My Trip – Part 1 – Langkawi Island

This trip I was joining my friend and his family member including his sisters, brother-in-law and kids. It’s ten (10) of us. Our schedule was going to Langkawi Island on 14/11/2007 till 16/11/2007 and going to Penang Island on 16/11/2007 afternoon till 18/11/2007 evening back to Kuching. We were flying with Airasia throughout our trip except Langkawi to Penang, we were using ferry.

14 November 2007, Wednesday

We gathered at Kuching International Airport early morning of Wednesday, 14/11/2007. Our flight was at 7.00 a.m. This was my 3rd time to Langkawi Island. We reached LCCT, Kuala Lumpur at around 8.45 a.m. and our next flight to Langkawi was at 12.50 p.m. We were waiting at LCCT for about 4 hours before departing to Langkawi. We were having our lunch at one of the food stall at LCCT.

We reached Langkawi International Airport at 1.50 p.m. After that we went to approach one of the car rental companies for bargaining the rental of a van which could sit ten persons (2 kids). There were about 7 to 8 car rental companies in the airport terminal. We bargained the price until RM160.00 for 2 days. My friend acted as a driver and I acted as a map reader. We also bought the underwater world entrance ticket at a discounted price of RM25.00 per ticket at the car rental company. Normal price is RM28.00 per ticket.

We headed to our pre-booking hotel, Langkasuka Beach Resort which is about 5 minutes drive from the airport. It’s an old resort which was built by our Sarawak construction tycoon, Tan Sri Ting Pek Khiing. The design and building materials were almost the same as our Santubong Resort, Kuching. The room was cheap and very big but not that classy. We checked in the hotel and took shower. After that we drove to Kuah Town to have our late lunch as all of us were starving. We dropped by a shop selling barbeque chicken, duck and pork rice. We ordered individually to suit one choice. The owner asked where we come from and to my surprise that the owner came from Sibu, Sarawak. They told us that there was a lot of Sarawakian in Langkawi. After lunch, we went to visit the Eagle Square and Taman Legenda.

Both places were just next to each other and nearby the Jetty Point Duty Free Centre. The eagle statue situated near the seaside was very huge and well designed. The Taman Legenda was just a leisure garden park for those who like jogging or cycling with small lane and vegetation surrounding the area. In fact there is nothing much to see inside and was much disappointed. It was raining moment later and we ran to the Jetty Point Duty Free Centre.

When talked about duty free in Langkawi, what are the items cheaper if with duty? I found out that the bottle alcohol drinks like wine, whisky, vodka, beer etc, cigarette, chocolate, kitchenware and electrical items are much cheaper than those could obtain from airport duty free shops.

After the Jetty Point, we proceeded to Langkawi largest shopping centre (in actual fact, the size is just like our Tun Jugah Shopping Centre) and the clothing were not cheap. All of us didn’t buy anything from the shopping centre and our next destination was to fill our stomach as it’s about 7.30 p.m already. There were a lot of Chinese Restaurants in the Kuah Town. We didn’t know which one is the best, so we just pick one with the name by “Loo Tien Restaurant” (in English called Open Air Restaurant but like our open air in Kuching). As we were hungry, so we quickly ordered some dishes.

We encountered a miscommunication yet funny thing while ordering steam fish. My friend asked how much the fish and the guy told us that it was RM5.00. We asked further whether it’s RM5.00 per KG?? He said yes. Wow….It’s really cheap if compare in Kuching. We enjoyed the food very much as so hungry already. After finished our dinner, when the bill came and we were shocked that the fish cost us RM85.00 but the fish was not big. Then we realized that the fish was RM5.00 per 100 grams and not per KG. So silly and stupid we were!!!! Laughing all the way back to our hotel….Where got so cheap fish selling RM5.00 per KG….

15 November 2007, Thursday
After having our breakfast in the hotel, we tour around the island. Our first destination was Oriental Village and Cable Car. The place was undergoing some renovation and nothing much to see there. A few rows of oriental shops which selling cloths, gifts and souvenirs. The cable car’s entrance fee is RM25.00 per head and the journey covers from ground to the hilltop which you could see the whole of Langkawi and part of Kedah and Thailand. We didn’t try the cable car as majority not keen to try. :-(
From Oriental Village, we headed to Black Sand Beach. It is a small beach with black sand and I presumed the sand was contaminated by oil or some chemical. We took a rest at the stall nearby to drink fresh coconut water. After that we went to visit the Glass and Batik processing house and the Kraftangan Gallery.

Perdana Gallery and Bird Paradise were our next stop but the same thing we didn’t went into the gallery as it was fare paying also. What a waste!!! But what can I do? That’s the disadvantage when you traveled in a group.

We have our late lunch at Kuah Town around 2.00 p.m. before heading to Underwater World. I would say it’s another disappointment when we went into the premises and was told that the marine tunnel was closed for undergoing repair work. Oh Gosh!! Then what to see??? Some small aquariums and penguins, that’s it…… There is a 3D theatre in there but the 3D became 2D only as the 3D face some technical failure….Ahhhhh…frustrating…. cost us RM25.00 per head!!!!!!!!

The time was about 4.00 p.m. and we went to hotel to rest and recharged our battery plus energy. I took shower and took a nap. At 7.00 p.m. we drove to Kuah Town again for dinner. We tried another restaurant and ordered some dishes. Do you know how long we have to wait for the first dish to come out? It took about 45 minutes!!!! Our dinner took us 1 ½ hours and we finished at 8.30 p.m. The food was not so delicious if compare with last night one. After dinner, we went to a shopping centre nearby and bought some chocolate for friends. At around 10.00 p.m. we drove back to hotel and call for the day. I bought few bottles of fruit juice mixed with vodka and drank in the hotel room. It tasted good and refreshing. After that I went to sleep.

16 November 2007, Friday

We were leaving Langkawi for Penang at 2.30 p.m. by ferry. We checked out at around 9.00 a.m. and heading to Kuah Town as the ferry point was there. My friend wanted to buy Chivas and Black Label, so we stopped by a duty free shop. He bought 3 bottles of Chivas (RM65.00 per bottle) and 1 bottle of Black Label (RM75.00 per bottle).

Upon arriving at the ferry point, we parked the rented van at the car park and left the car key inside the car. The ferry was delay for ½ hour. We waited there for about 2 hours before going to Penang.

That’s about my Langkawi experience.

To Be Continued……… Penang Experience……