Dogs, Beer, Barbeque, Cable Cars, Waterfalls!

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Langkawi

We had an other ferry journey to from Penang to Langkawi that was a pretty boring, loud and uncomfy time - however, what greeted us was paradise!

After our taxi ride we got to Zackry's guesthouse, one of the few backpacker orientated on the upper class island which is mostly home to classy holiday resorts. Zackry's is now run by an English guy and an American who make it a great place to stay. It is also a duty free island so the beer (which is heavily taxed throughout the rest of Malaysia, as it's a Muslim country) is rather cheap, just over 25 pence a can from the supermarket! The first afternoon we arrived and rented a motorbike to explore a little, it's was a stupidly hot day and not the comfiest we have had so cut our exploration short until another time. That night we went to eat out (can't afford to do this all the time here, unlike Thailand) and had a few drinks at the bar.

The following day (after the usual lie in that has become so normal to us) we headed to Pantai Cenang beach, a fifteen minute stroll away. It is a beautiful beach, even nicer than Ko Phangan and the beaming sunshine made it all the better. We were too tight to pay the 10 ringit (2 quid) to get a sunlounger and umbrella and instead sat and baked on our towels. This would have been ok but it was seriously hot and slightly unbearable! so after a few hours we headed back to get ready for a few drinks on the night and drinking games.

We hired a car the next day and went to the cable car, this is seriously big. Built by a swiss company and 710 metres (2300 feet!) high it reaches the highest point on the island and the views are amazing. Nichole strategically placed herself in the gondala so that she wouldnt have to look down and off we went, it was a smooth journey and without any fuss we reached the top (it was a little windy and swayed a bit). The views were simply superb, especially because it was a clear day and all the smaller island surrounding us could be seen. There is also a 'skybridge', which spans across a valley, which we walked across (Nichole didn't even whimper!) and appreciated the superb views and commented about how it was like the island on lost. After this we went to the Seven Wells Waterfalls and reached the bottom one without much fuss, and set off to reach the upper falls. Now, it was the hottest part of the day, no wind and we were in the forest - I was dripping with sweat and Nichole didn't look too wonderful either! We also realised that we didn't have much water with us so were conserving this like right troopers. When we reached the waterfalls were able to take a very refreshing dip in the pools and appreciate the natural waterslide created by the force of the water. It was a great afternoon here and we would love to go back to these waterfalls again.

We kept our car the next day as it was only a little more expensive than renting a motorbike (50 ringit) and drove around the entire island, visiting 2 more waterfalls and seeing the more normal and less touristy parts of the island. On the evening we had a good drink and went to the sunba which seemed to be the most happening place on the island, with live music and a dj. Too much vodka from some people we met outside led to a sore head for me the next day.

Our final day was spent at the beach. We were ready to move on by this point and hit the capital of Malaysia, KL.

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