Cable Can or Cable Car-n't?

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One of the few downsides of being on Langkawi is the lack of any public transport. While there are plenty of taxis, if you want to go anywhere beyond walking distance then the price soon starts to mount up. As there are plenty of attractions on the beautiful island we bypassed the taxi option and instead elected to hire a car for a couple of days. Now that might sound extravagant but if I told you that is cost us just 13 pounds for 2 days in a small hatchback, you'll no doubt be as surprised as we were.

The place we most wanted to visit was the Langkawi cable car near the north-west of the island. Unfortunately for us, yesterday the weather wasn't on our side. We had picked the car up the night before so were committed to getting the most out of it for the day but within 3 or 4 minutes of leaving the hostel we were in the midst of a nice heavy downpour. Kudos to Glynn as he drove really well considering the weather conditions and being in a strange car not to mention on unknown roads with sharp bends as we wound our past the airport and way up into the mountainous jungle interior.

We were disappointed when the weather didn't improve over the next half an hour and it would have been pointless going up in the cable car if all we would see from the top would be dark clouds. Neither of us fancied driving anywhere else in the rain so we headed straight back to the hostel to wait it out.

In the afternoon, the skies cleared a little so we made our second attempt to go on the cable car. At the Oriental Village where the cable car station is located, we looked up at the peaks and realised that although it was no longer raining, the clouds were still surrounding the viewing platforms. We took a stroll around the village which is like a purpose-built tourist destination with shops and restaurants surrounding a lilypad blanketed ornamental pond with a Japanese-style red bridge arching across it. The shops here were surprisingly good value - much cheaper than the shops near to the hostel - and we even managed to score ourselves a hot meal at the little food court at the back of the village. It was the first time we've been able to afford to eat anything more exciting than cup noodles or toast!

Although the day didn't go remotely as intended, it was still nice to be out and about under our own steam rather than having to plan our time around bus or train schedules. Fuel was so cheap too - 30 Ringgit (about 4 quid) bought us almost a whole tank of petrol! On the way back to the hostel in the evening, we stopped off at The Zon, a duty-free mini shopping mall, and stocked up on beer that was only 1.30 Ringgit per can. With supplies in hand an only 6 episodes remaining, it was time to for our end of day dose of 24 before bed.

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Comments

[Linda]

Shame about the weather
Hi there - Sounds like the weathers been attacking you a bit - first the sun now the rain! I bet it was weird driving for the first time in ages. Liking the photos as well - do you have one of yourselves in the hire car? Jish driving the hire car? Hope travels continue well!