Pulau Langkawi, Kedah

We went to: Pulau Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia.

Duration: 3 Days 2 Nights 

Period: February 2011

How we travelled:

1. We are parents with 3 kids ranging from 2-7 years old with two other similar families.
2. Drive to Kuala Perlis, took the boat to Pulau Langkawi.  Car rental throughout stay in Langkawi.

The Kuala Perlis Jetty:

It should be refurbished.  They had 'Terminal Doors' but no indication nor information to which door to go through.  No loud speakers either.  They only had people hollering to go through another terminal door after a long line had been formed. 



No indication of terminal door stated on board.
No proper verbal announcements made for
passengers to boarding possibly due to
not having any speakers in the facility.





No line indication for queue.
Chairs were put across of some terminal doors which
hinders the civic purpose of lining up passengers.



Visible broken and rundown items.
Management of this jetty should be better.


We stayed at:

Kampung Tok Senik Resort.  A kampung chalet concept with a background of paddy field.



One of the available chalets

 

The kids, I took, against the
green paddy field.





The Hotel Services:

- Breakfast

1. Buffet with local dishes.  But it had limited and small variation in food choices.  Not a great thing for international visitors.
2. Warung Tok Mat is a nice warung set-up in benches and very laid back being open air and with ceiling fans. 
3. Being open air makes it succeptible to being dusty and when I was there, it did not seemed to have been maintained as the perahu (proa/small boat) decoration was full of dust.
4. The 'outhouse' (toilets) were really like a kampung outhouse - not maintained - where it should not be because it is an international resort. 



Warung Tok Mat's Main Entrance



The ceiling and its fans that I love




Relaxing benches and open air concept cafe

 - Swimming Pool

1. There is one.
2. It is a road travelled far as chalets are situated individually apart from each other - a task with small children.

- The Deluxe Bedroom

1. 2 joint single beds put as one as 'King / Queen Bed'.
2. Spacious room.
3. The windows are safe enough for children to peer through the wood carvings.
4. Room had both air-conditioning and fan(s) to offer. 
5. Air-conditioning worked well.  

A view taken overlooking the
chalet next to ours



- The Bathroom 

1. It could be better.  Wish there is proper maintenance made there. 
2. Hot water is available.
3. They should be properly maintained.  As much as people go there to anticipate the kampung environment, people pay to receive comfort. 
4. The closet should be managed not to smell dewy. 

The green slime is visible against its white
tiles and the shower turners are 'rustic'.
This, should be improved.

 

What we did:

• Walked around Kuah Town and strolled around the beach.
• Dined at the Thai restaurants around the Kuah Town beach area.
• Shopped at the Duty-Free area.
• Went up the cable-car at Gunung Mat Chinchang.



A picture of us by the beach near sunset.



We had our dinners in Kuah Town.

 

Up at Gunung Mat Chincang.
A walk down and up to get to this view
comes with determination.
It was worth the effort; though not for
the faint hearted or with medical conditions.


References and Notes

Gunung Mat Chincang: It is best to arrive early in the morning as the queue can be long.  And the fact that it seems like the wait is short, you will soon realize that you have not seen the criss cross of 6 folded lines on the top floor for the cable car.  For the other things that the area can offer, you can bring your children to walk to the side of the cable car building, to see homes built for rabbits and deers.  The cable car complex offers the facility to cater visitors with shops of souveniers and cafes to fill in hungry tummies.

The Duty Free:  Not all are cheap.  A tip is for your to do some window shopping yourself where you are if the visit is with intention to purchase, so you will get an idea of pricing matters when you get to the duty-free area.  I disappointed myself when I realized I had purchased RM100 EXTRA for a t-shirt from there when I got back home.

Transportation:  There are plenty of services available for choices such as motorcyles, bicycles, cars and vans.  You just need to reach out to the local car rental there.  Good to arrange ahead before on the island for cars and vans as they are subject to availability.

Food:  If there is any issue on food choices, just get into Kuah Town.  It is like a one-fits all condition to likings and variety.  They have Western to Mexican and Arab to local to choose from.

Tips to Driving Long-distance with Children:

1. Have on songs that they like.
2. Always have extra extra extra wet wipes, tissues, water and plastic bags for garbage, dirty diapers and the very much possible vomits!
3. Ready drinks, junk food of their choice [to pacify] and bread [to feed].  No sweets please!  You would not want having them trampoline-ing with you the whole ride throught!
4. And to keep them asking when we were to arrive anywhere so many times, we tell them to close their eyes so we can get to our destination faster. :)
5. But seriously, if you have TV in your car, that is like, the best solution!
6. And very, very important.  Try to keep yourself calm.  Have fun.  Hey, it is holiday!   

Photo-sharing our experience there with you: