Bikes, Buses, Boats, Beaches and Beer, on a Budget - Noddy's (mis)Adventures in Asia

LANGKAWI, KUAH TOWN, KUALA TERIANG AND THIEVES

We hired a bike after our 2 nights in Kuah Town, there is a great shop only 50 meters down from Cosy Inn, T Shoppe, that seems to stock nearly everything, grab a map of the island here for $1. Scooter rental is bloody expensive by Thai standards and cost me $10 a day, but as you would know by now it’s my preferred method of travel. So we left most of the gear at Cosy Inn and took off for a 3 day scooter trip around Langkawi. Realistically you could circumnavigate the island in a day, but that would involve not stopping off at all the different places.

We started north bound on the bike and followed highway 112 up to Tanjung Rhu, stopping off along the way at various places, including a mangrove creek system and Durian Perangin Waterfall. A quick bite to eat on the nice enough beach at Tanjung Rhu of fried rice and chicken for under $2 and we were off again westward along the northern coast of Langkawi.

There is a crocodile farm to look at if you’re interested and plenty of amazing scenery along the way before reaching Temurun Waterfall, a beautiful place for a swim and only a short walk from the car park. But it was here that tragedy struck, I made the silly mistake of leaving one of my bags on the scooter and we were robbed. As I returned to the scooter I could see the bag had basically been torn apart and whatever the thief didn’t want was scattered on the ground next to my bike…

For some strange reason they had security footage of the incident and were able to give me pictures of the bandits absolutely red handed with my stuff. Oh well, a lesson learned, you can never be too careful with your stuff anywhere.

The thieves caught in the act, if anyone has seen these assholes, please contact me. Though I know I shall never see my pistachios, chocolate bars or chips again! The little bastards even took my ciders, but had the decency to leave me my map!

Never leave snacks unattended while hiking!!

While I fumed about my lost possessions we headed for Pantai Kok, a beautiful little cove with a couple of small islands only a few hundred meters out, both surrounded by moored yachts. A lot of driving in a big circle later, found me back nearby, still trying to find somewhere to stay for the night, I didn’t want to go too far as we planned on going up the cable car the next morning and checking out another waterfall. Not finding anywhere with wifi to simply check out options online made things so much harder and we were left to do it the old fashioned way!

At last we found it, very simple and rustic, but a slice of paradise in local Langkawi, the Idaman Guesthouse in Kuala Teriang. A fantastic little place only meters from the water, ok not any water you would want to swim in, but it gave it that ‘staying on the beach feel’. Awesome value at 75 myr ($25) a night and before I had even checked in, I was chatting to a German fellow that lived across the ‘street’ (a sandy path).

He has a motorbike rental business and was a super friendly guy, invited me in for beer and shisha after we had chatted for a few minutes, but for some bizarre reason, the days riding actually had me craving a shower more than a beer and I politely declined, to head for the room. He told me the offer was open as long as somebody was sitting on the front porch, he was a huge help in pointing me in whatever direction I needed and giving me the local lowdown on where to go. Dietmar seemed a great guy, if you are in the area and need to rent a scooter or dirtbike, or simply need an English speaker who knows the area, drop in and see him, and be sure to give Idaman Guesthouse a go.

After the much needed shower and some chill time, we were off in search of local culture, sights, food….. well, let’s be honest - beer! Dietmar had given me some good intel and we were off down the narrow path that ran alongside the ocean’s edge, a huge water dragon scurrying off as soon as I pulled my camera out, mere meters from our doorstep. A minute’s walk up the track had us settling down to a table in one of those tiny, island style ‘so relaxed it may just melt’ bar/cafes, the Seaview Guesthouse.

The drinks were cold and cheap and the ambience outstanding, sitting 3 meters from the ocean just after sunset, the stars slowly coming out to perform their dazzling duty, in a setting so tranquil I could have seriously hung out here for days. At $1 a beer and $2 a whiskey, we found ourselves having more than a couple, Noi rarely drinks but even she couldn’t resist a cocktail or 2 (which I had to make!) in such a cool atmosphere. As always, you don’t need to stick with major towns to find decent lodgings, food, service and a great time.

We also visited Drifters Café later, another great little place by the ocean, all made from recycled timber and oozing that tropical island charm, though the prices were a lot steeper here to match the slightly more up market feel about the place. Take a stroll or ride around ‘town’ later in the evening and as with nearly all of Asia, the place comes alive with lights, little stalls and all kinds of food sizzling and smoking in every direction. Langkawi has yet to disappoint.