Well after sitting in the lobby to blog the other day I had a rather traumatising experience on the way back up to the room. As I was walking along the corridor I came across a three inch cricket. It was huge so I took a photo of it. This must not have gone down well because as I walked passed it I heard its engines start up and before I knew it I was being chased down the corridor by what was now a flying monster. At one point it disappeared and I thought it had landed on my back. A hilarious sight for any onlookers.
Yesterday we went on a mangrove tour. Which involved yet another boat which we had to clamber out of at regular intervals. I don't have very good sea legs so this was not nice for me. Our first stop was a walk to a bat cave. We had to walk along a raised platform along the cliff edge. In the mud below us were some fiddler crabs and above us was an elephant palm. It's called this because it grows off the edge of the cliff and looks like an elephants trunk. The guide told us that they only grow something like an inch a year which made the tree were looking at approximately 1000 years old. After the little talk we had to walk through our first cave but it was so small I nearly thought I'd have to go on hands and feet. Fortunately it wasn't low for very long. This cave had no bats in it. When we got to the oth side there was another raised platform that meandered through the mangrove. It was here we encountered monkeys. It's a strange sight seeing monkeys appearing through the trees. It was like seeing an ant, once you've seen one you then start to see all of it's little friends. We walked along the platform and came to the bat cave. Bats don't bother me in the slightest so I was quite happy in there. Some of them were swooping around and they were quite noisy. It was only when I got to the other end I realised I was missing something, Vicki. It took her a little while but she walked through the cave to the other end.
We floated down the river and came to an area where there were boats moored. The guide told us to moor at the harbour would cost around £400 per month, to moor in the geopark which is a lot more scenic as it's in the middle of the jungle was more like £100 per year. I know which I'd rather. Anyway there was a floating fish farm where we made a stop. They showed us all the different types of fish they had and the stingrays. The young chap asked if anybody wanted to feed the stingray. I really wanted to do it and after a while I plucked up the courage. By feeding it I don't mean throwing food into the water, I actually held the food in my hand then place my hand in the water and this stingray flapped it's way over my hand until it's mouth was over the food then essentially vacuumed it up. It was a bizarre sensation to say the least.
After this we went to a place called crocodile cave, so called because they used to find lots of crocodiles there but because of the tourism they have moved on. In this cave were two boats full of loud Americans and they had tv cameras etc. Initially I thought they were filming the area but it turns out we bumped into an American reality tv star from American Chopper of something. He looked like Hulk Hogan to me. They filmed our boat so I wonder if we'll end up on the show? We couldn't go in the cave because it was high tide and our boat was too big. We moved on and watched some eagles. Our guide explained that he doesn't agree with the eagle feeding do he doesn't do it, which is good. We stopped by some monkeys and watched them clambering all over another boat then stopped by an old charcoal oven. They used to chop down the mangrove trees and put them in the ovens and make charcoal. The whole process from chopping down the tree to final product used to take about two weeks. They've stopped it now so the brick ovens are now a part of the jungle and it's history.
Not long after this we got abandoned on a beach. The sea was lovely and full of little fish. The sand however was burning hot. I don't think I have ever walked on sand and thought my feet were going to blister. I can only imagine that is what it feels like to walk across hot coals. It was not nice. Vicki sat in the sun but I went and found some shade in the trees. We could just about make out the outline of Thailand from our little piece of paradise. After this we went to a floating restaurant and had lunch which was really nice. It was simple home cooking apparently. Going back to the mainland the driver up his speed and we bounced across the waves getting soaked in the process. Looking at the islands it just reminds you of the scenes in Jurassic Park when the helicopter flies over. It is an amazing place.
On the way back to the hotel I saw my first monkey road kill and had to sit next to a crazy taxi driver. He was having a good old rant about some nationalities and how rude they are. It was funny but slightly unnerving especially when you want the driver to concentrate on what he's doing. We went for Arabian food in the evening which was yummy. That was Thursday.
Today we went up to the cable car. Now I haven't been looking forward to this at all because I don't like heights. When we got there and I saw how steep it was I really wanted to chicken out. There is no way I was going to come all this way and not go up. I gritted my teeth and up we went. I don't like cable cars at the best of times but this was something else. We got to the first platform and got off. We had a look around and took pictures then I had to brave another cable car but fortunately the journey was a flat one rather than something so steep it's almost vertical. According to a notice we were nearly half a mile above sea level, it looked a lot higher than that! It is from this second platform you can walk across a bridge. This is no ordinary bridge but one suspended between to peaks. I really did not want to do it as it scared the living s*** out of me. Unlike most people who were sauntering across stopping and looking around I basically charged across especially when I realised that there were gaps in the floor so you could see straight down. I got to the other side and calmed down a bit, I had to walk all the way back across it. On the way back there were areas in the walkway that were far wider than I liked and I stood on one bit and it rocked. That was it I was off like a rocket almost in tears. How I didn't have some sort of mental breakdown there and then I do not know. I was terrified. To be honest the views were stunning but I can't say I'm glad I did it. Nevermind having to cope with the cable car back down. I did do it though and I am quite pleased I faced my fears but I would never do it again.
After we had eaten we went for a ride on an elephant through the jungle. I sat at the back and soon started to regret this. I didn't know my legs could stretched that wide. It was a rather large beast not to mention uncomfortable and very slow. It was quite amusing being smacked in the face by tree branches because I was too busy looking around to pay attention to what was in front of me. At one point the elephant decided it was hungry so started to trudge off towards these plants. I must admit I did start to panic slightly as I was stuck on the back of it but the little man got it under control eventually. When we got back we got to feed it to say thank you.
When we had finished we went and had a walk around the shops and it was at this point I noticed the sunburn. Oops. To make it worse I have a strap mark across my chest where my bag had been. The taxi driver told me that this is the hot season and lasts until May so there aren't many tourists. I can understand that! When we got back to the hotel Vicki went for a spa thing and I went to sleep and this ends our visit to Langkawi as we leave tomorrow.
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