Langkawi Trip

[I really don't have much time to do this since kid's holidays coincide with Ramadan. I'm afraid they spend quite a lot of time in front of PC (more than me) now while I still have to churn out more food and food for their tummies.]
So I think I'll do it point form. Check out links below for more info.

• Day 1 :Arrived at Langkawi Airport. Before landing saw a mountain peak that looked like a man's face from the side view. Found out later it was Gunung Machinchang. Rented a car at airport and headed to Hotel.Check in hotel and dh and kids went straight to frolic on the beach. In the evening, ordered expensive room service food as everyone was too tired to go out. Holiday Villa
• Day 2: Had a quick breakfast at the buffet . Left dh and ds to have an extended breakfast while dd and I and toddler got ready to jump in the pool. The hotel had a ladies only indoor pool but we opted for the outside pool so that I could swim backstrokes while looking at the clouds above which was awesome. Then we got ready to go out. Specifically , to visit Underwater World. The first part of the exhibit , a lush tropical jungle room was the only thing I liked there. The seals in their tanks looked bored and sad. One was spinning continuously in the water. I exited while dh brought 2 older kids to the 2D show. Toddler and I waited at the cafe at the exit for them but they took ages and toddler accidently fell asleep on the table after his meal. I didn't eat anything there. It was oily and unappetising. I was surprise it was managed by the same restaurant famous for great seafood and steaks.
• Went back to Hotel to freshen up and had a quick lunch at a surprisingly tasty place called Restoran Haji Ramli. Barbecue fish and cockle salads were great. It would be added bonus if the staff could smile a little for their customer even though it was a hot and humid day.
• Went on a cable car ride at Gunung Machinchang. The view was awesome. Dh discovered that the mountain was the 3rd mountain created 500 million years on earth after the tectonic plates shift. I'm afraid I can't elaborate more as I left my book detailing the thingy in KL. (Dh inquired about this from a vendor selling drinks at the top of the mountain). The mountain is now a UNESCO heritage site since June 2007. Perhaps they could have written it down on a poster and stuck it somewhere for visitors to read. Langkawi Geo Park
• Went back to the Hotel after take away KFC for dinner . Dh commented that the KFC restaurant had the best harbour view in the world.
• Dh and kids went swimming at the hotel.
• Day 3: Went on a wild goose chase looking for batik sarong for MIL. Finally, found a place where they print exclusive batiks at 4 times the price of batik indon. Bought some in case can't find any cheap ones for MIL.
• Went to Mahsuri 's grave/tomb site or commercially known as Kota Mahsuri. Dh wanted to teach some history lessons to our kids. Learning the sad story of Mahsuri from their dad , our kids were a bit scared to go as they were afraid that the villain in the story, an evil prince would still be there. Learnt from the old lady who is the maintenance worker/keeper of the toilets, that Mahsuri's grave was moved from it's original grave site to the current so that they could develop the site further into a little complex. (The pretty Mahsuri house wasn't really her original house too).
• Went to Pekan Kuah for lunch and bought the elusive batik sarong for MIL.
• Headed to Sungai Kilim for the highlight of the vacation. A boat trip on the river to see Gua Kelewar (Bat Cave), Gua Buaya (Crocodile Cavern) , Floating Seafood Restaurant and fishfarm and also, possibly see eagles feeding on the river.
• Had dinner with our boatman cum tourist guide at the floating restaurant. Nice guy and the lad was quite well informed of his stuff. Hole in the wall Restaurant
• I would advise people if they were to take a boat ride on the river to wear the life jackets even it is not compulsory. Our boat hit a jutting stone cliff as our boatman was sms-ing somebody at the crucial time. Dh had to tell him at the last seconds before it hit. He stopped the engine so the impact was lesser than it could have been. Otherwise , it would have made greater damage to the boat .
• Dear son was afraid to go into the Bat Cave initially,however he braved it in the end. There were many bats inside and they were all sleeping fortunately.
• In the Crocodile Cave, the boatman was really enthusiastic telling dh that one of the stones looked like a crocodile ,that everyone was leaning on the port side of the boat. I had to tell them that the boat was almost tipping before they realised it.
• We watched Brahminy eagles/kites feeding on chicken skin floating in the water. All in all , it was an awesome spectacle. There were 40 or more of them . The boatman said if we went in the morning , there were more eagles around, possibly in 100s.
• Day 4: Caught our flight back to KL. It was delayed for more than an hour as torrential rain fell. Dh managed to capture images of Ajaz Ahmed, one of the tallest men in the world as he arrived at Langkawi airport.
• Arrived back in KL.

More info on Langkawi places of attraction , go to Langkawi Geo Park

Recondition

I just came back from KL and am reconditioning myself back to living as a nucleus family in Oz. I hardly did any cooking in KL. Someone else did it at my mum's or we can go out and get some cheap and delicious food. Now I have to cook for the family again.
Did you know dd actually ate rice and chicken at her granny's house. I ask her why she ate rice in KL and not in Oz. She said that she was spoonfed by the maid. Do I have to really spoon feed her here to make her eat rice? Hmmm.. maybe I 'll try to sometime.
We went for a wonderful trip to Langkawi and enjoyed it's natural beauty. I'm glad it still retained some of its natural allure . The beach was still looking pristine since I last remember visiting it which was while I was a kid accompanying my mum to visit one of her aunts. That was waayy before the tourism boom. Now I think there are more footprints showing on the sandy shores.
I''ll write more concisely about Langkawi in my next entry and what we did there, insha Allah.