A Piece Of Magic

Our search for a plot of fairy magic ended quite by chance.

One evening in October, after months of searching, I sat in our Klang Valley home, surfing the net on the slim chance I would uncover a glimmer of hope that would lead to the fabled acre or so of earth we were looking for.

At that point, both Anim and I knew we needed a place that was not too far away from the madding crowds yet just enough to build a quiet sanctuary for people who wanted to rest their spirits.  As large as Langkawi is, the tourist trade is largely concentrated around the Pantai Cenang and Pantai Tengah vicinities, where most of the accommodation and facilities were centered.  

Just then, I saw an ad for a land broker and proceeded, over the next few weeks, to contact him and make arrangements to view the plots he had for sale.

November finally rolled around, almost a year to the day my sister and I first set out to the island, baby in tow.  This time we were accompanied by Graham, the husband of a friend of mine.

On the first day, we were taken to see a beautiful little piece of land situated in a paddy field across the road from the famed Bon Ton resort.  The view there was spectacular, a 360-degree panorama that afforded different things to catch the eye at every angle.  One side looked out to the sea and distant sunset.  Another was braced by the ragged peaks of the MatChinchang range, crested with the white structures of the Langkawi cable car.  Behind and beyond stretched green fields of paddy ringed with more hills.

But, it was too small.

Over the next 36 hours or so, we drove around the island, Graham patiently in tow, to continue our search.  In between, Langkawi-style, we detoured to get acquainted with a charming Pakcik who proceeded to invite us to his home for a mug of buffalo milk.  And that was AFTER he gave us a tour of the buffalo farm where we found this fella!

Then, on the second afternoon, the Pakcik who had shown us the paddy field plot rang.  He found a plot we "just had to see" and he sounded excited.  A little while later, we found ourselvesstanding on the little kampung slip road that bordered the first plot we had ever been shown months ago - the odd, triangular slip of land that we had written off on account of the unusable space.  Our hearts sank.

Turning to him, we told him we had seen this plot before.  

Then he said, "No, the one I want to show you is here!" And he pointed across the road to a piece of land we hadn't actually noticed before.  Immediately, I knew our search was over.  It was perfectly located, relatively flat and as a bonus, had full-grown trees!

It didn't take us long to ring our requisite "Island Consultants" - Aida and our architect Ijam - to tell them.  Sooner rather than later, everyone who needed to see it did and gave us the thumbs up.

The only problem was the asking price was too high.  So we attempted to negotiate with Pakcik Number One - the man who had shown us the land.  Boy, we had no idea the kind of ride we were in for.

In urban Klang Valley, purchasing property is a relatively straight-forward affair.  You like something, most probably found it through an agent, agree on a price and off you go.  Not in Langkawi.  Over the next month after finding our desired plot, we were nudged along from one Pakcik to another, all claiming to be the relative of the land owner and authorised to negotiate the land price on his behalf.  Each pakcik we spoke to offered a lower price.  The brokerage tier ran about five or six deep.

In the end, tired, we went back to the land broker who had introduced us to Pakcik Number One.  Not surprisingly, he had no idea about the plot. But, kind soul that he is, he did us a favour.  That's one thing you realise quickly on the island.  For every person that's out to get you, at least two or three are willing to watch your back, even if you're nothing more than a stranger who just happens to be nice and gives them the time of day.  True story.

Bahad the broker, feeling bad for us two silly city girls, contacted his Grand Vizier of all Earthly matters who turned out to be none other than Pak Man.  Of course the old man knew who owned the land.  It belonged to a Chinese towkay who had bought it at an auction.

With Pak Man's help, we got in touch with the actual land owner and by New Year's Eve, were on our way to see him and close the deal.  Fairies in Langkawi don't always come in the shape of tiny winged creatures, but they're definitely there alright.