(my)TALE OF TWO ISLANDS { in two ‘episodes’} PART 2

AS FOREWARNED, HERE FOLLOWS THE SECOND PART OF THE TALE!!!!!!!!!

I am not going to write here anything about the mainland of Malaysia… on the tallest twin towers in the world-the Petronas or the tens of photos we took there in the day and night , or the 4 million year old Batu caves in which the Hindu temple of Lord Muruga is built or the ascending of the few  hundred steps in the hill gasping for breath, with the company of our forefathers(??!)-the monkeys in multitude, or the architectural marvel of St. Mary’s Cathedral, or the oldest mosque of the country-Masjid Jamek, where my daughter and wife wore over-sized burkhas, the magnificent administrative blocks in Putrajaya and the engineering marvel of Seri Wawasan cable stayed bridge, the picturesque Genting theme park in the Highlands ,or the wonderful place we stayed on the banks of the lagoon, or the multitude network of the monorail crisscrossing the city, or the experience of our self-cooking in the apartment in the week-long stay.

The place I am going to record here is the beautiful LANGKAWI islands.

April 2009: In just over an hour on a beaming day the gleaming Air-Asia plane landed in one of the cutest airports in the world I have ever been so far. Mind you, all these were experienced over twelve years back- many things might have changed over the years, hopefully for the better. The car was waiting to pick us up to Berjaya Langkawi Beach Resort – hardly a 15-minute drive from the airport. The roads spiraled through dense vegetation and continuing the drive we were in the destination. The joyful Malay security, the immaculately dressed bell captain, the friendly front office receptionist in the lobby with her beaming smile, the magnificent ceiling fan-the biggest I have ever seen till date, the bamboo chairs and sofas, the vastness of the place with a constant BGM of the sea & the incredible surroundings and friendly Malay culture stirred up the expectations to a different level. After the formalities, we checked in a Chalet surrounded by the lush tropical rainforest with the balcony facing the sea.

The lounging on the private beach was something phenomenal – the waves were very calm and shallow; we walked in the water waist-deep without any remorse! The sand was white, soft and clean-a perfect patch under the rustling trees and gaze at serene blue sea. The soft evening sun was rushing to merge in the horizon. With the gentle chill breeze stroking us, we left for a sumptuous dinner that was awaiting us in the stunning topography of the nature with the exotic culture of Malaysia- ‘the truly Asia’!  Had a good night’s sleep despite the noisy chirping of crickets, the chattering and squeaking of the monkeys and croaking of the frogs.

Next morning, we were greeted by half-a -dozen monkeys sitting in the balcony-they tried all antics to enter the room. The more we tried to shoo them off, the more aggressive it all became and continuously banged on the glass door. Pressing my face against the glass, I was trying some monkey business, but the reaction of the ape army was only a stern glare at me and a determined pounding on the glass pane. Not before the housekeeper drew away them, could we step out of the suite. After breakfast we had a tight schedule before us-we were going to visit the Oriental village, a ride in the cable car and other exciting tours.

After an hours’ drive out, we reached the village – it was like the Dakshin Chitra in Chennai-showcasing the culture, traditions of the place. It is centered round a free-form lake, could spot lots of colorful fish and water plants & flowers – there are also a few bridges across.  It is basically a one stop shop for Souvenir, Malay clothing etc. There were few amusement parks for children, and landscaped gardens -pleasant enough. This is the base for taking the cable car to reach the highest altitude of the island. It was quite a sunny morning -the crowd was not that many, and no sooner we went to the cable station, we got our car. The excitement begun as soon as we climbed around 200 meters – the gradient was almost 180 degrees. We could see the ocean getting smaller and vegetations growing thicker and suddenly it became very chill and we were piercing through the dense fog. We were under dressed (!?) for that chillness- believe me, the visibility was only few meters. We reached the peak which was engulfed in dense fog- this is where the sky bridge is. Probably it would have been much scary (as was told by the cab driver and a couple of friends) had it been a clear day. Since we literally were in ‘cloud nine’ we could not see the valley below and the deep gorges!

The next stop was the boat jetty – we had a motor boat ready just for our family. We were raring to go through the thick mangrove forest in the Kilim Geo Forest Park. This proved to be the highlight of the trip. We were secured with life jackets and the boat man told us that the average depth of water was around 40 feet- I accepted what he told and dared not to go overboard to verify it !!! The water was thick suggesting that it was indeed deep- we waded through the lushy mangrove forests -it was breathtakingly beautiful and amazing. The boatman took us to the interiors switching off the motor and using paddles- though it was a bright shiny day the sunlight could not penetrate the thickness of the flora and fauna. He took us to the bat cave- the place was infested with thousands of the winged mammal-the smell was overwhelming even from a distance. We persuaded him not to get any nearer to the place. Next was the most exciting part that was going to unfold- we were in the middle of a vast expanse of water- the boat stopped. The boatman blew a shrill whistle and threw chunks of chicken meat in the water. To our amazement few eagles appeared from nowhere and dived for it. Then came the highlight. He started throwing the pieces up in the air and the eagles very tactfully clinched it with their talons and flew- none of them are trained birds-they have got accustomed to this. Then for a while, we were riding in the boat in the vast expanse of water -we passed through the big rocks of hills, a peculiar formation seen in these parts of the waters of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, sorts of which we have seen in many Indian and Hollywood movies. I assumed that we would be returning to the base soon as we were sailing already for more than an hour and a half. Contrary to that, we entered the ‘open sea’! We kept on riding – I was sitting like a statue stunned -For me, I have a persistent and intense fear of deep bodies of water such as the ocean or sea. My cap flew away – I did not even try a bit to catch it. The rest of the family were thoroughly enjoying the experience. After l..o..n…g.. l..o..n..g… minutes, I could see the shore at a distance- but the boat was speeding parallel to the shore , seemed to me for eternity, and long last, we hit the beach- got out of the boat (thankfully) in the shallow water. Whew! It was a wonderful experience, though now thinking of it gives me shudders as to how we went to such isolated places at the mercy of an unknown boatman!

Enroute to the Resort we grabbed a quick lunch and visited the aquarium- the pride of Langkawi. The layout was similar to the one in Sentosa island, Singapore. This is the largest underwater world in Malaysia. The penguin enclosure was the highlight- it was the feeding time for them- a fun to watch their gimmicks. The displays varied from the smallest colorful minnows to a lone shark.

The next afternoon we left for Kuala Lumpur and got back to Chennai soon after.

The first thing my mother asked us on entering home was whether we went to Malaysia or to South Africa- so much were we all sun tanned with an oily skin ( a source for oil-rigging). It took a while for us to return to our original color!

Till I lace up for the next…

J.Ram