The Strip

Langkowi is one of the many gorgeous tropical islands which adorn the coastlines of Malaysia. What sets it apart is that it offers pristine beaches with an established infrastructure in place to support tourists. Part of the island is a declared duty free zone which means you can purchase chocolate, perfume and alcohol and extraordinarily cheap prices and consume them during your stay. That later is particularly attractive for some visitors to the strip of beach known as Pantai Cenang. This strip is the most densely occupied region of the island due to the fantastic beach with aquamarine water and fine white sand as sand as soft as flour (unlike most Malaysian beaches which have much courser sand) . . . AND it is the location of the duty free zone. The area caters mostly to mid and low range travellers seeking time on a beach and an assortment of restaurants and bars to sample of an evening. Unlike at Batu Ferringhi where the beach front property is almost exclusively controlled by the hotels and resorts, the Strip offers many beachside venues where you can eat freshly cooked seafood or suck on a beer as the sun sets over the ocean. The cuisine of Langkowi was more mild than that of Penang and also cater more strongly to westerners with several Mexican and Italian restaurants lining the Strip.

My hotel was absolute beach front – it was so close to the water that I stepped straight out of the front door of my room onto sand. The only problem with that is you tend to drag sand back into your room no matter how hard you try to avoid it. Still, it is a nice problem to have!

Stowaways: Part 6

While soaking up rays of sunshine and mugs of rum in equal measure, I happened to notice my friends, the turtles, crawl out of the water and up the beach towards the Strip. I was in no condition by that stage for a chase and I need not have bothered because the later that day they appeared at the door to my hotel room, tails between their legs, hoping to hitch a ride with me back to Kuala Lumpur.  It wasn’t long before I had them spilling the beans on their treasure hunt and what a strange story it was . . .