Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is a district and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide) in the Malacca Strait of Peninsula Malaysia. Located some 30 km off the coast of northwestern Malaysia, the islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border; approximately a few kilometres south of Ko Tarutao.
The largest town is Kuah and Pantai Cenang is the most popular beach and tourist area as it is a duty-free island.
Some information on Langkawi if you are interested in visiting the Island
- Langkawi – Wikipedia
- History of Langkawi
- History of Langkawi from welovelangkawi.com.
- Langkawi Gazette on Legends of Langkawi
These was our second trip after more than 25 years. We took a direct flight from Singapore to Langkawi and spent 4 nights on this beautiful Island. One of the reasons to come here was to ease our minds from our daily works especially my wife who was a government servant attached to the Ministry of Education. Currently, she was posted in secondary school. Langkawi was chosen due to it’s nature and housed some of the most beautiful landscapes in Malaysia. We did not visit all the places here. We just followed out hearts and enjoyed every single moments we had in the Island.
Day 1 – 8 August 2017
Upon arrival, we rented a small car to ferry us – me & wife – around the island. The rental was affordable and the petrol consumption wasn’t to high; the petrol prices at that time was a bargain. We managed to book two resort namely, Dream Garden Resort (8 & 9 August) and D’Lima Beach Inn (10 & 11 August). We visited the following places.
Beras Terbakar – The Field of Burnt Rice
Beras Terbakar or the Field of Burnt Rice. Basically, there is nothing much to see here, but it has a significant history to be told. It is located in the house compound of Ku Halim Bin Ku Hassan in Kampung Raja, which was the then-ancient capital of the island. During the battle between Siam (Thailand) and Langkawi at Pancur Straits in 1821, once the army chief realised that they will eventually lose the battle, he sent his men to inform the villagers to collect all the paddy harvest in the island and set them all on fire. This is to prevent the Siamese from acquiring the island’s main supply of food. The villagers brought all their harvest to this place, dug a huge hole and burnt it all. The area where the incident took place has been preserved and protected. However, you can never find the hole there, but a signage was placed to inform visitors of the history and where the hole once was.
Durian Perangin Tropical Forest & Waterfall
Durian Perangin Tropical Forest. The name was given as a result of durian trees that grow in the forests near the waterfall. It is surrounded by intriguing rock formations and dense forest with a multi-tiered falls where you can find a pool at the base. We climbed up to the upper falls and it worth the effort.
Ayer Hangat Village
We did not entered the Ayer Hangat Village but only went to see the museum to know more about the place. One thing that make the hot spring unique is the natural salt water hot spring. It’s very rare and only few other places in the world has it namely, Zhaori Hot Spring in Taiwan, Maquinit Hot Spring in Philippines, Japan and Italy.
Visit Ayerhangat website for more info.
Pantai Pasir Hitam – The Black Sand Beach
When we went here about 25 years ago, the sands were more blackish than the current state. Why are the sands black in color? There are no definite answer to this. A good information on these phenomena can be read in Langkawi Insight website.
Tanjung Rhu Beach
One of the most beautiful beaches and away from the crowd as it is situated at the north eastern edge of Langkawi facing Thailand. As the name suggests, you can see lots of casuarina trees (Rhu) fringing the cape (Tanjung) and the beach.
To be continued …..
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