Relaxed Langkawi

For a quick beach weekend gateway from Singapore, there is quite a few places you can go to: Bali, Phuket, or Bintang. But all of them present a major inconvenient: they all packed with tourists and all the annoyance that come with massive sightseeing. On the other hand Malaysia has been quiet for a very long time with its beauty and its richness on the international scene, but very loud with its regional clientele. This actually, might pay off in the long run.



Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands (104 at low tide), on the north east side of main Malaysia, next to the Thai Border. If Krabi, Phuket and others Koh Phi Phi are not to be presented anymore to the international scene, Langkawi has yet to be. Just few kilometers south of the major Thai gateway, the group of islands has an international airport with direct access to fantastic 5 stars resorts and cheap rental with view on the beach. Jungle and rice pady on the back door and warm sea on the front, the 2 km long of Pantai Cenang street is a delight for the tourist on search for relaxing time.



Cheap food, drinks and accommodations since Langkawi is duty free, the islands are a paradise for budget conscious traveler who do not want to compromise with quality or activities in their vacations. It is then normal to see some backpackers who wanted to expand their island hoping experience up to the south side of the marvelous Thai jewelries.



Of course, one can always complain about the slowness of the islanders and the lack of services that one can find in the area, but in reality, Langkawi is a descent compromise for those in search of relaxing relaxed time on the low side of the wallet with some sun and good food. And what is Langkawi could be the next hot spot to discover on the Asian side of the planet?

Langkawi Addresses

Langkawi is an archipelago of 104 islands at low tide and 99 island high tide in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia, and on the border with Thailand.

The best way to reach the main island is by plane from Penang, KL or Singapore. Some ferries from Thailand and mainland Malaysia also could be a nice and slow entry or exit point from the island.

Hotel

Basically you have 3 mains options to go to.
[a] Or you prefer a reclusive all inclusive resort and the further away the better it will be for you. The only thing you will do then will be moving from the swimming pool to the restaurant and finally to the room.
[b] The capital Kuah and its duty free mall and ferry
[c] 2 km long beach along Pantai/Cenang

False Ads !?!

Tengah/Cenang beaches offer a certain vibe where you could almost decide where you would want to eat and do for leisure.

• Villa Molek (Pantai Tengah)
  [website] [TripAdvisor]
  12 bricks Villas with bedroom/living room/kitchen to spare your luggage. Nice, quiet, clean, and elegant with some Ikea touch sometimes. Breakfasts are copious with mix of western and Malay (Nasi Lemak & Roti Prata). This location is on the high side but is clean and well located for couple only (no kid allowed).
• Casa Del Mar (Pantai Cenang)
  [website] [TripAdvisor]
  This all inclusive is probably the best located 4/5 stars of all hotels. Right on the beach yet quiet, the clientele seems to be over 65. Recommended only if this is the last resorts available.
• Bon Ton Resort (Pantai Cenang)
  [website] [TripAdvisor]
  Reclusive, Exclusive, Elegant. Voted among the best hotel in Malaysia. If money is not an issue, highly recommended even if it's close to the airport (the 10 or so daily flights will not spoil your stay) and not on the best beach spots.
• Beach Garden Resort (Pantai Cenang)
  [website] [TripAdvisor]
  Swiss chef, German Beer, International clientele. If you want to play it safe and still have the villa on the beach, close to nature experience, this place is for you. (next door to the Casa Del Mar) .
  
• Sunset Beach Resort (Pantai Tengah)
  [website] [TripAdvisor]
  Off the beaten track, this small place and its 20 or so small cabanas next to the ocean offer an quiet retreat away from the "noise" of Cenang. The beach is nice but has a wild side to it. If you have kids and do not want to spend the entire days worried about the current and the waves better go somewhere else.
  
• Malibest Resort (Pantai Cenang)
  [Agoda] [TripAdvisor]
  The resort itself is a low profile bungalows next to each others, except that they have 5 tree houses and 2 wooden villas sitting in front of the sea. If your deal is see the ocean sunset from your tree, this is the only place you should at. Make sure you ask for Semarak villa, Meranti, Cengal, Jati (Menpar is a tree-house but behind Meranti and does not have an ocean view).
  

Restaurants

The 2 km long beach along Tengah/Cenang are your best best for good food on the island.

View from Beach Garden Resort

• Kantan (Pantai Tengah)
  Next to the Sun Spa on Pantai Tengah
  This Malay traditional house serve Malay traditional food. All you can imagine is there. Although we find out that they rae still looking for a chef, waiter and bartender (which is never a good sign for a restaurant). Good Malay but not extraordinary
• Unkaizan (Pantai Tengah)
  Next to the Ishan Malaysian Spa on Pantai Tengah
  [website] [TripAdvisor]
  This Japanese restaurant has been rate among the best restaurants in Malaysia since 2005. The food is fresh and the sushi excellent. A true Japanese experience in a Malay island. If the awkwardness does not bother you, don't hesitate to seat on the top floor overlooking the sunset with a platter of fresh sushi or sashimi.
• Beach Garden Resort (Pantai Cenang)
  [website] [TripAdvisor]
  Swiss chef, German Beer, International clientele. Food is consistently good and large in portion with a western side of it. Comfort food is so comfortable that with a beer at 4.5 RM (happy hour) and your feet in the sand, this is the best place to over com your sunburn.
• Red Tomato Garden Cafe (Pantai Cenang)
  [website] [TripAdvisor]
  This place is also very popular among the tourist in Langkawi. Watch out with a copycat name Tomato is this one is not that great !!!
  
• La Chocolatine (Pantai Tengah)
  next to Chill Out Bistro
  [TripAdvisor]
  Orange shop with some Paris posters on the walls, this place try to recreate an atmosphere that some Parisian would not find unfamiliar. Now when it come to food, all patisseries you can have are true to the letter of what could be found back in France at a corner store of every village. Special mention to the Eclair (both Coffee and Chocolate) and the Mille Feuilles. Everything is good. If there is one place to go to in Langkawi that would be the one.
  

To Do

This island is a paradise for those who wants to relax essentially.

Wooden Bungalow at Malibest Resort

• Shopping is almost mandatory when you know that there is not sales tax on the island. So everything you want is there at a very low price. Alcohol, clothes, or handicrafts everything is a stiff discount. Many Duty Free mall (no tax) are along the main road, and the capital Kueh is just a long road of discount mall after another. Gaya Minami [website] is probably the most interesting of all handicrafts shops.
  
  
• Cable Car: The view is fantastic on top of the highest point of the island ... is its not raining of course.
  
  
• Any Water Sports under the sun: Scuba diving, wake boarding, jet-ski, ....
  
  
• Tanning of course !!!
  
  
• Flying Of : Firefly [www.fireflyz.com.my] is a new regional airline company that propose interesting inter-cities flight at a discounted fares.
  

KL Per Hour

There is nothing worse than coming back from a weekend trip with food poisoning … except maybe starting a weekend trip with food poisoning already. This is what happened to J. unfortunately, on our weekend escape to Kuala Lumpur (KL).

Twins

On a Thursday night, out of a sparkling moment of joy we decided to change our busy weekend routine to take a flight out of Singapore on a run to the nearest destination. After few clicks and quick investigation, the capital of Malaysia seemed to be a fair deal for the buck: major food capital of Asia, with large and new shopping centers and the famous Petronas Twin Towers.

Twin View from Aside

Hotel was booked, flights were locked, camera was charged, and bag was for once almost packed the day before and all of that within a couple of hours. Nothing could spoil our weekend well deserved after all the work we have been putting in lately. But it all started early in the morning and the breakfast did not stay long enough in the stomach to make a lasting impression on J. With some careful planning and smart logistics we both managed to reach the hotel lobby with less than more damage. Legs were weak and stomach light, but nothing that a long and comfortable night could fix, right?

Smile at the Twins

ERROR #1
With no strength to move around the bedroom of the hotel, it was certainly not possible to explore one of the most humid and hottest cities in the world. The goal was then to trick the beast, and to charcoal the bug while refueling fluids to keep a minimum of energy level. The scam seemed to work out perfectly. We squeezed just enough time for the two of us to explore the shopping center district and its AC-ed promise land, and to visit the Petronas tower from afar.

Twin Towers at Night

With so much rebound joy and with the largest Malay food menu in front of you, no one could resist the temptation, and the cooling night at Bijan was a parenthesis in the life of the traveler with a bug. The immediate refueled energy out of the marvelous dinner at Bijan lasted just enough for us to take few pictures of the fantastic tower at night from underneath and from afar at the SkyBar. The night of dancing that we planned before at the nearby Zouk was replaced instead by a mocktail at the hotel Sky Lounge watching the outside line-up growing longer by the night club under a light rain.

Twins under the Spotlights

ERROR #2
J. spent instead the long night dancing in the bathroom while I was inconsiderately sleeping my food off in the bedroom. The next day, after a long flight back of 45 minutes fighting against crowd, delays, traffic, low budget airline and bureaucracy we both made it on time back in Singapore for a scheduled recovery in bed and hot congee.

Clouds Stuck in Towers

No traveler with a bug can recover in 24 hours and food poisoning should not be taken lightly at all.

As for KL, the city seems to be as good as it looks. Food seems great, shopping interesting and the city has even some surprising places to entertain the pleasing crowd at night. KL looks like what Singapore was maybe 20 years ago with some pockets of modernity here and there, but in of serious urban planning. We have to go back there to make sure we have the right impression and this time with no bug inside!

Kuala Lumpur addresses

Even though downtown Kuala Lumpur (KL) is small in size, it is quite difficult to move from one district to another. Highways and construction sites prevents tourists from jumping from one spot to the next unfortunately. The best way to discover the city would be to use taxis or the over pass monorail that cross the city from North to South.

[[Hotel]]

• Hotel Maya
  [http://www.hotelmaya.com.my]
  Off the main road, in front of the tower, Maya Hotel is a brand new modern 20+ levels where you can find design room for your taste. The glass bathroom is as big as the bedroom overlooking the space. Make sure to bring your earplug since you are squeeze between the highway, the Muslim cemetery, Zouk and the main road to the towers.
  
  
  Sky Lounge @ Maya Hotel
  
  



• Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur
  [Link]
  Opposite the Towers, across the KLCC park, the Traders host not only the famous SkyBar but also nice restaurants and large room for your stay. Not easy to find but quiet and reclusive. If price is not an issue then Traders will suit you.
  
  
• Nikko Hotel KL
  [http://www.hotelnikko.com.my/]
  From outside, the giant chandelier overlooking the entrance is a mark of what bing-bing China could have exported around the world. But for business or leisure Nikko is at an ideal location for any stay in KL.
  

[[Restaurant]]

• Bijan Restaurant
  [http://www.bijanrestaurant.com]
  If I had to choose one, that would be the one. Not that I try any other restaurant in KL, but this one was nicely placed, decorated and delivered. Malay cuisine at its best with fantastic taste and great presentation. Bill was on the high side but was fine to swallow.
  
  
  Bijan Restaurant
  
  
  
• Jalan Alor (Street Food)
  Less and less food stolls survive the KL's Mall Frenzie nowadays, but the best of the rest are only in on place: Jln Alor. Ask any taxi driver to drop you off at Alor Jln, at night and you will enjoy a great time of pick and choose before you move.
  

[[Shopping]]

• Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
  [http://www.pavilion-kl.com/]
  Once enter in the mall, you forget that you are in KL, but wonder if you haven't landed in Dubai or USA. Large space with great inventory shops with plenty of light and seats along the way to make you stay as long as possible to spend your few $. The food court (Food Republic + others restaurants) is a true alternative to street food.
  
  
• KLCC Suria Mall
  [http://www.suriaklcc.com.my/]
  Under the Petronas Tower reside a large shopping mall where all brands compete to display their latest inventory. Nice stay over after the visit of the Towers
  
  
• Bukit Bintang Street
  Along the shopping commercial street you will fins all the new and modern mall that you could imagine. Since KL is in constant make-over, don't be surprise to see a 30 yrs old shopping mall next to the latest one.
  

[[Bar & Dancing]]

• Sky Bar
  [http://www.skybar.com.my/]
  At the Level 33 of the Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur’s international hotel seat a Bar overlooking the KLCC and the Twins Tower. Be sure to come between 8PM and Midnight to enjoy the lights on the Towers and the techno lounge music at the same time. Too bad that the swimming pool could not be converted into a dance floor at night, because it is taking too much of the nice Sky Bar space.
  
  
  Sky Bar @ Traders Hotel
  
  
  
• Zouk
  [http://www.zoukclub.com.my/]
  The sister (or mother I should say) ship in Singapore has an international reputation crossing the ocean. The on in KL has also a fantastic line-up and a splendid location. Saturday night is a fight to get in and a move your body on the dance floor. When on the road to KL do not forget your dancing shoes, that would be a mistake to skip this place.