LANGKAWI 2009

Our annual year end trip to Langkawi for 2009. The whole family with friends. The adventure begins...

18 December 2009 (Friday)

Since our flight was at 10.30am, we were already in our taxis at 8.00am. As soon as we reached the LCCT, Mama got out with fury written all over her face. She didn't like the taxi driver.. Not gonna say more... We met Aunty Darl and her kids (Dini and Adam) and quickly checked in.

Dini is Husna's best friend in SAB and Mama and Aunty Darl grew close earlier this year. While waiting to board (our flight was delayed) we grabbed something to drink. I saw the hugest Gardenia bun display in one of the shops. I never saw that many buns in one place, so naturally we had to take a picture.

The flight was quite uneventful. Not for the family behind us, though. The little boy kept crying (almost throughout the entire flight,) wanting to sit with his older brother who is somewhere at the front. I got an aisle seat and did some sudoku and puzzles. After a brief nap, I woke up to find that the plane was already landing.

It was Adam's first flight and he later told Aunty Darl that it was like riding a car.. Haha!.. Uncle Malik and his daughters were there to pick us up. It took 3 cars to fit all of thirteen of us. First things first, LUNCH!! Uncle took us to a place near Padang Matsirat. We were the only ones having lunch there and as we were eating some more people came. It started to rain just as we got to the food place, which might explain the lack of customers.

Then, we checked in the Seroja Inn Motel.. Haha, joking. We were actually spending the first night at Uncle Malik's and Aunty Zawiah's house. They were having a barbeque that night. Since it was still raining, we cancelled our plans for Cenang and went shopping instead to the Langkawi Fair and Pekan Kuah. I did some early chocolate shopping and spent almost RM150.. Sigh..

The BBQ was nice. They grilled some fish, squids and prawns.. Mama taught Aunty Zawiah how to make Yong Tau Foo. It was kinda funny how everybody would take a peek at my plate to see how to eat it. I didn't add in rice though, preferring to taste the fish and tofu in its raw form.. Haha.. They also had durian (they were huuge!) with pulut and rice with curry. The dessert were lychee and milo jelly.. They kinda remind me of the ones that were sold during IIUM's Bazaar Ramadhan so I had quite a few.

The BBQ ended at about 10pm and we decided to have a karaoke session at the Bayview Hotel. We were there for almost three hours singing all kinds of songs from oldies to the current hit song. I sang Love Story, Gee (I danced a bit), Flavor Of Life and Lucky. We ambled home at about 1.30 am and immediately lights out.

19 December 2009 (Saturday)

At about 7.41am Abah called telling us to all wake up. So we all got ready and had some delicious roti canai and mee hailam for breakfast. Mama and Abah had plans of their own for that day and we were basically assigned to be tour guides for Aunty Darl and her kids. First, we headed to Dataran Lang. The usual photo spot for Langkawi tourists. It was a bit hot when we got there and we quickly got to the picture taking. The sun was already high and the shots that we got with the Big Bird was a bit unsatisfactory since the sun was directly facing us.

As it was Dini's and Adam's first time in Langkawi, Aunty Darl wanted them to visit some historical sites. And I was appointed co-pilot of the operation. With a map (two actually) in hand, we made our way first to Makam Mahsuri. We got there at noon and most of the visitors were already leaving. We bought our tickets and went in the museum first. They were some exhibits and even a video of Mahsuri from her early days to her wrongful death to the curse she placed on Langkawi. Seeing her tombstone kinda made it real for me as I often regarded it as a kind of Malaysian legend. Just outside of the Museum is her resting place and where she used to live. We walked around the compound, took pictures and bought some food to tide us off for the time being.

We promised to meet Mama back at Kuah at 2.00pm and by 1.00pm, we had quite enough of Mahsuri. So we decided to stop by the Langkawi Cable Car. We took some time to get to Gunung Macincang but imagine our (especially Aunty's and her family) disppointment to see that the cable cars were closed due to maintenance. In the end, we just walked around the Oriental Village complex and I ended up buying some dresses. Hee~ We got home at about 3.45pm and just collapsed.. Most of us had a brief nap, then we prayed and had our lunch. I asked for Laksa Penarak which is almost my customary dish everytime in Langkawi. We got ready and headed back to Padang Matsirat for some go-carting action.

The reservation was made for us for 5pm but we got there at about 5.30pm and luckily no one was around. A couple of Zaim's friends joined us for the race. We split into two groups, the boys were going first and then the girls. As the boys were racing, people just kept on coming until the waiting seats were quite full!!

When it was the girls' turn, I felt quite queasy but tried to have fun nonetheless. I didn't keep track of how many laps I managed on the time period given, but it felt like a lot. Abah and Mama showed up as soon as we finished on the track. It was Aunty Darl's last night in Langkawi, so we brought her for a walk around Cenang. As usual, I also bought somethings there (shades, some more dresses). We were just given an hour to roam around. When we got home, we packed our stuff because we were checking in the de Barron hotel after dinner.

Speaking of dinner, it was at the newly opened eating place near Pekan Rabu and we requested for the seats on the pier. However, the wait for our food was a bit long as I think the place was a bit understaffed. And, my order was the last one to come even though I only ordered Char Kuay Tiau. But it was fun hanging out with everyone and just enjoying the night air together. Occasionally we'd see some squids floating near the water's surface. And the nearby people "kindly" provided us with a bit of loud, blaring club music.

With full tummies and bleary eyes we checked in our hotel. Aunty Zawiah booked 4 rooms for all of us and since Mama and Abah were staying at her house, we can have two person in each room. I shared a room with Huda and as soon as we made sure that everybody has settled in, we were off to sleepy land in no time.

20 December 2009 (Sunday)

Huda got the bed further from the aircond, which meant I had a major sore throat that morning. Aunty Darl's flight leaves at 12pm and she still had some shopping to do with Mama, which meant she was already gone by the time I woke up. I rallied the troops and had them ready by 9.30am. We stopped by Aunty Zawiah's for breakfast and made plans for the day. Zaid and Huda also kinda took turns taking us for a ride on the motorbike. Aunty Darl suddenly popped in and announced that her flight was delayed and she was ready for some more fun.

Our first destination for the day was Gunung Raya. It used to be a kind of lodge for government officers but have since changed management and is open to the public. BUT, the journey there is no joke. It is a bit like going to Genting Highlands but worse. I had to close my eyes and force myself to sleep so that I won't throw up. I was all wobbly-kneed by the time we got to the top. But (I'm using a lot of buts in this paragraph), the view was AMAZING!! You can almost touch the clouds and the air was soo fresh. It's like 100% pure fresh air, untouched by civilization, unmarred by pollution. Aah, bliss.. I think the cool air did somewhat ease me of my travelling sickness.

You could easily lose your way in the labyrinth-like layout of the place. The design had a sort of modern feel to it, which we loved since it provides a perfect background for our cam-whoring activities. We went to the topmost level to get the full experience of being on the highest peak in Langkawi. It was a bit dizzying and the wind is quite strong up there, but we enjoyed it as we always do. HUsna and Dini had quite a tough time on the way down the mountain. Thanks to Gee and its addictive dancing, I was able to keep my mind off of the road and be somewhere else. Hee~

Aunty Darl left for the airport after that. Abah wanted to have lunch at Tun Dr. Mahathir's The Loaf. We could tell that the usual clientele is of the upper class, but that didn't stop us from sitting there for almost an hour and just be as loud as we could. HAHAHA.. The food is nice. Even with sore throat, I couldn't help but taste the non-alcoholic wine. It takes a while to get used to since it was so sour. Some of the breads were divine and the pasta was also good.

Then, we were off to our final shopping spree!! First stop, Langkawi Fair. Beacuse I already bought some chocs, I found something else to buy, i.e. jeans. Thanks Abah!! Then, we split up and some of us headed to Pekan Kuah. I bought some pashminas and some more chocs. And, that was the end of my shopping.. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and I managed to finish my book, The Gift by Cecilia Ahern. The book was OK. There were some things that I don't really get but generally the lesson is not to take what you have for granted. To stop and smell the roses and not just bulldozing over everything to get what you want.

Originally, we wanted to go to Cenang (again) for dinner but because we were soo tired, we decided to eat somewhere nearby. So, off we went to Bukit Malut (I think). But since it was quite last minute, we had to wait a while (again!) for the food to come. Fortunately, I brought some Katakana practice sheets and spent some time teaching Mama and Abah about Japanese writing.

To round off the day, the young'uns went to Dataran Lang (again!!).. Just for fun.. We walked and took some pictures, had loads of fun playing with the lights and then went back to the hotel.

21 December 2009 (Monday)

I woke up quite early and finished up on my packing. We checked out at 9.30am and as usual had breakfast at Aunty Zawiah's. We had some nasi lemak (that looks and tastes so much like nasi minyak) and roti canai. And of course, some last minute picture taking in Aunty's gorgeous house. There were quite a number of people in line for check-in at the airport. I was feeling kind of dizzy so, I slow-walked around the complex, checking out the people.

For everybody else, the flight must've been ordinary but not for me. As we got higher, my ears would not pop no matter how much I yawned and sucked my sweet. I could see everybody but their voices would be coming from miles away. It was surely surreal, almost like an out-of-body experience. And towards the end, the pressure was building up in my head that I feel like it was going to explode anytime. I was thinking that it wouldn't be surprised if my ears were bleeding as we landed.

The pain lessened on the ground though I still couldn't hear as well as I could. So, I kept my head down and just pushed through. Abah got us a van to bring us all home. Almost all of us were very sceptical at first. I mean like, really? One van? For the nine of us? With our bags? But it turned out, we all really do fit in the one van, albeit a bit squished up. I think almost all of us slept in that van.

We reached home (safely, Alhamdulillah) at about 3.00pm. Later that evening, I called Aunty Darl and she said that my blocked ear may be because of the flu that I had, causing imbalance of pressure inside my head. I'm all OK now. Right guys? Aah, what I wouldn't give to see all five of you smiling together like this...