From March 8th (Sat) to 15th (Sat), I went to Langkawi Island, located in the southeastern part of the Andaman Sea in Malaysia, for 6 nights and 8 days. Since my journeys have always been busy in schedule, I decided to leave Tokyo, where it is still cold, and spend this time relaxing at a beach resort. According to the Malaysian Tourism Board website, the name Langkawi comes from the word “Helang” which means eagle, and “kawi” which means marble, which means reddish brown in old Malay. This island, which is rich in nature such as valuable geological structures and mangrove forests unique to the tropics, has been designated as Malaysia’s first Global Geopark. In addition, as it is designated as a free trade zone, the entire island is duty-free and alcohol is cheap, making it the perfect resort for drinkers.

March 8th (Sat）
I arrived at Kuala Lumpur Airport at 18:20 on flight JL723, which departed Narita Airport at 11:30. Since my connecting flight to Langkawi Island was the next morning, I decided to stay at Ibis Styles Sepang Klia near the airport.

When I got on the hotel’s free shuttle bus and entered the hotel, there was a beautiful pool, and I felt it would be a waste to just stay there. I might have been better off delaying my flight tomorrow.

March 9th (Sun)
I took the 6:00am shuttle bus back to the airport and boarded flight JL7197 (a codeshare flight with Malaysia Airlines) departing at 8:55am, arriving at Langkawi Airport just before 10:00am, earlier than scheduled. Langkawi Airport is a small resort airport, so there are no gates and you have to disembark using a gangway.

I paid MYR50 in advance at the taxi ticket counter at the airport and headed to my accommodation, Tanjung Rhu Resort Langkawi. I checked in and had a pizza lunch and beer in the Reading Room overlooking the beach while waiting for my room to be ready.

The room I was first shown to was on the third floor (actually the fourth floor as there is a ground floor) as shown in the photo below, and as there is no elevator it would be difficult for elderly people to make multiple trips up and down the stairs, so I asked to change the lower room on the first floor.

After my room on the first floor was ready, I changed to swim wear and went for a swiming pool. There are two pools. The photo below shows the family pool, and on the other side of the property is the adult pool. Even though it’s a family pool, most of the water is deep, so I didn’t see any children swimming there.

For dinner, I had satay (Malaysian grilled meat skewers) and fried shrimp at the hotel restaurant called Sand. Satay is very delicious when you dip it in sauce.

The sun sets at approximately 7:30 p.m., allowing for the opportunity to witness a beautiful sunset following my meal.

March 10th (Mon)
Today, I went snorkeling from noon. There was a dock about a 5-minute drive from the hotel, and from a 20-minute boat ride to a small island for snorkeling.

The water was shallow near the island and I could just about touch the coral reef with my feet.

There were lots of yellow and black striped tropical fish, so many that you could almost touch them while they were swimming.

I still had time, but I got tired because of my age, so I cut it short. On the way back, the boat took me to the beach of the hotel. I went from the beach to the pool and spent the rest of the day by the pool.

March 11th (Tue)
Today I went on a mangrove tour that I had booked through Veltra. There was a boat dock about 30 minutes by car from the hotel, and from there I got on a boat and headed to the bat cave.

Gua Kelawar means “Bat Cave” in Malay.

We were greeted by crab-eating macaques at the entrance to the cave.

There is no lighting inside the cave, so you will need to rely on your guide’s flashlight.

When guide shone his flashlight upwards, I saw many small bats resting their wings.

There are also dinosaur-like stalactites.

The promenade leading to the pier is lined with mangrove forests.

I get back on the boat and head to the eagle feeding area, where I see many eagles flapping their wings.

When the captain scattered chicken skin on the river as bait, an eagle, the symbol of Langkawi, descended.

We then went further down the river into the Andaman Sea to try our hand at fishing.

In about an hour, the three of us – myself, the guide, and the captain – caught more than 10 fish, and I caught 4 in total.

We headed back up the river to the floating restaurant where I had lunch.

Unfortunately, since it is an Islamic restaurant, there is no alcohol, so I have lime juice for lunch.。

They also fried the fish we had caught earlier, but there was so much delicious food that I couldn’t eat it all.

I returned to the pier and were taken to the hotel, where the mangrove tour ended. The local guide, who spoke Japanese, was a pleasant person, and although the tour was not very long, I was able to have a variety of experiences and enjoyed it to the fullest.

March 12nd (Wed)
Today I decided to travel around the island by taxi. My first destination was the Sky Cab station where the Sky Bridge is located. I had the hotel front desk call a taxi for me, and I left at 10:15. It took about 30 minutes to get to the Sky Cab station, passing a street lined with souvenir shops and restaurants, and then to the ticket office.

I was surprised that even with the early ticket, the boarding time was from 12:30, but it seems that the opening hours have changed during Ramadan. To pass the time, I visited an attraction featuring 3D trick art. Admission is complimentary the Sky Cab ticket.

It was lunchtime, so I was looking for something to eat, and I noticed that there was an original noodle on the menu at a cafe called CEKGUU’S. When I asked about it, they pointed to a packet of instant ramen, so I was a little worried about what was original about it. What came out was even better than I expected, a spicy noodle dish reminiscent of tantanmen without soup. The toppings were well presented, and the noodle was truly original, and the taste was better than I expected.

Finally, I pass through the Sky Cab ticket gate and board a six-seater gondola to head to the intermediate station.

The gondola climbs at the world’s steepest angle of 42 degrees, with the longest distance between the pillars being 950m, the total length being 2km, and it takes 15 minutes to reach the summit station.

Here too, wild monkeys greeted us. The scenery was also amazing.

There seemed to be some attractions but they didn’t seem to be operating, so we headed to the summit station.

You can reach the Sky Bridge via a steep promenade, but to conserve my energy I paid an additional fee and took the cable car-like Skyride.

The Sky Bridge is a great idea, and although it does shake a little, it’s very safe to cross.

I returned to the station at the base of the mountain and was picked up by the same taxi I had taken earlier, and went to Eagle Square in Kuah Town. There was a large reddish-brown eagle statue, the symbol of Langkawi, enshrined there.

Next, I went to see the Maha Tower, which was just built a few years ago. The former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir, is from Kedah, where Langkawi is located, and this tower is said to be officially recognized by Prime Minister Mahathir. It has a distinctive lace-like exterior.

Tonight I had planned to go to the night market, which is held every Wednesday here in Kuah Town, but according to what my guide said yesterday, during Ramadan it’s only a bazaar with restaurants and other establishments, so he didn’t really recommend going, so I decided to just go back to the hotel.

March 13rd(Thr)
Today is my last day at the hotel, so I decided to spend the whole day by the pool. It feels so good to lie down on a chair in the shade of the trees on the beach side.

I ordered beer and something like yakisoba at the pool bar in the adult pool for lunch. This pool is quite deep, with a depth of 1.5m, but there are also places here and there where you can lie down and relax.

It’s nice to spend the day relaxing by the beach.

March 14th (Fri)
I checked out at 12:00, had lunch, and then drove to Langkawi Airport in a car arranged by the hotel, where I took flight JL7192 (a codeshare flight with Malaysia Airlines) departing at 18:25 to Kuala Lumpur. I then took flight JL724 departing at 22:50 and arrived safely at Narita Airport at 6:30 in next day.

Langkawi Island has a lot to do and is a great place to relax. I thought it would be nice to spend time at a beach resort like this once a year.