published on the July 5, 2013 issue of BusinessWorld. Click here for the original story

Focus

Posted on 06:11 PM, July 04, 2013

Text and Photos by Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Langkawi: Eagle's eyrie

The eagles swoop down, curious about the fish that the water taxi captain offers to them. Their hunger has long been satisfied, having already participated in this spectacle a few times prior to our arrival. Yet the russet colored predators that are smaller than their western cousins continue to survey the area -- gliding, taking turns diving, then taking back to the skies, some to look back below, others to deposit their loot at the eyries that tower over the nearby islet.

The feeding is more for the pleasure of the humans who crane their necks from inside the boat to get a better view, cameras of varying sizes fixtures on their faces, to snap photos of the birds. Engineered to hunt with their talons, sharp vision, and beaks, the birds of prey need no assistance to feed. That so many of them condescend to show up in full avian splendour to play to the audience is a surprising but deeply appreciated gift from the kings of the sky -- after whom the Malaysian paradise of Langkawi is named.

An archipelago of 99 islands off the state of Kedah in Malaysia, Langkawi has harnessed its untamed beauty to gain a chunk of the tourism sector without giving too much of itself away.

The island grouping follows its own weather, preferring to splash a dose of sunlight during traditionally cold months when the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, which is less than an hour away by plane, hosts somber skies.

"In Langkawi, it’s sunny from December to March," the taxi driver that ferries us out of the airport and to our hotel says.

The island has everything that sun worshippers and beach bums dream of: sandy shores bordering emerald seas that sparkle under the sun.

Be it in the tourist-filled town of Pantai Cenang on the main island, or the many islets of the archipelago, beaches in Langkawi are within easy reach.

BEACHES AND A HIDDEN LAKE
A half-day tour around the islands gives visitors a glimpse of the archipelago’s natural treasures for as low as RM30 (around P450). Besides communing with the eagles on the waters of Pulau Singa Besar (Big Lion Island), the tour includes a swim at the white beaches of Pulau Beras Basah (Wet Rice Island).

A thick forest hides the rest of the uninhabited island from adventure seekers, and there is not much on the island by way of facilities beyond some tables, a water pump to wash off the seawater after a swim, a store to buy snacks or the all-important bottled water from, and a toilet of unknown character.

But Pulau Beras Basah’s cool, clear waters prove irresistible on a stifling December day. The water’s gentle slope make it safe for people of all ages, and swimmers and snorkelers are rewarded with glimpses of the island’s biodiversity as schools of fish swim by. Sea urchins, though, may provide a bit of a sting to an otherwise pleasant experience.

Stronger swimmers can look forward to a vigorous workout at another stop, the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden, which lies in the island of the same name (Pulau Dayang Bunting). The freshwater lake that is separated from the ocean by a narrow wall of rocks is extremely deep, and the only way to keep afloat after plunging -- yes plunging -- into it from a platform is to tread water. Life jackets and buoys are available for rent, as are jet skis.

Those who prefer to remain dry will not regret trudging from the dock to the lake -- and possibly tussling with monkeys over a container of food -- for the view. With the high verdant walls isolating the lake, the place could be a lost world. Mermaids could live here, as could dinosaurs or the Loch Ness monster.

One would think that a lake this huge would have warnings about crocodiles or water snakes. Otters, however, seem infinitely more alarming, as a placard tells visitors to watch out for their bite.

There is power emanating from the island, so named because from afar it looks like a pregnant woman lying on her back. Legend has it that this is a maiden who buried her dead child beside the lake. If one is to believe the tales, barren women would conceive after taking a dip.

The journey to the mystical islands of Langkawi begins and ends on the wharf made picturesque by white birds dotting the blue skies and yachts doing the same to the similarly hued sea. Bookings for the tour can be done everywhere -- from the lobbies of the hotels, to the cab drivers that ply Langkawi’s circumferential road, to the roadside tour operator.

Upscale versions of the tour are also available for those who want privacy or want to experience Langkawi’s sunset in a Jacuzzi aboard a yacht.

DINING AND SHOPPING
The sea is also instrumental in Langkawi’s gustatory offerings. In the low-key town of Kuah, visitors are spoiled for choice at Trimula, a cluster of restaurants along Jln Persiaran Mutiara. Crabs and prawns that are housed in tanks at the restaurants before they are cooked are the best introduction a visitor could have to Langkawi. Pork and alcohol, both haram (prohibited) to Muslims, are also served in the area.

In Pantai Cenang, the Beach Garden Restaurant offers gourmet food right on the beach. Meals can be pricey, but the huge basket of home-baked bread that comes with the breakfast is worth the money.

Kuah, the commercial face of duty-free Langkawi, is also best place to shop. The town has everything anyone could think of buying -- kitchenware and houseware, plush toys, branded goods and imitation items. Among the shop houses, the best known general merchandise stores are owned by the Haji Ismail Group. The stores, which are sprinkled all over Kuah and are sometimes just a few meters apart from each other, are said to offer the best prices for alcohol, chocolates, houseware and kitchenware.

For resort wear and souvenir shirts, general goods stores and roadside boutiques are the best options. Langkawi Saga sells batik dresses and "I love Langkawi" tees for as low as RM15. Beside Bayview Hotel, a shopping center called Plaza Langkawi sells a wide array of cool cotton clothes. The prices of the items fall as one goes deeper into the shopping area, so shoppers would do well to hold off purchasing until prices are to their liking.

Flea markets tucked in back streets also sell souvenir shirts and resort clothes, but the prices are padded. There is room to haggle in flea markets, though not much to try on the items.

For branded sportswear, Al Ikhsan is the best bet. The sporting goods store sells a range of original sporting goods from shoes to swimwear at cutthroat prices, especially during clearance sales. Just outside its doors are rows of roadside shops that sell imitation goods, providing a contrast that works in the favor of the all-original fashion chain.

Langkawi also has a proliferation of spas. Belli’s, which operates around Kuah, offers a range of relaxation treatments that work like magic after a full day of shopping or sightseeing without necessarily piercing a hole through pockets. A two-and-a-half hour treatment that includes foot reflexology, a full body massage, and a body scrub sets one back by RM138 -- perhaps too steep a price to pay for a good night’s sleep, or not.

Getting around the main island is a breeze -- taxis, the bane of Malaysia, are better organized in Langkawi, with stops located a few steps away from any shopping mall or hotel and official tariffs posted in public to avoid overcharging. Those who prefer to drive can also rent a car right after stepping out of the plane -- at the airport, a number of car rental companies have booths that tourists can approach for their temporary ride. Walking is also an option, as accommodations in Kuah are right in the heart of the shopping district, and roadside shops in Pantai Cenang are right outside the hotels.

Langkawi is also called the Pearl of Keddah, perhaps for its beauty and for being the treasure trove of good finds that it is. But more than a gem birthed from the marriage of sand and oyster’s saliva, the archipelago is embodied by the eagles from which it owes its name: compact and powerful, naturally fascinating, sometimes predatory, always a sight to behold.