GARGANTUAN steps
Saturday, June 21, 2014
immersed in a Malayan sunset
I never expected Malaysia to be one of my travel destinations (beyond visiting my relatives) but here I was finding myself planning a trip there. Funnily enough, a beach holiday as well (when my usual idea of a holiday is roaming the hallowed hallways of museums and traversing the sacred aisles of churches). And frankly, it was one of my best ever holiday! There was good food, beautiful sights, endless laughter and smiles, all together with just the perfect company.
Days 1 to 3 - Kuala Lumpur: Family, Friends, Food and the Petronas Towers
The trip all began with Chun Yi's Paediatric examinations being held in Kuala Lumpur (or KL as it is more colloquially known) and it was just the perfect opportunity to take a short holiday break to our friendly neighbouring country! I wondered at first about what they had to offer, and I was more than pleasantly surprised, but more on that later. It was not too auspicious a start of our holiday when our flight out of Singapore was delayed by two hours (for a flight time of one hour), but we still got to KL in good time. And it was quite an experience flying on a propeller plane as well - it was feather-light and felt like it could be blown away anytime! We still got to KL in one piece, and to top it off, we even had a free upgrade for our room at the Pacific Regency Suites! It was dinner with my cousin Yuan Hui followed by some last minute midnight-oil burning before the dreaded examinations the next day for Chun Yi.
Our ride to KL
Hard at work
Now for those of you who don't know, KL is the capital of Malaysia, and is located on Peninsula Malaysia (and then there's East Malaysia consisting of Sabah and Sarawak which I am intending to visit one fine day too to climb Mount Kinabalu). Kuala Lumpur apparently means 'muddy confluence' in Malay, with it sitting in the Klang valley where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet. It was founded not too long ago in 1857 by Chinese tin prospectors and was subsequently taken over by the British. It formally became the capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States in 1896. KL, and Malaysia as a whole, formally gained independence from the British in 1957.
What KL had to offer was somewhat similar to that in Singapore - it was mostly food and shopping, and of course, the unmissable Petronas Towers. Bukit Binjang, which was where I spent most of my second day, is akin to Orchard Road in Singapore. It was a mass of shopping centres, and it was there where I met my uncle Lee for lunch after Chun Yi had gone off to take her exams. We spent the afternoon roaming the Pavilion shopping mall which is apparently the mall containing the most expensive shops in KL - and it was almost like I was back in Ion Orchard, with its Prada, Gucci, Uniqlo, Topshop and all the similar brands you can find in Singapore. More familiarly, there was a Toastbox which was where we sat down to have a nice cup of afternoon tea. Most interestingly, there was an Batman exhibition within the mall itself showcasing Batman in all his multiple guises, from the cartoon series to the TV series to the movie adaptations, with memorabilia taking the form of toys, clothes, credit cards, and a life-size model of the Christopher Nolan trilogy Batmobile - the Tumbler - sitting right in the middle of the entire exhibition. Unfortunately it was not for sale, and furthermore, it was made of plastic. My dad believed that I wouldn't even have been able to afford a wheel, and my mom thought we would have some storage problems. Guess I would have to agree with the both of them on both counts.
The Tumbler
Uncle Lee and me with our new ride
The Petronas Tower(s) from our hotel
KL Tower
Once Chun Yi's examinations were over, it was time for our well-deserved holidays to start, and our first destination was to KL's Chinatown for dinner and a little walk around the night-market. Every other shop was selling either bags and wallets or shoes or phone/tablet accessories, and they were all similar, and were all probably made in China. Compared with the night markets in Hong Kong or the Chinatown in London, it was (thankfully) rather tame, lacking the crowd and the squeeze as well as the loud voices haggling and bargaining. I even came away with a pair of bug-'Crocs' for Raphael.
Raphael's new bug-'Crocs'
Chun Yi and me in Chinatown
Our final day in KL began with a hearty brunch at Yut Kee kopitiam which was actually a coffee-shop serving kaya toast amongst other things. It was not unlike Chin Nee Chin confectionary in Singapore, but it too served some mean Chinese and Western dishes as well, the most popular being its chops (which we saw just about everyone in the coffee-shop eating). It was definitely well-worth the visit, especially after a long walk in the hot sun. Interestingly, there were Malay waiters who had to handle dishes including pork chop!
Yut Kee Kopitiam
Brunch
Following that, it was off to visit the main attraction in KL - the Petronas Towers. These twin skyscrapers used to be the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 before that title was usurped by Taipei 101. Standing at an impressive height of 452 metres, the 88-storey twin-building is suppose to represent a pair of minarets. Across the 41st storey is the skybridge which links the two towers together. One is able to go up to the skybridge, and apparently up to the top of one of the buildings, to get an excellent view of the city. However, the price you pay is having to queue up as early as 7 a.m. in the morning to get tickets (or you can actually pre-book online). We decided that we were happy enough with just a view of the two towers, plus we did have pretty decent views of the city from our hotel which was situated atop a hill. Meanwhile, it was a blazing hot afternoon to be taking pictures of the Petronas Towers outdoors, and we had barely walked to the end of the fountain (which was a mere 50 metres away from the tower) and we were already drenched in perspiration.
The Petronas Towers
Reflections
Twinned-towers
It was back to Bukit Binjang in the afternoon again where we did some shopping before we had dinner with a friend. All too soon, our time in KL was over and it was on to the next part of our holiday.
Days 3 to 7 - Langkawi: Gunung Raya, Kuah and Wonderland, Pantai Cenang, Telaga Tujuh Falls, Gunung Machincang, Tanjong Rhu, and Kuah
Langkawi is an archipelago made up of over 100 islands and islets, with Pulau Langkawi being the main island. Langkawi is also known as Langkawi Permata Kedah, or the Jewel of Kedah. Langkawi is a combination of two Malay words - 'helang' meaning eagle, and 'kawi' meaning 'reddish-brown' or 'strong'.
Touching down in Langkawi, our beach holiday did not get off to a nice start with rain clouds and scattered showers greeting us as we stepped out of the airport. After renting a car, we were off to our holiday resort which was actually a chalet where you could choose to stay on a house out by the sea or in the rainforest! It was a really nice concept, just that the hotel entrance and lobby was located at one end of the resort and you had to call for a shuttle to fetch you to and fro from your lodging, which could be quite a hassle as you wait outside your lodge and feed the mosquitoes.
Our plan for the day was to scale Gunung Raya, the highest peak on Langkawi, standing at a height of 881 metres tall. However, our plans were wrecked by both the rain, as well as by us being unable to find the starting point of our climb. In the end, we took the easy way out and drove right up to the peak, and were greeted by lots of clouds which occasionally broke apart to afford us wondrous views of the island! There is a legend afforded to this mountain, where the natives believe the mountain to be a petrified form of a giant named Mat Raya. Apparently, he scuffled with a fellow giant, Mat Cincang, during the wedding of their children (his son was caught flirting with another woman). During the fight, pots and pans were thrown, and a large pot of gravy (kuah)
was broken and the contents flowed onto the ground (and this place became Kuah). Unsatisfactorily, their fight ended with them both being turned into rocks. By who and why, no one ever knows.
The Oriental Village
Chun Yi and me on Gunung Raya
Me perched atop Gunung Raya
The road leading above the clouds
Chun Yi and her first attempt at making a time-lapse video of the swirling clouds
Us above the clouds
Next up, it was our first of many visits to Kuah, the main town on the island. First off, it was trying to locate the one and only Public Bank ATM on the island, followed by a sumptuous meal at Wonderland, a seafood restaurant. Though not mentioned on any of our guidebooks, a trawl through Google led us to this great catch. Having missed lunch, our dinner was a sumptuous feast of steamed red snapper, cereal prawns, breaded calamari and baby kailan. The meal was pretty amazing, and us finishing up everything was even more astounding. The meal was pretty reasonable as well - I called it a much cheaper version of Jumbo. It is definitely worth coming here if you're ever on the island. In fact, it is worth coming all the way to Kuah just for this. On the way back to our hotel, we even stopped by the roadside to buy some durians. It was an absolute feast of a night!
Chun Yi and our dinner at Wonderland
At the end of our meal
The sun made a late arrival on our holidays the next morning, and we made our way to Pantai Cenang, apparently the most popular (which also means its most polluted) and developed beach on Langkawi. A word of warning though - the beaches on Langkawi are not those of the clear blue phenotype. In fact, once you are ankle deep in the sea, you won't be able to see your toes. We had a short stroll down the beach but decided to bid a hasty farewell to adjourn to the beach back at our resort, which was less populated and less polluted, but not before picking up a few sea-shells as well as each of us losing and then regaining one side of our slippers with the high-tide coming in.
Pantai Cenang
Chun Yi~
By a curved coconut tree
On the coconut tree
Chun Yi and me
Me by a wooden store with the tide coming in, right before I lost one side of my slippers
Laman Padi Langkawi
One is able to have a massage whilst staring our into the rice-fields, which was exactly what we did the following day
Chun Yi and me
On a swing
The beach at our hotel - Berjaya Langkawi Resort
Our next stop was a climb up the waterfall Telaga Tujuh, or Seven Wells waterfall. Apparently, seven waterfalls flow one into the other, and create seven pools on the face of the hill, hence its name. After a short photo-stop and dip in its (extremely) cold waters, we made a hike up to the wells above the waterfall, coupled with some absolutely spectacular views of the island.
Chun Yi and me at Telaga Tujuh waterfalls
Us at the top
We were then off on a cable car ride up Gunung Machincang, the second tallest peak on Langkawi. It was an extremely steep ride up and not one for those with acrophobia. But if you do make the trip up (which you absolutely must), you are granted an absolutely breath-taking view of the island, and even more beautiful still if you are up there during sunset, which we were blessed with.
Sunset from Gunung Machincang
Chun Yi~
Views of the island
Chun Yi and me
We ended up back in Kuah that evening, attempting to have a go at another famous restaurant, Teo's Restaurant. Unfortunately, the waiting time for a table was an hour, and we had dinner somewhere else, which was less spectacular compared to our dinner the night before. We still ended up buying somemore durian on the way back to make up for the disappointment.
The following morning, we explored a little more of our resort premises before taking a short cycling trip to the nearby Telega Harbour Park, amassed with yachts with a nearby shopping complex (and a lighthouse which we completely missed capturing on film). Within that hour, I was cycling without my left peddle on possibly the hardest bicycle seat ever created, fed a Dusky Leaf monkey, and got my hands dirtied fixing the gears of my bicycle which had come off. It was pretty eventful! As a reward for the tiring day before and the morning passed, we pampered ourselves with a massage back at the rice padi fields, but not before stopping by Siti Fatimah restaurant. This restaurant, selling rice with Malay dishes (with no names), was mentioned in Lonely Planet as the best food that the island could provide. It was just about satisfactory.
Chun Yi at our resort with the beach lodges
Enjoying the peace and tranquility
Our rainforest chalet at Berjaya
Tour de Langkawi
Telaga Harbour Park
Me feeding a Dusky Leaf monkey (a wild one apparently named Jacky)
Nasi campur at Siti Fatimah restaurant
We made a pit stop in Kuah (again) to look for the one and only Catholic church on the island, though this proved to be even more difficult to find than a Public Bank. For our final stop of the trip, it was to Tanjong Rhu beach which apparently offered the island's most exquisite spot for sunset viewing. And we were definitely not disappointed - the sunset there was just breath-taking.
Chun Yi along Tanjong Rhu beach
Sunset in Langkawi
Dinner at Santai Cafe
And all too soon, our holidays came to a dreaded end and it was back to Singapore the following morning. Never thought I could have this much fun on a beach holiday - I've concluded that all that matters is the company! There was so much fun and laughter and beauty and peace. Looking forward very much to the next one~
Thanks for the company~
' Sunsets are so beautiful they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven'
- Sir John Lubbock
Labels: Asia, Family, Geography, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Malaysia, Nature, Scenery, Travel, UNESCO, Wildlife
