Langkawi Island, Malaysia

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A little less to post about this time as we've been completely relaxing since getting to Langkawi island!
After a night in Georgetown, we got a lift from one of the owners at the Crystal Guesthouse for 60p each to the Ferry which was leaving at 8.15am. We got onto the ferry, to which we found an indian family had taken our seats, but only so they could sit together so we sat in two of their seats. Before the ferry departed, funnily the ferry company had a very easy job of just assigning people to seats when they boarded but they failed big time. Everyone who got on after us was finding that they had the same seat numbers as other people and the staff on the boat had to try and find them other seats!! Once it finally all got resolved we set off, with Avatar to watch on board with rather dodgy english subtitles! We were able to get up whilst the ferry was in motion and go outside on the deck upstairs and take in the views but because it was so choppy we didn't stay for that long. An island we shortly stopped at, unsure of what the name was, was absolutely stunning, and then it was another 15mins until we got to Langkawi Island.

After saying goodbye to the friendly family we were sitting with, we walked into the main entrance of the ferry terminal. After some faffing about with some troubles with ATM's, we got a taxi to the beach at Pantai Cenang. After a journey of around 20 minutes, we asked to be dropped at the Gecko Guesthouse which is a 5min walk from the beach and was recommended. We checked in after they had rooms free, the place itself was quite cool comparible to the other places we had stayed at. It has a big communal area with tables, tv and sofas and played chilled out Bob Marley tunes. We were there for minutes before we headed to the beach.

The beach was absolutely stunning, with white sands, palm trees and other islands in view. Natalie had a cut from KL so guttingly couldn't go in the water that time but Toe did, and the tropical sea was warm but quite salty!! It was only minutes before we got burnt so now we're taking no chances. After Toe had a brief swim, Natalie found some beach loungers in what seemed to be a private area with no one about to charge, bought 4 beers and laid out underneath the palm trees and chilled. (The beers were 40p a can!!) After a stop at the hostel we went out for dinner at the Red Tomato cafe, and had a very western meal of italian pasta. Something we learnt from coming to Langkawi is that it is touristy so the food isn't as cheap as everywhere else in Malaysia and has more western places to eat, but also a lot of seafood resturants that I'll mention more in a bit. After our meal, we went back to Gecko and hung out in the common area. Walking to Gecko we saw a lot of far away lightning but no thunder, quite spectacular to see as the lightning looked sharp in the distance and really lit up the sky. It was quite quiet in the hostel so we played 4 rounds of chess and then bed with Toe managing to get the mosquito net up with some crafty handling of Natalie's shoelaces.

The morning was extremely hot and sticky, and we decided to get Natalie's cut checked out by a doctor. After breakfast in the nearby cafe, we went to the doctor and it turned out to be fine with the doctor recommending that Nat actually swim for it to heal faster which was good! After getting pestered everywhere for Taxi's, when we finally want one to go back to the beach it was ridiculously hard until we found a telephone number and called one. Getting back to Pantai Cenang, we headed to the beach and went straight in, weather being absolutely gorgeous and the water warm. We completely chilled out.

We were walking across the main road behind the beach and found a sign for some beach chalets which included air con, tv and own bathroom for a good price. Out of curiosity and liking the idea of having accomodation right on the beach we asked to see a room, which turned out to be a pretty amazing room but we thought it may have been more expensive than the 45 ringgit on the front advert which it was. Still, it was a good price and you certainly get what you pay for! The room was incredibly clean, with a nice bathroom attached, air con, tv and a kettle and with it being right on the beach with incredible views we just couldnt say no! Moving all of our stuff over from Gecko, we went to the chalet and then went down to the beach which was 2 seconds away!

After swimming in the sea, we really fancied seafood and came across a seafood restaurant which was extremely busy so we figured that it had to be good. We got a good table and ordered an ice cold tiger beer, and we had dim sum for starter, deep fried squid, fried rice and black pepper lobster for a main. It was the first time we both had had lobster, and before they cooked it they came over to us with the uncooked lobster for our approval to which we were like 'er yeah ok!' They blatantly selected the bigger lobster especially after getting a peek at them before we left, but was worth it anyway. The food came in big portions and the lobster looked impressive, taking up a lot of the table on a massive plate. Everything was delicious and totally worth the price. One of our best meals so far and definitely now fans of Lobster! However, that was just a treat and won't be a regular dish we'll be consuming!

The next morning, we woke up fairly early for our free breakfast out on the sand on the beach. Fairly basic but good and filling none the less. We went for a swim, but the waves were a lot more choppy as it was quite windy this morning. After that we completely relaxed on our front porch with books and ipods and stayed there until late afternoon when we were finally able to get up and go for a swim. Finishing the afternoon with coconut and mango ice creams, we decided to go for a cheaper option and visited yet another burger stall getting chicken burgers with cheese and chilli sauce. Whilst we were waiting the heavens opened and started pouring down with lightning, but the burger stall owners being friends with the slightly posher restaurant next door let us sit there and eat our burgers in there away from the rain!

Today we have vacated our beach hut and we were able to leave our luggage in reception until we get our flight back to Kuala Lumpur. After that we have a 6hr wait until the following flight into Siem Reap, Cambodia. We were planning on getting out a moped or a bicycle but you need a license for the former and at the moment it's really hot so not sure what we're going to do for the next 5 hours except try and stay cool!
We've got a hostel for 4 nights in Siem Reap and we're going to do the 3 day viewing of Angkor Wat which is like 40 dollars.
Until next time, lots of love Natalie and Toe xxxx

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Comments

[Chris/Mum]

Toe's toes
even the sand can't disguise them. strange little beasts!! your little chalet looks lovely - the view from it even better :) safe flight - look forward to the next installment. love Mum/Chris xx