Why we adore taxi in Langkawi

A few days ago we decided to go to the Craft Cultural Complex. Since we don't have our rental any more, we called a taxi. After approximately 30 min. driving we arrived at the Complex and our taxi driver surprised us by asking: shall I wait for you? We hesitated a little since we knew that it might take more than an hour, but he said it was OK! After an hour waiting he welcomed us with a smile and we continued exploring the island for three more hours. He took us to several places, waited each time patiently, always with a kind smile and not a word of complain and we paid RM100 only (which is 200 SEK or 70 PLN).

It was a good day for everyone: Nelly and mom were happy to have daddy sitting next to them, the taxi driver was pleased with his clients and we were satisfied with the price. Good deal for everyone!





And finally a piece of advice - under no circumstances take taxi 468 - the taxi driver is a very hostile man, the only unpleasant person we met in Malaysia during the entire stay. He must be the worst taxi driver since Robert de Niro.

100% Dundee

Today all 3 of us paid Taman Buaya Langkawi a visit. It's Malaysia's largest crocodile park. So this post is croc galore if that's your type of thing. We mostly found it nerve-wracking to tell you the truth.

For one thing they have this bridge that crosses a pond. And that small... puddle really, is home to 400 hungry crocodiles. It's exiting and absolutely terrifying at the same time, mostly the later.

Then after crossing the bridge it's time to check out the crocodile show. Paul Hogan get bent! What you get to see is 3 courageous but foolhardy Malaysian mini "dundees" who does various death defying tricks with 4 big crocodiles. And when we say big crocs, we ain't talking about the Bambi cute version depicted on this sign.



No, we mean 4 x 1 ton predators, each with more teeth than the tooth fairy at their disposal. Apparently these beasts don't appreciate being poked in the eye with a stick. But somehow our brave mini dundees didn't read that signal cause that's exactly what they did to the crocs, just to provoke them to show their deadly teeth for the amazed tourists.

We have to say the whole thing left us with a bitter taste in our mouth. We felt guilty that we with our entrance money contributed to the mini dundees salary. Cause really we think they would be way better of even as unemployed. No one should have to put their arm inside a crocodiles mouth just to pay the rent, but that's exactly what they did, for our amusement's sake.

Sailing away

Yesterday we went for a 6 hour afternoon and sunset cruise and spent the day drifting among the 99 islands of the Langkawi archipelago. We appreciated the fact that we were taken to secluded areas away from the tourist hot spots, for hours we were the only boat around except for a few local fishermen.

The drinks were freely flowing all day long and the freshly cooked food was delicious. After a few hours of cruising we jumped from the yacht into the water and swam to the uninhabited beach in the middle of nowhere! Instead of exploring the beach as some of the other passengers did, we just stayed in the water, holding each other and drinking champagne. It's cool to feel rich for a day!

After this "exhausting" adventure we got back to the yacht and while Eva (our captain) and her staff were cooking dinner for us, we were laying on the cushions on the deck relaxing and enjoying the stunning scenery.

The dinner was served at sunset and we were still amazingly enough the only boat around. It was quiet and peaceful, the wind was cooling us off while we were eating dinner and enjoying the breathtaking view.







Martin chatting with a lovely Scottish couple (Glasgow Rangers fans) who got engaged on the cruise.

Day trip to Koh Lipe, Thailand

This past weekend we felt like going to Thailand for some island hopping, said and done. Early on Saturday morning we took a cab to Telaga Harbour. The cab driver was a little late when he picked us up so he drove it like he stole it.

When we arrived at Telaga the hassle of pass control started. We have to OFFICIALLY depart from Malaysia and then OFFICIALLY enter Thailand yada yada yada, it's the usual bureaucracy that we all love to hate. The paperwork took a while, perhaps because it involved a young school boy driving away with our passports on his moped to an unknown destination for some "very important and necessary stamps". We also had to sign a paper stating in red capital letters that we have been informed that drug smugglers are sentenced to death! That's good to know huh, made us nervous even though we only had baby food in our bags.

In the waiting room there were more Swedes than flies in an outhouse and we appreciated their company just the same. By now after a month in Malaysia we're so used to that strangers are kind and greets you like a friend. The room was packed with at least 14 Swedes, not one of them said hi to us or shared Nellys curious smile.

The speedboat lived up to its name, three 225 horsepower strong engines made sure that we arraived at Koh Lipe less than an hour after leaving Malaysia.

Koh Lipe is a lovely island, the beach is stunning! Beautiful, green-blue water with sand soft as silk, amazing. You can easily picture yourself enjoying the sun with a drink in your hand and some hot company by your side. That's when you don't have a one-year old with you, who refuses to play on the beach and needs to be carried around all the time! Our daughter is the most kind child ever to travel with, but she needs some basics which help us all get along, for example ability to use her stroller. There's no such possibility in Koh Lipe! The entire island is about the beach and the sea, there is nothing which even remotely resemblances a sidewalk.

Once we understood that, we decided to continue looking at the bright side of life and find a luxury hotel, which would compensate the no-stroller inconvenience. I guess it wasn't meant to be! We ended up in the "delux hut", smelling everything but lux, equipped with cold shower only and toilet with no possibility of flushing (there was, however, a shower-like-device providing a close enough function). We are a tough couple and it takes far more than this to break us .... until we saw a few centimeters wide holes where the walls meets the floor, big enough to welcome an entire army of insects at any time. And that was a deal breaker! We changed the date on the return ticket and speeded back to home sweet home Malaysia.

To go through the passport bureaucracy a 2nd time the same day was a bitch but the good news is we passed and didn't have to check-in at Bangkok Hilton.

The only way to travel

Yesterday we (minus Nelly, also known as Osama, who was busy back home with the baby-sitter planning her next "terrorist attack") sailed away on a 6 hour long cruise. Or wait, make that 6 hour short cruise, cause time sure flew out there in the big blue, it was such a beautiful day it felt more like 6 minutes long.

The Langkawi archipelago with it's 99 tropical islands is a natural paradise. To discover it from the seaside while cruising the Andaman Sea is an unforgettable experience. We saw spectacular views of unique rock formations, lush green rainforest, fine lonely beaches, hidden lagoons and eagles (apparently the name Langkawi means eagle rock in Malay).

We got over our fear of sharks (just for a day) and dared to jump from the yacht right into the sea. What can we tell you, it felt great! Not even for a second we thought that the water was too cold and on a plus side we spotted no sharks.

Obviously we appreciate comfortable traveling but "the net jacuzzi" on the outer side of the yacht bumped up the meaning of comfortable to a new level. While the yacht was smoothly sailing, we were relaxing in the net, bubbling around and sipping cocktails which were served frequently (we kind of lost track of how many).

Check us out!

Living on the edge

Life as a parent consists of many routines and yesterday we decided that we were ready for a real adrenaline kick - cable car ride.

The cable car ride is amazing. You get a spectacular view of the rainforest and an awesome panorama of the Andaman Sea. There are two stations on the way up but we decided to go for the scary top one without wasting our time on the "chicken's stop".







On the top station 708m above sea-level you get a 360-degree panoramic view of the Langkawi islands, Kedah and Southern Thailand. Once we took our photos we continued to the Sky bridge which is an architectural wonder. The bridge is 125 m long and it is a link between the top station and Machincang mountain range. The valley under the bridge is breathtaking but kind of scary. We felt a bit shaky walking on the bridge with Nelly, she on the other hand was very cool. At times it felt like she was a bigger attraction that the bridge itself - let's just say that many photos of our daughter were taken and many hands were shaken.















On our way down while Martin was admiring the solid construction of the cable car, I happened to mention that according to me the scary part is the fact that there is one only cable which keeps the gondolas up and no second security cable!
He looked at me, holding our daughter a bit tighter and said: Thanks for sharing!



To keep the story short we made it back to solid ground again and went for a snack. Four huge glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice plus Nasi Goreng for two (which is chicken with fried rice) costed us 26 Ringgit. That's about 17 PLN or 50 SEK. We've now been here for so long that it acctualy felt a little too expensive.

Check out our daughter entertaining herself and everyone else around while we were eating.