Langkawi – Part 3 (Beaches in Langkawi)

An island wouldn’t be complete without beautiful beaches around. This is definitely the first things that came across our mind when we stepped into Langkawi. There’re a lots of beaches lies in the main island of Langkawi which mostly located in the Northern and Southern shoreline. We only managed to visit a few of the beaches as it was only a short trip for both of us.

Pantai Teluk Burau (Burau Bay Beach)

We found the place right after we explored Langkawi Cable Car and Telaga Tujuh. Less crowded and a little bit quiet. It’s a long beach of white sands facing the Pulau Burau (Burau Island) which are the roosting place of migratory birds. I was mentioned by locals that we can actually walk towards to the island during low tide. But caution as we should know exactly the right time of high tide and low tide. We might not want to be surrendered at the island itself.

Pantai Batu (Pebble Beach)

As Pantai Teluk Datai (Datai Beach) is considered as a private beach and we believe one of the best beaches in Langkawi, we wanted to explore the closest area to it too! That’s the reason why we finally ended it up here. How does we find the place? We randomly stopped over at a unmaintained car park area and being curious, we parked our car and walk towards the sea. And this is exactly what we found! It was such an amazing view and what make it different from others is instead of sand, this beach is full with rocks and pebbles of all sizes.

Pantai Tanjung Rhu (Tanjung Rhu Beach)

Another area which is absolutely secluded and with such a silent and peaceful atmosphere is definitely Pantai Tanjung Rhu (Tanjung Rhu Beach) on the Northern Tip of Langkawi Island. This is where the Four Season Resort and Tanjung Rhu Resort is located. To reach here, we passed through a very quiet coastal road and it’s very far away from Kuah Town (the duty-free shops area) and even Pantai Cenang too.

Pantai Tanjung Rhu gets its name – Tanjung means cape while rhu is casuarina. During low tide, it is possible to walk across a sandy stretch to the rocky outcrop of Pulau Chabang. Nearby are a number of caves as well as mangrove swamps.

Source : Langkawiguide.com

Pantai Chenang (Chenang Beach)

Pantai Chenang!  It is located 20km away from Kuah Town and the most developed beach in Langkawi. We believe this is the most happening and popular beach on Langkawi island as it offers a wide range of accommodation to choose (from budget to mid range types of hotel and also a few high-end resort). Not to forget various kinds of cafes and restaurants from local, western and fusion which cater to all kind of tourist crowds too.Some said that Pantai Chenang has an absolutely beautiful sunset but unfortunately, during our short stay we just couldn’t fit our time to experience those moments.

If you’re happened to be in Langkawi, you might want to visit Pantai Batu Hampar (Laying Stones Beach), Pantai Kok (Kok Beach), Pantai Pasir Hitam (Black Sand Beach), Pantai Tengah (Middle Beach), Pantai Beringin (Banyan Beach), Pantai Tengkorak (Skull Beach) and the list goes on!

It’s a wrap to our short trip to the historical island of Langkawi!

Simply us,
Zara AB & FF
The Province of Chroma

Langkawi – Part 2 (Island Hopping, Dataran Lang, Laman Padi)

It’s our 2nd days in Langkawi! Since we have explored most of the places that we wanted to go the day before, today we opt for an Island Hopping trip which cost us RM30 per pax. The price is way reasonable for us as the trip will takes about 4 to 5 hours and covered a few places.  As we’re waiting for our pick up, it started to rain. We’re very much hoping that luck will be just on our side. Alhamdullilah, it’s only drizzling once we reached the jetty. The trip started as early as 9.30am and ends somewhere around 3.00pm. Just an extra tips if you decided to go for this tour, do bring along water bottle and light snacks as the tour might extend right after lunch time.

Our first destination of the day is definitely Pulau Dayang Bunting or Pregnant Maiden Island. It was the second largest island in Langkawi as mentioned by our tour guide. Correct us if we’re wrong. The highlight of the island is definitely the biggest natural lake which is Tasik Dayang Bunting or Pregnant Maiden Lake. It was told that the fresh water lake was formed when a huge underground limestone collapsed followed by a few version of legends and myths.

Pulau Dayang Bunting or Pregnant Maiden Island. Can you spot a side view of a pregnant lady from here?

The surrounding

Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park. Do be careful with your food or other stuff as there is tendency that the wild monkeys will sneak and grab your things.

To get to the fresh water lake, a short hiking of 10 to 15 minutes are required to reach the destination.

And this is it! We’re then welcomed with one of the most magnificent natural landscapes here in Langkawi. As promised by the tour guide, we were given 1 hour to spent our time here. Basically, you can swim or rent a solar or  a paddle boat with such a reasonable rates. It is advisable to rent a life jacket if you decided to swim as the depth of the lake is about 30 to 50 feet. You might not want to take the risk even though you are good swimmer.

Not to forget, the legend of the Tasik Dayang Bunting.

According to local legend, it began when a male elf named Mat Teja fell in love at the first sight, with Dayang Bunting, a female elf. Mat Teja won her heart by rubbing a mermaid’s tear drop on his face. Their romantic and intimate relationship became complete with Dayang’s pregnancy. Dayang then decided to retire at Tasik Dayang Beranak (Maiden Giving Birth Lake). Nine months later, Dayang gave birth to a child. Unfortunately, the child died after seven days. Saddened by the event, Dayang decided to bury her baby in the lake. After the incident, the lake was known as Tasik Dayang Bunting (Pregnant Maiden Lake) as a way for the locals to pay their condolences to the couple.

Source: Langkawi Geopark

Done with the lake, we proceed to the eagle feeding area. It was told that there are 2 types of eagles that can be commonly seen here which is the ‘Brown Eagle’ and ‘Sea Eagle’.  Unfortunately, our tour guide raised his concern that it’s sad and worried to see that all the eagles are now living unnaturally as there are too dependents being fed by the boat operator. We might foresee that the animal food chain will be dysfunctional if it’s been too commercialized. Thinking about it again, he really got a point!

And the last destination of the island hopping are the Pulau Beras Basah.  It was such an inviting powdery white beach where it offers a lots of beach activities such as parasailing, banana boat ride, snorkelling besides swimming by the beach or just lazying under the sun.

Right in the afternoon, we drove down to Kuah Town just to get chocolate supplies till end of year for us, families and friends. Where else if it’s not in Haji Ismail Group. We got crazy selecting and choosing the chocolates! Since we are in Kuah Town, our whole trip wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t witness the signature of Langkawi which is the Dataran Lang or Eagle Square.  It features a giant eagle statue with a beautiful landscape of ponds, bridges and waterfront.

Last but not least, our short visit to Laman Padi. Unfortunately, it was under going a major renovation. We just managed to get a sneak peek at the paddy field area.

With much regret, both of us decided to look for a real one around Langkawi Island. We finally ended up by the roadside at one of the kampung road heading to Makam Mahsuri. It was once of the best moment for both of us to witness a beautiful paddy field with a natural landscape around. We sat there for a while appreciating the nice view!

We considered this as a wrap for our second day in Langkawi.

We will continue our journey on Part 3 – Beaches in Langkawi.

Simply us,
Zara AB & FF
The Province of Chroma

Langkawi – Part 1 (Malindo Air, Laksa Ikan Sekoq, Langkawi Cable Car, Telaga Tujuh, Telaga Harbour Park)

It’s Langkawi! Yes, we were there for a 3 days 2 nights short trip to the island. It’s been quite sometimes since our last visit to the historical island for both of us. I would say, it’s been 17 years back for me and 4 years for FF. Thanks to R.A.W as he did mentioned about the Malindo Air Malaysia Day Promotion via his twitter account. Without further hesitation, we immediately made a purchased with a price of RM78 per pax for a return ticket to Langkawi. What a deal! We feel so excited for this trip.

This is definitely our first time flying with Malindo Air since they are fully operating way back in March 2013 with such a good review and an extra features compared to the other low-cost airlines in Malaysia. Let see what they really offers?

The 32″ seat pitches for the economy class is way comfortable for us. It’s even more comfortable when we had the extra seat next to us.

Malindo Air provides a personal TV (in-flight entertainment system) in every seat plus a light snacks throughout the journey. We managed to catch one of the GLEE episodes that we missed! Earphone is not provided but you can actually purchased it in the airlines. It is advisable to bring your own personal earphone along. Besides, every economy class ticket comes with 20kg free baggage.

Finally, the Jewel of Kedah.

Langkawi is part of an archipelago made up of 99 islands and is one of the country’s most popular holiday destinations. I oasts some of the regions best natural attractions, earning it a UNESCO Global Geopark status in 2007. Plus, it’s a duty-free island.

Source: Tourism Malaysia, Ministry of Tourism

Once landed, our main focus here is to rent a car at the airport. It would be easier for us to return it back on our last day. It’s very recommended to rent a car in Langkawi as most of the tourist attraction is quite a distance from one another and due to the lack public transport around. We managed to rent a manual transmission Proton Wira Aeroback with the price of RM55 per day and RM50 as a deposit. The cost is all depends on the model, condition and length of stay. Again, the choice is all yours.

As we’re already at the Langkawi Airport and it’s almost lunch time, we decided to check out Laksa Power at Pantai Airport. It’s just not our luck as we couldn’t spot any of the Laksa Power lorry around. Maybe, we’re just too early for it. We ended up at one of stalls selling laksa too which is ‘Laksa Kaw Ikan Sekoq’. We just got attracted to the main signature dish. How does it look like and taste wise? We got a full plate of laksa for each of us and a fresh coconut drinks too. Verdict? It’s just a plain laksa utara with ‘ikan sekoq’ on the plate. Nothing impressed us much. To save it all, this is a place if you love to dine by the beach and enjoy the cool sea breeze. Not to forget, it’s one of the best location to witness airplanes flying off and landing too.

With a full stomach on, we then headed to the Langkawi Cable Car at Jalan Telaga Tujuh (close to Pantai Kok and Telaga Tujuh). A friend of us called and we told her where we are heading to. Unfortunately, she told us that there’s a heavy rains the whole morning somewhere near to that location. In facts, it’s still drizzling at that point of time. We are worried since it doesn’t operate and run in bad weather. Alhamdulillah, the rain stop when we reached there. We paid RM15 per pax for an adult ticket (with MyKad). The journey to the top of the mountain will usually takes about 15 minutes which exclude the queuing time. It will starts from the base station located at the foothill of Gunung Mat Chinchang and from here we will be taken up via the cable car system.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t experience the amazing view from the top station as it was cloudy up there. We could not see the whole view of Langkawi and Southern of Thailand too.

The viewing platform. Check out how cloudy it is.

But then, we were amazed as we are able to observe the unique flora and fauna plus the geological formation of the mountain at a close range which was formed 450 million years ago. A unique experience that shall not be missed if you are in Langkawi.

As we don’t have any fix itineraries with us and very much depending on the Langkawi map taken from the airport, we managed to spot another tourist attraction nearby with less than 10 minutes drive which is Telaga Tujuh. As it will take sometimes (more than 300+ steps) to the 7 wells, we decided to re route and headed to the waterfall. We made an assumption that it will only takes us less than 15 minutes to reach there and the route will be more easier for us.

This waterfall is named after the seven natural pools along its path. Legend has it that fairies used to come down to the pools to bathe and frolic. There are 2 viewing areas at Telaga Tujuh. The lower area is at the base of the waterfall and the higher area is where the 7 pools are.

Source: Wikitravel

The beautiful waterfall and with such a clear water. There’s a few visitors bathing and having fun there. It’s clean too!

As we were too tired and thirsty, FF came up with an idea to stop over for some tea break at Telaga Harbour Park on our way back to the hotel at Pantai Cenang. It’s actually a home based to yachts with various facilities and attraction around which is Petronas Quay, Perdana Quay, Custom & Immigration Office and others too.

We then splurged ourselves at The Loaf with such an amazing view of the harbour and the yachts having al fresco tea break outside.

We considered this as a wrap for our first day in Langkawi.

We will continue our journey on Part 2 – Island Hopping, Dataran Lang and Laman Padi.

Simply us,
Zara AB & FF
The Province of Chroma