Tuesday-Thursday, November 20-22, Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia
Tuesday-Thursday, November 20-22, Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia
We got a bus to Kuala Perlis in the morning as the first stage of our trip to the island of Pulau Langkawi. After doing some research (that we should have done before) we discover that the Parahentian Islands (where we wanted to go) basically close between November and February for the Monsoon season on the east side of the peninsula. So, we sought out a suitable substitue on the west side. No monsoons. P. Langkawi is favored by Malaysian families on holiday so we thought it may be a good bet. Our guide book also described it as a beautiful island, now experiencing some growth problems. We arrive in K. Perlis where we were to catch the ferry to P. Langkawi. We hopped off the bus with another traveler from London (originally from Singapore). Art is a free spirited musician who goes where his heart tells him. This week it’s P. Langkawi. We got our tickets and met up with a hotel hawker at the port and booked a room in … get this… the CD Motel. Hmmm. Maybe they are telling us something. We knew from our guide book that there is and AB Motel, so logic would suggest that there should also be a CD motel. Maybe and EF too. We didn’t see it. The motel was right near a beautiful beach, but the growth pressures were surely evident there. They were constructing a new hotel, this one 4 storey right next to the CD. We got to observe the construction process first hand. Actually, it was usually 3 guys, sometimes 5, building a 4 story (probably 64 room hotel) without any power tools. Concrete columns were poured one bucket of hand mixed concrete at a time. The building will be so close to the CD that you will probably be able to reach out with a broomstick and touch it when it is done. It’s a real shame, because the beach is beautiful and the ocean water is sooo warm. We enjoyed P. Lankawi for 3 days and that’s where we first heard the call to prayer in Malaysia. Ted was out running at about 5:30 in the morning and heard it in the far distance when it was quiet. The amount of noise may have had something to do with it too. There was lots of duty free shopping there… chocolat, chocolate and more chocolate, and for people with feet size 9 or less, shoes. Ted was looking for a pair of cheap flip flops but to no avail, he is a 10. We ran into Art again. He had moved in with a Moslem family that he met on the ferry. He had been taken around the whole island and said there were some beautiful spots. We should have rented a scooter to increase our mobility and impression of P. Langkawi.
posted Sunday November 2007
