LANGKAWI |
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The Langkawi archipelago consists of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea south of Thailand, only 3 of which are inhabited, the main island being Palau Langkawi. We sailed through the seemingly ever present array of fish attracting devices and traps.. |
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| The common ones in this area were tall bamboo sticks protruding from the water, as always, hard as heck to see |
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Nov 25, 2006 Royal Langkawi Marina Arrived in Royal Langkawi Marina greeted on the dock by GWTW and Tactical Directions. After a get together for beverages, they invited us to join them at the Raja Muda Dinner that evening. Tactical Directions was awarded the prize for winning the overall in the catamaran division and GWTW also took home pewter for their winning efforts on the final leg of the race. We all had a fun evening of eating and dancing. |
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We enjoyed staying at the Royal Langkawi Marina, which is closer to town than other facilities, but so hot spontaneous combustion seemed like a definite possibility. |
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The main town of Kuah held little interest consisting of one rather tacky street full of duty free shops, although Langkawi was the very best place to stock up on Tiger Beer and cheap liquor. |  |
Nov 26, 2006 Taxi to Telaga Harbour for Langkawi International Boat Show. This is a large boat show by Asian standards but paled in comparison to the boat shows we are used to in North America (ie Seattle). There were several booths to promote their marine related products but not much else and it only took about 1/2 hour before we took in all there was to see. After lunch we took a taxi back to Langkawi with just enough time to get ready to return to Telaga for the Closing Ceremonies of the SailAsia Rally. Cable Car Ride Nov 27 The Rally organized a Bus trip to take the cable car up the mountain on the southwest coast of Langkawi
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| From the summit, 700 meters above sea level, there were breathtaking views of the peninsula and Adaman Sea with some archipelago islands in the distance and Telaga Marina seen just below. | ||
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| We hiked along the walkway out to the viewpoint where we stopped for a photo. | ||
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Hole in the Wall and River Tour Nov 28 Since there was not time for us to take our boats to the northern area of Langkawi to explore the Hole in the Wall, we opted to take a River tour on one of the commercial boats. Hole in the Wall which is actually the Kisap river, on the North east coast of Langkawi, is so named because of the relatively narrow entrance to the mangrove forest from the ocean. |
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The river banks were unique steep limestone outcrop formations covered by dense growth. We explored the many branches of the mangroves and the various waterways. The river took us through a cave and we emerged into a quiet area of the river, surrounded by ancient mangrove forests. |
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Soon we noticed the appearance of the Brahminy Kite and White bellied sea eagles coming to feed. The kites looked just like a brown version of our own Bald Eagles. We were able to view the birds from a very close proximity. |
As we motored on, we passed beautiful serene settings inhabited by only an occasional fisherman. We saw some unusual plant life, including the Mangrove Tree filtering fruit (above right). |
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Cave of the Bats Our boat dropped us at a wharf and we clambered along the wooden platform which led to a impressive cave. We ventured into the darkness and were soon surrounded by oversized stalactites and stalagmites. |
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We followed the boardwalk over emerald waters and through unique limestone formations. Overhead we could hear the squeaking of bats, Looking up, we realized that the cave walls were covered with millions of bats, 3 different species in fact. |
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Seafood does not get any Fresher than this! Next stop was The Hole in the Wall Restaurant, a rustic floating restaurant on the river that also houses a fish farm. |
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