LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA

2016-05-11, 18:29, JASON

BUDGET, STAY: RUMOURS GUEST HOUSE

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We decided on Langkawi because there wasn't much to see in terms of tourist sites, but rather, it would be a good weekend to relax on the beach and travel around the island to soak in some nature -- hikes, and stuff. Our friend, Jane, wanted the same thing, so we decided to book the flight together. The last trip we took was to Melaka in August, which seems like ages ago, and, when thinking about it, actually is agessssss ago. There's lots to see here in this region of the world.

Let's start with the flight. It departed at 15:55. I don't know why, but for some reason Thorin and I thought that leaving campus at 14:15 would be sufficient time to arrive. Well, if we had met 14:15 at the train and departed, perhaps so. But, what ended up happening was we met at 14:30, just 1.5 hours before the flight departed, and took the MRT over to the airport. On an off-peak time around mid-afternoon, the MRT is notoriously slow, and you'll have to wait for a couple of trains. What ended up happening was us arriving to the airport at 15:40, and needing to sprint directly from the MRT station all the way to the gate, all the while passing through immigration. In Singapore, if you are a resident, you are allowed to go through an e-Gate, but, still, the closer the departure time arrived, the more nervous we got. After I had passed immigration, I had sprinted with Thorin across to the gate, even getting dizzy at one point and almost fainting since I was hyperventilating and getting increasingly tunnel-visioned. He also noticed that tunnel-vision, but our main goal was to get to the gate. Luckily, Jane was there with her bag staring at the flight attendants and giving a concerned look, to which they responded, "Are you waiting for someone?", to which Jane said, "Yeah, two of my friends." And, as she gives us the 'concerned call' about where we are, Thorin runs into the gate and shows up, and I'm lagging about 15 seconds behind, out of breath and having bumped into an old auntie. My hands are shaking, I can't even untie my bag from my waist (which I did so the bouncing bag on my back wouldn't affect the running). Eventually, I get to security, still a bit out-of-breath, but at least we made it. I will never push my luck with the MRT again. Always leaving two hours beforehand. That was too stress-inducing, especially the long wait for the MRT to close the doors at the transfer station. It felt like a lifetime.

Anyway, we arrive in Langkawi, together, and hop on a cab into Pantai Cenang, which is a main beach area and where we are staying. Langkawi is the main island, but actually I believe it's a cluster of smaller islands (like lots of Southeast Asia, it seems) that you can hop to; but, we just stayed in the main island. Pantai Cenang area is like a lot of other Malaysian cities: runs pretty late with pasar malams (Malay for night market) littered around the place into midnight and a bit later; is oddly quiet city (there could be many people in a night market, but have it still be super quiet); and has extremely friendly locals. There's a certain beachy and sleepy quality to the town that seems to happen at most beach-based cities, and Langkawi is no exception. Specific to the Pantai Cenang area, it's all based around one main street that parallels the beach. So, you can stroll up and down it within 30 minutes, and still have the beach be super accessible. But, there is one exception. Langkawi is a duty-free island, so all of the booze sold there is TAX FREE. Yes folks, you heard it. A tax-free place. For all my party people out there, tax-free is the way to go. That, coupled with a slightly depreciated Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) currency = cheap drinks, and always a great time. We went into a duty-free shop after having some satay and Nasi Campur (mixed rice plate, as in, you get white rice, and pick what you want on it), and guess how much we bought a bottle of Stolichnaya for? 7 USD, 10 SGD, 30 MYR. And it was a 750 ml too! So, we decided to just do some light drinking at the guest house, and then pass out for the night, since we had a long day ahead. Ah, Langkawi, already speaking directly to our hearts. 

When we woke up that day, we decided to go get scooters to travel around the island. We had asked about scooter rentals at this one place for the night before, and they told us: If we were the first three people to show up @ 9:00, then we would get their discounted scooters. Although the quality of the scooters weren't the best, we were able to rent three out at 16 MYR per each bike. All we had to do was present our driver's licenses and pay a small deposit, and that was it. That's the equivalent of just a little over 5 Singapore dollars, for a FULL days rental of bikes -- until 9pm. Incredible! Where else are you ever going to be able to rent a scooter for that cheap? While waiting for the shop to open, we even stopped by a breakfast place nearby that sold Roti Canai (Roti Prata) and Nasi Lemak in freshly-wrapped banana leaves. So, we wolfed down some delicious Malay Breakfast, rented our scooters, and were on our way. 

But, there was still one big problem. We all had never driven a scooter before, and the guy just dropped it off with us expecting us know how to ride it, as if almost to say, "What's there to say? You just accelerate and go."

As a result, the first 5 minutes was spending out how to actually operate the thing. You feel slightly exposed going from always driving a car, to driving a scooter, since you've essentially derobed any unnecessary metal (maybe it is necessary, for protection.. but not for fun!) surrounding the vehicle. There's storage under the seat, that took us about a good minute to figure out how to use. And, lastly, getting comfortable riding a new vehicle, in a new city, on the left-hand-side of the road. The initial bits were bumpy with a lot of trial and error necessary to get the biting point feel, but, how else do you learn, eh? We took them to a nearby parking lot in front of a duty free shop -- no alcohol purchased this time, unfortunately -- to practice for a bit, and just like that, we were *officially* on our way. 

The country side is very beautiful. There are massive green mountains that shelter low valleys, that are either residential or still agricultural plains. The entire island is still extremely low rise, without many high buildings at all. The best part is just looking out into nature and taking it all in. You could be at the base of a leafy-green mountain at one point, and you could also be next to the beach in the next moment. The clouds drift over the mountains so it looks like small bushfires are starting, but it's just small pockets of clouds flowing past. It has that whole dense and humid Southeast Asia thing going on, which I absolutely love. Just fresh air, and a great view.

The scooter riding is something else. These things are relatively easy to operate, and when you get to move, and that wind hits your face, it brings back memories to driving down the 5 in California with your windows down blasting your favorite jams. Yeah, you know that feeling. There's something incredibly freeing about it, and I can understand why people love riding motorcycles so much. It finally clicked as to why. It wasn't so much a thrill for me, since you don't go that fast or take sharp corners, but it's just this total embodiment of freedom that you get. In the video below, we interject some of the speech with footage of us riding just so you can get a glimpse of the environment. No pictures were taken as I was driving, instead, I took videos.. but only because there were very few cars actually on the road. Don't film and drive- consider this a PSA. You'll be able to tell how difficult it was after all the bouncy footage.

Our first stop was to head to Seven Wells Waterfall, which is just on the western portion of the island (we were coming from the south). After we were situated with the scooters, we decided to fill up with gas for the day. So, the entire scooter is probably only about 5 liters, and guess how much a liter of gas costs? 1.7 MYR! So, we were able to fill up our tanks all for under five Ringgit. Amazingly cheap, and it makes it that much more enjoyable. Turns out, the gas station we were nearby was also near Pantai Kok (Kok.. get it out of your systems..), which was super beautiful. But, seeing as we only had a day with the scooters, we just took some pictures at the gas station like the classy bitches we is and jogged on 

When we got to Seven Wells, you have to pay a 1 Ringgit parking fee, and then you take the climb of a lifetime to the top. It's about 600 steps, which isn't too bad, but in the heat it's pretty tough. Getting to the top, it's essentially a huge rock slide with pockets of deep pools where you can dip your feet. My guess is that there are seven wells, but I don't know, that's just a hunch. Unfortunately, since it had been a bit of a dry season there, there wasn't much water, but there was still a small trickle, and after having the struggle of figuring out how to manipulate motorbikes and find our way around, we took off our shoes and dipped our feet for a bit, just relaxing. It was super nice.

Walking down the stairs, you can walk maybe 10 minutes to a viewing area where these pools drain off, that is, you can see the actual Seven Wells Waterfall. It's nice because they don't rope it off, so I assume that when the waterfall is at mass flow after a rain spell, you can just play in the waterfall and bathe on the rocks if you wanted to. It's not so much a 'viewing platform' -- the rocks where the water falls onto is the viewing platform. However, like I said, because it had been pretty dry, there wasn't much to see in terms of a waterfall. The rock formation, though, was very nice. A steep edge of rock, and we happened to be there right when the sun shone on it so it reflected nicely. 

Biking out of Seven Wells, Jane gets a nice coconut shake at the base of the mountain while we restock up on water, and then we're on our way again.

The next stop was Pantai Pasir Tengkorak, some random beach that was located on the northwest of the island. As the map said, it was supposed to be a super isolated beach, but when we got there it was high tide, leaving little shoreline, and super crowded. All we did was just walk around the sand a bit, then left. Not much to see here -- pretty standard in terms of beach. A couple of Malay families were just out chilling for the day.

As it was approaching lunchtime, we thought to head to the northeast of the island into one of the main towns to see what there was to eat. There's some footage of us driving around at the bottom, but it was just a lot of scootering and chilling on our bikes for most of it, soaking in the Langkawi landscape. When we were approaching the edge of the island, we decided to slow down a bit and decide on a place to eat. When we hit the beach at the end, we knew we went too far, so had to loop back. Looping back, Thorin and I were going on, but then we noticed that Jane wasn't behind us about 2 minutes in! So, turns out she got into a an accident at the beach while turning the scooter around, and some Malay guys were helping her with first aid, as well as instructing how to return the bike without having to pay extra, since it was scratched up a bit. Just a minor mishap. The place of accident was another beach with famous limestone formations, so obviously Thorin and I took some photos there while we could, while trying to attend to Jane. This beach was really quiet and not as alive, and I thought it would have made a great place to relax for a bit, if we weren't busy with returning the bikes later that day. So, after Jane was polished and ready to go, we drove into town a bit more, found a place to eat and a bike shop nearby that replaced rear-view mirrors for scooters. We dropped off the bike for a bit of a fix, and went to eat.

We had Nasi Campur, which is essentially just a mixed plate of rice and various other curries and meats. But, on the wall we saw a picture of this thing called Sup Ayam (Chicken Soup), which Thorin and I decided to try. No joke, probably some of the best soup I've ever had. It had a perfect mix of chicken broth, fried little onions, cilantro, green onion, and chicken. What a gem, and all for the price of 5 Ringgit (about 1.7 SGD, maybe 1 USD). 

After a delicious lunch and picking up Jane's bike, the weather looked a bit gloomy. So, we still set out. No further than 5 minutes into the ride, it began raining down pretty hard, to the point where our faces were being stung by the droplets of water, so we pulled over to the side. Across the street, there was a small house with a laksa stand overhang, and so Thorin, Jane and I went to congregate under there while we left the bikes on the other side of the street. Then, what happened next was the onset of probably the biggest rainstorm I've ever been in. It was shitting cats and dogs for a solid hour while we were stood under this laksa stand. The house nearby had a truck delivery of some sand and bricks, and the truck driver looked at us in pity, but we became smiling friends by the end.

At one point, the rain grew even heavier and mud was starting to flood a bit into our shoes and it was getting hard to stay dry. Jane and I took off our shoes and socks and just stood in the mud (free mud bath?). One guy standing outside of his house had seen us suffering quite a bit, and in an act of good will, he beckoned to us to go over to his house that had an overhang and was slightly elevated off the ground (to prevent any floodwater from entering because it was pissing it down). He invited us to sit on his porch to pass the rain by -- all nonverbally, mind you. He just smiled and wiped down three chairs for us, and invited us to sit down while we watched the rainstorm. Some of his family members came outside to look at us and smile, and then went along with their business. One thing that made this trip so enjoyable was the 100% hospitality of these Malay folk in Langkawi. We didn't have a single bad encounter with them, and all of them showed so much generosity; from helping Jane with first aid, inviting us to sit on the porch, and making genuine conversation with us along the way. When the rainstorm subsided and it was down to a trickle, we thanked the guy graciously -- Terima Kasih!! -- and hopped on our bikes, and went along our way again. 

I'm glad it rained. The island after raining was even more beautiful, with more streams of clouds peering over the mountains, and that after-rain musty smell and humidity. It felt like the island was refreshed from before. Like the world pressed its F5 button.

Next stop was the Durian waterfall. We figure since we just went through an entire rainstorm, the waterfall would be at heavy flow, and we were lucky to find it so. The entrance is hidden among some small stalls selling random things, but the hike up was wonderful. There are small pagodas along the way as you hikeup where you can do a picnic, and they follow the river upstream so as you climb further up, there are some pagodas. We saw a few kids actually just playing in the river, wading across it in jeans and tshirts, to hike up to the main pond where the main waterfall had an outpour. The hike wasn't as strenuous as Seven Wells, but still a nice hearty climb on top of some tree stumps to the top. An interesting part about the waterfall is that the water was all brown. It was probably from the runoff of the mountains after the rain, but still, it's unique in that it's not everyday where you come across brown waterfalls. 

So after the waterfall, Jane decided to go get a massage and Thorin and I decided to try going up to Gunung Raya, which was a scenic place at the top of Langkawi Island. We completely forgot that we weren't supposed to take the bikes up the mountain, but that didn't stop our little ambitious hearts. We started the 23km journey to the top, not realizing that the air gets colder as you go up. All along the way, the landscape just improves, you get to see rural fields again sandwiched by mountains, and you also get to emerge above the clouds and soak in some of that fresh mountain AIR. There are all sorts of things on the way up, including herds of cows that are just doing their pilgrimage to the mountain peak Mecca. At one point, being in shorts and shirts, it got cold to the point where our hands went a bit numb, but we were still a few kilometers off from the top. It wasn't until that we came face to face with a team of bulls that had just finished their pilgrimage to the top and were heading back down to the town that we realized our uphill battle was at a standstill. It was either us going up, or the bulls going down. In a car, I'd attempt it, but with our tiny selves on scooters, we decided to call it a day. Plus, we were freezing. As the magic 8 ball says, "SIGNS POINT TO NO." Respect to the 8 ball, taught me so many lessons in the 90s 

So after that failed mission, with a few nice sights on the way up, we decide to head to one of the main mausoleums. Well, maybe it's not like the main one since there aren't mausoleums around the island, but it was some ancient tomb called Makam Purba. Where we ended up, however, was Kota Mahsuri, the cultural center. But, guess what? We got there at 18:02 and it closed at 18:00. Just our luck dude, I think Langkawi was out to get us from the start. We wandered around the premises a bit, got some fried dough snack, and then decided to head back. 

Dinner that night was very nice. We caught up with Jane again after being refreshed from the massage and we asked our hostel owner where was a good Malay place to eat. Our hostel owner recommended us some random place advertising fish outside the front, and we gladly agreed. The interesting thing about Langkawi was that at one point it was occupied by the Siam Kingdom, or, Thai folk. So, sometimes the curries that you see in Malaysia will be infused with a Thai flavor. In fact, the land itself is closer I believe to the Thai border than it is to Malaysia, so much to the point that people in the north of the island will speak Thai and understand it fluently. As such, you get a lot of Thai-influenced things such as people who watch boxing, people who speak Thai, a Bahasa Melayu with Thai words, and, most importantly, Thai-inspired food. I'm talking about that sourish spicy flavor that you get -- you know, your Tom Yums and that -- all that good bizniz. Even better, since Malay food tends to be sweet, when you mix the sweet, sour, and spicy together, you get a very unique flavor in the region. So, that night we ordered some Padprik Ayam, which was a Langkawi curry with chicken. One of the best I've ever had. Thorin and I also decided to go all out and try a fish cooked in a sweet and sour sauce, also super delicious. I of course took a picture before we killed that fish for a second time, in our mouths. 

That night, we went back to the bottle of Stoli and finished it, and just had a nice tipsy wander around the town. We stopped at this place called "OMG! Bar" and ordered a drink, probably paying more than we normally would, but, you gotta be a free bitch sometime and let go, and enjoy your money a bit. So, we did that. As we were drinking, the lovely host came by to take song requests, to which we said Oasis. She then played a great rendition of "Don't Look Back in Anger" as we belted away. Actually, we felt quite bad as we were the only ones, and it would've been nice to get a song where everyone could really belt out to (Titanic you guys, that is always the answer). But, we still followed through for an awkward 4 or so minutes and were grateful to have a band that actually took on song requests. We went to the beach to just look out into the ocean before heading back to the room. Luckily, we didn't have commitments for the next day. 

Late next morning, we rolled our asses to the same breakfast place that we went to the day before, but this time we had some Soto Ayam (Kind of like the Sup Ayam we had the day before), more prata, as well as a Bubur Ayam (Rice porridge with chicken) and Tom Yum Chicken soup. The flavors were all excellent, still mirroring those strong Thai flavors, but having a Malaysian distinction. Then, we finally made it to what our area was known for: Pantai Cenang, the main beach. We just sat out there for a good 2 hours, soaking in the water, reading our books, and going for walks along the beach. It was an overall relaxing day, as we left at about 4pm to catch our flight back to Singapore.

Final impressions of Langkawi? It's an ideal island getaway. Things are quiet and laid back in island fashion, and the people are the nicest I've ever met. It restores your faith in humanity. Peace out Langkawi, time to take my cheap budget flight back to Singapore, to the bustle. The hustle. 

Please take a look at our driving compilation below, along with some narration in the middle. This one actually took some editing. We only 3/4-assed this one. 

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