The Beach in Langkawi




Despite traveling in Southeast Asia for over a month I had yet to spend much time on a beach.  I went to the beach on the island of Siquijor in the Philippines, but didn't even make it into the water!  Needless to say a trip to SE Asia is not complete without a trip to the beach!

From Georgetown I took a ferry to the island of Langkawi, near the Thai border.  Although Thailand gets most of the press for nice beaches, Langkawi is worthy competition.  The island has over 60,000 permanent residents and many more tourists during the high season.  One of the big advantages is that it is a duty free island - so cheap beer!  Owing to its majority Muslim population, alcohol is taxed heavily in the rest of Malaysia.  In KL, for example, it is hard to find a bar downtown that serves beer for less than 4 or 5 dollars a bottle.  Prices are higher in KL in general but alcohol is especially pricey.

You can see the ferry route from Georgetown
to Langkawi in the upper left corner
A bit more zoomed out - Malaysia is split into two separate
land masses, one on the island of Borneo (right), and
peninsular Malaysia south of Thailand (left), with most
of the country's population

I had considered booking a hotel or dorm room before arriving but decided against it.  Most of the time I simply walk in and find a place no problem.  This time was different; I spent a solid hour walking around before landing a room!  I must have tried 15 places that were all booked.  Part of the reason was due to Chinese New Year, but I doubt that affects travel plans for many backpackers.

Eventually I got a dorm in the central tourist area only a block from the beach.  Of the five other backpackers who stayed in the room, one was Canadian, two Finnish, and two Swedish.  While walking along the beach I saw countless northern Europeans, but almost no Americans.  There were probably more Finns than Americans there (compare the populations - 5 million in Finland to over 300 million in the US!).  It is just so much more common for Europeans to take time off and travel during or before university.  Too bad that's not the case in the US!  College is so expensive that most students are far in debt and have to start work straight away to pay off those loans.

I stayed on Langkawi for four nights and got a lot of time in on the beach.  I also rented a scooter and toured the island with the Canadian backpacker.  This time I had to drive on the left side, which was actually easier than I thought.  Renting scooters is a great way to see the island and often you would end up spending more on taxi fares to get around.  A 24 hour rental cost less than 10 dollars!

sunset on Langkawi

A common way to get around on Langkawi, like many SE Asian islands

I had timed my stay in Langkawi so that I could travel to Thailand with an extra night or two before my friends awourrived.  Two English teachers I knew in Korea (from Canada and the US) were spending vacation in Thailand, so we planned to meet up and travel together.  On the 14th of February I took a ferry from Langkawi to mainland Thailand, and then a bus to Phuket.  I was expecting to reach Phuket by late afternoon or early evening, but the bus didn't arrive until after 8 pm (the ride was nearly 8 hours!).

After a full day of travel starting at 7:30 am, I was beat.  I had actually booked a hostel online this time, knowing I would arrive and want to have a place set up for the night.  It was in the center of town but new and no one seemed to recognize the name.  Fortunately I ran into an American who directed me through the chaotic street to the hostel.  He was from Atlanta but had been living and working in Phuket for two years.  Upon check in I showered off the travel grim, skyed with my aunt and uncle, and passed out early.

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