went into great detail about the sites of Penang (although we were leaving) and told us the food in Langkawi was crap, great!

When we pulled up at the airport there was a big prison van full of shaven headed convicts staring forlornly at us so we (Shell not Glenn) hastily made for the entrance and check-in.

Unfortunately we were allocated seats right at the back, away from each other and the flight had the worse turbulence experienced on this trip so far! I spent the entire flight with my eyes closed clinging to the back of the seat in front, sat next to an English couple with birthday hats on and snogging each other for the entire journey. I’m not sure what Glenn did to pass the time, my eyes were shut! Thank god it was only 30mins but I wish we caught the ferry!

Arriving at our lodgings around 11am we were informed that our room wasn’t ready so we decided to rent a bike and go into town as it looked a bit of a trudge from where we were. The guy who managed it also commented on how nice the weather was, it looked pretty overcast to us so we just assumed he liked the cover it gave from the glaring sun.

We drove around a bit to get our bearings and then headed for the beach to take a look, we were just deciding which direction to head in when we felt some spots of rain, quickly followed by a downpour so we rushed into the nearest restaurant for cover – now realising the hostel owners “nice weather” comment

We were greeted by a manic ex pat owner from France who was running around locking things down, organising her staff to bring furniture in etc. and generally getting into a tiz. She pointed out where the previous day’s storm had done some damage to the roof. I was quite enjoying watching the storm approach until then as she did worry me because I thought she would be used to storms in the monsoon season?

When the storm arrived it basically chucked it down and with a tin roof, you couldn’t hear yourself speak so what to do? We had a beer!

Now hungry we checked the menu, which was a list of overpriced western food, the Penang taxi driver was right! We ordered something non-descript and then headed back to the hostel to check in.

The room itself wasn’t bad, it was the cheapest we could find in the area so a little further out and overlooked a piece of wasteland but had a kettle, a fridge, warm water in the shower and the toilet which didn’t appear to leak. I settled in whilst Glenn went off on the bike to drop off overdue laundry, get some supplies and check out a couple of tourist places for our onward travel. When we are in a country for a limited time, we tend to spend the day of arrival planning our exit!

It rained throughout the afternoon and into the evening so when there was finally a break, we trudged into town. Langkawi is a duty free Island so we were surprised to see the beer was still quite expensive, we finally found one that was cheaper and had some very average food and drink before heading back through the puddles.

Day 2 – quick, the suns out!

The sun was out so we jumped on our bike and headed for a tourist office to book a bus to Perhentian Islands so that we could then get on with enjoying Langkawi. Unfortunately whenever we need to move onwards we seem to hit some sort of public holiday where seats are limited and accommodation prices go up! This was one of them, the bus was full on the day we had planned to go so we would have to stay an extra day. Never mind, the sun was out so we could spend the extra time to really explore the island.

As the agent said that it was a school holiday we thought it best to book our accommodation quickly. We headed to the beach, found a bar with internet and started looking. Not as easy as you’d think, the accommodation in Perhentian Islands was limited and extremely overpriced! After a couple of hours of research and sending off emails we gave up and headed for a Parasol on the beach.

We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling, reading and swimming until suddenly the wind picked up and a dark cloud appeared across the mountain. We grabbed our gear, jumped on the bike and headed to a local’s restaurant which the tour operator recommended.

We ordered a selection of food based on the pictures adorning the walls and it was pretty good. Not stunning though and not what I’d sold Glenn on how delicious the food was in Malaysia.

Another break in the clouds and we headed back towards home, stopping off to check out another beach along the way and pick up our laundry. We spent the late afternoon chilling and waiting for another break in the clouds so we could head out in the evening.

The nightlife in Langkawi is full of promise but all the bars and restaurants are pretty empty so we ended back at the cheapish bar and kept each other entertained recalling favourite childhood TV shows (conversation can get a bit limited when travelling together for so long). With a quick stop off for a kebab (Glenn not Shell) we headed home.

Day 3 – Snorkel and fins required

Waking up after torrential rain throughout the night we didn’t hold up much hope for today! Our room had a tin roof too but it was quite cosy to listen to the rain (like in a caravan).

Our bike, which we had rented for 2 days and hardly used needed to go back so when the rain finally stopped around noon, we hurriedly returned it and went for another average bite of lunch before heading back home.

The rain continued throughout the day, so we just lazed around, blogged and I finally managed to find some affordable accommodation in Perhentian. We were told the weather was much nicer there, we hoped they were right!

We headed out in the evening with our rain proofs, umbrella and a torch to find somewhere close to eat. It was an Irish bar owned by a Thai lady? Again food was limited but promised Irish home cooked delights (from a Thai lady?) so we settled in and Glenn ordered a chicken chop. Chicken chop? I never knew chickens had chops? When it arrived it was a very dry breast (we think) covered in breadcrumbs. After food we snorkelled back home in the rain.

Day 4 - Call Noah, any room on the Ark?

Thank god we were leaving today! Unfortunately we can’t share anything about Langkawi as apart from 2hrs on a beach and some bog standard bars and restaurants selling overpriced food, we didn’t see any of it!

Our Ferry wasn’t until around 5pm so we agreed with the owner to check out late. He was pretty accommodating but we were the only guests he had, everyone else had buggered off to the sun! This might be why he almost doubled the price when Glenn came to pay for our stay but he was soon corrected!

After the taxi dropped us off we had time for a quick Kentucky which was probably the best meal on the island, before boarding the ferry to the mainland.

The ferry was packed with locals who appeared to be returning from a duty free run from the mainland to stock up on supplies. Our seats were down in the hull of the boat with no windows and two tiny exits which was a bit disconcerting so we spent the 1 hour journey planning potential escape routes which involved clambering and clawing over the heads of women, children and duty free bags.

Successfully arriving at the port, we headed for the bus station to await our 8pm night bus which was to take us to another port for the crossing to the Perhentian Islands. When it turned up and we found we were the only two to board (the agent said it was full) we got a little worried but then decided that it looked as though we would be picking up people up en-route.

Sure enough after about an hour into the journey we stopped for 30 mins whilst locals boarded, faffed around, looking for seats and storing food supplies. The guy in front of me then decided it would be much more comfortable if he slept on my lap! He pulled his seat back so far that I was practically looking down at him in the eyes!  His friend tried to follow suit, but Glenn, after witnessing my crush did a nifty leg block thing which prevented the fella from moving it right back. To no avail though, Glenn got out manoeuvred when we got off at one of the 2 loo breaks where returning to his seat, found that he too would be sharing a human blanket!. It’s going to be a long long night!