Langkawi and Penang, Malaysia

Langkawi is a short hop from the Thai border and a 1 hour flight from KLIA. Journeying from Ho Chi Minh City is very easy with Air Asia and having taken off from Tan Son Nhat at 9.00am we were in our beach-side accommodation by 4.00pm. After the two hour flight from HCM to KL we hopped off the plane and onto a domestic flight from the same terminal just two hours later..all worth considering for a short break from Vietnam. Langkawi was typical of those Andaman Sea Islands - lush, green and blessed with beaches. Due to the short length of our stay we didn't explore the island very much despite it being quite small, rather opting to stay by the main resort beach of Cenang. The beach itself reminded me of Phuket - georgeous really, long, wide, a good sunset view, good enough for swimming, not too busy and fun come dusk when the locals emerge. A huge range of accommodation as well, from plush high end resorts to 40 ringget a night fan rooms. We opted for the Beach Garden Resort, German managed, about $70 a night. We'd stay there again.





Although the beach is similar to Phuket, the beachside street isn't. It's a much quieter, laid back environment rather like Koh Lanta or Phu Quoc. The road that runs through Cenang has the usual plethora of restauratants and shops selling all kinds of crap - even red bull singlets...anyway, I was less impressed by the piles of rubbish that appeared for collection at sundown and also the waft from the drains of an evening - relatively minor things but I am trying to be critical here. Back by the beach everything is as you'd expect, a lingering sunset and cool breeze.

Some more pics





Lou enjoying another meal:



Once before have I had a boat ride as bad as we did from Langkawi to Penang, and it was also in Malaysia (Borneo). Three hours of the full washing machine treatment had Chi reaching for the black plastic bags ominously hung from the ceiling all over the boat. Little Lou seemed fine until with about 30 mins till landfall she erupted like Krakatoa - who'd have known her stomach could contain so much foul smelling goo. Let's just say there was a substantial pile of laundry to be done that evening.

Georgetown in Penang is famed for its hawker food and we were not disappointed, with my misses in a wonderland of Malay, Indian and Chinese cooking. Mix this with a lot of colonial history and architecture, and you have an interesting town. From Penang it was a 50 minute flight back to KL.

Some pics from Georgetown, Penang.

Kway Teow Goreng, $1 per plate.



The best chicken satay I ever had..about 60 cents for 4.



Early evening hawker stalls lined up ready for action:



And finally, the old boys in Saigon could learn a trick or two from these colourful cyclos: