Langkawi

Seems too soon!! it’s maybe always too soon to leave beautiful Lipeh. We’re clustered on the beach with fellow Malaysia bound passengers. The emmigration and immigration formalities all being dealt with while we slurp a coffee as the sun picks up heat. Trying to lug our bags along a jetty constructed from what looks like large leggo, it rocks and bucks with every wave and step. Into a longtail boat which rocks with the waves, always opposite to the rock of the jetty!

A short, inexplicable ride out to a floating dock, the waves are pretty big now so we have a hair raising scramble onto and up a metal ladder over the side of the dock, then a 20 minute wait in searing sun, then the ferry arrives. Our favourite... “coffin” style!

It’s a 5 foot drop from the dock to the entry deck of the boat which is lurching alarmingly. Kim plummets down and nearly wipes out a crew member, least it was something soft to land on! From there it’s down stairs at around sea level, you can’t see out and the door is locked shut on us, the boat starts up as does the film for our entertainment.

A story of the recovery of sunken vessels! Multiple deaths! a huge, previously assumed extinct, super shark picks off anyone left undrowned. A great choice for people locked below decks in a boat.

Well, we make it to Langkawi, I think they killed the shark by making it eat a helicopter or some such nonsense, the film is called The Meg, really, don’t bother. 

Langkawi is wonderfully warm and it’s nice (I know you’re going to hate me for this) not to have sand under our feet. Malaysia feels instantly cleaner, everyone speaks fantastic English and we feel right at home right away. The hotel is lovely, same place we stayed at last time we were here, we have a great room, sea view, lovely pool what’s not to love?

The royal yacht club at the marina here in Kuah, not only has a wonderful happy hour (Buy one get one free from 3pm to 11pm!) but has the kind of view we all dream of. Beautiful blue water, a stunning marina, all backed by rain forest clad mountains, even the food is good. Langkawi is a duty free island so most everything is very cheap. A litre of Hendriks 20 quid, Jack Daniels 12 pound a litre, a beer in a restaurant a quid, in a shop? Pennies. Taxi transport is crazy cheap the whole island in reach for less than a fiver, most trips around a pound.

People are always asking Kim and I where the best place we’ve been is. I have concluded it’s Langkawi. Great prices, great beaches, fantastic climate, rain forest, coconut palms, really friendly people.

Part of the joy is that despite the prices here none of the bars get packed because the vast majority of the locals are Muslim. Kim and I sit and listen to the mosques along the sea front issuing the beautiful evening call to prayer while we look out over the magical Kuah harbour, enclosed by stunning islands, bordered by jungle cliffs.

We make our way to the roof top bar of the Gold Sands hotel and watch a staggering sunset then back to our room, windows open, feet on the ledge listening to the Bose with large G&Ts as a huge thunder and lightening storm comes rolling in dumping rain in huge curtains, turning the streets to rivers, the car park opposite to a lake glittering with the reflected lightening strikes.

THAT’S GOT TO BE LUCKY!

There are a couple of stunning resorts here just a short walk from the marina. They’re all emerald water, rainforest and white sand. A couple of lovely waterfront restaurants and bars cater for guests and interlopers like ourselves alike. We get early warning that this is a Langkawi reserved for either the wealthy or people so afraid of venturing out of the resort they’ll pay anything to stay in. On the bar is a small basket of packets of plain salt crisps, a sign, “Chips! Special offer, only 35MYR” To you and I that’s seven quid, seven pounds for a packet of plain crisps!! we have a happy hour beer and run out, along the beach to the resort next door.

The restaurant has a stunning view of the strait, and we take the seats proffered by a couple of impeccably dressed waiters, I pull my chair forward so my impeccably torn jean shorts and slightly stained T shirt are concealed by the crisply laundered table cloth. The waiter speaks to Kim....

“Are you here for the complementary drinks madam”

“Why yes.......yes we are”

He brings a drinks list, it has beer, it has wine, what could go wrong?

A few beers and a couple of wines later and we’ve ordered some food, a new waitress brings us some beautifully cooked sea bass....

“Can we have two glasses of white wine please?”

“Certainly, which wine would you like”

“Oh.....The happy hour wine”

“Happy hour wine?, there is no happy hour”

We get the feeling something has slipped, she comes back...

“Are you Westin club members?” she asks.

“No”

She goes away and engages in an animated conversation with our original waiter, he turns up 3 minutes later with 2 glasses of very passable wine, we luxuriate, we enjoy the wine, we virtually lick the plates clean of designs, we settle back, take in the magnificent view....

“Can we have the bill please?”

It arrives, no drinks!!

For a moment we consider ordering two large brandy’s but instead pay and run out of the resort as fast as we can.

The place gets its’ own back as we walk along the drive. We pass under a stand of tall trees, I hear a rustle of leaves above me, something strikes my brand new Police sunglasses (fake) and I’m almost overwhelmed by a horrid stench, I look up and a smiley faced langur monkey is looking down from the tree top, I remove my brand new Police sunglasses (fake) and sticking to the arm is a green, steaming, stinking monkey turd....I mean.. that has to be lucky, right?

We say goodbye to Langkawi with a couple of beers in the marina bar, the sun setting over the yacht harbour, dropping toward the jungle clad mountains, turning red, it drops from view leaving the sky striped crimson. The first place that we both decide, without a doubt that we will come back to.

Penang

Down at the ferry terminal the next morning, at 9am it’s already steaming hot. Down into the belly of the boat, we dump our bags, take our seats and we’re off. The “entertainment” is a box set of Sly Stallone movies. The first problem is you can't see the picture clearly apart from the subtitles on the TV in the right. The TV on the left you can see a picture but no subtitles, so you have to try and watch one screen and read the other on either side of the boat. The second problem is that the films will only play to the middle, then it switches to another movie, sure enough as we get to the middle it trips to another film. I know how the first 45 minutes of 3 Sly Stallone movies start. In one he’s a hit man, in another a freedom fighter and another a prisoner, I have no idea what they were called and such is the tense excitement engendered by his powerful performance and characterisation, I do not give a shit as to what happens in the end....of any of them.

We’re landed in Penang, beautiful, glittering Penang. A short grab cab ride from George town and we’re back at the Landmark building again, it’s the same building as we stayed in last year but we have a higher floor, a better view and balcony. We feel instantly at home and pop to the supermarket for supplies then to our favourite Chinese restaurant here for clams and black vinegar chicken, then back to the balcony to watch Georgetown and the harbour light up.

We get ourselves into Georgetown for some lovely tandoori food. The next day our hoasts take us to a spectacular seafood place in town. We tried to get in here last year but the queue was half way down the road, it only opens 2 hours around lunchtime then from 6pm to 8pm and it’s rammed every minute. Today, with a couple of locals, 4 seats are miraculously located and we sit down to some fantastic food.

There’s yet another marina here, about a 40 minute walk away and we set out, manfully, and arrive at an Irish bar dripping like melting margarine, just able to hoarsely whisper.......”beer!....beer, damn you!!, bring us beer”. And they do.

So Kim has popped off for a “Do” and I’m cooking a chilli, listening to cricket on line and considering a cold tiger. Our plan to venture to Sri Lanka has been kicked into touch by the suicide bombing and the UK government issuing and advisory against all but essential travel which will pretty much nix our travel insurance. Last night our hoasts took us 5 or 6 miles along the island to a stunning beach front bar and restaurant where we enjoyed grilled shrimp, squid, fish, lamb and beef (between 4 of us!) with our feet in the sand all washed down with ice buckets of small beers. “Try Payar” the say, “A small island just past Mercing, you can get there via Johor Bahru”, we know that place as we stayed in Johor last year. Payar is like paradise apparently, so now I’m going to take a look....catch you later.

It’s so great to be in a place where we can look after ourselves, do a bit of cooking and washing, we also get to use a stunning pool, a great gym and a view to simply die for. A home cooked chilli, which was delicious, a shop bought chicken enjoyed on our balcony with a self prepared salad, some cheese biscuits and wine, I know it doesn’t sound much, but it’s 20 months since we could do this kind of thing in a place we can call our own.

Penang is blessed with just about everything you would wish for, climate, great food, great shops. Kim hits the mall with a vengeance and talks me into attending a fashion show. Neither of us have been to one before and we watch with interest as some fairly outlandish designs vie for the main prize and funnily enough the competition was won by something that looks like it’s from the Dallas TV show. We’re promised a finale of some sort after a 15 minute wait.

40 minutes later we’re still waiting but dead on one hour late the next show starts. It takes us 10 minutes to figure out what the fuck is happening as model after model parades up and down in what looks like the same outfit....they’re showing off the fucking luggage!! I’ve waited here hoping for some underwear and I’m looking at handbags and more frigging suitcases on wheels being led, like so many plastic dogs up and down the walk way. Eventually it’s over and another show is forecast for “just 45 minutes”,......”Not on your bloody nelly, where’s the bar”.

The rainy season is starting now and each morning starts with a downpour and around 10pm huge thunderstorms start rolling in. It’s spectacular stuff we can see the clouds roll down Penang hill, encircling the skyscrapers as they make their way out to the straits of Mellacca, lightening bolts and claps of thunder.

In the periods between we make our way into town to check out Chulia and Love Lane, great places for evening drinks and people watching as the hookers start touting for business and street stalls set up selling local speciality foods. There’s the Red Garden streetfood market here which is a favourite haunt of ours, karaoke, dancing, amazing food.

Another day we get to go back to our favourite seafood place, Hai Wei for simply the most wonderful shrimp and clam dishes I’ve tasted anywhere and at the end of our stay we beat off the homesickness with a trip to Alberts fish and Chip bar.

Homesickness.  When home is hung out there like a tantalising mirage, friends, family, all our haunts, half the time we can’t wait to get there and the other half we feel as if we never want the trip to end. Hark at us! Getting maudlin with the small matter of a month in Indonesia to look forward to and meeting up with our pals The Wizzards of Aus, Robyn and Dave. We’re really looking forward to going back to Bali and the chance to see it with friends is so very special.

Packing again, pulling all the bits and bobs out of this lovely appartment, finding nooks and crannies for stuff in the rucksacks to take to Kuala Lumpur where we have a 5 day stop before our next flight. It’s another 4.5 hour bus trip but our experience of Malay bus services leads us to hope it’s going to be better than Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.....we’ll see!

We’ve loved KL so much the last few visits, it’s undoubtedly one of the great cities of the world, it has....everything.

KUALA LUMPUR THE ONLY WAY TO FLY

It’s an early start as we have a 40 minute drive across Penang to get to the bus terminal. The traffic is a nightmare, accidents on every approach road but of course the bus is stuck in the same traffic we are. We get there late but the bus is half an hour behind us. Our last few bus trips have all featured crammed mini vans, luggage piled everywhere, unspeakable heat, live chickens, crabs and on one occasion a sack of something dead which made everyone on board wish they had a sick bag. The double decker Aeroline bus (the convenient way to fly) is none of these things. Huge leather seats (we have the front two on the top deck) individual tv screens, sandwiches, complimentary coffee and water, they even gave everyone a blanket. We set out across the stunning Penang bridge at the start of a 5 hour bus journey of comparative luxury.

Dropped in KL in the shadow of the stunning Petronas towers we get a Grab cab to the Robbertson Residence, again where we stayed last time we passed through. It is the wonderful appartment we remember, 33 floors up above a huge pool with a roof top jaccuzzi 10 floors above us, we have amazing views of the city, at night, the twin towers and the Communication Tower light up as do all the new, staggeringly bold constructions that grace Kuala Lumpur. It is a beautiful city, one of our favourites, the place has everything.

After a quick shop to make sure we have brekkie supplies we make our way up to the walking street market where we can indulge our passion for Malaysian street food. Succulent La-las (clams) in an amazing spicy sambal sauce, shrimps, ribs in marmite and honey, delicious stir fried morning glory, ice cold tiger beers and an opportunity to people watch on an unrivalled scale.

A pilgrimage out to the Selangor Cricket club is always a must for me when we come here. A wonderful ground in a setting that manages to mix English Village green with Raj era majesty all over looked by the most majestic Malaysian flag imaginable. There is lot's of construction going on around the pitch so not as beautiful and peaceful as last time. The walk is swelteringly hot, simply stifling, the temperature is toward 40 degrees and it seems amplified by the architecture. Into a coffee house for iced black coffee just as the call for afternoon prayers brings crowds of worshippers from all directions, out of the office blocks to the staggeringly beautiful mosque built on terraces of waterfalls.

On the way back, through the KL central market for a bit of stall shopping and into China Town for a quick early evening din dins. We’d planned to rest up in air conditioned splendour in the appartment for an hour then go see a band or two at a local bar street, but we’re just too knackered and end up plonked in front of the tv for the night. I know it sounds a waste while we’re in one of the most amazing cities on earth but when you’ve been moving like we have sometimes it just catches up to you.

JAZZ AND TAPAS

Next evening after a day of gym, swim and sunbathing we make our way to bar street with a plan to watch England play Pakistan in a one day international on a sportsbar TV. The street is amazing, there are around 20 bars, all of which spill out into the street which gets pedestrianised at 18:00. The joy being you can sit in one bar (whichever has the best happy hour or live music) and watch whatever your sport is in any of the other bars facing you. Upshot is we watch the England Innings start over some cold beers, listening to a very good Jazz band, upright bass, big wide bodied jazz guitar, sax and keys with the occasional lady vocalist. We fancy some comfort food. In common with most major cities around the world KL is blessed with a cosmopolitan variety of restaurants offering food from around the world. We’ve missed Spain so much! We’ve found a Tapas bar and treat ourselves to a bottle of red, some Lamb and beef brochetas, some croquets, great fat olives and my favourite, boquerones. We get back to the bars in time to watch Jos Butler complete a stunning century and the start of the Pakistani reply and then to bed.

KLCC is the area around the Petronas Towers. It’s an amazing space housing a world class aquarium, a park full of SE Asian rarities and palms, a wonderful lake full of fountains which become multicoloured at night, a fantastic free swimming pool complete with waterfalls and man made beach, some mind bending sculpture and all overlooked by the amazing Petronas Tower and surrounded by KLs city scape and a huge, huge, shopping mall.

We sit and have an iced coffee as the sun sets and thunder starts to grumble all around us and crowds gather for the light show. The evening call to prayer echoes around the park as we make our way out of KLCC and toward the food market and we encounter a Civet (badger, racoon like creature) raiding a bin and watch him watching us through what looks like a bandits mask.

FITBAH? CRICKET? FITBAH? CRICKET?

We’ve a decision to make tonight, Manchester city and Liverpool both shoot for the premier title and it’s the final of the IPL cricket tournament. They’ll all be shown on the bar strip, what do we watch?

On our way we bump into a Lebanese restaurant and tuck into an amazing meal of chicken and lamb with greek salads and lebanon bread all at 25% off as part of the Diwali celebrations. Then, what do you know we find a bar with “Free flow gin and tonic” basically, as long as Kim can walk to the bar. They’ll top her up with G&T until 11 pm.....free!

At 10Pm they tell me happy hour beer is finished,

“It’s ok, I’ll just sit here and watch the tvs while my wife drinks your free gin”

“we can extend happy hour for you”

“I thought you probably could”

Amazingly, we have three screens ......on the right Liverpool vs Wolves, on the right Man City play Brighton, in the centre Chenai play Mumbai in the IPL final, we have free Gin and 30% off beer, for you Grand Prix fans the race is on, on the far side of the street.

Yesterday was a pretty good last day “at liberty” in KL, today is all about getting laundry done and packed for the trip to Indonesia tomorrow after an early Gym and swim in the spectacular pool here.

As always (or most always) we’re a little sad to be leaving wonderful accommodation in an amazing city in a wonderful country. On the other hand we can’t wait to catch up with Robyn and Dave in Bali and to explore Indonesia for the next month and we’re already negotiating to come back here in mid June for what may be the last leg of our 2 year (TWO YEARS!!) journey.