Well, I am back on my travels and have been so for over a week. I am only now getting down to my 1st Far East blog but I will hopefully be more regular in my updates going forward.... The journey over to my parent's boat in Malaysia is quite an undertaking - I flew Aberdeen to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and then Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi. On arrival, there was a short taxi and ferry trip to arrive at my final destination of Rebac Marina. Thankfully, the journey was all very comfortable and I slept most of the way [View Full Entry]

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So am I mad for going off and joining three strangers on a boat?? No madder than they were for inviting a stranger on to their boat...... So Friday morning rolled around and I rocked up at the Breakfast Bar and as soon as I sat down the guy behind the counter just nodded at me and I nodded back. I had been here the previous two days and after day one he knew my order so within five minutes I had a coffee and a bowl of fruit (no banana), museli and yogurt in front of me. Just as I [View Full Entry]

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So having got myself a ridiculously cheap flight with Malaysia Airlines (£12) I flew to Langkawi with the intention of staying a few days before heading into Thailand. Tuesday afternoon I landed and made my way to a hostel that had been recommended to me. It was a strange feeling to be back on my own again and in basic accommodation. I ended up with a single room with ensuite so it was a gentle re-introduction for me. That afternoon I wandered around the town of Pantai Cenang. Wednesday morning I got up and went off for breakfast. I decided that [View Full Entry]

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Langkawi We arrived at our hotel, the colour of the reception was a strange baby pink colour and we thought OMG why did we ever leave Thailand. The hotel room was completly vile also, with the bathroom a horrible yellow and brown colour. We felt as if we had arrived in M&M land, for all that wants to know exactly what I mean by that then contact directly as it may offend. We went to an underwater world which cost us about 7 quid to get in and wasnt really worth the money, it was the only attraction to see nearby [View Full Entry]

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Friday 21st August / Skipper’s log day 7 There is no such thing as paranoia - F.X Leach, 1969 OK I feel good because I’ve told JL that tomorrow I will disembark from our trip and he seemed cool with it. I thought that I’d have the chance to leave today and when I realised it would be another night on board I thought “nooooo” but at the moment the water is calm and the sun is strong with a slight breeze so things don’t feel so bad. Although it was calm last night I still found it difficult to sleep. [View Full Entry]

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Langkawi’s many islands are ringed with countless stretches of beach. Some have white sand, some have golden. Some are hotspots for watersports, some are secluded getaways. Some are located along the most luxurious resorts imaginable, others appeal to backpackers on a budget. We couldn’t hope to experience anything resembling a representative sample of the full scope of Langkawi’s beach life in a single afternoon, so we made the decision to check out two very different beaches: the popular Pantai Cenang strip, and the serene Pantai Kok. [url=http://www.malaysia.com/ [View Full Entry]

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Having decided in Krabi that we were in need of a change of scenery we headed off to our next destination..... Malaysia. We sailed (literally) into Langkawi on Saturday 25th July with great hopes for the Malaysian leg of our trip and we were not disappointed! The differences between Thailand and Malaysia were instantly obvious as soon as we got off the boat. The ferry port itself was like an international airport with duty free malls (did I mention that Langkawi is a duty free island? It’s shopping heaven!) and food courts and a bowling alley?! We had taken a chance [View Full Entry]

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…Uh, which way is the beach? Considering the relatively small size of Lankawi, you wouldn’t think that getting lost on the way to something as big as the beach was possible. But for the heroes of the Malaysia.com team, nothing is impossible. After a few wrong turns, we were well off the beaten path and found ourselves cruising through a tiny village. When we pulled over to get our bearings, we found ourselves at the edge of an enticing looking neighbourhood market that was just getting underway. [img=http://www.malaysia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/langkawi-market [View Full Entry]

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We caught a quick morning flight from KL to Langkawi, an archipelago of sandy tropical islands off the north-west coast of the Malaysian peninsula. We were instantly greeted with a blast of gorgeous sunshine as soon as we disembarked the plane. We’d made do without sunscreen thus far, but we were definitely going to need it today. We decided to rent a car to make the most o [View Full Entry]

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Saturday kayaking in mangroves then to a small beach. Arabs have taken over everywhere and book out the lot. Had to change schedule and now fly to Penang. Staying at evergreen laurel hotel, no 2 hotel on list. Did cooking course last night, no active just demo, diappointing but still ok. Taking car hire back, will get car in Penang to see city. [View Full Entry]

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