Langkawi 2012

For those of you keeping up with our family adventures, our recent trip in February to the lovely Malaysian island of Langkawi was quite a treat!  Once again the kids had a long weekend, so we took a trip to see our neighboring island, famed for its beautiful beaches.   We almost didn't make the flight (leaving late, pouring rain on the way), but thankfully, we made it to the check-in counter 4 minutes before closing!!

Recovering from my flustered state, we boarded the smallest plane I've ever taken, a cute little jet by the carrier Firefly.  It was the first time I ever walked out on the tarmac to board, and we were given umbrellas to hold as we walked.  (Rachel loved that!)  Air time was only 25 minutes, and we gladly chose flying over the alternative, a 3-hour ferry ride which would have left Abigail in misery.

We hopped in a teksi and 15 minutes later, we arrived at the lovely Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort.  We were greeted with refreshing lemonade, rode a shuttle to our connecting rooms, and after settling in, we went to redeem our dinner vouchers at the Spice Trader restaurant on site.  Adam and I thoroughly enjoyed the multi-course set Indian meal.  A highlight was the dessert made with gula melaka, a sweetener made by extracting sap from the flower bud of a coconut tree.  It was like eating a Krispy Kreme cake donut soaked in brown sugar syrup--almost heaven in a bowl!

We began each day dining alfresco with a gorgeous view of Pantai Kok as we enjoyed the hotel's fabulous breakfast buffet.  We came away very satisfied and then were off to explore!  Our first stop was the nearby Oriental Village, a retail center at the base of the cable car station.  Initially closed for about an hour due to high winds, we killed time buying souvenirs and visiting a small deer petting zoo.  We met some friendly people from Iraq and took pictures together.  =)

Once the winds calmed, we climbed into our glass bubble and disappeared into the clouds!  The view was mostly foggy at the top, but it cleared briefly before we descended.  We enjoyed the cooler temperatures from the top of the mountain and were some of the last people allowed to walk on the suspended cable bridge.  Most of us enjoyed feeling the sway of the bridge, but Mark was a bit nervous!

That afternoon, we enjoyed play time and lunch poolside, and the kids had fun exploring the private beach and climbing on the rocks.  Later, we checked them into the kids' club for an hour so Adam and I could share pre-dinner cocktails.  For dinner we went to Telaga Harbour Park, a quaint retail area with restaurants overlooking a yacht club.

The next day, we had arranged for a private boat tour of the Kilim Geoforest Park, which turned out to be our favorite part of the trip!  We climbed aboard a chartered speedboat and our guide and driver were both friendly.  We enjoyed the thrill of zipping past mangrove trees as we were taken between destinations, including a bat cave, a fish farm, and even through a rock tunnel. 

At one point, we were taken to a private beach and played there for almost an hour, which was our kids' favorite thing! 

They also enjoyed getting to feed bread to some colorful striped fish.  Luckily, we still had it after Abigail caused her sister a scare by holding up the loaf of bread to a pack of monkeys.  What was she thinking?!  I have to admit that after a few started jumping onto our boat from shore, my heartbeat rose too!

 My favorite part was getting to see an eagle feeding!  To attract them, the driver threw chicken meat into the water and we watched as they swooped down for lunch.  Langkawi is aptly named for its reddish "lang" eagles.

Swimming at the pool that afternoon, we enjoyed the playful monkeys in the trees above us and later dined at the hotel's steakhouse.

Our weekend was short but relaxing.  Beach vacations are popular with our kids; combining water play with buffets is always a win!   We look forward to exploring more of Malaysia's beautiful islands.