We are on the ferry from Langkawi to Penang so it seemed a good time to start this episode of the blog.



It is as I write things like that when I realise just how lucky we are to be doing what we are doing and to experience all the wonderful things we are experiencing. Langkawi was just special and made particularly special by the place we stayed. When we were looking for somewhere on the Island we were rather disillusioned: the accommodation was either expensive, which looked rather plush (and out of our budget range), or inexpensive, which just looked rather sad. We very nearly decided to give the place a miss when I received a reply from Farina. I had sent an email enquiry to her at Sari Villas but though her initial response was that they were full, she then sent a further message saying they had a studio flat which was available. We decided to take the chance and weren't disappointed, it was magical.



The Villas are arranged on a hillside facing the sea, all with wonderful views and above a private beach. The road in comes over the hill to a carpark by the uppermost villa. There are steps down through the villas, by the swimming pool at the bottom to our apartment in the lowest villa.

We had a large room divided into a sleeping and sitting area. Our bed was raised up to hip height with storage space under and the mattress on the surface, which continued along the room as a shelf for the TV and fridge. We had a sofa which could sleep an extra person, a TV, and an outside kitchenette. A lovely shower/wet room completed the facilities. The best part was that two walls were sliding glass doors overlooking rainforest coming up from the sea and completely private, no curtains needed. These glass doors slid right back so it was like living in the jungle. All this was set in beautiful gardens with sweet smelling shrubs, the wildlife included very lively squirrels and monkeys which we occasionally saw swinging through the trees and noisy hornbills making their presence known. There was a shared pool but with only half a dozen villas it was really quiet. We would have loved to have stayed longer it was so special. We are now very fit having negotiated the many steps up and down to the car park, those steps would deter the faint hearted but yours truly regarded them as our daily challenge!

Langkawi itself is a strange mixture, all the mountainous middle of the island is natural rainforest, the agricultural flatlands are either rice or rubber tree plantations but the coastal strip, where some of the beaches are good, is quite developed. What stops it feeling too developed is that the government have banned any building higher than a palm tree so everything is low rise. There are lots of restaurants selling sea food but none seem very busy and parts of the island feel run down. We were speculating as to why this may be and think that part of the reason could be the move to all-inclusive holidays in resort hotels which rather spoil the variety of eating and entertainment on offer elsewhere. Another anomaly is that it is a duty-free island so there were several stores just selling the sort of stuff you would get in an airport departure lounge, a bit odd that.

For the first time on our trip we rented a car, a £25 a day bargain. Where we stayed it was essential to have transport as the villas were some way along their private road and on the backside of a hill (if one may put it like that?) away from the town. The roads are wonderfully quiet, very few cars outside the main town , even there it is a bit like small town England. It is also wonderfully familiar as they drive on the left, like at home. The car did give us the chance to explore the Island and we took full advantage. We went up Benung Raya mountain, the highest point on the Island where there are amazing views across to other islands, into Thailand and down into Malaysia. On the way up the twisty road through the forest we joked about Starbucks and, remarkably, at the top there is in fact an hotel with a tower, which you can ascend to receive the optimum view and a complementary cup of black coffee.

We also visited the Temurun waterfall, an amazing drop but not quite as pictuesque as the one in Luang Prebang. We went to a wildlife park, on reflection a rather sad place really but it was an opportunity to get a close up view of some of the island wild life.

Some of the bays and beaches were quite picturesque, the views out to sea near us looked a bit like a mini Halong Bay but instead of limestone outcrops these rocks are granite. Just driving around visiting the beaches, doing a bit of beach combing and taking time to recharge our batteries was an absolute treat.

With more time in this region it would be good to do a bit of Island hopping as there are many islands and I understand that the snorkling is good off Pulau Payar Island. It is a great place for a holiday if you are looking for sun sea sand and loads of sea food, what more could you want?