On our fourth day,
we took out a long day trip on the Catamaran. We bathed in the sun on the deck and swam in the
ocean. At noon we stopped at one of the small public islands for
a picnic of local BBQ chicken and beef with peanut sauce,
muscles, etc. The French people, when they eat, wherever they
are, preferred to have everything prepared as if at home or a
fancy restaurant—the aperitifs, the wines, the beginners, the
main plate, the desserts and then coffee to complete the meal.
It was delicious, we really enjoyed it.
By the fifth day, we were very tired so we
spent the next two days at the hotel, enjoying its big pool with
a bar in the middle. The beach was only a few feet away, but it
was so hot we didn’t go there. The pool staff didn’t smile much
and I found this sad. I much preferred the hospitality in
Vietnam and Thailand, where a huge smile was a sign of basic
human respect.
On our seventh day, we took a Mangrove trip.
Along the islands, we saw hundreds of fruit bats hanging
up-side-down from tree branches. We stopped at Dangli Island to
feed the fish. We went to the Story Cave to see local fishermen
with their wooden small boat, rock formation, Limestone Cycas (a
living fossil) birds. Next we proceeded to Kilim River (Mangrove
River) to see the mangrove trees and learn how their roots
preserve and protect the island by converting the sea water into
fresh water to nourish the plants.
We also fed the Eagles, which is the symbol of Langkawi Island. We visited the
Fish Feeding
Farm to see moray eels, horse shoe crabs, mantis prawns, sting
rays, trevallys, sea bass and other ornamental fish. We then
stopped and climbed up to the Bats Cave. There were thousand of
bats along the stalactite and stalagmite. (Visiting the cave was
interesting to Kenny because he just saw the movie “Batman
Begins” two weeks before). Our guide showed us some trees with
poisonous leaves that grow along the way to the cave.
Next we stopped for lunch at the Barn Thai Restaurant, one of the best
on the island—we were told. After lunch, we proceeded to the
Crocodile Cave where we saw thousands more bats as we passed
through in a boat during low tide.
On our last three days, we shared a rental car
with a young French couple and drove around the island. We
visited many art and local shops to buy gifts and souvenirs for
our families and friends. We noticed there were many tourist
places that have been abandoned or no longer frequented, as well
as a few state and public beaches that were not well-kept or
properly cleaned. Restaurants and shops along the highways were
empty and we saw no people in the parks, no children at the
playgrounds.
Only when we stopped at a local night market did we
find many local people buying cooked food and fresh fruits. We
bought some grilled chicken with rice for our dinner which cost
only €1.00. We ate some delicious fried noodles, a specialty
dish of the locals.
As we ate, I recalled how our private tour
guide in Kuala Lumpur had told us the legend of Langkawi Island.
According to the legend, the people could not prosper for many
years because of a pregnant woman. They had accused her of
infidelity and killed her. But it turned out that she was
innocent, and in revenge, her soul had cursed the island
forever. Although I found the story funny, my serious opinion is
that, given what I saw and experienced, it is the attitudes of
the local people towards tourists that are truly preventing
their growth and prosperity.
Ironically, it was while looking out the
window as we were flying out, that I noticed the shape of one of
the smaller islands. It resembled a pregnant woman lying on her
back. And that’s how I’ll remember it, as the land of peculiar
monkeys and legends.
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Love Me Paris...
