LANGKAWI
After our stay in Singapore, we took a very short flight up to Langkawi, an island in the north of Malaysia. We plan to spend about two weeks in Malaysia, visiting three places: Langkawi, George Town, and Kuala Lumpur.
Before coming to Langkawi, I didn’t really know what to expect. I never really thought about it before this trip, and it never was a place on the top of my bucket list. As my Dad said, it feels like Lankgawi doesn't know if it wants to be a local place or a touristy place.
While we visited Langkawi, we tried to live like locals. We lived in a rustic homestay where we saw monkeys daily, talked about fruit stands with the gardener, and cooled down in the pool. Our host recommended amazing restaurants and cafes that were off the beaten path, serving delicious, authentic Malaysian food. We enjoyed the sunsets and a slower pace for a few days.
On the flip side, there are many touristy things to do, such as jet skiing and parasailing, as well as many bars and restaurants that cater to the visitors on the island. One of the first things we did on the island was visit Panorama Langkawi, which is a huge tourist trap. We rode a cable car up to a skywalk. While the views were beautiful, the tickets were pretty expensive, considering there was not much to do once you reached the top. We’ve taken cable cars in Chile, New Zealand, and Ecuador, and they offered green spaces, playgrounds, swings, a pool, restaurants, horses, goats or llamas at the top!
We also visited one of the most popular beaches for tourists. It was extremely crowded, and someone was always trying to sell us something. We ate dinner there, but the food was barley edible. What draws many people to this restaurant is the fire show performed every night. Admittedly, it was very cool to see, but it was done just for tourists, not a local in sight!
We found the perfect balance between local vibes and a tourist activity on our last day. We drove to a more remote beach, tucked into a corner of the island, with pristine white sand and turquoise waters. It was not at all crowded; in fact, we were one of the only people there. However, we enjoyed a tourist activity – jet skiing! We rented the jet skiis for 30 minutes, which was the ideal amount of time to speed around the warm waters and have so much fun!
We found this the perfect way to wrap up our time in Langkawi, because we got to experience it like a local, while still embracing the tourist part of us. Although we only spent two full days here, I felt like it was the perfect amount of time to explore the island and relax.