Some warm days in the middle of winter - July 2009

After a busy week at work we were looking forward to Friday night - we were heading off to Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi for eight days holiday.  Peter was a bit dubious as we were flying with one of the cheaper airlines, Air Asia.  We arrived at the airport early (to avoid any risk of being told we were too late for our flight) and joined the queue at the Air Asia check in counter.  We had pre-booked our seats and we were happy that they were in the front row of the economy section.

The airline staff were very friendly and we were impressed with the service.  We had pre-booked our meal, even though we thought that eating dinner at after midnight was not really necessary  but it helped to fill the time in.  Again, because it is a matter of pre-order or go without, we had pre-booked a "comfort" pack which provided a blanket, ear plugs, eye cover and neck cushion.  Obviously we were supposed to sleep but Peter spent a good part of the trip complaining that the seat back did not recline and only the base of the seat moved forward a couple of inches.  Certainly not the most comfortable airline seat for sleeping.  With only a little dozing we arrived in Kuala at 7 am.  Customs clearance was easy, our suitcases arrived on our flight and we soon headed out to the fresh air.  We caught a shuttle bus to our hotel in the city centre.  Even though it was early in the morning it was very warm which was such a change from winter days in Melbourne.

We stayed at the Crown Plaza near the twin towers with the monorail station strategically placed within walking distance.  Check in was smooth and we were checked into our room on the Club floor.  These rooms include access to the Club lounge where breakfast, snacks, drinks etc are served 24 hours a day.  Without much sleep during our flight, we soon collapsed into bed for a few hours.

During the afternoon we caught the monorail to a large shopping centre, just to experience the atmosphere.  There were a number of floors of shops and entertainment as this complex housed the only indoor theme park in KL.  It was amazing to see the roller coaster winding its way around.  It seemed as though it hit the ceiling but I am sure it didn't.  I am sure that this shopping centre is very popular with young people.

We had been told that we should experience getting out of Kuala Lumpur to the Highlands.  On Sunday we decided that we would take the local bus to Genting Highlands.  This area is very popular with the locals as the casino is here.  Unfortunately we the bus and didn't want to wait a couple of hours for the next bus so time to negotiate with a taxi.  Would you  believe that the taxi driver was happy to drive us to the Highlands - sure it was only 50 kms but the cost was little more than the bus fare.

We asked the driver to take us to gondola station so that we could take the gondola up the mountain.  We hadn't anticipated that everyone else wanted to do the same thing and we had to queue following the roped lines for a couple of hours.  We were a bit of a novelty as it seemed that we were the only European people in the queue.  The ride in the gondola was high over the lush tropical jungle and very enjoyable and worth the wait (at least I thought so!).

The gondola stopped at one of the many hotels servicing the casinos.  They all seemed to be connected by tunnels and it was quite confusing finding our way around.  There were many themed entertainment areas and it was soon clear why the area was so popular for families as well as those wanting to frequent the casino.

After a while we decided we may as well check out one of the casino areas.  We were soon to learn that wasn't going to be part of our day.  Peter had worn shorts on and he couldn't enter the casino in shorts.  We contemplated buying a pair of trousers but we decided that it wasn't that important to us, although I did try to encourage Peter.  I wandered through one of the crowded floors and then decided that was enough for me.  We finally made our way to the front of one of the hotels and caught another taxi back down the hill into Kuala Lumpur and to our hotel. 

A visit to the night markets was interesting - we didn't do any shopping but enjoyed wandering but it was extremely crowded so not that impressive.

Our third day in KL we decided to visit the city sights.  We went to the twin towers and took the lift to the top but it was quite murky and the view wasn't that great.  We wandered down through the shops to the various parks and shopping centres and generally just enjoyed the city.

Soon it was time to leave KL and head to Langkawi.  We had chosen to stay at Pelangi Resort on the Island.  Our short flight from KL on Air Asia was uneventful, and no moaning from Peter as he didn't need to try and sleep!  We arrived late in the evening - the reception area of the Resort is completely open to the elements and it was still very warm.  Groups of people were sitting around the bar area and it looked very inviting.  Our room was upstairs with a large covered balcony.  It was very welcoming.

We enjoyed six days at Langkawi and we can thoroughly recommend it for relaxation.  The complex has a number of pools and is also beach front.  Our booking included breakfast so each morning we wandered down for a leisurely breakfast around 9 am.  Breakfast was to die for - lots of fresh fruit with a full selection of every breakfast option anyone could want regardless which nationality you were. 

We were within walking distance of the small village.  I decided that each day I was in Langkawi I would have a massage.  Peter was not keen to join me but was happy to walk down the street with me and then either site in an outdoor cafe and wait or go into one of the local internet cafes and spend the time on the computer.  Full body massage for $20 was great!  We could walk along the beach in front of the various smaller hotels and accommodation of varying budgets to the shops or go along the road.  Pelangi Resort is a large resort and you could spend all day enjoying the facilities without actually leaving the complex.  We really enjoyed our stay.

One night we went to the night market - it was very basic and didn't encourage either of us to buy anything or eat anything. 

On our second to last day we decided to rent a car so that we could go to the cable car and skybridge.  You initially take one cable car up some 600 metres and then at the observation deck you take a further cable car to the peak.  At the top you can walk out on the skywalk which was quite scary for lots of people.  There were lots of tourists.

The trip was an easy drive and we were amazed when we had to stop for a family of monkeys sitting n the middle of the road.  At one stage an adult monkey got quite aggressive with us as he was on one side of the vehicle and the other members of his group were on the other side.  We were lucky not to have a dent in the car door. 

After the skywalk we continued up the valley and parked the car and walked the rest of the way to a popular waterfall.  It was really hot walking to the falls and many people took the opportunity to cool off in the water pools. On the way back to our village area we enjoyed being able to stop and wander around the various villages and beach areas.

The surprise came at the end of the day when Peter called into refill the vehicle with petrol - our day trip of some 250 kms cost us just $8 to refill the tank.  As the rental was only $12 for the day it was certainly a cheap day out.

We left Langkawi late in the day to head back to Kuala Lumpur for our late night departure to Melbourne.  We were disappointed our holiday was over.  It was a beautiful resort and we had thoroughly enjoyed the facilities and the friendliness of the staff.  We had a great holiday.