Mémoires dans Langkawi

90% of the pictures of the trip has been uploaded on my online album -http://sharu.multiply.com/photos/album/7

Do check out the pictures there as it'll be too time-consuming to incl. pictures in my 4-part entries of my Mémoires dans Langkawi (Memories in Langkawi).

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Fri  - 16 Dec 05

     Woke up @ 10-ish & ended up chatting on MSN wif few ppl b4 really calling it quits & got ready to return my academic regalia (the graduation high ends here!).  Then I went to do my survey (work, I didn't do the day b4 so...payback).  Had a slight h/ache.  Got home @ 5-ish.  Settled down (luckily I was done wif my packing the night b4.  Got ready, did my Maghrib & left home.  No cab, so we took the feeder but to Tampines Interchange.  Bus departing @ 7.30pm @ Tamp MRT. 

     We reached on time, and so did Dad who was gonna meet us there (to say bye) if he can make it in time.  He did, JUST IN TIME!  We bumped & it was farewell.  Hopped on the bus, we were the last, and the bus headed for Ang Mo Kio to pick up the remaining few from the grp @ 8pm.  After that, it was a smooth journey, from S'pore Immi to JB Immi.  The moment we hit the highway, the tour guide, Billie, on a malay movie "7 Perhentian".  I missed this movie (starring my fave Erra Fazira) when they showed it on TV during Hari Raya week, so I was happy to get to catch it eventually!  Watched for few minutes, then took a stop @ Machap for dinner.  I had Mee Soto.  Not bad, except M'sian have no business etiquette & they're eating outlets are nvr free from flies! Eeee...  Anyways, 7 Perhentian is sort of a spine-chilling mystery.  When we hopped on the bus agn & continued the movie, 1 of the Perhentian (stops) that the "ghost" stopped at was Machap.  Ooohhh .. that was hair-raising...we were just @ Machap!  The moment the movie ended, I got sleepy, put on my eye-mask & slept throughout! 

     Not a comfortable sleep, but at least it didn't feel like a lonngg ride.  Halfway tru the wee hrs of the morning, it started raining...so I decided to stay awake (paranoid).  There was no opportunity to stop for Subuh as the few stops we went was full & there's even no place to park the bus..plus it was raining...so the journey continued.  We stopped for b/fast somewhere as the guide said that the ferry terminal's gonna be full.  So we had our fill arnd 7-ish b4 heading for the Ferry Terminal. Another 1 & 1/2 hr, we reached the Ferry Terminal & boarded the Ferry arnd 10am...45mins later, reached Langkawi Island.  The giant eagle was a sight! We then headed for Hotel Grand Continental which was less than 20mins from the Terminal.

Sat - 17 Dec 05

     Cable Car ride was off due to bad weather. Even the option for the Dayang Bunting Island cldn't materialise as there might be no boats willing to take us due to the rain.  So we headed straight to the hotel.  By the time we checked-in & got our keys & went to our room for a free-n-easy Day 2, it was 12noon.  We had to bathe & get back to the lobby by 12.30pm to go for lunch. 

     Lunch was orite (had rice, fried chicken with some curry & fried egg), it was just across the hotel, but it was raining, so we had some running 2 do! Haha..  After that, back to hotel & 6.30pm to gather agn @ the lobby to go to the Pasar Malam @ Pekan Kuah.  I wasn't interested, considering it's gonna be leceh if it rains, plus I prefer dept. store, so I decided I wont be joining for the Pasar Malam.

     We went Teow Soon Huat (TSH) Bhd (some sort of an emporium) & really splurged our $$ there.  My luggage was soaked wet due to the rain, luckily my clothes & most of my belongings were safe.  But I was so eeee with the luggage I told Mom I wanna buy a new luggage (w/trolleys this time!).  So I got myself a Polo trolley luggage for RM119 (that's abt S$50).  Cool!  Then I stock myself with chocolate milk, chocolate, twisties etc for contigency in case I get hungry in the hotel.  Mom bought some T-shirts for his boys as souvenirs.

    We headed back to hotel abt 2-ish.  TV3 was showing Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, so I quickly settled down so I cld lay in bed & watch it.  Guess wat?  In my eagerness & laughing @ Uday Chopra (as tho it was the 1st time I was watching the movie!!!), I ripped open a tin of Van Houten Hazelnut Chocs (the oval tin type) & got my right middle-finger's nail split into 2!! Ouch!! Luckily it stopped just at the skin!  Luckily I brought a nail-clipper.  So I had to clip my nails!  Got a earful from mom of coz, hurting myself over Uday Chopra!!! Hahaha...

    As soon as my fave song "Jaage Jaage" is over, I switched-off the TV & slept.  Mom had slept immediately after showering!  We slept all the way till 6-ish.  Got up to do Asar & later on Maghrib.  Then we ordered dinner tru Room Service.  We waited & waited,  yet the food nvr arrived.  Finally, I almost got pissed...Mom was busy watching Doraemon on TV & having a gd laugh & I'm goddamn pissed here!!!!  Finally, dinner came w/o fork & spoon!!! Arrrrggghhh!!

      Mom ordered Mee Mamak which didn't really look like Mee Mamak.  I ordered Tuna Sandwich & Cream of Chicken.  I only enjoyed the Cream of Chicken.  The bread was cold & hard & the tuna sucks!  So that was dinner.  After dinner, we did Isya' & then settled down in bed to sleep. 

     It's been raining heavily & I can see the water level on the road slightly raised, probably up to the ankle...I wonder how those ppl who went to the Pasar Malam is doing!?  Hehe..who cares, I watched a malay drama on TV3 till almost 12mn (TV2 was showing Kareena's Bewafa, not interested so I went to sleep!)...Day 3 was gonna be a looongggg day.  Starting with b/fast @ 7am & gather @ lobby @ 8.45pm to proceed with the day's itinerary!!

Sun - 18 Dec 05

     Got up @ 6.45am, did my Subuh, got ready & headed down for b/fast @ 7.45am.  B/fast was boring.  I just had Nasi Lemak.  Boring. It was drizzly, but I still managed to pose @ the pool. Hehehe.

     The bus came @ 8.45am..we headed for the Dataran Lang (the landmark of Langkawi).  I've only 1 thing to say abt that place: BREATHTAKINGLY MINDBLOWING! Such a beautiful & serene place. 

     It was drizzly .. so once agn .. gotta quickly hop onto the bus to the next stop. The Gamat Oil factory.  Gamat, I just learnt is a form of fish.  Anyways, not interested in the history.  We gotta see how the oil was produced.  Oh, when we got down the bus, there's this lady in red T-shirt who had a camera with her & she was snapping each & every one of us who got down the bus.  What the hell, man?!

     Anyways, after the oil factory, we headed to a historical place of Langkawi - Makam Mahsuri (Mahsuri Tomb).  Mahsuri was a sad legend of Langkawi. When she was cruelly punished for an adultery she allegedly did not commit, she had cursed Langkawi.  The curse on Langkawi only ceased after her 7th generation - Wan Aishah.

     After the Tomb visit & some shopping ... when we got up the bus, the red T-shirt lady who was snapping our pictures opened table & started selling something for RM10.  Guess what?  She made a plate out of our pictures!  Haha .. cool!  Smart businesswoman!

     Headed back to hotel almost 2.30pm.  The tour guide asked for a show of hands of those interested to visit the Dayang Bunting Island.  There were a solid 19 people out of maybe 24?!  So there u go, majority wins.  He did some calling-calling, managed to arrange, and told us to gather back at the lobby immediately after going to toilet & changing to T-shirts or something (we're gonna dip ourselves in the lake!).  We went up, eased ourselves & came down agn.  2 mini vans came ...brought us to the jetty.  Here, 1 of the tour member (probably the friendliest!) got close to Mom. And automatically, close to me too since she knows I'm the daughter.  Plus I'm quite a badmash (mischief), she had no clue I'm 29.  She tot I was a teenager.  Anyways, she's Salimah (got to know her name only while bidding her farewell on the last day!).  I really grew to like her a lot.  She makes a cool mom, despite wearing tudung.  Educated, so she speaks English.  She married a chinese.  She's so super-friendly, while her hubby quiet.  The only time the hubby spoke was when he approached me (I didn't know then that he's that woman's hubby) to ask what is the brand/model of my PDA coz I was playing my mp3 w/o earphone (like a stereo system) so that probably attracted their attn (like so cool right for traveling!).  Haha... anyways, that Salimah woman really dotes on me, she keeps pinching my cheeks & chin when she talks to me.  Gosh, at 29!?  I feel like a baby.  I really miss her.  I wish everytime I travel, she's there.  The tour wld be more fun!

     Ok, so we reached the jetty.  Uh'oh .. ok, I was mentally prepared for the boat-ride by my colleague.  Ok, cool.  U can't swim, it's alright, u're not gonna be there alone .. and the driver is taking u to the island, not to dump u into the big sea u dumb fool!  Cool cool cool ... hopped onto the boat, put on life-jacket ... and wallah ...a sight I've nvr seen!!!  In the open, beautiful green/blue water, surrounded by greeneries & mountains!  Wat a sight it was!!!  The thrill of speed took the btr of my fear!  Reached the island in 1 pc @ 4pm.  Now, here comes the part no one warned me.  We'll be greeted by MONKEYS!!!  Maaaa...help!  Mom kept throwing nuts at the monkeys, but it still came after her (Mom not scared, she very adventurous, what's making her scared is how to calm me! she was scared I will let go of her & fall into the water!) ... later, we realised the monkeys kept going to Mom despite given the peanuts, coz Mom was carrying a plastic bag!!! They cannot see plastic bags, they'll grab!  Smart monkeys!  "Shoohh ... I'm not sharing my Mom wif u ... get lost!!"  After the monkeys, we had to trek down a jungle b4 we reached the lake.  We sat at the lake, just dip our feet in the lake & chilled for almost 1hr.  The rest dip their feet in the corner of the lake where there were catfishes.  These catfishes wld wriggle & massage their feets.  Eerrr...no thank u!  So I just dip in the empty lake & enjoy the view of the Dayang Bunting mountain (which takes the shape of a pregnant lady lying down).  I was pretty stressed by then of the journey back up the jungle .. having to face the monkeys agn.  Result: Migraine!  But all's well that ends well, on our way back, except trekking up was more tiring than trekking down, there were no monkeys.  We got back to the boat safe n sound!  And the weather was getting darker & abt to rain, the currents stronger.  So the boat-ride was scarier!  The bumps were more painful to my bums!  Ouch!  Plus I was having migraine, so wif every bumps of the boat, my head was throbbing in pain!! 

     It was sheer fun...an adventure, really!  We reached the hotel @ 6-ish, but since we were soaked wet, we didn't wanna go back to the hotel, so we had dinner @ the same place we had lunch on Day 2.  I had prata for dinner, paid by 1 of the tour member - a grandfather figure.  He's quite cute, always cracking funny jokes & pantun (poetry).   After that we shopped @ TSH agn .. then by 8pm, we headed back to the hotel.  I settled down, took panadol, prayed & did our packing for checking out the next day.  As mom was having a shower, I took panadol & suddenly, something on the news attracted my attn: "...Kelantan, Perak, Kedah, Langkawi banjir".  That was weird, considering I'm here in Langkawi.  I bet ppl who knew I was @ Langkawi must be very worried.  I organised the photos I snapped using my PDA & then checked out the photos on my digicam till I got sleepy @ 10-ish & closed my eyes to sleep.  Day 4 was gonna be longer as we had to gather @ the lobby @ 7.30am to check out, which means b/fast starts earlier @ 6.30am!!!

Mon - 19 Dec 05

     Got up @ 6am, did my Subuh & quickly got ready & left the room by 7am.  Had a quick b/fast, had tea & some toasts.  I took scrambled egg too, but didn't finish it.  Checked-out @ 7.30am & hopped on the bus.  That's it, time to go back.  No last min. shopping or sight-seeing.  Just few stops for prayers/toilet/meal breaks.   The wait for the Ferry to Kuala Perlis was longer than when we were there to board the Ferry to Langkawi.  What cld be worse was that the electrical system in the bus which we took @ Kuala Perlis broke down so the TV wasn't in use.  Damn, so we had 2 do our own things to kill time.  That was really boring.  Night to morning didn't appear long, as we get to sleep.  But morning to night seemed neverending.  By 10pm, we still didn't reach JB immi. and I was wondering if we wld ever reach it.  The highway & the roads were empty ... I kept opening my eyes & looked ahead, but I see no JB immi. in sight!!

     Finally, we reached, almost 11pm.  Then, we reached S'pore immi. & the clearance went fine (despite Mom carrying 2 sticks of Wrigleys for me..well she didn't wan me 2 get into trouble, so she played scapegoat!  *wink*).

     I was just glad we've reached S'pore safely.  The bus dropped the Ang Mo Kio members (including Salimah & family - gosh I'm gonna miss Salimah - she's 41 btw, but she's like a doting mom 2 me!!) before dropping the Tampines gang @ 12.35am.  Dad must've got tired of waiting, but it was his choice.  He wasn't working on Tues, so he chose to pick us up (afterall it's just Tamp MRT, 5 mins drive from home!).  So he picked us up & we were HOME SWEET HOME by 12.50am.  Alhamdulillah..in 1 pc!!

     We unpacked & settled down & I uploaded all pics b4 it got accidentally deleted.  I went to bed almost 3am!!  Super-Duper Migraine the following day & since my makan plan wif Hajira didn't materialise, I spent the whole Tues 20 Dec recuperating!

     Back to work on Wed, 21 Dec!!  Darn!  But really, this trip is by far, the BEST vacation I've ever taken after the 1st ever vacation I took to Tg Pinang in 2000!  I hope this isn't gonna be the last though.  Langkawi is certainly a place I intend to go agn, Insyallah!  My whole tiredness in 2005 with the damn projects, etc. was wiped out by the mere 2 days I spent in Langkawi.