Wow I am loving this unstructured blogging time. Except… I am taking advantage of this freedom! In the process neglected any sort of information on my new life in Penang! Well friends starting today I hope to aim for 3 days of blogging per week. There is so much to share! But first let’s finish our Langkawi adventures!
Saturday
After a night of stuffing ourselves silly with enormous lobsters and king prawns, we hit the sack hard. As soon as we were awake we put on our bathing suits and headed down to the pool. There we stayed for several hours ordering lunch and drinks at the in-pool bar. So cool!
Later in the afternoon we made our way down to the beach for some activities. The weather was absolutely perfect.
Two more of our friends arrived so we decided to play some beach volleyball. None of us have ever played legit volleyball so it was more of a try to get the ball over the net anyway you can… kicking, punching, slapping the ball… whatever. I put some of my middle-school PE moves to use and could actually hit the ball with some accuracy. Despite our lack of skills we had a lot of fun and were hot, sweaty, and smiling by the end. While some of us drifted over for a game of beach football, I plunged into the ocean to cool off. Although I expected the ocean in Langkawi to be warm as bathwater, it was perfectly cool and refreshing. A wonderful surprise.
Later we all thought it would be hilarious for 7 of us to be pulled around on a banana boat for an hour. Yes, it was hilarious and terrifying! Twice we flipped over in the ocean which meant twice I landed on several people while tumbling into the water. Not exactly a nice landing. Then Peter talked the football crew into renting a sailboat for an hour. They packed a cooler and set off for a nice relaxing ride.
Meanwhile I grabbed my camera and crept up on the monkeys chilling on some rocks by the beach. These monkeys were fearless and totally unperturbed by my presence. We saw monkeys all over Langkawi, usually sitting or slowly sauntering along the road. They reminded me of chubby little tourists lazying around the island, always snacking, and staring down fellow tourists. They were a friendly bunch let me tell you.
Monkeys!
By the time I checked the guys out in the sailboat they were essentially “dead in the water”. By that I mean they were stuck in the swimming area net and completely immobile. After floundering around for a while, Peter and the boys jumped into the water to free it. By this time, everybody on the beach was staring at them intently. Eventually they freed the net and took off in the boat with speed in the swimming zone. Oops! Another quick tug of the net and disposal of one of the crew, they were out and sailing around the ocean. It was absolutely hilarious to watch.
I think this guy was waving a flag telling them to get out of the swimming area. If only it were that easy! Two guys even went out on their jet skis and asked if they needed help sailing… for a fee. Uh thanks but no thanks. Thankfully Peter finally caught a good breeze and they managed to have a good sail.
Tired of the salt water, we retreated back to the pool. For the rest of the day we swam, drank, played beer pong, swam, and drank some more. Oh, we also posed for some glamour shots. Working it…
Once it got too dark to see the beer pong cups any more we called it a day and got ready for the night. We clean up nice right? We look especially good in that soft-focus setting…
We called a cab to take us into town and ended up waiting for almost an hour!! It was crazy and we were starving so we just took more pictures. The ladies… Do you think I stick out??
The boys… Peter is such a gangster.
We eventually made into town after a 30 minute taxi ride and of course were starving. The town was actually very lively and full of backpackers and tourists. I haven’t seen that many white people in one place in a long time. This is Malaysia! By that time we decided on a restaurant we managed to put in an order for an absurd amount of food right before the kitchen closed. The food was delicious and we chowed down in the sticky heat of the night.
By 11pm we were full, exhausted, and ready for bed. A full day in the sun is exhausting!
Sunday
The next morning we checked out of our rainforest room (after a night of pouring rain and screeching monkeys) and headed down to the beach for one final swim. It was another perfectly hot day and also the day of an Aerospace Exhibition at the airport. While we chilled in the ocean we watched baby jellyfish float by and jets scream above us in amazing formations. It was bizarre but fun.
Right before catching a cab to the airport we grabbed one last meal at the beachside restaurant. I even managed to snap a pic of my meal! This never happens because I am usually too busy eating. I enjoyed a whole white fish with curry and rice. Omg it was so good.
Unfortunately it was time to leave Langkawi but we vowed that we would try to return. Although the resort was fun and relaxing, the island offers many more outdoor adventures like island hopping, hiking to waterfalls, and taking the gondola to the top of the mountain.
But for us it was a perfect weekend getaway.
