Langkawi trip

I must thank to my frined  Ajeet who persuaded me to go for this memorable trip to Langkawi.
Langkawi is definitely among best and most spectacular tourist destinations in southeast asia.
 Pristine sand beaches,abundance of nature,beautiful places,marine life , water sports ,this place has got everything to make it perfect tourist destination.

Geographically , Langkawi is an archipelago of islands in Andman sea. These islands are part of Kedah state of Malaysia and falls adjacent to Thai border.
Straits of Malacca seperates this cluster of islands from mainland Malaysia.
Population is around 60,000 ,mostly malay muslims.
To add to the attraction of this place, malay govermnet has declared this place as duty free zone.

 We flew to Langkawi on thursday evening ,23rd Feb 2012.
1 hour flight from Singapore to Kuala lumpur and then another 1 hour flight from KL to Langkawi.
Direct flights from Singapore are available but we chose via KL as we got it cheaper.

In Pic: Our hotel One Helang .

First day: cable car/Sky walk

On first day of trip ,we started with cable car. With one stop at middle station ,cable car takes you to  the top of Gunung Machincang hill.

Height of Gunung Machincang is about 700 meters from sea level.  

In Pic:Me with Preeti at base station of cable car.

From top cable station , you can walk to suspension bridge for sky walk.

This hanging platform provides spectacular 360-degree panoramic view of Langkawi.

View of deep dense forests below and sea line in distance are simply breathtaking and can hold you for hours. 

In Pic: View of jungle from Sky walk bridge.

In Pic: View from Gunung Machincang hill.

 Eagle Feeding and Mangrove tour:

Our boat trip along the mangrove forest of Langkawi was one of the most remakable activity in our tour.Our journey on boat started with a quick tour to a fish farm.
This area falls under Kilim nature park.
Both sides of slowly flowing river are covered with well protected ,green, dense mangove forest. If you are a nature lover and wish to breath and feel mangroves , then this is definitely a place to be.
Our boat stopped at one place , known as eagle feeding spot.
Junaid who was our boat captain as well as tour guide , opened his polybag and thew some  raw chicken pieces into air.
In a blink of eye, a group of eagles resting on mangroves jumped into action. Their acrobetic skills were worth-watching.

A fast boat ride in open water was really a fantastic experience.

In Pic: Kilim Geo Park

Second day:
Scuba Diving:
 Ever since my friend Vipin told me about his Scuba diving expeience, i was dying to experince it.
More on that he challenged me to break his record of 12.5 meter in introductory dive.
I was looking for opportunitry and on second day of our tour I got that opportunity.
Pulau Payar marine park is about one hour boat journey from Langkawi.
We chose a  package of Scuba diving and snorkilling.
You can try your negotiation skills when buying your package from tour operators there.
 Tour operator asked us to pay 250 RM for a combo package of scuba and snorkilling.
We managed to get package for 235 RM per person.Package included lunch.

One hour journey in open sea was amazing and we enjoyed every bit of it.

In Pic: I with Preeti on the way to Palau Payar Marine Park

In Pic: I , Preeti, Ajeet and Asmita. Ready for our introductory Scuba dive

I don't have much picture on scuba diving as we didn't find there any arrangements for underwater photography.
 They offered us to purchase  one time 'use and throw' camera but we didn't find deal very convincing.
I talked to my instuctor about my wish to go deeper than 12.5 m. He agreed to try provided i don't show any sign of panic and if my body adapts quick enough to descend to that depth. 
There is a whole new world below sea water surface. Diving experience was truly a journey to other world. I'll write about this experience in detail later.

And yes, i managed to break vipin's record ;).
 I touched the depth of 12.8 meter . Pressure on my eardrums was extreme.


Snorkilling:
After lunch at beachside, we jumped into water again for snorkilling.
Crystal clear water and abundance of colorful fishes kept us busy and captivated for hours.

Third day:

We devoted last day of trip in shopping.Kuah is commercial centre,shopping zone in Langkawi

Below is the  picture of 12 meter tall  iconic statue of eagle located in jetty mall complex in kuah.