SE Asia Cruise: Langkawi
Langkawi, a magical land of legends, contains 99 islands on the Northwestern shore of Malaysia, situated where the Indian Ocean narrows down into the Straits of Malacca.
There are myths dating back to 500 A.D. of legends of celestial beings, demons, warriors, giants, beautiful maidens and gallant heroes, which are so much part of the island’s identity.
Clad with jungles in the interior, Langkawi Island is fringed by lovely beaches scattered along its coast. The island is still very much a rural landscape with villages and padi fields. But it is also an extremely popular retreat for visitors.
We arrived here on our cruise ship early in the morning and decided to hire a taxi driver to take us to some of the island’s main attractions.
One of the first sights we saw on arrival was the 39 foot tall eagle statue at Kuah Jetty. The significance is that the island is named after the eagle: “lang” is Malay for eagle, while “kawi” is Sanskrit for marble. You will see many real eagles hovering around the skies of the island.
The two main beaches, Pantai Cenang and Pantai Kok, are on the island`s western coast, with Pantai Cenang being the most popular as the venue for hotels and restaurants. Dotted along the northern coast are the most luxurious resorts.
Langkawi is sanctuary to some of the most ancient rainforest in the world,they are teeming with the exotic flora and fauna. During our drive into the mountains we saw many Macaque monkeys along the roadside, so we stopped to photograph them.
One of the best ways to get a bird’s eye view of the beauty of this island paradise is getting on the cable car to Langkawi’s second highest peak at Oriental Village. Rising up to 2,000 feet you reach the top of Mt Mat Cincang, where you can see from Thailand in the north to Indonesia in the southwest.
After an exhilarating ride in the cable car to the top of the peak you can walk out onto the skybridge or just relax and have a coffee at the cafe with the most gorgeous breathtaking views out over the rainforests and beaches of Langkawi.
A word of warning however, it took us over two hours of queuing up to purchase tickets for the cable car and then getting in the line up to get on the ride. We felt as though we wasted half of our day undertaking this activity alone, which prevented us from seeing some of the other wonderful sights of Langkawi.
However we spent the two hours browsing the quaint Oriental Village which lies at the foothills of Mt Mat Cincang. Here there is a collection of more than 50 funpark activity and adventure providers, eateries, outlets, souvenir and retail stores, galleries and spas.
On our drive back to Cenang we stopped to take in the rural countryside comprising of wooden houses on stilts, rice padi fields and farm animals such as oxen and geese.
You can visit Laman Padi (Rice Museum) which has the most comprehensive exhibits of artefacts, charts, photographs and actual rice planting tools used in padi fields.
Amongst the many great attractions on Langkawi is a cruise on the Kilim River, which is a Marine Park with a delicate ecosystem of tidal mangroves, lagoons and isolated islands.
You can also visit Underwater World, Asia’s premium marine and freshwater aquarium, where you can walk beneath a shark tank and venture to both Sub-Antarctic and tropical rainforest environments.
A day in Langkawi left me thirsting for more of this magical land of legends. I would have liked more time to explore the beautiful rainforests, rivers, waterfalls and marine parks; cruise around some of the other 99 islands; or see some of the other gorgeous pristine beaches that Langkawi is renowned for.
I would certainly put this island paradise on my “must-see” list!
Linking up with Travel Photo Thursday
What beautiful photos! I haven’t been to Malaysia as yet but it’s on the list. Well written travel blogs like this just keep moving it further up that list :)
Thank you Kim. Langkawi was one of the highlights of our recent cruise around South East Asia. I could easily spend more time in this island paradise. :)
I have heard that about Langkawi. In fact, I’ve heard a lot of great things in general about the beauty of Malaysia and the hospitality of its people.
I had only been to Kuala Lumpur previously which is a fabulous city for shopping, dining and sightseeing. Langkawi was surprisingly stunning. I never expected it to be so beautiful. :)
I’ve heard the Cameron Highlands are beautiful as well. You’ve certainly given me something to think about :)
I just had to Google Cameron Highlands. I agree it looks absolutely beautiful. :)
Beautiful photo’s thanks for the lovely journey!
Happy A to Z ing! Yay, the weekend’s here! :)
Ninga Minion @YolandaRenee from
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Langkawi was a delightful island paradise. Obviously having a break from A to Z of Australian places today! Thanks for dropping by Yolanda. :)
Langkawi looks beautiful – the cable car and skybridge must be a great way to see the island.
We really did get a bird’s eye view of the island from the Cable Car. We never sauntered out onto the skybridge. After two hours of queuing up for the cable car our patience was exhausted! Langkawi was a stunning place. :)
Ancient rainforests, beaches, mountains, what’s not to love? I recently read somewhere (I think it was the Daily Mail!) that everyone loves Langkawi! I have to go. Your photos are lovely :)
I hadn’t heard that much about Langkawi prior to our visit and I was completely blown away by how beautiful the islands were. It was a shame we didn’t have more time to explore the islands instead of queuing for the cable car for half the day! :)
Ha ha, I always thought Langkawi was one island – 98 islands later! Love the mountain views.
So did I! I think only one island is inhabited and the rest are only tiny little ones, but apparently you can cruise around them island hopping. The mountain views were breath-taking.
We loved Langkawi when we stayed at Berjaya resrot several years ago…well more than several years ago, but who’s counting. The resort was tucked away on the gfar west of the island, perfect for us as away from the main tourist strip. The resort had several dining options so we didn’t have to go any where if we didn’t want to. The Oriental Village was just being built at the time. Thanks for the trip back Kathy.
Sounds like you stayed at a nice area on Langkawi. We could have spent a lot more time here. Maybe another time!
Langkawi was a popular weekend getaway for my friends in Penang since flights between the 2 are so cheap. Somehow, I never made it there. The cablecars and skybridge always seemed interesting to me, but I don’t know if my kids would handle a 2 hour queue. I had no idea there was a cruise port there.
What a shame you never visited Langkawi. It was such a highlight of our trip. I think the reason we had a 2 hour wait for the cable car was because there were two big cruise ships in port that particular day. At any other time it would probably be fine. :)
I haven’t heard before of Langkawi. It looks surely magical! #TPThursday
Langkawi was a magical place. More time was required here to really experience all it has to offer. :)
Thanks for introducing me to Langkawi. It certainly looks beautiful.
Sorry you had to spend so much time getting your tickets and queuing. Since it seems like such a popular destination, I hope they pre-sell tickets to cut down on the time. I’d be furious having to wait that long.
Langkawi was a beautiful island. I agree about the cable car tickets. It was such a long wait but fully worth it for the magnificent views we were rewarded with once we reached the top of the mountain. That particular day there were two big cruise ships in port so much busier than normal!