Langkawi Island Day 1 – Cenang Beach

12 January 2011

My son had completed his basic military training as part of the compulsory National Service and had a short break before he was to be posted to his new unit. So, we planned this short 3-day trip for rest and relaxation to Pulau Langkawi (or Langkawi Island), located off the west coast of West Malaysia.

We flew in via Malaysia Airline flight from Singapore, with a brief stopover in Penang and checked into The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa.  We were given a sea-facing room with a nice view of the sea and islands of the coast.

After lunch at the hotel, we took a taxi from our hotel to Cenang Beach, located on the west coast of Langkawi. There were many beach activities and sport for the active persons like para-sailing or jetski. But no high-adrenaline sea sport for us. We just wanted to relax and watch the sunset. For me, it was also an opportunity for shooting some photos.

We watched the para-sailing operators in action, launching and recovering the parachutes from the beach. Some of the para-sailors flew solo and some flew in tandem.

We took a slow walk down the beach. Cenang beach has fine white sand, plus broken sea shells, and stretches over a kilometer from one end to the other. Many luxury resorts, hotels, guest houses and restaurants are located on this stretch of the beach.

Even a Tree House!

We settled down on the sand to watch the sunset and also the planes from the nearby Langkawi airport.

Once darkness set in, we headed to a seafood restaurant for this. Eating seafood is a must at Langkawi Island.

A treat for the young soldier. This is definitely many times better than army food.

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Langkawi Island Day 2 – Stardust Adventure Cruise (Part 1)

13 January 2011

I booked the Stardust Adventure Day cruise through the Internet while planning our trip to Langkawi. A van picked us up from our hotel in the morning. After rounding up a few other participants from the nearby hotels near Kuah town, it brought us to a jetty, located by a mangrove swamp. Other vans had also been picking the other cruise members from other parts of Langkawi. We were then introduced to the crew and also the other participants. Quite a sizeable group from all over the world.

A speedboat took us through the mangrove swamp and made a stop at the floating fish “farm” located at the wider part of the river.

Langkawi - fish farm on Kilim river.

The farm was not actually for big scale fish farming but rather more like a floating aquarium showcasing many varieties of local fish and sea creatures.

Langkawi Stardust Cruise - sting ray coming to the handler.

We could touch or hand feed stingrays. The stingray was pretty tame and would come to the keeper to be fed.

Daniel held a horse-shoe crab (aka king crab in South East Asia).

One could also just look at the whoppers on display.

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There was also an interesting exhibition of the shooting abilities of the Archer Fish. This is a fish that has the ability to shoot a jet of water from its mouth to knock down insects near the water to its doom. It can also leap out of the water to catch its prey.

Here is a sequence of shots showing the archer fish leaping out of the water to take food from a hand.

After the farm, the speedboat took us to the sailing boat. This was our first view of the boat that will take us out to sea.

Once on the sailing boat, it was time for the sun-tan lotion and finding a spot on the deck to enjoy the sun, sea and scenery. We were actually cruising within the Kilim Geoforest Park with its steep limestone cliffs, mangrove forest below and circling sea eagles above.

As we leave the Kilim river and head out to the Andaman Sea, a sign “Kilim Geoforest Park” could be seen. 

The sail was deployed and it was time to feel the wind in the face, listen to the sound of the waves gently rocking against the boat and take in the sights of the Andaman Sea and the outlying islets. We were actually going so close to the Thai border that our mobile phone were now picking up the Thailand phone service providers’ network although we were still in Malaysian waters. Some Thai-style fishing boats or sampans could be seen.

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The crew was ever eager to hand out ice cold beer, wine and other drinks. The boom net was lowered at the side of the boat and some of the folks jumped in. You could either jump in from the front of the moving boat and try to catch the net as it sails pass.

If you missed the boat, it would be “bye bye to you” as the sailing boat could not stop. A safer way was to go down to the net through the step ladder. Once you were on the net, the crew would throw you an ice-cold beer.

Don’t under-estimate the force of the water on your back and make sure your shorts or swim wear are well tied! Else, it would be “bye bye shorts”.

All too soon, it was time to break for a buffet lunch. The boat was anchored and we could enjoy this view while taking our lunch.

Many activities were available after lunch as we stayed anchored for quite some time. I went for a dip in the sea.

Had to be wary of jelly fish the size of a football.  Thankfully, not many of these jellyfishes.

Some of the folks took the kayak to explore a sea cave. This was a tunnel sea cave where they went in at one end, and appeared round the cliff on the other side.

My son entertained himself with a Sony Playstation Portable while his mum took an after-lunch nap.

Part 2 of the tour continued after lunch - with a cave exploration, visiting of a hidden lagoon and watching the sea eagles feeding in the Kilim river.

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Langkawi Island Day 2 – Stardust Adventure Cruise (Part 2)

13 January 2011

After the lunch stop, the crew weighed anchor and we headed back towards Kilim Geoforest Park. On the way back, there was still the sea caves and hidden lagoon to explore. The boat stopped by a small island and the crew prepared a motorised dinghy to take us for cave explorations. We took turns as the dinghy could only take about 6 persons.

This is the entrance of the sea caves.

Inside the caves.

If the tide was higher, we would have risked bumping our heads on the ceiling of the caves. The cave was a tunnel through the rocks and there was an opening at the other end.

Once through the caves, we were at the “hidden lagoon”, a lagoon in the middle of the island that was not visible from the outside. I immediately thought of old time pirates and hidden buried treasures, but then I realised that there was no sandy beach in here. But there was a jetty here.

The dinghy brought us round the lagoon where we could see the mangroves up close.

And also cannon ball trees where the fruit was brown and round like a cannon ball.

The boatman was telling us that the mangrove is a good wood for making charcoal.

No crocodiles here, only a “crocodile rock”. A rock hanging from the ceiling that is shaped like a croc.

After the cave visit, it was smooth sailing back to the Kilim River. We were then transferred back to the motor boats that would take us to watch the feeding of the sea eagles.

At this cove, there were many eagles in the air, circling and then one by one flew down to take food from the water. Some islanders had throw food into the water for the eagles and these eagles had been conditioned to come here at this time daily for their extra meals. Amazing sight to see. So many eagles at one spot and they seemed to be performing a well co-ordinated dance choreography.

There was a slight drizzle but thankfully this was not a show stopper. Our tour group did not feed the eagles. We just watched the eagles from a distance. I switched to my 200mm zoom lens and tried to capture some shots of the flying and feeding eagles. It was not easy to get a sharp picture.

A procession of sea eagles.

There are 2 species of eagle in the photo above. Can you spot the odd one out?

Eagle feeding while flying.

Our boatman told us that this is the only species of eagle that could feed while flying. Normally, an eagle would catch the prey and then feed after landing on the ground somewhere.

Beautiful, majestic birds.

As we left the cove, we could see some eagles perched on the mangrove trees, watching us I supposed.

A welcoming committee of macaques monkeys was waiting for us near the jetty where we were to end our tour.  These guys actually jumped into the water to retrieve bread that was thrown in for them.

A van then brought us back to our hotel (The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa) where we took a nice long dip in the hotel’s infinity edged pool while the sun sets. A couple of hornbills were seen on a tree by the poolside but they flew away before I could get my camera. So much wildlife seen in one day.

We enjoyed our seafood dinner so much last night that we had another lobster and seafood dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Kuah town, which was just 10 minutes by taxi from the Westin resort. There were more seafood restaurants to choose from in Kuah town than along Cenang beach and all were located close to one another. Good food and cold beer was a good way to end a nice day in Langkawi island.

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