Last night we decided to go back to the seafood places and have the red curry crab again for our last meal; good choice. In the morning we started out at 7am at the coffee my house where we also ordered sandwiches on exotic home made bread for the long day ahead.
Our minibus came dead on time but it looked like we were the last pick up as he had to get all the luggage out and put the back seats down for us to sit in. From that point on we had luggage on our laps. I joked that we had other pickups to do but the joke turned on me. We stopped several more times; the isles were full and so were all our laps. There was no chance of anyone getting off at the two ferry points other than the lucky ones sitting by an exit. Never mind it only took us 165 minuets before we were at Trang.
What a relief to get out and stretch but there was only time for me to get to the toilet before our taxi turned up. Poor Claire had to wait. Our taxi driver spoke no English and we spoke no Thai but he drove like the wind. We made amazing time and only stopped briefly for a toilet stop and we were off again. We were expecting to catch the 3.30 ferry to Langkawi from Satun but we actually made the 1.30 one. He got a tip which was probably more than he was paid for the drive. As we were going into the terminal he managed to get a fair back to Trang from one of the passengers just embarking from our ferry. It was his lucky day!
There are between 99 and 104 islands in Langkawi. Hows that work? Well, if you count them at high tide, there are 99 and if you count the at low tide there are 104. I said to Claire that if you were to count them after Beer o Clock there would probably be even more. Claire thought that I photographed at least half of them but it was very hot, humid and misty so I only included one.
We put our watches foreword by an hour. Well I didn’t because I don’t have a watch. Well Claire didn’t either as she hadn’t changed her watch since we left Malaysia on our second day. I did change the time on my iphone though. Our taxi driver was slow and hopeless but we eventually got to our hotel about 3km out of town. It is right on the beach though so thats a bonus and we will get a motorbike tomorrow anyway. Our room is ok but there is nowhere to put anything so it will have to stay in the backpack and we have a tv but only three local channels. within 15 minutes of dropping our bags we were in a taxi back into town for beer, food and supplies.
Our taxi driver dropped us off at the Yellow Cafe where we chatted to the barman from Pakistan. Its amazing how a couple of beers relax you. We stayed to watch the sunset and headed back and ate at an Indian hotel for a change before stocking up with supplies and getting a taxi back to our miserable room. Claire is cross with me because she doesn’t like it; me thinks that she forgot that it was her that booked this one. Im hoping that she will see things in a different light tomorrow; especially if the sun is shinning.
We at least managed to get the free wifi outside our room where we are sitting now and a little crab just came up to greet Claire but she wasn’t amused. Bed now; a tiring day but not as long as we expected.
Island of the Strong Eagle
One of the main attractions of Langkawi is that it has been duty free since 1986. Especially since alcohol in the rest of Malaysia is very expensive. The ferry port area is the main built up area where all the duty free goods are but tourists tend to stay by one of the white sand beaches elsewhere on the main island. Our guide book says, “Las Vagas has the strip, Bangkok has Khaosan Road and Langkawi has Pantai Cenang.” That’s where all the action is and thats where we are staying. However, we are in low season, but for us, its the best place to be at this time of year; I don’t think that we would like it as much in the high season.
There are places to stay to suit all budgets; real cheap but probably grotty places to top end luxury but Claire says that mostly they don't seem to have great reviews. We are in a mid range place at around £30 a night but its a little off the beaten track around 3km from the action. This place has all the infrastructure for a top end resort with its private beach. It has good build quality and nicely sized rooms but its just lacking in a few details to make your stay comfy. Its called Senari Bay Resort; see senaribay.com . Its actually an advantage to us being just off the beaten track as we always have a bike anyway. They have a bandstand type place on the beach with hammocks that could very easily be a bar and a huge conservatory type place with a terrace where they could serve food.
The construction out here is similar to other places in Asia that we have seen; wooden scaffolding and supports.
Not sure what you all think of Big Brother, especially since it restarted on channel 5? Anyway, since the last half of the first series, when Harriet told me all about the concept, I have followed it avidly. We started to watch the new channel 5 celebrity one before we left and I understand that the normal one follows this Friday. Anyway, I can’t say much, other than I have a strong feeling that Georgina’s Big step Brother Harry might steal the show. Someone record it for me please.
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