Native Eagle Langkawi is named after
Langkawi –made up of 99 islands and the most well known tourist destination in Malaysia. Our arrival was into Kuah, the main town. Other cruisers said we’d arrived on the right night as it was one of the two nights a week the locals have a night market. Yum, samosas for 10c each, spring rolls for 5c each, satay sticks with peanut sauce for 30c each, nasi goreng or fresh squeezed juices for $1. I don’t think I could cook for these prices. Dinner is a social time of wandering, sampling and gathering with other cruisers. With appetites satisfied we buy some fresh veges and make our way back to the yachts. It is not recommended to swim in Kuah so we don’t stay more than a day or two before we head out in search of clearer waters. The good news is that Langkawi doesn’t seem to be swarming with jellyfish like Penang and Thailand are at the moment - in particular the nasty box jellyfish.
We spend a delightful week cruising island to island. The water is not particularly clear but we swim to cool off anyway. One island has a fresh water lake which is picturesque. In the mornings and evenings we would dinghy along the shoreline seeing what wildlife we can spot. We’ve taken to sleeping on the trampoline as it seems to be the coolest spot on the boat. We have corrupted Chris and Fi who have become as addicted to card playing as we are. So many an evening is spent with a drink in one hand and cards in the other, one eye on the table and the other on the sunset. Ohhhhh it is lovely to be on anchor once again.
We have a few days at ‘hole in the wall’ where we dinghied for hours in a network of streams through the mangroves. The second day we get horribly lost and when we became low on fuel we took to hiding amongst the shade of the mangroves at an intersection and waited for a passing tour boat then retraced their path as far as we could….then wait again. I got back horribly sun burnt despite our best efforts.
Cool Bananas anchored in the bay.....................the exhausted photographer
Colourful kingfisher..................... ..Native hornbill in the wild
Grey macaque monkey.........................................Nit collecting
Bats in the the caves at Gua Cerita....................The 'Hole in the Wall' limestone cave
Floating seafood restaurant at Tangung Rhu.... Try the butter prawns....
Anchored outside resort at Sungai Kilim
ANZAC day was spent in Telaga Harbour with fellow NZers and Australians. It began with dawn song on the VHF radio followed with ANZAC biscuits and billy tea on the beach. A big thanks to Judy and Donna for their efforts.
Telaga Bay where we spent ANZAC Day
As time passes the electrical storms are intensifying and some yachts have been hit causing $1000’s of damage. As luck would have it we have moved on twice now one day before boats have been struck and damaged by lightening.
I had my birthday here and we randomly found a restaurant that served us a scrumptious lunch including the biggest tiger prawns we’ve ever eaten. The seafood here really is quite exceptional and affordable.
Prawn lunch.........................................................what do you expect for $16 a day?
Chris spotted in a guidebook that there was an island nearby with ‘an interesting cave’ - worth checking out we thought. Well, what an adventure. As usual we waited until all the tourist boats had left so we could have to place to ourselves and in we went. The stalagmites and stalactites we the most beautiful I’ve ever seen and they were in such undamaged condition. If you look closely at the photos you may be able to see how they sparkle. I chickened out part way up so meandering back when I hear the others shout and Fi scream and then they shout to me “there’s a 4 ft monitor lizard swimming your way”. Great……luckily he chose to detour and didn’t come near. He had, however, swum within centimetres of Fi. And all of this in the dark in an underground cave. That was enough for me….I was out of there!!!! About thirty minutes later the others emerged full of their adventure down under.
Only the brave go caving....................................Chris exploring
Limestone formation
We shouted ourselves to a few nights in the Rebak Marina which is well known for looking after cruisers –swimming pool, restaurants, cheap hire cars, air conditioning on the boat….this is the life. And of course Langkawi is a duty free island so a stock up on alcohol and chocolate is a must. Who can resist a 1 litre bottle of Mt Gay, Jim Beam or Blue Sapphire for under $20 a bottle? For many other foods, it is all about availability - 2kg blocks of Anchor cheese, NZ lamb chops, Argentinian fillet steak and easy yo yogurt powder…….treats all round. Cruisers are abuzz with who has found what where.
Rebak Marina - front row park...........................Daryl socialising at the pool
This is the life....
Provisioning at Soon Huat Warehouse..............the whiskas mascot
As we have previously observed, Malaysia isn’t heavily into maintenance, so should we be going on the cable car hundreds of metres into the mountains? – our sense of adventure wins and off we go. The views were spectacular and we were all impressed with the bridge architecture. The drop in temperature was also a relief.
All in a days work as a tourist..............................suspended viewing platform/bridge
View coming down in the cable car....................Photographers dream spot
I think we’re all provisioned up and all set to begin the ‘Sail Malaysia Rally to the East’. We have our first gathering at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club who put on a very warm welcome and a lovely hi tea. We’ll be cruising with 40 odd other boats and on first impressions they seem a great bunch.
Local fisherman
Sunset over Langkawi
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