Can any honeymoon trip to Malaysia be complete without a beach vacation? Especially if the beaches in question are the long, sandy beaches of Langkawi? No, right? So like typical honeymooning couples, we took the ferry from Penang jetty point for a 3hour boat ride to arrive at this paradise island on a sunny afternoon of pre-Christmas December. You could take a 45 min plane ride also from Penang, or a 1 hour ride from Kuala Lumpur, but since we wanted to experience the waterways, we opted for the the ferry ride. (RM 65/person one way). Mind you, while its not any luxury cruise, the three hours were well spent gazing out at some awesome scenery, that were sometimes blotted out by the big ships.
We docked at Langkawi, right on time, and got down at the busy port milling with the other tourists. There is prepaid taxi booth there, and if you share your cab with other tourists, (as we did, since there was a paucity at that time) the cabbie himself knocked down RM8 from our RM 20 bill. We had booked ourselves a sea facing room at the 'Awana Porto Malai' and I was so thrilled with our choice of the hotel. Not to turn this into another 'Trip Advisor' review, but this exotic hotel just took our breath away. Sprawling grounds, amazing views and a Mediterranean style boardwalk ensured that we spent the maximum time at the hotel itself.
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| Our sea facing room with the boardwalk right beneath it. |
Langkawi is pretty pleasing to the eyes, what with the long sandy beaches, fringed with coconut trees. The most popular beach is the Pentai Cenang beach. Dotted with hotels, B&Bs, the entire beach stretch is very busy and full of sights and sounds. If you are craving for some privacy and tranquility, book the hotels near Pentai Tenagh- seeped in tranquility and yet easily accessible.
The Pentai Cenang beach is a long winding one, dotted with beach chairs, and with an array of adventure sports. The sand is soft, and the waters warm, and you could spend hours sitting at the beach, watching the sunset and letting the Indian Ocean caress you.
We spent Christmas Eve at the beach, and if you are even in Langkawi, you can't afford to miss spending an evening at the Babylon Mat Shack. Bohemian to the core, this lovely shack has low tables, and mats spread out on the beach, with eclectic music, live performances and fire dances. I could think of no better way to spend Christmas.
Food is never a problem at Langkawi. From street food and hawker stalls to high end restaurants, with long queues, Langkawi has something to offer to people with different food preferences and monetary spends.
Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands, and the best way to view some of these is through the Island Hopping Tours that are available aplenty. Ask around, and shop for the best deals. Luckily our hotel is starting point of these tours, so we took our hotel's package. At 350 RM per person, it sounded pretty reasonable. The first stop was the Beras Basah island. Soft sand under our feet, we chilled out at the beach with a couple of drinks, and did crazy photo shoots of each other for an hour, before moving on a turtle farm in the middle of the ocean. The turtle viewing was an extra charge at RM 5, bu the boat operators asked all 6 of us in the boat whether we wanted to go, and pay for it, before taking us- so I didn't feel it was another tourist hussle. (Sadly we lost all pictures of it).
The last pit stop of the tour was the Geoforest Park. Enroute we could see the silhouette of the 'pregnant maiden,' a set of hillock that resembles a pregnant woman. Legend has it that the waters around here are magical, and aid fertility- the guide was insisting all the women to taste some of it, though I passed ;).
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| The isle of the Pregnant Maiden |
Langkawi has a lot of other tourist attractions such as the Cable car, the Aquarium, but we passed that for the simple pleasure of spending our nights & days by the beach, soaking the sun. Even as we flew back to India, the memories of this tropical romance will be etched in our minds forever.
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