Langkawi - A 3-Day Trip

We recently spent the Easter holidays in Langkawi. It was a great experience! For people looking for a beach resort to relax and decompress, it’s not as popular a location as other regions that are more easily accessible (Desaru, Bintan and Batam are just an hour’s ferry ride away from Singapore, and Desaru is also reachable via car). But those who enjoy a good mix of beaches, islands, waterfalls, mangroves and rainforests all conveniently close to one another would find Langkawi a nice place to visit.

Has anyone experienced this sort of plane before? The doors are located both at the front AND at the back. It was delightful to be seated at the back and be able to depart from there instead of having to file forward to the front exit.

By far and away, the single best thing that we did in Langkawi was to sign up for a 4-hour jet ski tour around the islands. I’d never been on a jet ski before, much less piloted one. But no worries. As the operator promised, you too, will be competent after 10 to 15 minutes*.

*In fact, his exact words to us were: “This is the accelerator. This… (wriggling the handlebar) to steer. Oh, the brakes are broken. No matter. Have fun!”

** At one point when docking at an island, I may have bumped a tourist boat. Lightly. But hard enough for everybody on the boat looked up. Perhaps this wouldn’t have happened if the brakes are working?

*** At this point, I feel obliged to point out that operating a jet ski legally in Malaysia requires a boating license, typically the Power Craft Driving Course (PCDC) or an IYT Personal Watercraft Operator (PWC) certification. There’s an age requirement, an eyesight test, and both theory and practical assessments to be conducted at approved licensing centres.

But anyway. Jet ski’s the best way to not just to reach many of the islands surrounding Langkawi, but also to go to some sites of Langkawi itself. We went to the Eagle Square. Why take a car to these attractions if you can reach them by jet ski? Also, clearly, the best vantage view of the statue is right there on the waters with the eagle facing you.

Langkawi translates to eagle-red stone, which is linked to Brahminy Kite, the brown local sea-faring eagles of the area. There's a second eagle variety: White-bellied Sea Eagle, which is grey-feathered and found inland.

We coasted around the limestone cliffs, stopped by the Marble Geoforest Park and Pregnant Maiden Lake at Pulau Dayang Bunting, and then accompanied a cruise boat at Pulau Singa Besar’s Eagle Feeding Point. We visited the mangroves of Tuba Island and walked on the beaches of Sea-Doo Island. Out along a quiet part along the fjords, we stopped for a quick swim in the waters.

Every minute on the jet ski was a blast. Beyond 40mph, each gentle wave becomes a ramp - each peak that we crested kept us airborne for a split second before we thudded down back onto the waters. The fastest we’ve reached was 51mph!

The 4-hour tour was RM700 for both of us with a 2-pax jet ski, which seemed to be a great price especially it included pick-up services from our hotel. I’m not sure how the math works, considering the same providers charge RM200-300 for a 15 minutes joy ride around the coast. But it’s the holidays, so I left the math to the business owners.

A tip from my friend who recommended the jet ski tour to me: prices are lower in-person than what you would find online. You can just come by Cenang beach (Pantai Cenang) the day before to compare prices amongst the providers and book your tour for the next morning. For what it’s worth, we came by in the afternoon to book our jet ski. At the end of the day, it seems like most of the providers collaborate to run the tours together anyway. The water-sports company that we signed with brought us from the hotel to the beach as promised, but our actual tour was ran by another company. The only difference between the companies is perhaps just down to the price you pay at the booths. Any booth with a decent reputation on Google would do, since it looks like most are collaborating. 

We spent a fair portion of our vacation soaking in the atmosphere at Ambong Rainforest Villa, which provided a calming vibe in contrast to the touristy areas of Langkawi. Plenty of wildlife surrounded us. Our apartment-length window looked out into the canopy, as did the open-air bathtub and kitchen.

It was quite something to else to take a bath out in the open air like this. We were warned that monkeys may come by our room, and not to leave anything valuable in the open air section of our villa. Turndown service was twice a day, with incense being lit in the evening to keep bugs away. It worked - while there were insects and lizards (and even a frog visitor one night to the bathtub!), we didn’t have any mosquitos bothering us.

If it sounded like staying here would be grimy, well, it wasn’t. I’m not sure how they achieved it, but the room remained scrupulously clean. Yes, despite our occasional nocturnal guests along the open-air part of the room. We walked around on our bare feet, and unlike most hotels that I’d been to, I would do so again here. (N wore a pair of white socks around, and it remained white throughout our stay.)

The wildlife that we encountered in the resort was as good as promised. We spotted the human-shy black giant squirrel from our living area one evening scampering up the trees. Right as we left the villa, a pair of hornbills rustled the trees above us.

Not too far away, we also found a pair of Dusky Leaf Monkey. They can be rather shy, but one particularly curious one joined us for breakfast.

We also spotted a small Long-Tailed Macaque swinging from the tree branches after breakfast.

Outside of the resort, acres of rice padi fields dotted the landscape. Brown steers and black water buffaloes roamed the padi fields. We visited Laman Padi, a museum celebrating the humble rice. 

There were glowing recommendations online where visitors sign up for tours to harvest and thresh rice. But walking through the grounds and the museum in the afternoon, we couldn’t find anyone to speak to. The water buffalo was plodding along the fields, and the wild birds were pecking amidst the rice plants, and not a single employee to be found. (the lights were on, the air conditioning was strong and the doors were open. But the place was deserted, y’all).

There was also a baby alligator (?) swimming through the water-filled padi field. Is this normal, or does someone need to call animal control? I guess the staff wouldn’t be in danger... they ain't around. 

There is a cotton tree by the courtyard. Wisps of cotton stir up with the breeze and coat the mango tree in a coat of white.   

There isn’t much to shop around for in Langkawi. Despite its status as a duty-free region, basic necessities and other goods still have to be imported into the island and hence are pricier here than in the mainland. Still, we bought some products weaved from mengkuang at Embun Embun. Raw mengkuang are grown in muddy terrains in Pulau Tuba (one of the islands that we briefly stopped at on the jet ski tour). The plants are covered in thorn and have to be treated before being crafted into household objects by weavers.

And of course, we were down by the beach quite a lot. Pantai Cenang isn’t one of those beaches that you can take quiet romantic walks along the seaside. It’s one those beaches that’s packed with people throughout the day. Water sports booths can be found everywhere you look, calling out to passersby. In the evening time, seaside bars set up beanbags and light bonfires and fireworks and host fire shows.

In the afternoons when the sun-rays get pretty intense, we find ourselves down at Cenang Beach’s Kalut Bar. I actually am quite fond of this place. The tall rafters brings in plenty of breeze and light. The beers are cold and decently priced. It’s strangely charming. The food ain’t bad either - on the day that we were all tuckered out from the jet ski and came by for drinks and food, the satay and burgers that we had were all quite excellent.

The northern end of Pantai Cenang is a bit more peaceful, and the sand a bit softer. We picked up seashells along the surf. A live clam gave us a jump scare as we did, and stuck its tongue out at us before flipping itself back over in the sand.

On our last night in Langkawi, we chanced upon The Mobile Bar after dinner. It’s a beachside stall by the sand, where the bartender fixes you a drink. A couple of guys seated in the shadows by the side of the stall provide easy music. There’s a couple of tables around the stall, but most of the guests are seated on picnic mats on the sand. 

The rustic little stall with a wooden awning, and its yellow lights lighting up the dark beach, felt - and looked - a little like something out of a children’s storybook.

Our last day in Langkawi was spent sleeping-in, then breakfast followed by a luxuriously long shower. We ticked a few more cafes off my checklist, packed our hand-carry luggage (there wasn't much to buy), and headed to the airport and back to reality.