Legendary Langkawi

Langkawi was a blast.


The first indicator was the cheap Firefly tickets secured. The seats were fairly comfortable but for an hour flight and a return ticket of RM100 for one, what the heck. They served a muffin and a paper cup of diluted juice. The return flight though was delayed 3 hours coz of bad weather but overall was a pleasant journey.


Then took a chance with Malibest Resort after some good and a few bad online reviews and it turned out well. Tucked in Pantai Cenang which reminds one of Tanjung Bungah/Batu Ferringhi stretch in Penang, there were wooden chalets, concrete ones and tree top chalets. Opted for the wooden one above about 10m from the sea.


But if you are tsunaphobic, make sure you get the tree top then.



Except for a beat up rented car and the frequent rain, which became quite bearable after a trip to the Duty Free to load on Merlots and coolers which were glee-inducing cheap, dunking in the warm sea waves under icy cold rain became an exhilarating experience.

Food as exceptional especially seafood like prawns which were super fresh sweet. Debbie's place which is open for dinner across Malibest had decent sized fusion cuisine compared to the usual American portioned western food, quite ridiculous for smaller Asian tummies. Nice ambience and be prepared to pay for it as usual.

Was surprised there were quite a selection of good Indian restaurants like Taj Mahal, Tulsi Restaurant and Papadam Ria. Palace d'India which was just in front of Malibest was decent but won't try Bombay Palace across the road again.. ridiculous menu of naans with every dish and didn't particularly relish Arabian humus stuff..left a bitter after taste in the mouth. And then the usual mamak fare, had a quick lunch at Tomato Nasi Kandar the day. Took a drive to Kuah town and discovered a gem of an Indian restaurant called HMA restaurant which served superbly spiced dishes that means non of that standard Baba curry powder stuff one finds everywhere.
Torrential rain prevented a trip to the cable car and the famous hanging bridge. Oh well... that may have to wait.


Opted instead for a quick drive to Kota Mahsuri of the famous Mahsuri Legend. Was kind of strange, didnt really fancy visiting the grave of a wrathful woman who according to belief cursed Langkawi for seven generations for being wrongfully executed. But since already there, might as well go through with it. One thing was sure, these still unerased historical facts point towards a strong ancestorial connections between the Malays and the Siamese. Got some traditional Gamat stuff for aching bones ..but mostly the stuff was about male virility...always about sex, isn't it? Wasn't that why that poor Mahsuri woman got executed in the first place.. coz some nuts horned after someone's else's wife? They never learnt!

The Pantai Cenang stretch was full of souvenir shops.. some quite cheap.. got about 4nice t-shirts for less than RM50.. quite a feat! Definitely a revisit to cover the other 98 cluster of islands... in a better weather next time for the sea sports and island adventures ... and yeap, Mahathir's bakery too. ;)