Langkawi, Malaysia

Langkawi is the main island of a group of 99 in the Straits of Malacca. Its proper name is Palau Langkawi but is rarely called that. It is part of the Malaysian State of Kedah and is about 203 square miles in size. Langkawi is Malaysia's best known tourist attraction and so a very good place for the Arcadia to call in and visit. After docking at the Star Cruise Jetty, we set off for our excursion which begins at Laman Padi, an eco-tourism attraction. This is a place that demonstrates rice is cultivated and grown here in Malaysia. There is a museum which explains the history of the industry as well as paddy fields with workers going about their everyday activities. After spending time here it was time to move on to travel another 30 mins to The Langkawi Cable Car.

The coach stopped at the entrance to the Oriental Village which houses the cable car station. After crossing the wobbly bridge and then walking through the lovely surrounds of the village, we came to the cable car entrance. The cars held 6 people and it looked like a fantastic ride to the top. The car took us to the top of the Gunung Machinchang mountain some 2,323 ft high. It is the second highest mountain on the island and on the way up we had magnificent views of the coastline and mountains. On the way up we spotted the Seven Wells Waterfall which would be fantastic in the wet season. The whole trip was one and a quarter mile long and took about 15 mins to get to the top. At the top we were given free time to walk around and enjoy the magnificent views. One of the highlights was the amazing suspended bridge that seemed to float in the air! There were 400 steps to go down here before traversing the bridge and it was worth the effort to go down. From here one could see a 360 degree view and at times it is said you can see Thailand on a clear day! The clouds were very low at times and that just added to the magical atmosphere we were enjoying. All too soon it was time to catch the cable back down and the bonus was again the wonderful ocean and mountain views we could see from this height. As we were on a time schedule we had to hurry through the village and back to the coach again to visit our next destination. This area is a tourist area and a holiday place for local people to visit. The harbour was full of boats, all sizes and shapes. There were many restaurants here and we could just imagine how nice it would be in the evening to dine and relax by the water. Before too long we were off again and we drove through Pantai Centang, a seaside town that had lots of shops and businesses. There was an Underwater World here that is home to over 5,000 different varies of fish. It is one of the largest marine aquariums in Asia. Back to the ship for lunch and then a quick trip into the town before enjoying the wonderful sailout in the late afternoon. P & O Arcadia