August 2015 - Beautiful Sunset in Pantai Cenang Beach, Langkawi, Malaysia

The first time I've heard of Langkawi was when I was still working in Dubai, trying to fix a colleague's laptop at work. I have asked for his password and he said "langkawi". Sounding Greek to me, I casually asked him what's the meaning of it. He said that it is a beautiful island in Malaysia where he and his family often goes for a vacation. "You should visit it", is what he said. That conversation was way back in 2008. 7 Years later, I finally decided to check it out.

Having heard negative comments from friends about this place, I was still hopeful that the impression of my former colleague will still hold true.

Traveling with one of my friends, the first part of our trip has been so boring that we were actually thinking of booking an early flight back to Singapore. Here's why:

1. Bad Weather

The calm before the storm.

Unfortunately, we we were accompanied by grey skies and heavy rains on most part of our trip. We didn't get much of a tan which what I was actually looking forward to. Yes, I did know this ahead when I was doing my research but I really didn't want to waste a 2-day long weekend holiday staying in Singapore and Langkawi offered us the best price for a quick getaway.



2. The famous 'Eagle Plaza' = Yawn

Seeing how unlucky we were with the weather to have some beach time, we decided to check out the "Eagle Plaza" where my friend insisted on checking out as this is the symbol of Langkawi. Honestly, it couldn't be any more special from a tourist's point of view. It was just an enormous eagle looking out into the sea. (Sorry!)





3. Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park can be skipped!

The thing about this trip is we really didn't plan what were going to do. We had some ideas of the places we would want to check but never really made a proper itinerary for it. I was personally hoping the beach would be enough to fill in our three days. But sadly, the weather hasn't been at its best. So we booked a day tour with our hotel for the next day to kill time.

First Stop: Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park

Holding the largest fresh water lake, this geoforest park is one of the top recommended things to see in Langkawi according to Tripadvisor. I honestly think this part of the tour can be skipped. I didn't find anything so special about it. (Sorry again!)

Anything but green

On the bright side, the lake seems to be well maintained and quite clean despite the flock of tourists it gets every hour. You can swim into the lake, rent a kayak or ride a water wheeler pedal boat to go around the lake.

4. Quiet Night Life

This may be debatable, depending on the season you visit, but we tried almost five bars that Google claims are the busiest and liveliest bars in Langkawi but didn't find anything good let alone a crowd to party with. On our last night, we finally got a chance to enjoy its little night life at the Sunba Resto Bar.

Mats, Candles & Mojitos - Bar by the Beach is a must try

To be fair to Langkawi, I eventually developed a warm feeling towards this place, seeing its best features that most people failed to recognise.


1. Sunset

Sunset at Pantai Cenang Beach

Perhaps the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen would have to be at Langkawi. The impressive display of orange, pink and yellow hues in the sky was a perfect view to add on our dinner by the beach.

The Yellow Beach Cafe offers a great view for sunset watching.

2. Beaches

Despite the bad weather, I was still able to get a little bit of sun to enjoy some beach time. Langkawi's beaches have impressive pure and white sands. Waters are not clear though but clean.

Senari Bay Resort, our home in Langkawi, has their own beach front.

Pantai Cenang Beach reminds me of Phuket's Patong Beach which is packed with a lot of happenings and water activities to do.

Pantai Cenang Beach

3. Seven Wells Waterfalls

The highlight of this trip would have to be discovering this hidden gem, which weren't really part of our plans. Sometimes, something unplanned bring out the best part of a trip. Thanks to a friend I bump into who was also in Langkawi who recommended this to us. It was really worth the hike to see. 

View of Seven Wells Waterfalls from above.

This was my first time to see a waterfalls so I didn't miss the opportunity to take a dip in its cold, strong water currents. There were only two of us and three other people who were there so we got to enjoy its serene, breathtaking surroundings. The strong rush of the water currents, the leaves rippling in the wind and the chirping of the birds around was definitely nature at its finest moment.





4. Cable Car

The Langkawi Cable Car and Skybridge was the only thing I was sure of that I wanted to see. The Skybridge is however closed for renovation so we just rode the cable car. Despite the very long queues, thick fog and rain showers as soon we reached the top, the view from above was still incredibly beautiful.






5. Eagle Feeding

One thing I did enjoy for our day trip on our second day was the eagle feeding. We didn't actually fed the eagles with our own hands. Our boat driver threw some chicken skin onto the sea while we anxiously waited on our boats. Soon after, numerous eagles flew in circles around us. Watching them glide over and gracefully pick up those floating chicken skins was a fun thing to witness.