Off The Beaten Path

Contrary to popular belief, there is a lot to do in Langkawi.  You just have to be a bit adventurous.

Unlike its more commercialised neighbours - Bali, Phukat, Koh Samui - Langkawi is almost like a half-kept secret that people only talk about quietly or escape to when they don't want a high-fidelity vacation.  Even during peak season, you can still find a decent spot of sand on Chenang.  The streets never get as crowded as Patong or Kuta.  The tour touts are not aggressive nor do they hound you in numbers.  While there are no masseurs or manicurists at your beck and call on the beach, there also is an absence of other vendors.  OK, once in a while you get one or two strolling by, pareos spread out for sale.  But nowhere near the swarm you are confronted with on the main beaches of Thailand and Indonesia.

Neither is Langkawi small.  I believe it's actually bigger than Singapore!

The best thing to do when there is to rent some form of transport - motorised or not - and take some time to explore the island, even if it means driving along its coast.  From the airport and Chenang you can take the windy, scenic road that passes the Naval base and leads to Kuah town.  On a clear day, the bay almost looks like San Francisco - dotted with white sails and embraced by the hills of smaller islands.

On the other side, there is Tanjung Rhu and the upscale end of the island, where hotels like the Datai and Four Seasons lay claim to the sand.

But the point is to just enjoy the journey.  Notice how the terrain changes as you go from one part of the island to another.  Laugh at the monkeys you will inevitably encounter.  And when you tire of going round, go inwards, towards the rubber plantations and paddy fields, along the windy little kampung paths.  That's where the locals really live.  That, to me, is the heart of the island, the part that I hope never gets overtaken by modernity and keeps the island anchored at a leisurely pace.