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malaysian persuasion
Published in the October-December 2010 issue.
Carol West lives it up in Langkawi, an archipelago just 30 kilometres off the Malay Peninsula but a world away in terms of blissful beachside offerings and bountiful marine life.
Setting foot on Tanjung Rhu’s spectacular beach, I begin to understand how Gulliver must have felt on his travels. Dramatic karst mountains loom over me like mythical monsters pulling themselves from the placid Andaman Sea; towering stands of palm and papaya cast larger-than-life shadows onto a stretch of vanilla sand.
I’m on the north coast of Pulau Langkawi, the largest island in Malaysia’s Langkawi archipelago. It’s a short flight here from the mainland, yet the island – in particular, this stretch of coast – remains relatively crowd-free for most of the year. Indeed, it ticks all the boxes for a tantalising tropical getaway. Brightly painted beach shacks. Check. Hawkers selling sarongs and shell jewellery. Check. Palm-fringed beaches. Check. Fiery sunsets that seem to melt into the tepid water…
And let’s not forget the boat rides.
We’re beginning our Langkawi life aboard a vibrating longtail boat that has its sights set on a slip of land known as Dayang Bunting – one of just two inhabited islands that comprise the archipelago of some 99 landfalls. It’s a paradise for nature-lovers, swathed in dense tropical rainforest and dotted with deep lakes, including the lovely, jade-hued Tasik Dayang Bunting. A group of macaques cock their heads as I break the mirrored surface of the lake and slip into the water to cool off. Eagles circle overhead, drifting in currents above the jungle.
From the lake, we make our way to the ocean, ready to indulge in some of Malaysia’s best diving and snorkelling. Thirty-odd kilometres south of Pulau Langkawi lies Pulau Payar Marine Park. Fishing is strictly prohibited here, which means that the underwater bounty is particularly healthy, especially at popular dive spots such as Coral Garden, home to a corridor of colourful soft coral.
We also decide to go aquatic without getting wet with a visit to Pulau Langkawi’s Underwater World. Here, more than 4,000 varieties of fish weave their way through more than 100 tanks, making the attraction one of the largest of its kind in Asia. Leopard sharks, trigger fish and stingrays slide overhead, while schools of clownfish swerve energetically past moray eels, lurking among bright corals.
After a day working up an appetite at sea, it’s time to take our explorations onto dry land. It takes us around three and a half hours to circumnavigate Pulau Langkawi. Driving through small villages, we’re captivated by the smell of freshly made roti canai, a type of flatbread grilled on an iron skillet and often stuffed with eggs or bananas and sometimes fish and sambal. Straws of sunlight filter through the slender stems of rubber trees; we pause to let a herd of water buffalo amble across the road.
Travelling inland, we reach one of Langkawi’s most popular picnic spots, Telaga Tujuh, where seven natural bathing pools eddy around smooth rocks before sliding over a lip, tumbling 480 metres into the valley below.
By mid-afternoon we’re dangling over yet more waterfalls on an exhilarating 20-minute cable-car ride to the top of Mat Cincang, a mountain range straddling the northwest corner of the island. From the viewing bridge at the car’s terminus, the panorama of lush rainforest, ending in crescents of caramel sand sinking into an azure ocean, is breathtaking. In the distance we can just make out southern Thailand and Indonesia. It’s like standing in a postcard at the heart of Southeast Asia.
Back at sea level we make our way to the craft complex at Teluk Yu, a small town not far from Tanjung Rhu. Young artisans sit around a bustling room putting finishing touches on traditional and modern artworks: a woman hunches over a hand loom, painstakingly weaving exquisite songket fabric using golden thread. In another showroom, a designer cuts shirts and skirts from beautiful batik; nearby, craftsmen twirl globes of molten glass into vases and animals.
One of the best places to catch a sunset is at Pantai Cenang, a broad stretch of beach on the southwest coast of the island. Sipping a cool drink at one of the cafés that line the sand, we contemplate our dinner options suffused in an orange glow. Food is one of Malaysia’s big drawcards and Nam, housed at the beautiful Bon Ton Resort just five minutes from where we sit, is one of the best places on the island to get a taste for local cuisine with a twist.
Meals here take traditional Malay staples and spruce them up with au courant ingredients and presentation – think barbecued chicken served with a mango-and-cashew salad and rib-sticking glutinous rice, wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed with toasted coconut. Nyonya fare, brought to Malaysia by migrating Straits Chinese, also makes an appearance on the menu: a tasting plate includes spicy renditions of chicken with lime leaves, tamarind fish and eggplant in a coconut curry. The meal offers a heady mix of flavours and sensations that I won’t forget any time soon – much like the island itself. •
Photography by Robert Muir.
TRAVEL FACTS
getting there
Malaysia Airlines flies daily from major Australian capital cities to Kuala Lumpur with regular domestic links to Langkawi. 132-627; malaysiaairlines.com.au
Air Asia X also flies to KL from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast. 1300-760-330; airasia.com
when to go
Langkawi has a coastal tropical climate year-round. Visit between November and March to avoid the monsoon rains.
where to stay
Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort has a range of garden and beachfront villas and offers romantic sunset dinners on the sand. 60-4/952-8000; sheraton.com/langkawi
The Tanjung Rhu Resort offers luxurious rooms just steps from a powder-white beach. 60-4/959-1033;
tanjungrhu.com.my
Casa Del Mar offers 34 lovely rooms on Pantai Cenang beach. 60-4/955-2388; casadelmar-langkawi.com
Situated on the northwestern tip of Langkawi Island, The Datai is nestled inside an ancient tropical rainforest, with a secluded white sandy beach facing the calm Andaman Sea. 60-4/959-2500; ghmhotels.com
The Bon Ton Resort Langkawi and neighbouring Temple Tree offer eco-chic rooms in old Malay houses. 60-4/955-1688; bontonresort.com.my, templetree.com.my
where to eat
Nam Restaurant at the Bon Ton Resort offers a tantalising taste of Malay cuisine with a twist. 60-4/955-6787.
For casual Thai and Malay meals and good cocktails, stop by Champor Champor on Pantai Cenang. 60-4/966-6699.
For fine dining, don’t miss out on a meal at the The Datai resort’s Gulai House restaurant. The menu features a wide range of Malay favourites; try the puteri gulai, succulent pan-fried ruby snapper. 60-4/959-1088.
further information
For country trips, talk to Tourism Malaysia. 61-3/9654-3177; tourism.gov.my
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