So we are in Langkawi now and boy is it hot. I actually thought I was going to melt today. We left Brunei yesterday and flew to Kuala Lumpur where we had a long wait. I'd rather that than the mad dash we had the last time we flew in to there. It was rather stressful. The first thing we saw as we walked into the airport was a Caterham F1 car. Obviously not one that they will be racing this weekend but I was still as excited as a kid in a toy shop. What was even more impressive was our plane to Langkawi. It was painted in Caterham F1 colours and even the seats inside were green and yellow. I think that's the closest I'll ever get to a F1 car. I just hoped it didn't have a mechanical problem like one of the cars did at the Australian GP.
It's difficult to describe Langkawi. It hasn't quite been bombarded with tourists so it's not covered in all the western takeaway places like you might find elsewhere. It looks very run down and almost abandoned in some areas. Where are hotel is it looks like what might be left after an apocolypse. It's very strange. There are areas that do seem more tourist orientated but it all seems very local if you know what I mean? There are areas that are being developed and modernised but mostly it seems like little may have changed. One of our taxi drivers told us that originally only 20,000 people inhabited the island and there are now 75,000 due to the increased tourism. It is definitely not what I expected. The driving skills are a little on the scary side. There are a lot of scooters and they very rarely indicate or look before pulling out into the road.
We didn't really do much yesterday as we only got here at about 6pm. We did go for a walk and then ended up having to get a taxi back to the hotel. It is not a very pedestrian friendly area it would seem. We sat in the hotel bar and had a few drinks and put the world to rights as you do. As for the hotel, it looks impressive but once you get up close the awe starts to vanish. The views from the balcony are impressive looking over the bay. The rooms are tatty and the bed linen stained. For the price it is ok. The staff are really polite and helpful. It could be an amazing hotel.
Today we had to get up at the crack of dawn or so it seemed. Breakfast was bizarre. Most people were eating curry, which I might try tomorrow. The reason we had to get up early was to go island hopping. It was amazing. The holding pen we were sat in before we got on the boat on the other hand was not. Row upon row of plastic seats in a run down building. The boat was tiny. There were six seven of us all together, a nice size group. We all had to don fetching life jackets which in this heat were stifling. I'm not a fan of boats and I wasn't too impressed with some of the steering of our driver but I survived.
The first island was just what you would expect of a tropical island. It was gorgeous. The sea was clear enough to see the shoals of fish swimming around. There were however monkeys. I didn't have a problem with them until this trip. There were a lot of them from big males to tiny babies. People feed them so they have become quite brave. One even snatched a packet of nuts from a woman's hand. A group of people were stood under a coconut tree whilst watching them and suddenly there was a thud and shouts of surprise. A coconut had fallen and how it missed every one I do not know. I walked of up towards the jetty and it was at this point a monkey came charging at me baring its teeth. I turned and ran to the amusement of another couple. They told me it wouldn't bite but to be honest I didn't really want to take the chance.
We left this island and went to another where we had to walk through the jungle albeit on a man made path passed lots more monkeys. These were a little less aggressive so it wasn't so bad. After going uphill and then back down we came to the lake of the pregnant maiden. It is called this because from the sea if you look at the hill formation of the island it looks like a pregnant lady lying down. The lake is huge and we discovered it used to be a huge cave. The roof collapsed and eventually it filled with rain water, creating the lake.
We also went to an area where they throw food into the water just off an island so that the eagles swoop down close to the boats. I don't necessarily agree with this practice but seeing the eagles so close is very impressive especially because of their size. When we got to dry land again we went to a place. Called Underwater World which is basically like a Sealife Centre. It was good and there were some absolutely humongous fish in there but my highlight was stroking a shark. It was only about a foot and a half long but it's something I've never done before.
In the evening we watched the sunset and had a drink. It's early to bed tonight because tomorrow we are going on more water based adventures and then in the evening I am going for an evening trek in the jungle. Slightly nervous!
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