[gadadhar]

I am trying to shake out the hangover after taking a vacation in Langkawi , KL - Kuala Lumpur (both in Malaysia) and Singapore. Unlike my earlier travels & travelogues there is no self driving and the josh around it, didn’t want to risk the wheels in an unfamiliar country (but will definitely do it the next time)

Planning to pen only about Langkawi since KL and Singapore are known to all for sure. As usual after lot of discussion (read as arguments) with my dear wife and son during planning we zeroed on Malaysia and Singapore for the summer vacations. My idea of a vacation is forest, resorts, relaxation and not the busy cities but this time it was clear that I won’t be allowed to be a wet blanket and sightseeing in crowded streets of KL and Singapore is on cards. But without some forest and wildlife no vacation will be complete and that is where we stumbled upon Langkawi

Langkawi is a group of 99 islands close to Thailand of which only 6 islands are inhabited. Population of Langkawi is around 65,000 and end to end by road is 35 kms. Roads are broad and well maintained and traffic is very scarce, entire Langkawi has got only 12 traffic signals (I cross more than that in Bangalore each day to office). There is no crime reported in this lovely island during last 100 years, quoting our guide people don’t take the keys from their vehicles even during overnight parking. Entire island is duty free and is a shopper’s paradise, you can pick things cheaper than in India. Except for a granite industry, revenue of the island is solely from tourism (they have shutdown other 11 industries to avoid any hindrance to tourism through pollution. This place has got lovely mountains with rain forests and crystal clear spotless beaches with lot of small wildlife and marine creatures. It’s a foodies paradise if you are sea food lover. You can hire cars or mopeds and explore the island if you have an ILD

Langkawi is popular spot for Indian film industry and popular movies like Don (remember the climax scene where Sharukh is on a sky bridge with cable cars, that is the famed Langkawi cable car) Billa (Tamil) etc.. Our own BIG B Amitabh was partying in Langkawi when we were there but didn’t had the luck the meet him We had met Junior BIG B in Ooty Taj last year, I thought this is the real BIG B, but hard luck.

Our stay was in Berjaya Langkawi Resort - Berjaya Langkawi Resort - Malaysia - Home and was awesome, they have independent cottages called chalets (450 of them) built in 75 acres of rainforest with a good stretch of private beach. I could not stop humming “Such a Lovely Place” while there. Shuttle services are provided free of cost to move around within the resort (from resort to your cottage can be few kilometers) and to nearby tourist places. Another highlight of the place is small wildlife you can spot in the resort campus. They have a Thai restaurant built on pillars in the sea and serves lovely food – here we had 2 local performers singing “Made in India” at our table.
A search in net on Langkawi will give you many details, my must to do list is 1) Cable Car 2) Under Water world 3) Mangrove Tour 4) Shopping in Duty free

As promised I am cutting short here, below is a snapshot of the trip for people planning to go

Photo uploads are getting timed out, managed a few, will try to add more later. Meanwhile you can find my albums at Picasa Web Albums - gadadhar.bobby - Langkawi Para...

Duration – 6 Nights and 7 Days

Bangalore --> Chennai --> Kuala Lumpur (KL) by Jet Airways. KL international to KL Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Terminal by bus. From LCC to Langkawi by Air Asia. Stay in Berjaya Langkawi Resort for 2 nights ( will suggest more nights here)

Langkawi to KL by Air Asia (low cost airlines of Malaysia – owned by an Indian). I night stay in KL Berjaya Times Square

KL to Singapore by coach (bus), flights are available at the same or cheaper rates, but this 5 hr road trip will provide a good view of Malaysia.

3 nights stay in Singapore at Hotel Park Royal Bach Road

Singapore --> Mumbai --> Bangalore by Jet Airways

[gadadhar]

Adding some more snaps

[ashthedivx]

Feels good to see such snaps Keep them coming

Can you share more details for Singapore and KL ??

[ambivalent_98]

Please post the Singapore and KL pics. Each photographer has a different perspective and so your photos might be different. The weather also might have been different than when the others took the photos.
Also on a personal note I love Singapore very much due to its cleanliness , discipline and good sights.
Did you visit the Sentosa Park and the newest attractions that have come up of late in S'pore ? Please do share those photos.

[Jaguar]

Yes, do post singapore and KL details as well. I am planning a singapore, malaysia tour this september (for F1) and this info is very useful.

[rjstyles69]

gadadhar thanks for sharing your trip details here. Langkawi is truly a paradise in the south east asian region. Have added it on my list for the upcoming trip to South East Asia, hoping that it works out.

I know of a tbhp'ain who went to Langkawi and almost paid 1/2 the price of his tickets as baggage fees .

[mobike008]

Visited Malaysia a few times but Langkawi has been the only destination that i never visited. Good to see the overview on this location.

I agree with you the coach route to Singapore from KL is fantastic and as you rightly said it provides good view of Malaysian landscapes. I did this route twice via. coach.

Btw, There is an article on the CEO of AirAsia in TOI today. Seems like he is already into profits compared to other LCC's.

Look forward to more pictures of Singapore and Malaysia as well.

[MX6]

I see that your son has a penchance for the reticulated python! Good one. He must have become an overnight celebrity at school showing that photo!

[gadadhar]

ashthedivx,ambivalent_98,Jaguar - Thanks for your comments. Deviating from the original plan and posting details on KL and Singapore soon

rjstyles69 - Yes, things are really cheap in Langkawi, hope it has compensated for the extra baggage fee for our fellow BHPian

mobike008 - Thanks for your comments. Read that Air Asia has started Bangalore - KL.

MX6 - Wildlife is my son's second love after Cars. Yes, He is waiting for the summer holidays to get over to share the news with his friends at school.

[gadadhar]

Deviating from the original plan and posting details on KL, Singapore to follow later

We reached KL from Langkawi by afternoon, had a half day city tour covering important landmarks, skipped Genting and KL Bird Park since we had planned to cover similar places in Singapore. Unlike Langkawi KL is known for its crime, kidnapping and pick pocketing, so we decided not be adventurous and stuck to some of the known places.

Battu Caves – Muruga temple with the tallest Muruga status in the world. For a changed enjoyed some home food from one of the many South Indian restaurants near Battu Caves.

National Monument – Memorial for the soldiers who lost their lives for the country in World war 1 & 2. List include many Indian names also

Kings Palace – Malaysia selects its king every 5 years among the royal families, king though does not have any power is treated with great respect. Public is not allowed inside the palace and need to be happy with a photo shot from outside. Nothing great about this place and can be skipped while visiting KL

F1 track – Due to time constraints we could only have a peek from outside

Petronas – Majestic and worth paying a visit.

Chocolate Museum – Not sure why it is known as a museum, place where you can taste the samples and buy chocolates.

Best thing we enjoyed in KL was our stay in the 42nd floor of Berjaya Time Square hotel (it has 43 floors). It offered an excellent view of the city and had a shopping mall spanning 14 floors and an amusement park with a 5 floor high roller coaster (yes, all in the hotel complex !!!). It was experience to ride the high speed lift that zooms to the 42nd floor in no time

Next day we took the inter country bus to Singapore, they have just 26 seats in a bus bigger than our Volvos! - very comfortable with so much of leg space. Roads are terrific in Malaysia and these buses cruise at a steady speed where you can relax and catch a good view of the huge Malaysian plantations. It took around 4 hours for us to reach the Malaysian border where you need disembark and stamp your exit (it was the first time in life I got exit and entry stamps not in an Airport). Here we met the most pleasant of all immigration officers and the only stuff he wanted to know was whether we enjoyed his country, will we come back - he asked this question many time, guess this is because of the emphasis they give for tourism. Here there is a signboard where a U turn indicates Malaysia and straight as Singapore (again 1st time experience in crossing country border by road). Once you board the bus from immigration it is good bye to Malaysia and you cross the bridge to enter Singapore.

Will cover Singapore in my next post, here are some snaps from KL

[sami316]

Hi,

Thanks for sharing the pics and your experience with all of us. The pics are looking really good especially the one with the Finding Nemo look alike. Waiting for more!!

[MX6]

Did you take the road from KL to Singapore through Johor Bahru? It's fun. Love to see photos of Johor, Kranji, Woodlands etc. I once walked across the causeway!

[gadadhar]

@sami316 - Thanks for your comments, will update the Singapore snaps soon..

@MX6 - Sorry , I am not sure about the road taken, trusted the coach driver on that..

[MX6]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

@MX6 - Sorry , I am not sure about the road taken, trusted the coach driver on that..

If you've taken the coach, then that's the only road! Seems like the coach is Konsortium. Those days they used to have individual screens behind every seat. real hi-tech.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by MX6

If you've taken the coach, then that's the only road! Seems like the coach is Konsortium. Those days they used to have individual screens behind every seat. real hi-tech.

Our coach was FirstCoach, yes they still have the screens but didn’t provide any headphones, I think it was kept for sale in the office where we boarded the bus