Taking the Big Break

On the beach!

We just returned from a few days on Pulau Langkawi.  Langkawi is a quiet island located a three hour ferry ride north of Penang.  With its larger size and smaller population, it made for a much more laid back and quiet atmosphere than Penang.

At the end of December, we learned that Nathan’s mom would be coming to see us in Penang for eleven days.  We were excited to share the experience with her and have been compiling a list of things to do together.  The kids picked out fun things to do on the island to do, various places to take her, and all sorts of food items they were excited to share.  It has been fun to watch the excitement with which they talk about all everything that has been fun for them.  As many of the kids’ highlights have included swimming, we researched beaches on Penang but discovered that there just aren’t the idyllic SE Asian beaches we’ve been used to.

So, when we heard about Langkawi Island being referred to as the “Jewel of Kedah”, we were excited to show her a true SE Asian tropical beach.

We headed out early Monday, catching the bus at 6:30am to make it into town for an 8am ferry.   The ferry, which depending on the time of year has quite the reputation for being quite rough, went smooth and easy.  Arriving at the little jetty complex of Kuah, we grabbed lunch, worked out a car rental and were off.  The island felt instantly different. Wide open roads with little traffic, roadside wildlife (including lots of monkeys) and miles and miles of beautiful beaches.  We could get used to this.

A highlight for all five of us was, without a doubt, our visit to the Atma Alam Batik Art Village.  Our visit started with a guided tour of the batik making process.  We got to sidle right on up to the artist working at long strips of fabric, applying the wax and paint design.  We stood and watched a long time as she made the plain white fabric come alive with designs.

From there, we walked around inside the large factory, admiring all the artwork.  Not just wall art, but all sorts of clothing, handbags, household products, and my mother in law’s favorite…. bolts of batik cloth!   There was truly something there for everyone and it was especially fun to see how it continues to transform when made into other things.

The boys were invited to make their own batik masterpiece which they did.  They were given a sample pattern and an assortment of colors.   With very little instruction, they started blending colors and water to create all sorts of shades.   Elio chose a bird nest in a tree filled with baby birds.  Lorenzo choose a fish scene and painted the background coral in beautiful shades of red and purple.   Both were very detailed drawings and took them a great deal of time.   The boys were concentrating so hard, neither noticed just how long it was taking.  It was fascinating to watch it transform into a beautiful piece of art, and in the end, they sure were proud of their work.

The Masterpieces!

Tanjung Ruh Beach

Then, it was beach time.  My favorite beach was Tanjung Rhu, up in the far north side of the island.  Looking out over the water, to a bay partially protected by the limestone karsts sitting 100 meters offshore, we practically had the beach to ourselves for the afternoon.  Swimming, reading, building sand castles, walks on the beach… it was a lovely relaxing afternoon.

Durian Perangin Waterfall

After the beach, we stopped off at the Durian Perangin Waterfalls.  Luckily, this waterfall seems to lack any of the smell of its fruity namesake.  Not only was the 14-tier waterfall beautiful but, in my opinion, the real beauty of the waterfall was the short trek up to it through the jungle.

Our final day on Langkawi, I was excited to check out the popular gondola ride up to an amazing mountain view and wander along the canopy walk.  We headed out early and drove to the cable car base.  As we arrived, we were told that they had closed it today.  When we questioned the nice Australian lady who had given us the news about the sudden closure, she simply shrugged with a “TIA” (meaning “This Is Asia.”)   Ah well, at least our next stop, the waterfall, wouldn’t be closed, right?

The climb to Telaga Tujuh

It wasn’t.  We drove on and made it to Telaga Tujuh, also known as the Seven Wells Waterfall.   This waterfall was a tough climb up hundreds of stairs, but boy was it worth it!  The water was so clean and refreshing.  Telaga Tujuh gets its name from the seven deep pools located between the cascading waterfalls at the top.  Each pool is deep enough to swim in, jump into or even SLIDE into.  We all had so much fun slipping and sliding between and into the pools.   As a matter of fact, legend has it that even the fairies used to come down to the pools to bathe and frolic.

Hiking back down

On the climb back down, we took a short side path to see another waterfall.  While that waterfall wasn’t nearly as much fun, we did see an incredibly bright green snake finishing his dinner.  Just off the path next to us, the unfortunate frog slowly disappeared down his throat.   First his head, then very slowly his body and then his hips.  The crowd alongside the path got large enough that, with just two legs sticking out each side of his mouth almost like fangs, he slid off into the forest to finish his meal.   It was fascinating.

Ferry ride back to Penang

We all really enjoyed our adventure to the idyllic Langkawi Island.  Arriving back on the ferry late Wednesday evening, we were all tired from our busy few days.  But, a good time was had by all.