The Adventures of Bruce and Ian

…Uh, which way is the beach? Considering the relatively small size of Lankawi, you wouldn’t think that getting lost on the way to something as big as the beach was possible. But for the heroes of the Malaysia.com team, nothing is impossible. After a few wrong turns, we were well off the beaten path and found ourselves cruising through a tiny village. When we pulled over to get our bearings, we found ourselves at the edge of an enticing looking neighbourhood market that was just getting underway.

Dozens of stalls were set up offering all manner of food, and locals were busy picking out their favourite dishes. Ian caught the aroma of some satay sticks cooking nearby, and was out of the car and heading towards them before anyone could stop him. We decided to make the most of our unintentional detour and grab some grub.

Here’s a neat way of preparing kueh, a simple flour cake:

We chowed down on a bunch of mid-day snacks: Ian got his daily quotient of satay and I had a cooling drink of limeade to fight off the tropical heat. We also grabbed loads of food to eat for dinner back at the resort. All told, a meal and a half for three people totaled out to about 14rm – under $5 Canadian. Not too shabby.

At the edge of the market I noticed one of the many t-shirt stalls I’d seen at markets during our trip. A couple of the designs caught my eye, so I began browsing through the racks. Suddenly, one of the shirts practically leaped into my arms. Could my eyes be deceiving me? No, it was indeed a shirt proudly displaying the logo of Venom, one of the most foundational and influential extreme metal bands ever (not everyone’s cup of tea, I realise). Finding such an odd bit of pop culture ephemera in the midst of a rural market in the middle of South East Asia was downright surreal. I paid 10rm for the shirt, not even bothering to haggle. Seriously, folks, you can’t put a price this sort of thing.

We didn’t catch any glimpses of the native eagles for which Langkawi is named during our time on the island, but we did see plenty of roosters and chickens milling about at the market, including one Ian excitedly claimed was missing its head (turns out it was just ducking down).

After some quick reorientation with the map, we figured out which wrong turns had led us to satay, limeade, headless chickens and metal shirts, retraced our path, and headed for Langkawi’s sunny beaches.

We caught a quick morning flight from KL to Langkawi, an archipelago of sandy tropical islands off the north-west coast of the Malaysian peninsula. We were instantly greeted with a blast of gorgeous sunshine as soon as we disembarked the plane. We’d made do without sunscreen thus far, but we were definitely going to need it today.

We decided to rent a car to make the most of our limited time on the island, but hit a snag when this happened:

One replacement key later, we were set to check into our beach-side resort, then head out to explore.

We wanted to visit the giant eagle statue built in honour of the region’s namesake – lang being the Malay word for eagle. Navigating the modern city of KL had been fun, but driving along the picturesque beaches and through the rolling hills of Langkawi made for a pleasant and relaxing change of gears. Additionally, for whatever it’s worth, the pop music snob in me enjoyed the tunes on Langkawi FM (104.8 on your FM dial) more than anywhere else in Malaysia.

It took us some time to get to Eagle Square due to construction related detours (while the pace of life is slower in Langkawi, it’s still eagerly developing a hospitality industry to showcase itself), but we got a great view of Langkawi’s waters and hillside at the foot of the giant eagle. After enjoying the brisk sea breeze rolling onto the pier and taking the requisite goofy photos of us aping the eagle’s wingspan, we had to journey onward to check out Langkawi’s big draw: its beaches.

Our next stop was the Batu Caves, a series of tunnels and chambers set into limestone cliffs just outside of Kuala Lumpur.  The caves are one of Malaysia's most famous attractions, and are a holy site for the country's Hindu ... [Continue reading this entry]

You'd be suprised that even after a night of feasting, we still woke up rarin' to have a go at some good ol' Malaysian breakfast foods. Sarah picked us up at our hotel and we soon found ourselves walking on a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Now that our stomachs were full and satisfied, it was time to pamper our aching bodies. Sarah mentioned that it would be a cool idea to get massages at a spa - then she mumbled something about fish. I figured ... [Continue reading this entry]

After my life and death encounter with a durian, I was ready for something significantly less confrontational to eat.  Ian and Sarah agreed that a mangosteen was the way to go.  Before our trip, Ian had repeatedly told me ... [Continue reading this entry]

We’d just finished a hearty dinner on Jalan Alor when I was confronted with one of Malaysia’s most dangerous inhabitants: the durian. Some quick history: durians aren’t just one of the most popular foods found in ... [Continue reading this entry]

After getting settled in our hotel, we met up with our friend Sarah, who'd graciously agreed to act as our guide during our stay in Kuala Lumpur.  In addition to driving us through the city's crowded streets (it took us ... [Continue reading this entry]

And with that we were off! Our Malaysian mission: see as many of the country’s beaches and jungles, experience as much of its culture, and cram ... [Continue reading this entry]