I haven't
been to the fabled island of Langkawi in about 17 years, so the memories
of the place is foggy at best. Depending on what you read, the island
could still be pristine or has already been "polluted" and "destroyed"
by over development and commercialisation. Well, only one way to find
out then ....
Have bike, will travel.
The
eleven of us took the ferry from Penang. The trip took 2 1/2 hours. And
it is deadly boring ... except for the first 5 minutes and the last 5
minutes. It's nice to see Penang island getting smaller and Langkawi getting
bigger, but other than that you were wishing they invented light travel
or at least installed nuclear reactors as engines on the ferries.
So long Penang .....
The
ferry there was packed to the brim (being a Saturday). So I spent the
whole time on the deck where the bikes were. Standing around goofing with
each other, sitting in the sun, or lying down on the deck with a knapsack
as a pillow. Pretty uncomfortable as you can imagine. On the flip side,
the ferry back (on a Monday) was empty and I made sure I sat across two
seats for a while.
While out in the sun, double eyewear is recommended.
We could
have flown, but the ferry is cheaper. More importantly, for someone as
lazy as I am, you don't have to dismantle the bike into little pieces
and pack everything into a box, which you'd have to do if you were taking
a plane. Of course, you should be prepared for some dings and scratches
on your bike as the ferry handlers aren't exactly Cinderellas, if you
get what I mean.
Ok,
enough about the ferry, on to the island itself ....
Ahh .... Langkawi, here we come.
Today
seemed to be a day for punctures. Before I had even rode a metre on the
island, my bike had a front puncture. Everyone waited patiently for me
while I changed the tube. To my consternation, I discovered a large hole
in the tyre which had caused the puncture. This meant that subsequent
tubes would also likely suffer the same fate. And no one brought a spare
tyre. I changed the tube and prayed for the best.
Getting ready for the ride to the hotel.
We rode
our bikes from the jetty to the hotel, which meant travelling through
half of Kuah town (the "capital" of Langkawi). Kuah looks like your typical
recently-developed Malaysian town, although its location beside the sea
gave it a holiday feel. You also immediately notice the many shops selling
alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, this being a duty free island. A 500ml
can of Heineken (of European and not Malaysian origin) costs only RM3.20.
Hmmm ....
"Dude, I think we're lost."
Our
first ride was scheduled for the afternoon. But this being the day of
punctures, Red Short's rear tube exploded while he was pumping it up.
It looked like its time was up and he probably hasn't changed the tube
since getting the bike.
Bummer.
A violent puncture.
Anyway,
our ride was to go around only half the island, and the ride was optional
as some of us (like me) were tired out from the ferry ride. To my surprise,
everyone (including myself) who brought a bike turned up, except for Kai
"The Sleeping Machine" Seng who obviously had a plan to do the obvious
- sleep, although it turned out he later went swimming and shopping -
strange...
We started
along the eastern side of the island at casual speed and upon reaching
a large roundabout, detoured to the famous beach of Tanjung Rhu. The eastern
road isn't anything to shout about as you couldn't see the coast, but
the road to Tanjung Rhu and the beach itself was simply fabulous. The
sand, the view, the sea. Wonderful.
Cruising along the coast ....
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