Leisurely Langkawi

Posted under Deja vu Asia 2010

Well we had enough Starwood points to get us a week at the Sheraton Langkawi Resort, so that is what we did. Nice spot, quite upscale, private beach and surrounded by jungle. In other words, a tad remote. That, in itself, is not a bad thing, but it does bother me a bit that when there is a captive market the prices escalate. This goes right from the food and drink, to the twenty US dollars per day that they want for internet hookup. Wifi hookup is very nearly taken for granted in this present day and age, but not at the Sheraton apparently. Once you get over this small glitch, it is a great place to stay.

Langkawi is a group of about 70 plus islands, still on the Malacca Straits.

The main island is about the same land area as Penang, but far less populated. The Jetty, where the fast ferry docks, is about 30 minutes from the Sheraton, by taxi — about $7.00 worth. It is also the major town area, such as it is. But our intent is to lay back, and that is what we did. The Sheraton is situated on about a quarter section of land with a great deal of beach front. The accommodation is primarily comprised of four unit bungalows, each with a private deck area.

Very comfortable, and I enjoyed taking my morning coffee on the quiet of the deck. Bonnie also enjoyed me taking my coffee on the deck, as it left her the quiet of the room, which she could enjoy — with  her eyes closed. One morning I was enjoying my coffee, deeply engrossed in my Kindle, when I heard a soft shuffling in the chair beside me. Thinking that Bonnie had rousted herself, and had joined me to enjoy the morning, I changed my focus of attention so that I could not be accused of ignoring her company. Imagine my surprise to see that it was not Bonnie who was sharing my morning, but a want-to-be, who was a bit of a look alike.

This was apparently a “long-tailed Macaque” monkey, and there was my  animal magnetism at work once again. These are not only probable ancestors of mine, but are no doubt relatives of the Macaque monkeys of Ubud, but with longer tails than both of us. This group of monkeys would come by most mornings on their way to the beach area. Most likely doing the beach thing in order too get a good laugh. Large older people, in small Speedo swim suits, burning to a crisp under a hot Malaysian sun. Even the locals were complaining about the heat, but in the immortal words of Noel Coward, “mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid day sun”.

One of the few touristy things to do on Langkawi, is to do the Gondola lift to the mountain top. Not to be out done by the tram in Penang, Langkawi has a Gondola ride to the top of a mountain. Actually to the top of two mountains, as it does a peak to peak thing at the top. Like Penang, this takes place at the 700 plus meter level, but the area is more rugged. There is something about swinging in a gondola, over a chasm, with very vertical walls. The peak to peak is not of the magnitude of Whistler, but the view is awesome. Add to all of this is a suspension bridge between the second mountain top, and yet another mountain.

Definitely the place for a view of Langkawi.

From an animal standpoint, there was a lot happening in the early morning, and I had become in the habit of taking my camera with me, for my time on the deck. This was an advantage, for one morning, a group of  “Dusky leaf Monkeys” came strolling by.

There goes that “monkey-whisperer” bit again. Now these didn’t look like anything from my gene pool, but I include a few snaps for the benefit of any of you out there who may be doing a family tree thing.

I was starting to pick up on some of the local monkey dialects, and Bonnie decided that I had ‘way to much time on the hands’. The solution was to get us out of there, which worked out well as our time was up at the Sheraton at any rate. The only glitch was that we had come to understand that there was a flight from Langkawi to Phuket. Well there is, it just happens to go via Penang or Kuala Lumpur. The downside to the latter is that it makes a long trip out of it, and the shortcoming of going through Penang was that it didn’t work for the days that we required. Our solution was to take the fast ferry back to Penang, and then , if we were going to be in the area, we might just as well stay a few extra days, so that is the plan. This will work out well, as Thailand may be having its annual airport disruption, by the opposing political factions, and this will give us a test of the waters before jumping in. The blog will keep you posted as to what we are doing, if and when we know ourselves.

T