The 99 islands

Arriving in Malaysia

Having taken a sleeping pill on take-off, I had slept 4h completely dead to the world.  And 2h more after a loo visit, plus 3h more of lying/dozing.  With some circling, our flight arrived into Kuala Lumpur around 0430, an hour late.

I had about 1h50 till my flight to Langkawi, a group of 99 islands just south of Thailand.  Due to favourable queues, I managed to pop out landside to the lounge for a light breakfast before going domestic airside for my 0620 departure to Langkawi for a 4 night stay.

Arriving at 0730, I killed some time with another breakfast  and coffee before picking up my rental car at 0830.

Killing time

The drive to my accommodation Eagleye at Tanjung Rhu takes only 30 minutes max.  It was too early to turn up there so I took some detours.

First up was Mahsuri’s Tomb.  The tomb itself was surrounded by a hodgepodge of collections forming a museum.  It was somewhat amateurish as if done by the community.

Legend was that Mahsuri was the most beautiful woman in her village, wrongly accused of adultery and sentenced to death.  She put a curse of the islands for seven generations with her last breath.

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Nearer to the hotel, I overshot to the very end of Tanjung Rhu beach where it was quite scenic.  I also found a tour desk where I got some information for possible trips.

I got to Eagleye around 1100, which I meant that I had killed 2h rather easily with detours and sightseeing.

At Eagleye I chatted with Camille, a French volunteer who works 4h a day in exchange for accommodation and one meal.  She made me some toast while I waited for my room.

My room was spacious and it had coconut trees in the bathroom.  I’ve never had a coconut tree in my bathroom but today I have three!  After a shower, I felt asleep for about 1.5h.

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Exploring and Drinking

Feeling refreshed after waking up, I decided to take a drive to Kuah town.

I ended up at the main ferry terminal (as opposed to the other one on the opposite side of the island) where it was a short walk to the Eagle monument.  I then explored the ferry terminal including the duty free store as I needed to buy a bottle of gin for family.  More about that later.

I explored a little more by car and ended up at a mall called Langkawi Fair where I did some grocery shopping and had dinner at a chain restaurant PappaRich.   Not what I had wanted to do on my first night back in Malaysia.

Back in my cottage at Eagleye, Susie the owner invited me for drinks at 2100 at the posh Tanjung Rhu Resort nearby at the Sands Bar.  It was Camille’s birthday.  A Portuguese couple staying at Eagleye came along and we chatted a fair bit.  They live in Macau.

Considering, I had woken up at 0230 Malaysian time, it was amazing that I lasted till 2330 and got back around midnight to retire at 0030!  I seem to travel better and better with age.

Buying Duty Free

I’m not “spiritual” at all, so my duty-free purchases are always for friends and family. This time I had a request for a bottle of gin.

I smelt a rat when I found that the requested product at Auckland International Airport was considerably more expensive than onboard a flight.

Specifically, Gordon’s 1 litre gin: NZD36 at Aelia vs NZD23 (MYR63) onboard AirAsia X. Aelia’s price is a measly NZD2 cheaper than the Auckland street price, while AirAsia X’s is similar to Singapore Changi airport price.

I realised in Langkawi that the difference gets more ridiculous.  It was NZD20 (MYR55) at Langkawi Jetty Duty Free and NZD14 (MYR39) in Langkawi’s Kuah Town Duty Free.

More than 60% cheaper than the rip-off at Auckland Airport.