Paradise Langkawi

Since the 12th of January I and Patrick have spent our time on the northwestern Malaysian island Langkawi. We had chosen the island because it was close, it wasn’t affected by the rainy season (that is all over Southeast Asia right now) and because we wanted some simple sun, rest and nice beaches (and add a bit of jungle and caves on top of that!).

Now, 19th of January, we have booked our flight to Borneo via Kuala Lumpur, leaving tomorrow. The week has been the greatest time so far according to me and an utter failure according to Patrick. I guess I have to explain that…

Patrick simply woke up the first morning in Langkawi sick, with fever. He went to the doctor and got pills. And went more sick. Stomach problems, head ache, fever, you name it, he had it. And that kept him more or less bound to the bed all week. He hasn’t seen anything else of Langkawi than our bungalow and the street outside, basically. Which is very sad and very unfortunate. I know that Patrick right now is looking forward to Borneo though, so let’s hope for the best (and he is more or less healthy by now).

For me, it was completely different. First day I did nothing but read. But the next day I met up, as planned, with Claes and his friend Jesper, who just had arrived from their ongoing trip in Thailand. It was really nice meeting them and with them I went exploring the island. To make a long story short, we have made an island hopping tour, including monkeys, cat fish, jungle lakes and eagle feeding, we have made scooter trips and seen beaches, hot springs, wonderful waterfalls, a crocodile farm and a bird zoo. I’ve also read a lot of good books during the time here (I strongly recommend 1421 by Gavin Menzies for an unsurpassed historical enlightenment).

Although I both have gotten some bad sun burns and a strange swollen eye (which now is gone… the swell I mean) it has been great. Every evening have ended in a beer on the beach, a walk, a nice restaurant and then chatting in some bar. The weather has been as close to perfect as possible. And in the end, most things are incredibly cheap here. A lunch for 1-2 Euros is normal.

I just wish that Patrick and all those of you at home (or around the world) would be able to experience the same. My family especially missed an opportunity of getting a nice holiday on top of their visit to HK (it’s possible to rent an easy rider motorbike for around 8 Euros a day! And the roads and views are great.. too bad I forgot my driver’s license in HK!!).

I can only add a small, small subset of the photos I’ve taken so far here, so I urge you to take a further look in my Flickr gallery.