First day
It was the first trip on flight for our three-year-old and one-year-old. We took off from Changi Terminal 1.It has a playground in the transit lounge surrounded by a few food kiosks with a background of aeroplanes. We love it as we can take a sip of coffee while watching over the kids running in the playground.
As the airplane we boarded was small, the kids could see the pilot sitting in the cockpit from the connecting bridge. It was exciting for VY to see him sitting there.
Langkawi International Airport is a small airport. Passengers have to walk down the stairs and walk on the tarmac to the arrival hall. It was excited for them to see aeroplanes and vehicles in the upclose. Of course, VY got even more excited when she saw YiYi who arrived earlier from KL waving to her.
After checking in, we were glad that the room has a bath tub that allowed the kids to enjoy their first bath tub play time together. They were simply exhilarating. YS refused to leave the bath tub when it was time to get up.
On our way to dinner, we stopped at a beach along the way. It was a quiet beach but the kids were happily chasing small little crabs on the beach. It was even more exciting when a man riding on a horse appeared out of the bushes.
Second day
In the early morning, a small accident happened. I was closing the door without knowing VY's finger was in between the gap. LUCKILY, it was a minor injury.
After visiting the clinic in the resort (free coz no medicines was dispensed), instead of going to the Mangrove tour as planned, we spent time in the hotel's swimming pool instead. The kids just loved the water but unfortunately, we only allowed them less than half an hour in water before their face turn pale.
We went to the Oriental Village after fun in the swimming pool, hoping to take the cable car. But while the kids were playing in a playground and others were wandering around, the clouds gathered and rain came pouring down. The rain stopped after a few minutes, but we decided to head back to hotel for afternoon nap.
VY went to the hotel's kids club while didi was sleeping. It is a padded room about 600sq feet. Inside, there was a balls pool, slide and swing, books, tv and lots of toys. Another fun afternoon for her.
Before dinner, we went back to the cable car station again. It was a cable car ride up to the highest mountain in Langkawi. The height was probably our greatest fear.
When the cable car moved higher, it moved nearer and nearer to the mountain. The view was simply magnificient. Also, we could see the famous Tujuh Telaga waterfall from far as we moved up. The kids just got excited to be sitting inside. My mum however just couldn't hide her fear of heights even though she was laughing with us throughout the journey.
When we reached the first station, we got down and took some photos. VY got excited again when we hopped on to another cable car and moved on to the peak.
The peak has two observatories. Though I would like VY to move around freely, I just couldn't overcome the fear that she might fall off the deck.
YS however enjoyed his crawl and assisted walk at the 700m above sea level.
I brought VY to the toilet at the peak. Surprisingly, the toilet was clean though old. I didn't have cash with me when I got in, the auntie who manned the toilet however let me leave without paying. Not wanting to take advantage of the poor lady who took good care of the toilet , I went back and paid her RM1.
The Sky bridge was under construction on my first trip; it was under maintenance during my visit this time. It was really a huge disappointment. Though the sign said it was under maintenance, I saw no works being carried out at all. Probably they closed it for safety reason.
We went to the Sunday night market (pasar malam) near the airport. It had all kinds of different malay food, and even thai food (Thailand is just 1 -2 hours away ). We probably bought 10 persons' worth of food back to the hotel. It was just another great experience walking around the night market.
Third day
We embarked on our delayed Mangrove tour.
We booked a boat for 8 of us at a cost of RM250. A simple, young and shy looking malay man drove us on a simple boat. First, we were ferried to Bat's cave. Paying a dollar entry fee and rented two torch lights, we walked into the dark cave ourselves.
The experience maybe too eerie for VY and she told us she would not go back in again. The track was a loop that offered a rather short but good cave experience for the kids. And it was quite a gentle walk even for my ah yi.
After the cave, we went to a fish farm and watched eagle (helang) feeding. My one year old was too tired and fell asleep before we reached the fish farm.
The big motor that powered the boat came into life when we were ferried out to the sea sailing around the scenic Kilim Geoforest. The speed boat experience was just another highlight of the trip.
Before lunch, we stopped at a beach. We had the beach all to ourselves. Walking on the quiet beach simply a great feeling.
Lastly, we stopped at the floating restaurant and enjoyed our lunch. We were lucky to be able to pick a fish that just arrived at the farm from the fisherman.
After the Mangrove tour, we decided to pay the award winning Bird Paradise a visit. The upclose experience with the birds and other small animals got my little girl and boy really excited. YS tried to feed the birds. The zookeeper also let him shook hands with a little monkey that arrived the zoo just two months ago.
Though everyone were allowed to buy and feed the animals, some birds appeared to be overfed. Maybe the zoo should consider making small changes to the feeding activity.
In the evening, we headed to Cenang beach to have our first crab feast in Langkawi. In the past few days, we had been ordering the same dishes over and over again for the kids and the two elderly. We ordered steamed and baked crab. It was still a delicious dinner. 4 crabs weighing 1.4kg + a 800g steamed fish + vege + clams only costed us RM213. Next time, I will order a big lobster.
Last Day
Staying at Berjaya Langkawi Resort and not spending time in the hotel is really a waste. After breakfast before we checked out, we headed down to the beach. It was a very nice and comfortable beach. The sea was around 100m away from the beach chair.When daddy and VY went to the sea to collect water, my little boy also crawled to the sea too. As the sea was far away, we was not too worried letting him crawl alone.
When he reached the sea, he got even more excited when the wave hit him. Though he almost fell down, he moved closer and closer to the strong wave until it almost hit his shoulder. But this short15 mins sea experience gave him a terrible cold afterwards. He did not protest when we lifted him up to wash up. He was simply exhausted.
We stayed in a rainforest suite surrounded by trees. Whenever we had a chance, we sit at the balcony to enjoy the birds chirping, frogs and insects singing. The serenity of the place was what we enjoyed most.
Before checking out, we were all in my room sitting at the balcony. A big monkey (probably the leader of the group) decided to give us a farewell treat. He jumped from one tree to another in front of the balcony. After that a group of monkeys joined in for a jumping show in front of us. It was simply a priceless experience that all of us couldn't take our eyes off.
At the departure lounge of the airport, we could see airplanes taking off and landing. But, it was even a better experience when we saw an MAS plane landed, cruised and stopped in front of us which was just probably 50m away.
Though the decision to take a transit flight at LCCT allowed us spending more time at Langkawi, it came with a cost- a running madness in LCCT trying to catch the connecting flight- but we never regretted it.
Lessons learned:
1) must check in and print out connecting flight boarding pass before hand.
2) no check in luggage if connecting flight interval is within 2 hours.
It was a great journey that I think I must pen down every single detail.
