Exploring Langkawi

Langkawi is great! Been here for 4 nights now, and will be heading to Penang later today. We weren't originally planning on staying this long, but we really liked it here. 

Our first full day here (February 10th) was spent on Pantai Cenang beach. Cenang beach is one of the most popular beaches in Langkawi, but it wasn't too crowded. Lots of cafés, restaurants, and shops in the area. 

On our second day here (Feb 11th) we thought it was high time to do something besides laying on beaches. There isn't a lot of traffic on the island, so we decided to rent scooters and explore the island. I was a little apprehensive at first; mainly because they drive on the opposite side of the road here, but also because I haven't driven a scooter in years... Aaand I'm a kind of a scaredy cat, too. 

It was very inexpensive to rent scooters. It only cost 21 ringgit (39.70kr/$6.30) to rent a scooter for 12 hours (9am - 9pm). We splurged and got the insurance for an additional 10 ringgit (18.90kr/$3). Luckily we didn't need it. Better to be on the safe side, though! Had to fill up the scooter before returning it, but this wasn't expensive either. It was only 2.1 ringgit (3.97kr) per liter. For my American friends, this translates into 2.38 per gallon. Cheap!

Despite my fears of crashing into something/someone, it turned out to be an absolutely awesome day. We both managed to avoid hitting anything/anyone, and got home in one piece (I don't think Isabelle was as worried as I was. Haha). Driving on the opposite side of the road wasn't too hard either; you just had to keep reminding yourself that you were in fact driving correctly even though it felt utterly wrong.

Our first stop was the Langkawi SkyCab (cable car) at the foot of the Machincang mountain. After a 45 minute wait in line, we were on our way to the top of the mountain in a little cable car. The journey from the foot of the mountain to top took about 15 minutes. The journey covered 2150 meters/1.35 miles, and reached an

elevation of 680meters/2230 feet above sea level. The panoramic view at the top was incredible! We could see Langkawi and the surroundings areas, including parts of neighboring Thailand. 

After the SkyCab we just drove around really. Stopped at a few beaches and along the road to see wild monkeys. So cute! 

Langkawi is a beautiful, green island. I can't believe how much fun we had just driving around. It brought me back to when I was 16, and my friends and I would drive all around Drammen on our scooters. Oh, those were the days! 

The scooters we rented weren't as pretty as my old Peugeot Vivacity, but they could go much, much faster. The scooters were 125 cc (cubic centimeters, the capacity of the engine). I was pretty impressed that they could go up to 80km per hour/50mph. Perhaps they could've gone faster? We played it safe and drove the speed limit for the most part. No need to worry, Mom!

We had so much fun that we decided to rent the scooters again the next day (yesterday) We headed to the secluded beach we found, Pantai Pasir Tengkorak, and spent the whole day there. Great day! 

Today we'll probably just hang around Cenang beach before getting on the ferry to Penang. Now it's time for breakfast!

Love, 

Suzy