Tour de Langkawi

The Red Eagle what Langkawi is known as in English
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What I pictured as a nice scenic ferry ride to Penang turned into more of an exhibition of how many sardines could fit into a can. The only thing that made the 3 and a half hour ride bearable was the blossoming relations between a German and an Iranian backpacker next to us. Highlights of their conversation surely was when the Iranian questioned why the German shaved his eyebrows. The German explained to the Iranian that in Germany it was uncool to have a monobrow, in which the Iranian replied "Do you shave your lower parts too? l lost it.

Local neighbours giving the Proton the once over
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The usual touts greeted us on arrival and we strolled past them to get our cab to the other side of the island. Langkawi is designated as duty free so I was expecting built up commercialism, but outside the resorts the island maintained its Malaysian shantiness. Our accommodation was palacial compared to what we have encountered thus far in Malaysia. We had an ensuite, towels and even toilet paper! We soon sought about exploring the island. Down the road we set about hiring a motorcycle. As we neared closer Emma started to fret and demanded that she wasn't getting on a bike. Therefore enter the Proton Kancil. One litre of cold hard horsepower. Luckily as it turned out it bucketed down on our exploration, much to the delight of a smug Emma.

Tanjung Rhu - Langkawi's nicest and most deserted beach
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On our travels we found some surprisingly deserted beaches and frolicked in the Seven Wells waterfall. Unfortunately the famed cable car was shut for business due to the rain. The next morning we boarded our island hopping adventure (in pissing down rain again) to venture around some outer island swimming holes. Our first taste of the Andaman Sea was as expected, bath like. The jewel of the trip was the swim in the fresh water lake in the middle of an island which is supposed to make a maiden fertile. (Before you get to excited parents and in-laws I made Emma sit this one out.) Because of the depth of the lake 95% of swimmers wore life jackets. However for us and a German fella on our trip this was only going to obstruct the bombing competition that had the local Jap's mesmerized. The afternoon drifted away in slumber and Thailand soon beckons.