One Mai Tai too many

Last night around sunset we decided to go to Charlie's Place down by the Royal Yacht Club. We've been there before and even though it may not be the most exciting place in Malaysia it's decent enough to deserve another visit. Not everyday can be a fantastic adventure worth writing home about, right?

Luckily for us the night would turn out so much better then expected. Right after setting foot at the Yacht Club we ran into Eva the captain from Damai Indah who we've been out cruising the Andaman sea with twice now. It was so great seeing her again, she must be the nicest person this side of the equator. Eva and her friend Uli joined our table and we all had a great time. Beata had perhaps one Mai Tai too many, but she had no choice! She had to take one for the team so to speak, because I was driving and couldn't have as many Cuba Libre as I normally want and we couldn't let Eva drink all by herself, could we?

Eva took care of the bill, and this is only days after she treated us to a luxurious cruise, can you believe that? She's just too good to be true! What have we ever done for her, nothing really. Except writing a very positive review of her cruise on Tripadvisor, but she already have plenty of those.

Today is the day after and now we're (read Beata) paying the price for having such a great time yesterday, but it was definitely worth it.

Chasing dolphins

We are so lucky! Check this out, last week when we took a cruise with Eva we ended up on Capricorn, a boat she chartered. Beautiful boat sure but it's not Damai Indah, Eva's own boat. We had a great time on Capricorn but Eva super generous as she is felt bad that she couldn't offer us the cruise she wanted to, so she told us (and all other guests on board) that if we were still in Langkawi when Damai Indah is back from repairs we could take the same cruise again for free!

Obviously that's an extremely kindhearted offer and we just had to jump on it, so yesterday it was time to chase the sunset again, and as it turned out we even got to chase some happy dolphins. Eva spotted them first and as soon as she did she maxed the music volume, cause according to her dolphins love music, especially Boney M. Damai Indah did a couple of eights in the water, we all applauded the show the dolphins put on for us, and it was magical. It was the first time we've ever seen dolphins in their natural habitat.

There's something unusual about Eva, she's a brave woman who has chosen to live her dream in a business occupied mostly by men. You can't stop wondering how many people she has inspired to make a change in their life, and to take a step towards their childhood dream.



It was not only a beautiful day with view like a screensaver, but also the day we got to meet Anna and her family from Tasmania. Sometimes it just happens - it clicks from the start and you know that you can be great friends. We realize that there's quite a distance between Sweden and Tasmania but if we made it here, we are going to make it there!

After sunset we reached shore and wrapped the day up with drinks at Casa del Mar together with a young couple from Västerås, Sweden. Finally we stumbled into a cab that drove us home.

Many thanks to Eva, Anna and everybody else we shared laughs with during this amazing cruise.

Dirty laundry heaven

I've heard Martin pop the question "Where have you been all my life?" twice. Once to me in a restaurant in Warsaw, shortly after we started dating, and once to the frickin' laundry service here in Kuah!







So what's there to love? A few things, it's just so convenient, super cheap only 3 Rinngit per kilo (6 SEK or 2 PLN), speedy delivery with a smile plus you get everything back perfectly folded just like your mom (read Martin's mom) used to do it.

Help save the cockroaches

We saw this clever sign when we visited the Langkawi Wildlife Park a while back. It's so Malaysia, not only are the people here nice and considerate to tourists, they care about everyone down to the smallest cockroach. That's good karma!

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.

There are parking tickets in heaven

This morning like every other morning Nelly woke us up at 7 a.m. sharp (oh, she's punctual). The refrigerator was as empty as our stomachs, so we packed our shit and drove to Starbucks.

Nelly likes it there and the feeling is mutual. The staff is (just like 99,9% of Malaysian's population) very friendly and helpful and they always have time to play around with cute babies which is perfect cause it gives parents a chance to unwind.





After our java break we strolled to Dataran Lang (or Eagle Square in English). We've mentioned before that the eagle is the symbol for Langkawi. The Malay word for eagle is helang - shortened is "lang". Kawi means strong or rock. Hence the word Langkawi means eagle rock in colloquial Malay.





The Dataran Lang park is dominated by probably the most prominent landmark of this island, a huge statue (not Statue of Liberty huge but still pretty damn impressive) of a proud eagle spreading its wings ready for take-off. The wing span is over 70 feet.







When we got back to our car we noticed that the front window had been decorated by the local police. The traffic fine read "for causing unnecessary obstruction on a road". The claimed offense is a joke if you ask us, who are they to speak when they themselves put up big road signs in the middle of the sidewalk. Talk about obstruction!



But anyway what can you do, we're just gonna bite the bullet and pay. Although it feels somewhat embarrassing because the car is not the rental, it's our host’s car that he was kind enough to let us borrow for free.



VIP means Very Important Plutt (Nelly)

Nelly by the pool - The Movie!

Check out this short but sweet film of Nelly doing her morning exercise with mommy in the swimming pool. It's just another stunningly beautiful morning here in Langkawi, Malaysia.