Wednesday, January 23, 2013

9 Things To Do in Langkawi

Hi guys!

Last week, me and hubs went to Langkawi. It wasn’t our first time. In fact both of us have visited the island many times before. We’ve done the usuals—eat seafood, shop in duty-free Kuah, visit underwater world, visit Mahsuri’s grave, the whole shebang. I’ve even watched LIMA there before.

After all that, you’re going to ask, what’s left? After all, we know the tourists in our country rave about Langkawi. Surely it can’t be for the colored beach or fish in tanks. So we thought about the things we could do to make the trip FUN. How, you ask? Instead of going as the know-it-all locals, we go as full-fledged tourists!

9. Cable car ride.  This is a must-do if not only to view the beautiful island landscape with rolling hills and greenery. Because of the height, it gets scary at some parts. The tip is, you can look around but just don’t look down. Btw we’re supposed to visit the skybridge but it was closed. So I found out from other people that apparently, they close a lot for ‘maintenance’. Bugger.

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8. Eat at Orkid Ria. This famed seafood restaurant has the best lobster in town they say. It’s a bit pricey, but the food more than makes up for it. The butter prawn and sotong goreng tepung was delicious! We went during a low peak season, but even then the place was almost full.

7. Stroll along pantai cenang’s roadside at night. Or even better, stay on Cenang beach like we did. We chose the Cabin, which is a little inn that caters to travellers on a budget.

the cabin

The price per night is RM150, which in my opinion is a bit steep for a little inn but in exchange, you get a clean and relatively spacious room. At night, just walk out and you’re already on the busiest street in Langkawi. Over the past decade, Cenang beach street has turned into something like Pattaya or Phuket, which isn’t necessarily bad because it only means one thing: bargain shopping!! They even build a small neighborhood mall aptly called Cenang Mall. Quite convenient for little essentials.

6. Rent a motorbike. Okay I’m a little apprehensive to share this because number 1, motorcycles are not so safe compared to cars. Number 2, I hate motorcycles and motorcycles hate me. (About 5 years ago, the motorcycle drove me into a river. True story.)

However, if you have, for example a husband that happens to know how to drive a motorbike, you might consider renting one. I know why tourists love riding scooters on the island. The sea breeze blowing in your face and hair (headscarf) is exhilarating. What NOT to do: Drive the motorbike from Cenang to Kuah town unless you wanna feel like having done 1000 butt lifts. Painful and you don’t get perkier either. Lose-lose situation if you ask me.

5. Go for spa or reflexology. Do this after a long day. Feels like bliss. Some of the best spas in Langkawi: Ishan Spa, Alun-alun spa, Sun Spa. Or, if you stroll around Pantai Tengah area, you’ll find plenty of spas and reflexology centres along the way.

4. Shop! Boy don’t we Malaysians love shopping on a discount. Langkawi is of course popular for being duty-free, which only means one thing: cheaper stuff! Well for chocolates anyway. And chinaware, china branded items.. that sort of thing. If you’re staying in Cenang, there’s no need to visit Kuah Town for shopping. Simply go to the Zon beside Underwater world. Stuff is perhaps RM1 more expensive, but you get to save on fuel and time. 

3. Lepaking by the beach. Day and night. People watch, play sand, collect seashells, take a dip in the ocean. You’re on a holiday, just do nothing for a couple of hours.

2. Go on a mangrove jungle guided tour. How can I not mention this?? This is one of the highlights of the whole trip. The tour takes about 6 hours. I can’t stress enough how much you need a good tour guide because the difference between a so-so tour and a fantastic one is just one bloody good tour guide and an awesome lunch of ikan kerapu, and sotong tepung. You can opt for cheaper options but usually there’s only a skipper (a.k.a. boat driver) and they won’t provide lunch. That’s a huge difference! It’s like reading lectures notes vs an actual lecturer explaining the subject to you!

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1. Have dinner and watch the sunset from a yacht.

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Nuff said.

xx

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