Getting sentimental

This afternoon we went to the small marina Awana Porto Malai Langkawi. It's a charming place with a few small restaurants and shops, as well as a terminal for ocean going cruise ships. We stayed there for a few hours chilling and admiring the beauty of the Andaman Sea and its magnificent islands.

Since we are about to leave Langkawi soon, we get easyily sentimental these days. It's a really peaceful island and we have had a wonderful time here. When we got back home to Chogm Villa we said good bye to our host Rob who had to fly to the Netherlands. He is such a kind guy who works hard to make his guests' holiday as great as possible. It doesn't matter what kind of problems you might face here, he fixes it for you right away, always with a big smile.

Tomorrow we are off to George Town (Penang) for two days and then we will be back to Langkawi for our final three days here. Next week we're getting into city mood again, starting with six exciting days in Singapore, followed by Kuala Lumpur again.

Don't go chasing waterfalls...

"...Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to..."

Remember that song by TLC? We should have taken their advice. But we wanted to see the waterfall that was described in the guide book as a geological marvel, so we drove to Telaga Tujuh which is about as far away as you can drive on this island. Once there we found out that it's dry season (no shit Sherlock!) so the only geological marvel left to see was dust and dry mud. Luckily for us we were at least told before we attempted to climb the umpteen steps. Plus we got to see a really cute monkey so the trip wasn't a complete waste.

We had to think fast and come up with a new plan, but if there's one thing we've learned on this trip it's that plan B can sometimes outshine plan A, and this proved to be true again.

With nothing to loose really we decided to stop at the Perdana Quay in Telaga Harbour. Our host Rob had described it as a nice place with a Mediterranean flavor. Usually we try to keep it local when we are abroad, a "when in Rome..." mindset you could say. But we've been in Malaysia for so long now that European food sounded very tempting, and that's how we ended up at a Spanish tapas joint.

The harbor was dominated by a gigantic super yacht named Moecca Douglas. It was the biggest god damn boat we've ever seen and the closest we've ever gotten to filthy rich people. We were so curious about the boats owner that we almost forgot to eat our tapas. Tom Cruise? Kylie Minogue? Nicole Kidman? We hopped to get a small glance of someone famous but all we saw was the seven man strong cleaning team, polishing their asses off. Some of us (no names mentioned) were even considering to go through the boats garbage that was bagged on the dock cause apparently "that's were you find information". While "the other some of us" went on a spy mission with our Nikon D90 and made friends with an Australian sailer. He didn't reveal anything but it's always nice to talk to people from Australia. Overall the day turned out really great and we didn't miss the waterfalls much, we just wish we would have spotted the rich bastard but he stayed incognito.

Swing, slide, snapper

Yesterday we didn't really feel like leaving our apartment. Maybe we were still slightly hung over from the day before or maybe we are just comfortable like that, or perhaps it's a combination of both. Anyway, Nelly was bored, started to make a racket which forced us to get up off our asses. There's a playground not very far from where we live and we've been meaning to go there, so yesterday it felt like the perfect time to do so.

Nelly not being used to swings, slides and whatnots was very hesitant. It may have been the heat also cause last night the temperature hit Finnish sauna levels here in Langkawi.

Later, while the sun was (finally) setting we strolled to the nearby harbor ordered two XL orange juice (and they were really XL) and some fresh caught Red Snapper. Once we got back home Nelly took a shower with mommy and then she slept like... well like a baby actually.

Safety first

Check out Nelly's baby car seat! Somehow we get a feeling this was top of the line shortly after we were born. Maybe not the biggest seller right now, what do you think?

Nevertheless Nelly loves to go by car and she always finds something exciting to look at.

Any given Friday in Langkawi

Another day, another night market. People are rushing from different parts of the island in order to purchase their food supplies. Some of them are "big"...



and some of them are very small.







There are many hungry souls on their way, so it calls for lots of preparations.





And even if you're not entirely grown up, you can still help your busy parents, and it doesn't hurt if you look cute while doing it.





Finally after a long day it's time to go home and get some well deserved rest.

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.