Being our first full day in Langkawi we decided that we wanted to explore the island. After persuading a young lass that my South African drivers licence did cover me for 2 wheeled vehicles we rented a scooter. To be honest although it was an automatic and really easy to drive, I was still a bit nervous. Mainly because some of the locals fancy themselves as young Michael Schumachers and because the scooter we were on was covered in scratches from previous "farangs" (foreigner) who had taken some nose dives. Luisa wrapped her arms around my six pack/barrel and off we went.
Our destination was strip of beach called Tanjang Rhu - the guide book said it was a must see. On the way we stopped off at a waterfall which was more of a trickle down a rock - a bit disappointing. The drive was really beautiful. We wound through some jungle and came out at the the Langkawi Marina. It was an awesome sight to see all the yachts and boats bobbing in the crystal clear water. After about another hour on the road we finally arrived at the beach and for the first time in ages the guide book was right :) The beach was blinding white with turquoise blue water and had 3 islands about half a kilometer from the shore. The other big bonus was that it was almost deserted. Besides us there were a couple people having food under a tree and one more couple (a westerner with his thai girl friend who was massaging him - very convenient). We had a great time swiming, reading and lying in the sun - Luisa was any way, I was huddled in the shade. After we had our packed lunch, peanut butter and jam sandwiches - the meal of choice for budget conscious travellers, we decided to have our first coconut. Basically a guy takes a big machete and hacks open a big hole in the top of a young coconut, pours some ice into and hands it over with a couple straws and a spoon to eat the flesh. It is really refreshing and the juice inside is clear and has a sweet, salty taste.
Back on the bike we cruised back to Pantai Cenang (the main beach on Langkawi) and chilled on the beach there for a bit and watched all the goings on. It was such a pleasure to have a set of wheels. We later stopped of at the local duty free shop and bought a litre (yes that's right a litre!) of gin for about R52 and some beers which we enjoyed whilst we watched the sun set. We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and for a pittance we had a huge plate of different curries that left has gasping for breath and patting the sweat of our foreheads.
We went to bed that night a bit sad that we were leaving Malaysia but also excited for Thailand!
Phil
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