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Published: March 14th 2011
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Langkawi had been recommended by a friend, and was our first stop in Malaysia. The island has been designed for tourists, and is therefore a bit more relaxed when it comes to dress. As soon as you get off the plane you're handed dozens of leaflets for boat trips, snorkelling and restaurants. It's nowhere near as commercialised as Thailand and there are still plenty of nearly deserted beaches to enjoy.
As Malaysia is a Muslim country, selling alcohol isn't top on their list of things to do! However, the island is duty free and they have two massive shopping centres that seem to house Malaysia's stash of whisky, vodka and champagne?? Dave was in heaven as he gazed lovingly at the three litre bottles of Jack Daniels. Alas, we do not have the baggage allowance to lug one of those bad boys back to the UK, much to Dave's disappointment :-)
Days were once again spent by the beach. We couldn't be bothered with trips as it was all a bit touristy (eg. visit the waterfall, the bat caves, the crocodile farm... etc) Prices here were a bit more reasonable than Singapore, but more expensive than Thailand. We had some
amazing food such as spicy sambal lobster and BBQ red snapper, and had some shocking food in the form of a re-heated mixed grill! Really surprised we weren't ill from that actually... To be honest, the fact the restaurant was empty and playing Christmas music should of been a giveaway.
After four nights in Langkawi we caught the ferry over to Koh Lipe, Thailand. Paul and Emily had recommended it so we thought we'd give it a go as it's just over an hour away. The fast Tigerline ferry was expensive at 230MR each (£46) for a return journey. Not sure the route is that popular though as there were only 15 people on it! Made a change from the carnage at Phi Phi pier at least! There are no roads on Koh Lipe, but it's small enough so that you can walk to most places or get a longtail boat, and lord knows there are enough of those!
The beaches here are stunning, it's almost like the sea knows it's in Thailand, and is therefore crystal clear and turquoise. Even though the beaches in Langkwai were impressive, you never can beat Thailand! We're staying in fairly simple beach
side bungalows, but the money we saved on accommodation meant we could sneak in another scuba dive session. Thankfully it went a lot better than my first attempt in Phi Phi. We went with Castaway Divers who were amazingly professional and really boosted our confidence. The group size was small, and we did the dives off a longtail boat in the marine national park around Koh Lipe. There were tonnes of fish, cleaner shrimps, moray eels and pipefish. We also saw loads of clownfish that kept popping out of the sea anemones, trying to shoo us away from their home. Amazing but tiring day. No photos yet but hopefully we'll hire an underwater camera in Sipidan.
The weather in both Langkawi and Koh Lipe has been pretty random, with scorching temperatures followed by intense thunder storms. On our first night in Koh Lipe Dave and I sat on our balcony and watched the storm roll in followed by hours of thunder and lightening. We even sat in the sea for some of it, but then ran back to the bungalow when an extremely large flash of thunder appeared! Even the last few nights when we've been in the town,
you can see the sky flashing in the distance all around the island. We've pretty much been surrounded by electrical storms for the past few days. Still hot though so can't complain!
Food here is nothing special. Most restaurants seem to do the same kind of menu trying to cover all bases to keep everyone happy. Makes trying to find somewhere to eat each night a bit boring as everywhere does the same stuff! We did try a little shack that sold Indian food last night that was really good. The lovely restaurant owner gave us a menu, then told us that the mutton or beef wasn't good so don't eat that... And they were out of daal... And samosas.... And tandoori chicken took too long to prepare... In the end we just told him to bring us whatever was good so he ran out the back and cooked us the most tasty rice, naan and chicken madras (chicken was fine, we could have that!).
Beautiful as it is, we were speaking to a couple who stayed here four years ago, and said when they came there were only ten places to stay and most people were backpackers.
Now there are some really expensive family resorts and the usual massage, pancakes and full moon parties popping up. Seems like nowhere is safe from the push of mass tourism. Having said that, Koh Lipe still is a quiet and stunning island. We're glad we made the detour!
After a brief stop back in Langkawi, we're off to Borneo. Dave got an email from Scuba Junkies in Sipidan to say that our accommodation for our week of scuba diving has burnt down?? So they've found us somewhere else to stay! Can't wait to see how that pans out!! ;-)
Love Emma & Dave xxx
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Sophie and Dale
Sophie & Dale
Hey there
Really great blogs guys. I have enjoyed following your adventure. Oh and congratulations..will look forward to the next installment.