Langkawi - a little (beach) getaway during the getaway

The day before yesterday (03.04.) it was time to say goodbye to the island of Penang. My flight was scheduled for the afternoon, so I had half a day to kill. After checking out of my hostel in the afternoon, I used the time wisely to take care of my household duties and tackle the mountain of laundry, washing, drying, folding, and rolling it for packing. That has to happen occasionally.

Then it was off to the airport for my 45-minute flight to Langkawi, with both taxi rides to and later from the airport taking longer than the flight itself...

After checking in, I went for an evening stroll in my new neighborhood, which was basically the beach - Pantai Cenang Beach - and its immediate surroundings, and took a dip in the - not cool but rather - warm water... and in the evening, there was a sunset by the sea with surreal dancing artificial bears and futuristic figures along the beach promenade, along with a fire show and delicious street food on the beach...

Langkawi is the main island and also the name of a group of about 100 limestone islands off the northwest coast of Malaysia near the Thai border... and actually two days are far too short to explore the island sufficiently, as besides its dream beaches, the island features 'waterfalls, mangroves, an adventurous gondola ride including the Sky Bridge, water sports, delicious food, and much much more,' as my sightseeing guide succinctly describes the island...

I spent the first day mainly at the beach and near the beach after getting up late... occasionally I also snuck into the cooler hotel room to recover from the heat of the beach. So it was quite a lazy day, with occasional visits to my favorite beach bar, where I also enjoyed the sunset again... The evening or rather the night was still quite long, as I wanted to watch the Dynamo game in Hannover, and this time I managed it. The suspense kept me glued until 3:00 AM local time...

Accordingly, I got out of bed a bit later today and strolled back to the beach for breakfast. I hesitated between a group island-hopping tour on a speedboat or the 'Sky Cab (Cable Car)' with the 'Sky Bridge', the steepest cable car in the world with a huge 125 m long suspension bridge and fantastic views. Well, for a moment something on my shoulder called for another day at the beach, but that was quickly suppressed... And I decided on the cable car tour. It took about minutes by taxi to get to the Oriental Village. It's a kind of theme park, which also features a small dinosaur park (Skyrex), a sort of zoo, and several other tourist attractions for young and old. However, I was determined to head straight for the cable car. Just before me at the ticket counter, a sign was hung up stating that access to the Sky Bridge was not possible due to wind and rain, as the ticket seller informed me. Great, I thought, but at least I could enjoy the view from the 'steepest cable car in the world.' Shortly after, I had one of the gondolas to myself, and the scenery during the ride was truly breathtaking. The first stop was at the viewing platform below the 'Eagle Nest.' It's worth noting that eagles are the symbol of Langkawi. During my evening swim, I was actually able to see one circling above me. Up there, there was no sign of rain or too much wind. From here, I could also see the Sky Bridge, and some pedestrians were indeed walking over it. After a brief visit, I got back on the cable car, heading to the highest station. Once there, I could also buy a ticket for the Sky Bridge, which can be reached by a path called the 'Nature Trail.' Again, stunning views, but I understood the caution regarding the wind, as even though I didn't actually feel much wind, I could already sense the movements of the bridge beneath me. At the end of the bridge was a platform. There, some monkeys seemed unfazed by the commotion of the people around them and enjoyed their day in relaxation... And an inattentive lady lost her water bottle to them, and they quickly figured out how to open it... I then strolled around the Oriental Village a bit, made my way back to the hotel, and went for another swim, enjoyed the sunset, and wrapped up the evening on the beach before retreating to my quarters in the hotel not too late...