Langkahhhhhhhhhwi!

I'm thinking of you, mainly in Europe, it's grey & rainy....here's some sun for you from our recent hols.

OK, OK, I admit it, I can be what’s politely known as “high maintenance”…or fussy! So when it came to choosing a holiday destination whilst being 7 months pregnant, it had to be somewhere special. I started by looking for somewhere which was a short direct flight from Bangalore. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia caught my attention, being just a couple of hours away and an excellent airport hub. Digging deeper, I learnt that Langkawi, a group of islands in the North West of the country (and just south of Thailand) was one of its most popular destinations. This is partly thanks its beautiful beaches but also to its cheap alcohol and cigarettes: since it became a duty-free zone in the late 1980s its tourist industry has been booming. OK, I wouldn’t be enjoying these but I could make the most of the numerous resorts on offer.

The holiday didn’t start off too well. At Bangalore, we found out someone else had been checked in under my husband’s name. Then the supervisor said to us: “So you’re going to London Gatwick?” Visions of our luggage travelling half way around the world, without us in filled my head. (Reason for the mix-up: Langkawi Airport is the code LGK, London Gatwick is LGW). Fortunately it was all sorted out. On arrival at the ultra-modern and massive KL airport there were no forms to fill in (bliss), we had a very short wait and then did the short flight to Langkawi. (For our mid-morning boost Langkawi airport even had a much appreciated Starbucks!)

When we arrived at the hotel there'd just been an "Iron Man" triathlon competition: an arduous combination of swimming, running and biking! As a result there were a few muscly couples, who were checking out – phew! The hotel was lovely and did not disappoint. Professional, friendly staff. Subtle creams and chocolate brown décor with fantastic ocean views. Lovely food including a great range of seafood: sea bass, lobster, prawns etc and tropical fruit, the star fruit juice was my favourite.

Whilst in Malaysia, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to meet “The King of Fruits”, the durian. It’s is a green spiky fruit, about the size of a marrow. It’s native to Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. I’d heard that it was meant to smell awful but have a lovely taste! It’s even banned on certain transport due to its pungent odour. Those who’ve tried it seem to fall into two camps: love or hate it (a bit like Marmite). The edible flesh is only about one third of the whole thing, so in the end, rather than buy the whole fruit, I tried home-made durian ice-cream. I have to say, the smell is strong, a mix of over-ripe cheese and mushrooms! It went against my instincts of self-preservation to put it in my mouth! The taste was, well, the same really! I didn’t get the exquisite flavour that some people rave about. I was very glad to have some minty chewing gum with me for afterwards!

Langkawi does offer lots of sporty nature activities, like tropical jungle trekking, scuba diving and bird watching. There are even 3 golf courses and another under construction. I did the easier combo of swimming, lounging and reading by the pool instead. We also blissed out in the hotel spa. We were there just 5 nights, but felt exceedingly relaxed, very quickly. I even managed to stay off the internet for the whole week. During the day it was hot and sunny (about 30 degrees) we sunbathed under parasols, with suncream! There weren’t many mosquitoes; we hardly used the repellent gel. March is meant to be the start of the rainy season, there was a little, but just in the evening. The upside for us was slightly cheaper prices and fewer people.

After all this relaxing we felt up to doing some sort of activity. So on the way back to Bangalore, we stopped off at Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days of hard core shopping! There were several huge shopping centres here, including one with a Carrefour hypermarket in the basement and a cinema on top!
Ah! You can tell you if you've relaxed and had a good time when you're away, if you find it hard to adjust when you get back! ;=)