Sunday 30 Dec starts badly. I'm up before 6am to catch the early bus, close the door to my room as I head to the shower, and then discover I'm holding the soap in my fingers, not the room key, which is safely locked inside. Grrr. You'd think that half a century of experience would prevent stupid things like that. I put it down to creeping senility, or perhaps that I was still half asleep as I stepped out the door.
However the guesthouse management is very helpful, and I make my bus without problem. Except that it's a minivan, so it'll take us to the bus station, right? No - it sets off to the south, and after a couple of hours gets to a minivan interchange. We all get out and are guided to other minivans that take us to our final destinations - I was wondering how I was going to get to Satun when some of my fellow travellers were heading to KL.
No problems leaving Thailand, catching the ferry to Langkawi, and entering Malaysia, though I'm getting increasingly anxious about accommodation prospects. My fellow travellers have booked already, and said how hard it was in the peak of the season.
But I get lucky, with a little bit of Internet research behind me. A taxi takes me to Zackry's Guesthouse near Tengah beach, and I score his last room - a shared cold water bathroom but at least it's a place to stay for a couple of nights.
I meet up with Richard (Toronto), his Malay/Chinese wife Gia Gia from Taiwan, and their 18 month old son Dion.
After chatting a while, we head to Cenang beach together for the sunset. Dinner and a few beers on the beach listening to a live band round out a great introduction to Langkawi. Yes it's touristy and crowded, but not quite as full-on as Phuket. I like it.
Tengah beach itself is only a few minutes walk (through an expensive resort) away, so I'm up early for a run and a swim. But first to eject the frog from my room - I thought the croaking had been a bit loud overnight!
The rocks at the southern end of the beach catch my eye. As I draw close, they seem to be moving. Closer still, and hundreds of crabs the size of my hand are scuttling about. I inch up on the slippery rocks, intent on getting closer, but they're wary little things and shy away. Just a bit closer...
Out of the corner of my eye I see a movement behind me. An army of crabs the size of dinner plates are racing towards my feet, waving pincers the size of pipe wrenches! In my panic I slip and fall on to the needle sharp rocks. The crabs are all over me. I can't tell which is worse - the rocks cutting open my body or the crabs ripping off large chunks of flesh. As I sink in to oblivion...
Cut! Ok ok - may be that last paragraph was a bit of a stretch. Delete it! I just thought the blog was getting boring, and that I should spice it up a little.
In reality I had a very pleasant run, and cooled off with a swim as the sun rose above the hills. Life's good.
Now to explore the island. It should come as no surprise to learn my mode of transport. But what bike this time? A GSX-R? An R1? Another Blade? Sadly no - not a lot of choice in Langkawi.
Astride my trusty Modenas Elit 150 fully automatic scooter I begin my tour, starting from the lookout over Cenang beach.
Heading north gets me to the cable car. Expensive, but worth it for the views from the top 700m up.
I catch sight of this bridge spanning the valley on the way up, and hope I'll have a chance to cross it.
Yup - no probs. A long way down - at least 60m to the base of the support tower, and being a lightweight suspended pedestrian bridge, there's quite a bit of deflection to add some interest.
On to the 90m Telaga Tujuh waterfall. I foolishly hike 500 steps straight up in the midday heat to see a little stream vanish over a cliff.
The better view is of course from near the base of the waterfall. Lots of monkeys around too.
I missed out on my crocodile accessories in Vietnam, so made a point of visiting the farm in Langkawi.
I kneel down next to a monster 4m long croc, just an arm's length away. He senses my presence, opens an eye, and gives me a reptilian stare. I wonder what he's thinking. Lunch? Suddenly the netting between him and me looks like tissue paper.
The shop there must have a nice croc skin belt? Yes - but at a price that left me speechless. Belts and purses start at 4,000 ringgit (over $1,000), so I content myself with a postcard, and move on.
The final stop is the lovely Tanjung Rhu beach on the northern side of the island. A bit quieter than the western beaches, and a great starting point to check out the mangroves. I forgot to mention that I'd cut my hand while snorkeling Paradise Is a couple of days ago - just stroking away from a shell encrusted rock wall. I hadn't realised the current had drifted me closer. Perhaps I'll do a mangrove kayak in Penang instead while I wait for the cuts to heal.
So this is the last post for 2007. Happy New Year everyone! There's a party here at Zackry's so I won't have far to go after the obligatory beers seeing in 2008.
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