This is our first visit to Langkawi. I set up 2 boats here
with Dev’s Adventure Tours. www.langkawi-nature.com They were a great company to deal with and
the tour went well.
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah
(Malay: Langkawi Permata Kedah), is a district and an archipelago of 99 islands
(+ 5 small islands visible only at low tide) in the Andaman Sea some 30 km off
the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia
We were joined by Bob & Phyllis, John & Toni, Tina
& Ken, Kris & Andrea, Cathy & Tom, Horst & Mark, Judy &
Phil, Stacey & Wally, Don & Bev, Sultan & Lou and Harriet &
Charley. The boats held 12 people and we had 2 boats.
sail in from the balcony
White-breasted Sea Eagle
cruise terminal
Reef Heron
Brahminy Kite
For some reason we were about a half hour late getting off
the ship. The group was on time and we were just waiting for the ship to clear.
We went down and waited in line to be amongst the first to leave the ship. We
had a short walk out of the port since the tour company was not allowed inside
since the cruise terminal is managed by only 1 company and they have a monopoly.
We met outside at a hotel called Resort World.
our guide
Resort World
our group waiting
inside the bus
Our guide was patient and was waiting for us. Then, a few
people went into the hotel to use the restroom, so we waited for everyone to
return. The guide Mohammed and his sister gave us quite a bit off information
on the island and about what we would be doing. The sister (don’t remember her
name) was so cute explaining the bat guano. You know, it’s bat shit. I don’t think she understood that shit
probably isn’t the right word to be used for a tour speech. (even though that
is what it is….. maybe bat poo?....lol)
drive to the Geo Park
The tour today was in the Kilim Geoforest Park and we were
taking a Mangrove Boat Trip on a covered speedboat.
our tour bus
Brahminy Kite
the boats we did the tour on
Our first stop was at the Bat Cave where we got out and
walked through the cave full of bats and past quite a few monkeys. Our
tablemate Rondi was sitting there as we passed by and a monkey sat next to her and
on her so we got a few photos of her. The cave had some nice formations as
well. Then, we walked on a boardwalk of sorts and saw the mangroves and some
palms known as fossils. There was another cave to walk through, but it was high
tide and we had on tennis shoes and didn’t want to wade through the water, so
we turned around and went back through the other cave. The guide said there
were no bats in that one it was just another way to return to the boats.
arrival at the cave
Bob & Monkey
Rondi
our cave guide
bats
this cave was too flooded to go in
Back on board we then stopped to take a photo of a pit
viper in the mangroves. It was wrapped around the mangroves about eye level and
was pretty hard to see. We also saw quite a lot of Brahminy Kites and a Sea
Eagle. There were also many monkeys in the mangroves. One jumped onto the front
of the boat and the guide chased him off and he swam back to the mangroves.
back on the boat
Andrea & Kris
Common Sandpiper
Boa
Boa
Boa
Boa
Boa
Boa
Yellow-vented Bulbul
fish in the water
Brahminy Kites
Brahminy Kite
Brahminy Kite
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Then, we stopped at a pretty beach for those that wanted to
swim for 30 minutes. I just waded in and the water was very warm.
Tom, Cathy & Lou
Cathy holding the crab claw
Common Myna
We then headed back to the floating restaurant where we had
tom yam soup (aka tom yum soup) It is a Thai-style soup and fried rice. They
gave us the option of spicy or non-spicy soup and vegetarian, prawn or chicken.
The spicy was very spicy, but tasty. I like hot, but I needed to spoon it on the
rice to eat it. The chicken was delightful. They also had those small bananas
and sliced watermelon. They had pitchers of juice that tasted like a refreshing
orange. Again, I know that this was a Rick & Janie meal. The restaurant
also had a fish farm on the floating area.
floating restaurant
Tom Yam Soup
ray
We then took the speedboat back to the dock and we walked
back to the bus stopping to buy a few token trinkets at the shop there.
The tour ran later than planned, I guess because we got a
bit later start and then the line was long at the restroom and then people
forgot things on the bus that they needed for the boat tour. We had plenty of
time, so it was not a problem.
We had a choice to be taken back to the ship or be dropped
off at Pantai Cenang area. There were a lot of shops there and some restaurants
and a Starbucks. Most everyone just went back to the ship except for Tom &
Cathy and Greg and me. One other couple got off only to take the ship’s shuttle
back to the ship since it could take you right to the ship without the walk
from the hotel.
We had a bit of local currency to spend off, but I wasn’t
finding much that I liked. Most of the clothes were quite heavy material. Cathy
& Tom were almost out of local currency, so we exchanged some of ours for
USD. We went our separate ways as we wanted ice cream and they were headed to
Starbucks. Then, we met up again on the way back to the shuttle. Since we had
set aside enough to take a taxi and when we found out about the free shuttle we
had more to spend off. I did find a kinda cute bathing suit coverup in pink with
black palm trees. (only like $9.00)
Gelato stop
It was a beautiful sunny day and it seemed everyone enjoyed
the tour.
We were back on board before 6:30 and got freshened up and
grabbed a bite to eat upstairs at the buffet. Lunch was served around 2:30 or
so and we weren’t that hungry. We had planned to skip the entertainment since
it was the same singer Anna-Fegi Brown with a new show. We just wanted to eat a
little something and relax in the cabin.
sunset & sail away
We got to set our clocks back another hour tonight (now 12
hours ahead of home). The extra hour of sleep will be appreciated. Plus, we
don’t get into port until 8:00 tomorrow for Phuket.
Langkawi, Malaysia https://photos.app.goo.gl/fUvP4bmHxSgAZJAz7
I am so glad you are finding great food. Your cruise and tours sound wonderful. Janie
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