Langkawi, an archipellago of around 100 islands located off of the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. After spending a few days there last weekend, it is easy to see why.
I travelled to Langkawi via bus and ferry. The slightly longer than 7 hour bus ride from KL to Kuala Perlis took me through the states of Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kedah, and Perlis (almost to the Thai border). Kedah and Perlis, the two most northern states on the west coast are very different from the states that I have visited before. These states, particularly Kedah, are known as the rice bowl of Malaysia because this is the major rice-growing region of the country. I would have taken more pictures of the padi fields out of the bus window but the fields had recently been harvested so there was nothing particularly beautiful or interesting about fields filled with stubble.
A short walk from the bus terminal at Kuala Perlis took us to the ferry teminal where we boarded a ferry for the hour-long trip to Pulau Langkawi, the largest and most populous island in the archipellago. The ferry ride was quite interesting. The ferry had TV screens that showed a local movie or TV show. Perlis and Kedah are among the most fundamentalist Muslim of all of the Malaysian states so I was surprised when the shows they showed during the crossing were about people visiting "bomohs" (witch doctors) to solve their problems. Every so often in the news I hear stories about someone in the government wanting to eliminate bomohs from Malay TV shows because it is "against Islam". However, the locals on the ferry thought that these shows were hilarious (and so did I). Unfortunately, the rides were too short so I will never know how these adventures turned out.
The waiting area in the ferry terminal at Kuala Perlis.
The ferry.
At Langkawi, I stayed in Pantai Cenang (Cenang,pronounced "chenang", Beach). Cenang Beach is a popular tourist area for "budget" travellers, but there are a lot of high end resorts spread around the island. It was about a half an hour taxi ride to get from the ferrh terminal to Cenang Beach, so it was a long travel day getting there. There were lots of places to buy souveniers, find something to eat and drink (because Langkawi is a "duty free" island beers were almost reasonably priced), or just chill out along the beach. Pulau Cenang was very similar to Batu Ferengi, the beach where I stayed in Penang, because the beach was full of "motorized watersports" (jet skis, parasailing, banana boats, etc.). In addition to being loud, these activities can be dangerous for bystanders. A couple of weeks ago a woman visitng Batu Ferenggi from China was strolling along the beach when a guy lost control of his jet ski, rode it up on the beach, and hit her breaking both legs. There has been a great deal of discussion in the news about whether, and how, to regulate these activities. Luckily, there was plenty to do so I didn't have much time to lie around on the beach worrying about whether a parasailer was going to land on me.
Cenang Beach
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langkawi
http://www.langkawi-online.com/
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