Traveling in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi
Kuala Lumpur
It was a gift from Turkish Airlines for the shift in flight times. The screen showed that we had been flying for more than ten hours. I didn’t really get to sleep normally, and even the time zone shifted by plus 6 hours. In general, the evening promised to be difficult. Before landing, I told Dasha: “In 2 weeks we will either be upset that the countries will not turn out to be any special, or we will board the plane as the winners of the route. ” But then we didn’t know yet that now the plane would land and such a steep journey would begin that it would become the best of all our trips and create worthy competition for our legendary route through South America. In the meantime, the clouds parted and huge palm plantations stretched for hundreds of kilometers, joyfully welcoming us. The sun glided over the plane with its rays, went behind the clouds and a real Asian downpour began. Not the best start. . . The mood was falling at a high speed. Thoughts were spinning in my head about what to do if a typhoon overtakes our route. It will be necessary to fly somewhere else, but where? Okay, we need to get to the capital and settle. All the way our bus was accompanied by endless walls of downpour. The route was really scary and very disappointing. At the airport, we were sold bus tickets with transportation to hotels. During the ride, we noticed that our hotel is somehow very close to the central station. At the entrance to the city, the downpour turned into rain. When the bus turned into the city itself, Dasha and I simultaneously exclaimed “Wow! ”. It was a beautiful metropolis with many green areas, beautiful skyscrapers, road junctions between which a monorail train glided at a height, going around skyscrapers. Our delight was comparable to that of a bunny from Zootopia, who came to the capital for the first time. Upon reaching the central station, we were transferred to a bus. The driver, having turned out of the station, crossed the intersection with surprise, noticed our hotel. That is, the entire transportation trip took 200 meters. The situation was so absurd that the driver could not even hide his laughter. We verbally thanked the man for the fastest transfer in our experience and went to the reception. On this trip, we chose hotels slightly better than the cheapest ones. The first one turned out to be a really good hotel. View from the window to the skyscrapers. There is a mysterious arrow on the ceiling. At that moment, the rain stopped completely, the clouds dispersed and we practically did not cross paths with them during the trip. At 20:00, the first step outside the hotel. It's always very exciting in such huge cities. What to do, where and how best to go? But the city welcomed us with open arms.
At the sight of all this food, I easily got hungry again. They probably sold literally the entire range of Malaysian cuisine. I didn’t have time to hide the money, it’s just like walking straight along the conveyor and chewing something all the time. The prices there were not at all expensive. Having victoriously passed all this street, we realized that it would be necessary to change more money soon. I didn't fully understand what we were trying. But it was like a fairy tale.
The closer we got to the towers, the more difficult it was to figure out how to get to them. And now the moment comes when the second tallest towers in the world rise behind us. In photographs and on TV, they didn’t really impress me, but when I saw them with my own eyes, it just took my breath away. Are we really in Malaysia? In the country that was so far away and inaccessible. The kind of country that has never had good stocks in recent years. How much I dreamed about you, Malaysia. I remember that evening three years ago when I saw the action, but did not dare to buy another long-haul tickets to the South American. Then there were so many unsuccessful searches for shares. And here we are standing here, in front of us are these legendary skyscrapers, we are really here! This is the moment when you stop dreaming about something that you just used to dream about. Now thoughts about other, no less interesting places began to come to mind. Behind the towers is a large park with a lake. But all the lights in the park were turning off, hinting that one in the morning was not the best time for walking. And the soul of walking pulled us, and pulled us so much that we decided to do this entire several-hour walking route in the opposite direction. We still had our own time zone in our head. Walk, walk and walk again! The people, meanwhile, began to go to bed. Everyone slept so comfortably on the streets and benches that I doubted whether it was worth paying for the hotel at all. At what there were quite decent-looking individuals. A man in a jacket with his purse under his head sleeps peacefully. This is the people who do not strain in life. Those that only fit happily smiled at us. In general, they would take shelter if necessary. On the way to the hotel, I bought myself a marvelous sweet soda in the next Seven. The taste was like unwashed socks. In general, I didn’t guess with a bottle. In the middle of the night, we finally made it to our beds. It was only the first evening, and we have even visited a large piece of what was planned. The next morning, we mentally switched to a new time zone, six hours different from ours. It's simple, you need to get enough sleep, but not too much, so as not to skip breakfast and invest in a 16-day list of attractions.
Batu Caves
He cautiously opened the thick curtains. The sun! Wow, great start to the day. So what do we have for breakfast at the hotel. Breakfast was complete and hearty. Fruit and juices for dessert. Moreover, the people mostly attacked papaya, the taste of which we still do not understand how you can love. We opened the 2017 watermelon season for ourselves. The whole hotel was well air-conditioned. When we left the lobby, the sunbeams and the thirty-degree heat welcomed us joyfully. Out of habit, I had to return to the room for sunscreen. The course was to the caves, which can be reached by train. Google tricked us into believing that we had to walk 1.5 kilometers to the station. Although, as it turned out later, it was possible to go 1.3 km shorter. The train is again good - cool. 30 minutes drive and hot again. Approximately the entire further trip took place in the cold / hot mode with an interval of 30 minutes. Using the bad experience of a friend, at the exit of the metro we went straight to the correct, free caves. The February heat melted very strongly, fortunately, cold water was sold everywhere in half-liter bottles for one ringgit ($ 0.25). If water were more expensive, we would simply go bankrupt on the first day.
As for the caves, I was personally most impressed by the entrance - a huge statue of the god Murugan in front of the steps leading to the caves. The exoticism of this undertaking is given by wild monkeys that jump along the steps.
One was carrying a bag of juice in her mouth. Climbing 272 steps in this heat was another challenge. And not everyone coped with it, with us the woman lost consciousness, but she was noticed in time. Inside the giant caves are Indian temples. The caves themselves are certainly cool, but for travelers who have reached Malaysia, these will obviously not be the most impressive. For example, from our experience the best in Vietnam in Da Nang. But the statue and the overall atmosphere here is cool. Before the return train, we still had an extra 30 minutes, but we didn’t find anything special in the area around the district. It's cold again, we're on the train.
Bird Park
Before the planned trip to Kuala Selangor, we still had about four hours. Which is just right, in order to visit the park. The park is located in the area of the botanical garden. And the long road to the park is unusually green.
Moreover, I had to keep a distance from the bushes, since something was constantly moving there. For example, a large monitor lizard, which with indifference was picking in the garbage. We walked so endlessly to the entrance to the park that we even decided to take a taxi at one moment. At the same time, he clarified the moment how a taxi driver relates to trips to a city located an hour's drive from the capital. For 400 ringgit, he was ready to rent out right now. But it was still early, and somehow expensive. He really promised some more eagles and monkeys, but this will be more than enough for the trip. Yes, and the price is not great. But the main thing is that the first taxi driver agreed. I wanted to eat wildly, at the entrance to the park they were selling something completely strange and not very tasty. But that was the only food. It was certainly exotic - potatoes! But it is so tasteless to fry it in batter, you must have talent. It's always like this, the more you want to do on a trip in a day, the less time you have left to eat. So, we are finally in the park. What is the trick - the territory of the park is covered with a net. Therefore, birds without enclosures roam freely throughout the territory.
It was really chic and unusual for us. They even had my favorite big, all-red bird. Wandering through the park is a relaxation from the bustle of the city. Demonstrative feedings of different birds are held in the park at different times. We didn’t get to the feedings, but we managed to go to the bird show. The show was relatively simple, but with a twist. We, for example, have never been made laughable at such shows. And here the organizers really tried. Dasha and I always take part in such shows. There probably hasn't been a show where one of us hasn't volunteered. This time I had the honor of feasting on a trained parrot.
Of course, I was much more fortunate than Dasha, who a week later will volunteer in the snake park)))) But at that moment we were still naively happy about the birds. After the park, we still had an hour to wander around the green capital and have a bite to eat somewhere.
Just in case, I jerked the sleeping taxi driver and asked how he felt about the trip to Kuala Selangor. The second taxi driver turned out to be very positive about our idea for 300 ringgit, but just in case, he clarified whether we understand exactly what city we are talking about. Thanking the taxi driver, we went to look for a cafe, which, unfortunately, did not want to be located. Instead of a cafe, we first came across a beautiful mosque. And then they found some kind of castle, which turned out to be a railway station.
Train station
Food that day did not want to be. Although somewhere, where, but in Asian countries, there are no problems with this. As a result, we found a hotel where we were happily fed delicious Asian food. While we were eating, I leafed through the tour brochure. It turns out that in Kuala Lumpur you can find much more entertainment than those that are googled from the Internet, although the prices are very high. At 18:00 hours. You can move out.
Kuala Selangor
As for our idea with a taxi, I already had no doubts. Yes, taxi drivers seem to have been replaced. Everyone began to freeze and wonder how to take it and go not around the city, but around the country. One even almost agreed, but when he found out that he had to go now, and not in six months, he immediately froze. And time was really ticking. In the most extreme case, we had a business card of the very first taxi driver. But mobile communication in our case was a rather complicated undertaking. But Malaysia is a country where everything works out. Another car stopped, the driver of the assembly was sitting in it more than me. But he was kind of insecure. And something we could not overcome the language barrier with him. In the end, he thought that we were talking about the price and, in desperation, asked how much we were willing to pay? I answered “220 ($55) for a round trip with a few hour wait” The man was delighted, he tried to say something about 250, but he lacked confidence and he simply said “Thank you”. I decided to straighten the time zone a bit and took a cozy nap for an hour. Although there were really beautiful views outside the window. The driver paid for all toll roads at his own expense. In Kyiv, this idea smelled of burnt. But we really did it. Why were we so eager to go to Kuala Selangor, and even looking at the night? After standing in a few slow queues, we boarded a boat. The Malay began paddling smoothly through the dark water. We all peered into the pitch darkness. “Well, see? ”, “No, where are they? ”, “Aah, I see! ” a million-strong colony of fireflies shone along the banks of the night river. The bushes were like magic. The brain interpreted this as endless garlands. The Malay deliberately rowed so that the bow of our ship sank into the bushes. Fireflies carelessly flew from branch to branch and sat on their hands. Our camera immediately said that these beauties were too tough for him. There are many other boats around, but still cozy. The most interesting thing is that the views are not particularly surprising. Since in reality it is like an ordinary garland in the head. But the very fact that you are on a night safari in the Malaysian province, and there are millions of fireflies around you, is indescribable. And yet this is not a garland, but ordinary magic. I didn't even know this was happening before. In general, everyone who does not believe in magic should definitely visit Kuala Selangor. When we returned satisfied to the taxi driver, it was clear that the man felt proud of his country. All the way in the car there was some feeling that the taxi driver was afraid of us. When at the end of the journey we paid off with him, he quickly left without counting the money, very pleased. Night again. Just the time of the doger. We wandered to the central mall, which was not far from our hotel. At the food court for locals, we got even closer acquainted with the delicious Malay cuisine. True, for some reason they forgot about Dasha's order, and this happened twice in a row. Apparently it is not accepted when two people order two large dishes for the night. For dessert, we got acquainted with Teh Tariq milk-clove tea.
Having tried tea once, we drank it almost every evening. This day turned out to be eventful, in the morning we were in the caves. Tomorrow it will be necessary to learn something relaxing. For example, a two-hour climb up a mountain. Warm blankets and a cold air conditioner gladly welcomed us into their arms.
Titivangsa Central Park
We started this day in hi-tech style. We went to the central park of the capital on the monorail. A trip on such a train added its own notes of unusualness to this trip, since the rail was above the ground.
The route of the train runs through many skyscrapers. The park was not as close to the final station as it seemed to us in Kyiv. Well, that is, regarding Kyiv, even now it seems to me not so far from that station. But it was necessary to saw a lot, and through impassable road junctions and even a construction site. The workers at the construction site, seeing the confused tourists, happily showed us the secret path. A park with a big lake is always good. But how unusual it is to catch a thirty-degree heat from the very morning. The park is quite beautiful and cozy. There are helicopter tours from the park, but we could not agree on a price with them. It would be a cool achievement for themselves discovered. Unfortunately, the oppressive heat did not make it possible to enjoy the park to the fullest, but the complete absence of taxi drivers made us enjoy both the park and the surroundings of the entire area. The problem was that even rare taxi drivers could not understand where we needed to go.
Forbidden Forest
I had an asterisk marked on my map in a very remote corner of Kuala Lumpur. There should be a forest and a mountain with a hiking trail. Finally, one agreed, but on the condition that I have GPS working. But even GPS turned out to be powerless here. We wandered with him in such a way that it seemed as if it was fun for us to ride with him. I was the captain and commented to the driver where we should go according to the GPS. At some point, a T-junction appeared in front of us. When asked by the driver where to turn, I, staring at the tablet, answered “Directly! ”. Luckily the driver didn't take my advice literally. When we finally got to the beginning of the hiking trail, another unplanned adventure stung us.
The entrance was wrapped with ribbons, like in crime scene crime films. There is a sign next to the passage saying that if they find us in the forest, we will have to pay 10.000 ringgit ($2.500). But the key word here was "If". After talking with the locals, we found out that yes, if they get caught, they will be fined. And they closed the forest due to the fact that there have been a lot of accidents lately. Looks like there's a trail to go down. There the situation is a little easier. There are no ribbons, but a sign hangs. At that moment, some guys on a motorcycle left the forest and left. Hmm... Well, maybe you can go a little, look with one eye what is being hidden from us? After an hour and a half of climbing through the forest, even the adrenaline subsided.
The ascent ran in places through rather dense groves. The worst thing was to run into a snake. After all, you won’t even call for help. At some point, the road became completely rocky and the real climbing uphill had already begun. We had to come up with a plan "B". That is, in the event of an incident during the ascent, the main thing is to crawl to the line where the forest ends, and only then call the insurance company. At the top of the mountain it was really beautiful, on the one hand a view of the city, on the other - to lakes with islands.
But the main thing is that we did it, climbed the mountain, overcoming the forbidden forest. Climbing one of the peaks, one could understand why the passage was forbidden. At the top there is a path between two peaks, apparently on this path most accidents occur, the second risk is the possibility of a downpour. If even a short-term downpour covered us, then the chances of going down the mountain would tend to zero. We did not climb between the peaks, and simply returned along the same path. At the moment when we crossed the forbidden line in the opposite direction, real jubilation and boundless joy began. We even took pictures with ribbons as a keepsake. In general, the thought still flashed that in the event of a meeting with the auditor below, it would be necessary to eat a memory card so as not to light up exactly where we had been. How to get from this wilderness to the city was not even a thought. In the meantime, a car with new adventurers drove up to the forest, who, having accepted our baton, set off to conquer the summit. We were a little upset that the ban did not stop them, because we could go back to the city with them in their own car. But Malaysia is a country in which everything is going well. It is not clear where two empty taxis appeared at once, and we got to the monorail without any problems, and from there straight to the hotel. Although no, on the way we decided to do something that we have never done in 4.5 years of traveling. Yes, that's exactly what you thought, we visited Starbucks after drinking a glass of coffee there)))
Visit Starbucks
Starbucks was hidden in a large mall with a lot of labyrinths. Information and pointers were powerless, it seemed that the search was doomed to failure. The shopping center seemed to not let us into the cafe. After 30 minutes of wandering around the endless shopping center, it was decided to score and postpone this venture for a few more years. But, as mentioned earlier in this country, wishes come true. At the exit from the mall, such a heavy Asian downpour was waiting for us that we calmly continued our search for the legendary Starbucks. Among the trading floors there was a hefty two-story rooster, to which we constantly went out.
There were even three times when Starbucks was across the street, but all attempts to cross between the buildings ended either with a rooster or with the same elevator. The situation was even more complicated than in the Soviet film "Magicians". But in the end we did it! And I finally tasted this most ordinary coffee. After making sure that we had sat enough in the cafe, Kuala Lumpur turned off its shower. We were very lucky that we visited the fireflies yesterday. After a little rest in the room, we decided to try our luck with the musical fountain, although after trekking the creature felt good. I honestly don’t know where we had the strength to return to the center, but we did get there. The fountains were located in the park near the Petronas Towers. The park was full of tourists. The musical show itself is much inferior to the rest of the world's fountains, but the charm itself is to chat with other travelers and exchange experiences about the routes they have done in Malaysia.
We were just starting our route, we couldn’t really share yet, but the guy made us happy, saying that it’s sunny on the island of Langkawi now. Rain covered us a couple more times in the park, adding activity to the walk. The plan to visit Kuala Lumpur was fully implemented! It was safe to celebrate the end of the first piece of the trip. We celebrated with a delicious portion of Asian delicacies. True, they forgot about Dasha's portion again, but one was enough for us. For dessert, McDonald's fruit snowball. Dasha and I were very impressed with Kuala Lumpur and won our hearts by the fact that it is both a very modern city and Asian at the same time. You won't find such a combination in Asia every trip. Here you have modern transport, delicious food, kind people and even real magic. We give the capital a solid five, although two full days and one evening were still not enough. Another day we would boldly loaded up to the stop. In order to return here someday, we forgot our panties in the hotel.
Langkawi
The capital was already far beyond the porthole, below us was the boundless ocean. In a beautiful plane, cheerful music played all the way. At some point, at a distance of 11.000 meters, we were greeted by the island of Penang, telling us: “See you guys soon! I have prepared something special for you
The island disappeared over the horizon, and our musical ship continued its route over the sunny ocean. The pilot apparently did not like sudden landings, so the flaps were switched to landing mode long before landing. Soon, what everyone had been waiting for so long appeared in the windows - hundreds of islands, led by Langkawi. When I googled photos of the island, I thought it was photoshop. But he really looks unusual from a height. And in general, the landing is probably the most beautiful in our experience. “Enjoy your holidays! ” the captain spoke. Oh yes, we are happy to.
Since the flight was internal and without luggage, it took us 7 minutes from the moment of landing to the exit from the airport. Outside the airport there was a real exotic. The views were very similar to Sri Lankan ones. At the exit, a local resident caught us and said that he would take us to the hotel for 20 ringgit (130 UAH). The usual price was 25 - 30. Why not agree. Langkawi is an island with no public transport. The only available mode of transportation for us was a taxi. We don’t drive a car, we don’t want to practice with a scooter during the trip. The hotel was near the airport. The distances on the map were not large, everything was planned in such a way that we would see everything in two full days. But there was a rare case when the size of the island on the map did not quite correspond to reality. We drove to the hotel for about 30 minutes. This was very alarming, as the distances had to be rethought and there was a risk of not being able to do everything. The average trip around the island by taxi took us from 40 minutes. Check-in at our hotel was after 14:00, but since we arrived at 09:00, the check-in was moved by five hours. How I love Asians because everything is so easy for them. The granny in the burqa received us with pleasure and called the next taxi for us. We were heading to the tourist village, where the main attractions of the island are located. It was not yet ten in the morning, and our journey was already in full swing. There were many jungles, palm trees, mountains and other beauties outside the car windows. I have been missing Sri Lanka and the Maldives for several years now. This island has definitely satisfied half of my two-year desire. At that time, we did not yet know that the next island would also satisfy the second half of the desire - about the Maldives. But that was ahead of us. Taxi drivers in Langkawi are very, very sociable. The guy told us that today a large ship sailed from Singapore and the number of people in the village would go off scale, then he gave us brief instructions on what to look after after the village and said goodbye to us.
Asian Village
The main attraction of the island is the sky bridge. You should start with him if the weather is clear, good. Our weather, contrary to forecasts, was just that. I don't know what the capacity of the ship is, but the queue for the lift was impressive. Probably also by landing, part of the tourists landed on the island. At the box office when buying tickets, you immediately get a set of entertainment in this village. You can also buy an extended package with additional activities. We took a package that included a ride on an amphibious bus. The time stamped on the ticket was to take the cable car up in 40 minutes. But the size of the queue indicated that there was only time to calm down. The cashier told us that we should start with the amphibian. The walk on it will take more than an hour, which will exceed our time for the ascent. But the cashier insisted that we should go to the amphibian. In parallel, it was necessary to solve the problem of food. Luckily, a shop turned up that sold Bao steam cakes.
And here we are, satisfied with pies and puffs, sitting in a very unusual transport. At first, we proudly drove along the highway, passing tourists looked at us with curiosity. Then the captain turned off the road and went ashore and our amphibian swam across the sea. The moment of entering the water is the highlight of this excursion. Having made a couple of circles along the wooded mountains, the amphibian, as if nothing had happened, went ashore and drove on.
Sky Bridge
Returning to the Asian village from the amphibian, we found an even longer queue for the sky bridge. I went to the manager and showed our expired tickets. A miracle happened, the crowd dispersed. For some reason, the manager took us to the lift as a priority. In the building with the cable car, the queue turned out to be no less. But then the second Malaysian miracle happened, in one of the booths exactly two people were missing. In the whole snake-crowd, only we were a couple. The snake dispersed, and we are in the cabin. Below us is a dense green jungle. Neighboring islands begin to appear on the horizon.
Everything is sunny and green. The cable car was two-stage, that is, at the intermediate survey it was necessary to make a change, standing in a short queue. But even here our pass called “Two people” worked. We are first again. In fact, during the entire trip, I even developed an instinct - if we get into a long line, keep two fingers ready. So we went through a lot of queues. At the very top there was a whole quest how to get to the bridge. All paths led to different overviews, but not to the bridge. We found a direction sign, which had a lot of arrows with kilometers to world attractions. It was nice to read and realize how many places we have already visited.
The bridge itself is no less beautiful than the neighboring sites. At times there were transparent gaps in the floor so that you could clearly see a few kilometers high. There was discrimination against drones. There was a sign with a crossed out drone, it's a pity that drones are not allowed on this bridge. It is because of such discrimination that the drone uprising will begin! At the end of the bridge there was a downward passage, and tapes forbidding passage. A handful of Chinese just climbed into that passage in a chain and climbed out a few meters under one of the bridge supports right in the jungle. But, what do we need those tapes after the forbidden forest. We can't stand on the bridge while a group of Chinese people walk through the jungle. We are worried about them))) Let's go under the ribbons.
At the last moment, I made eye contact with one Malay and showed him my index finger near my mouth. He nodded back at me, although he remained flustered. In the meantime, we ended up in a real jungle with exotic sounds of local inhabitants. Where the path led is unclear, but it led somewhere.
Then there was a sign saying don't come here yourself. But nothing was written about the fine. For about 50 minutes we climbed up and down, in the end we got out at the transfer site for the cable car. The queue of tourists looked in surprise at how we got out of some bushes. The staff of the cable car was not particularly surprised by our appearance and we were gladly transferred to the trailer, which went down. We actually tried the vip booth trick, but to no avail. Below, a lot of other entertainment was waiting for us.
3D Art Museum
First we went to the 3D photography museum. At first, we were fleeing from the insidious hippopotamus.
Then a huge eagle carried me over the lands, Einstein shoved Dasha into a laboratory vessel. There were many thematic halls, there were marks on the floor from where exactly you need to take a photo.
You can prepare a separate memory card for the museum))) The next activity is “Skyrex! ” First, two professors who looked like porn actors gave us instructions from the screen about the mission to study dinosaurs.
Our car went on a virtual tour, the dinosaurs were not very happy about our visit, I won’t spoil what happened next, but it was cool. Then, with tickets, we had a spherical cinema. Against the background of what we saw, the entertainment was simpler, but nevertheless, we liked the 30-minute relaxation against the background of such activities. Near the cinema there was an area where bunnies frolic calmly, joyfully meeting all visitors.
You could go into the clearing and play with them. There was also a very strange entertainment in the village - a trip to Mars. I didn’t understand the essence, and Dasha had to sit with her eyes closed so as not to get sick. In general, the village itself is also beautiful, contains many Asian features, such as beautiful Japanese bridges, a lake with fish and even a real dinosaur that growls and allows itself to be stroked.
We spent most of the day doing all the activities that were included in the basic ticket. We were very impressed with this kind of entertainment. We went to visit the bridge, and then immediately such a bunch of entertainment is included. To be honest, Langkawi literally immediately won me over. It is like the heart of Malaysia, and of Asia itself. There were many additional activities in the village, but everything was in order of priority, and there was not enough time for all the entertainment. We also planned a visit to the “Seven wells” waterfall.
Seven wells waterfall
When I approached the taxi driver for information, I found out that it would take 15 minutes to walk along the jungle, but the taxi driver would have reached it in 10, and would have run in general in 5! The taxi drivers there are great. They didn't even try to get us a ride. And in general, taking a taxi when there is an opportunity to walk along the jungle is wrong) Monkeys in the trees watched our route with curiosity. Some tourist on a motor scooter stopped to feed the monkey with what he himself had not finished eating. But the monkey hinted rather revealingly that she was not going to eat leftovers. Another interesting thing is that monkeys are found in different breeds. We saw one gray monkey that a little redhead was holding on to. A toucan also flew to the branch to make sure that our route was correct. It's a pity, only that the bird did not like to be photographed. And the sounds of the jungle, it's unforgettable. Moreover, the cicadas chirped so loudly, I could not believe that these living creatures were doing this. We had to walk a long way up to the waterfall. This trip in general very often liked when we climb up. No wonder I lost 3.5 kg for the entire route)
The daylight hours in February are quite long, which certainly played into our hands. Finally we got to the top. This is where the stream turns into a waterfall. Swimming in cool water in this heat was critical. Many natural baths and rapids were at our disposal. Between the baths it was possible to swim and even ride like from a hill. But the most beauty was waiting for us at the cliff.
If you do not raise your head too much, then the effect is created that there is nothing behind the outer edge and only the tops of the jungle trees at a high altitude. Indescribable beauty. This is the place I now associate with the word “Malaysia”. It's like time has stopped in this place. There is no need to rush anywhere, everything you need is right here and now. Relaxation is felt in the body, mixed with growing joy. It's like some kind of euphoria. On the sides of the wild nature and the sounds of the jungle. The rare tourists had already left, and we were all sitting in these baths. It's a pity the sun also decided to rest and hid behind dense forests and mountains. Some long period of time passed and we also had to start the return route until it started to get dark.
This waterfall, like the seventh wonder of the world, left in our hearts for life the memories of those beautiful Malay summer days. Light, chilled by the mountain river, we slowly took in the direction of the Asian village. Passing again all the same beautiful tropics. There were no more people in these places. Herds of monkeys prowled along the closed shops.
If it wasn't Asia, we'd definitely start worrying about getting to a hotel that's forty minutes away. But in Asia, there is no need to worry about such things. Soon we came across a parking lot with taxi drivers who seemed to be waiting for us. The driver offered to go not in the direction of the hotel, but to the neighboring tourist town of Chenang, where the whole evening party will be. And what are we young, forward! On the way, we made a cultural exchange, teaching the taxi driver Ukrainian words, and he taught us Malay. The town turned out to be really cozy. It’s a pity that booking a hotel in this area would have increased our travel budget by 25 percent. Therefore, we had to settle far away. I don’t remember what exactly we ordered at the restaurant, but it was wildly delicious and exotic.
The most popular entertainment is a walk along the night beach. You just wander along the night low tide and soak up the atmosphere of hundreds of restaurants in the warm evening air, star-studded sky and many lights. From time to time you can meet free fire shows with which restaurants lure tourists. This is where the level of romance really kicks in. I love this beach, I love Langkawi, I love the whole world!! ! The first day on the island is the bomb. It would be necessary to make a plan for tomorrow from the marks on the map. Just then a tour agency turned up for us. That's awesome, tomorrow morning we're going on a four-hour tour of the neighboring islands! Then there will still be half a day free, just visit another part of the island's attractions! In the meantime, a taxi to the hotel! A sound sleep here was without exception. Turning off the light, we noticed a luminous arrow on the ceiling. Hmm... Something these arrows are for a reason.
South Island Tour
The next morning, we discovered a delicious cafe on the embankment. A buffet-style breakfast for two cost about 15 ringgit ($ 3.5). The country never ceases to amaze us.
After breakfast, a bus came for us, the driver stuck red circles on us, and we were taken to the pier. The circles were landmarks for the guides to determine which group the tourists belonged to. We were seated in a small boat. The tour began with such speed, as if the captains had a frigate and it was important to come first. By eye, probably, our boat sailed 90 kilometers per hour. I feel sorry for the girls that did their hair. Although the tour itself will also be cool, but even such a high-speed speedboat for 4 hours would already be enough to say “Wow”. We rushed through dozens of small islands. The views were similar to the Vietnamese Halong Bay. The color of the water here was a bright emerald milky. In parallel, part of the tourists traveled along a similar route on scooters. But probably extreme that there, that here was not much different. The first stop was at the lake of the pregnant maiden. It was a large island in the middle of which is a green lake surrounded by mountains.
Dasha looked at the lake more, but I was impressed by the speed of the boat. Although for half an hour they were really nice to buy. At the exit from the lake, an assassination attempt was being prepared on us. When a very scary-looking monkey grabbed my bag of teeth, I mentally thanked The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for that invaluable advice about using a towel. I just had it with me. The attack was successfully repulsed, and the package was mortally wounded.
We walked around the island and continued on our way. Again the wind develops our luxurious hair. Meanwhile, the captain decided to demonstrate aerobatics and headed straight for the rock. Because of the international barrier and the headwind, no one was particularly indignant, but when at the last moment the captain dodged the rock, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The next stop was the eagles' settlement.
We stopped with other boats right in the sea and watched the predators catch their prey. The prey included a floating fish, which sailed to eat bread, which was thrown into the water by the captains. Too bad eagles don't pose for the camera. The meal at the eagles ended, but we went on the next “Flight”. It was the stop that everyone was looking forward to the most. An island with a beautiful beach.
The guides said the following, you need to visit the islands of Langkawi first of all, and only then move to the Thai Koh Lipe. Otherwise, Langkawi will be much inferior. It was very, very beautiful. It was exotic! Where is more beautiful? But nevertheless, the photos will need to be shipped today, because according to all the reviews on the Internet, tomorrow's photos from Thailand promise to be even more beautiful.
Crabs made patterns
Well, let's see, we'll see. In the meantime, we have to take ten million photographs. But there is a sad moment, our semi-professional camera could not photograph this beauty as it sees the eye. That is, there is no way to capture this moment in the original. We understood this and tried our best to remember these views. The main thing, leaving things on the beach, take into account the fact that there are constantly ebbs and flows. Thus, we saved someone's things hidden in a towel. When we pulled out the towel, half of it was already floating freely in the water. Walking on such an island inside, two desires to swim and take a walk fought at once. It was beautiful to walk, especially when you walk along the water, climbing through the rare branches of fallen tropical trees. How Malaysia manages to do this, literally every day it surprises with something unusual and beautiful.
Personally, I have already rated this trip as the best in our experience. But not comparing of course with South America. Dasha judged more harshly and there were not enough arguments to call the trip the best. But the arguments were not really long in coming, they were hiding in the next two days of our route. In the meantime, we walked around the island so much that one of the tourists from our boat found us by red marks and hurried back. It's good to have a swim before the walk. Four hours flew by in a blink of an eye. An instant at a speed of 90 kilometers per hour. We are back in Chenang town. Now you can eat and continue on the road. Passing by the parking lot of taxi drivers, we heard a greeting in our native language. Turning around, we saw a proud taxi driver with whom we had a cultural exchange yesterday. Great, we want to rent you with a car. But they strictly follow the rules of the queue. Now it was just the turn of the dumb taxi driver. The taxi driver looked unsure and seemed to be drunk. I asked our yesterday's friend whether the taxi driver was adequate and not drunk. The guy assured me that no one drinks alcohol in this country, and this driver is really good. Moreover, he is his relative. Well, OK. We plunged into the car, the grandfather joyfully turned to us and asked where to start. “To the city of Kuah! ” Taking advantage of the next long journey, I just took a nap. It’s not clear how on an island 30 km long there can be such long journeys.
Travel around Langkawi
We rented a taxi driver for approximately 4 hours. The city of Kuah met us with such a bright and strong sun that it was painful to open our eyes. The area with the giant statue of an eagle was certainly nice, but it was necessary to squint so much that the eagle was not happy. Well, at least he was big, he was easy to spot. But the snake waiting for Dasha in the park was quite small.
At some point, Dasha stopped to ask me something again, and perhaps thanks to this stop, the paths with the snake did not cross. But the rapprochement was meter. It was evident that the snake also did not like this meeting. Nodding her head in different directions, she crawled away. The park was beautiful, but so quiet, deserted and a bit neglected, it seemed as if no one had survived after the snake attack.
The park was very long, with a dead end waiting for us at the end. There was no way out. In an attempt to find the nearest exit, we came across a hole in the fence. Most likely someone really urgently needed to leave. Behind the hole, a moat with a swamp was waiting for us. The authorities did everything possible so that no one left the park ahead of schedule. There were logs in the swamp - the remains of an unsuccessful crossing. We ventured to repeat the feat of an unknown tourist and overcame an obstacle course on the logs. Behind the park there was a mosque, which we were so eager for, but it turned out to be much simpler than in the pictures.
In general, if you want extreme sports in Langkawi, go to the Kuah city park, where a real obstacle course awaits you. In addition, the battery of the camera was also dead in the park, the taxi driver had a spare one in the car. Once in the car, we headed for the middle of the island. In parallel with us, the tractor driver also decided to head for the middle of the island. Since the two-way road was quite narrow, we studied the rear structure of the tractor in great detail during the trip. On the map I had a note without a signature, the taxi driver also could not really explain what was there, but agreed that it was necessary to visit. It turned out to be thermal springs. At the entrance, a broadly smiling girl charged some wild price from the category of $ 50 for sources. Seeing the shock in our eyes, she hastened to add that it costs 3 ringgits ($ 0.75) to wet the feet. Well, you can wet your legs.
It's a pity the water is not cold, but hot. Although you also lower your legs like that, immediately relax your body, warm memories. It has also begun to overcast and a light rain is somehow cozy drizzling. But so, unobtrusively, very rarely. After walking around the territory, we climbed into the car and drove our way, and the rain was ours. The next stop was the best beach of the island, Tanjung Rhu Beach. It was curious that the beach is such that it is considered the best in reviews. We arrived there in very cloudy weather and the water was dark, but nevertheless, the scenery of the beach, the mountains in the water gave every hope that the beach under the sun would be very beautiful. We have two visits to the island of Langkawi planned for this trip. That's great, we already know exactly what we want to see on the last day of our trip. Since we could not count on the sun that day, we drove on. Next we had a black sand beach.
When we got to it, it was already pouring downpours far into the sea. Oddly enough, but this beach was very weather like this. It was very picturesque and beautiful. It also seemed to be low tide, as it was easy to walk along the even sand. In the distance, a factory towered along green landscapes. The view was so strange and not real that it seemed as if we were in a computer game. Everything seems to be in thematic graphics, like some kind of quest.
It seemed to our eyes as if we had a painting in front of us. Also stains of a black stove mixed with yellow. I wanted to walk endlessly, but the storms were approaching the coastline. I noticed that there were a lot fewer islands on the horizon. When the island, which was very close to us, disappeared, we realized that we had to return to the car very quickly. I do not know what to do in case of falling under the Malaysian downpour. We managed to leave the beach before colliding with a water wall of rain.
The rain did not dare to cross the beach line. We have already been on the road for more than three hours, for such a sortie for today, perhaps, it will be enough. We started the return journey. In parallel with us, the same tractor also apparently decided that it was enough for today. It was like a repetition of the course of what the back of the tractor consists of) Since we traveled around most of the island, the way back was already on a completely different road and we returned to the city of Cenang from the opposite side. Patai rice was waiting for us for dinner. My portion of rice was surprisingly small. Therefore, I decided to help Dasha with rice by stuffing all the pepper into my mouth that Dasha caught on a plate. Dasha looked at my face in horror and asked if I had eaten the rice that was lying on the edge, since there was a lot of pepper there. The last thing I managed to say was “I don’t really worry about pepper, everything is fine. ” In a second, it was out of order. After 5 is not normal. After 30 seconds, I was afraid to lose consciousness from the fact that the tongue was literally torn apart. Neither water nor ice cream could save me from the dragon that was raging inside me. At some point, the pain stopped. When I realized that I continue to feel the taste, I was very happy. Another romantic walk along the night beach. The moment has come for the first farewell to Malaysia. It was not very sad, because in this strange route we will have Malaysia two more times))) From the outside, it may seem strange, of course, such a route, but believe me - it is ideal. These two days in Langkawi were incredible. On the way to the hotel, another small adventure awaited us, our taxi had an accident, but against the background of the eaten pepper, it was generally a trifle. Our hotel had a special feature. Among sleep there are five minutes when you are not sleeping. Since there is a mosque next to the hotel, which not only sings, but also broadcasts something long. Probably sermons. Silence, sleep again. Alarm. Time to go to Thailand!
