Soph’s Scribbles

Explore our travels to the gorgeous island of Langkawi, paradise on earth!

For our first full day in Langkawi, we kicked things off with a trip to the famous Seven Wells Waterfall. Since the island’s small and taxis are hard to come by (with no public transport), we decided to rent a moped. George learned to drive it on the spot, and after strapping on our helmets, we set off on our little adventure.

The 20-minute ride was a fun one. I fully embraced my role as passenger princess chilling on the back while George got used to the new challenge of riding with me as extra weight (he did great). We made it safely and had a laugh along the way.

Once we arrived, we began the steep trek (yes, more steps!) up to the top of the falls. But just as we reached the top, the skies opened up and a thunderstorm rolled in. While most people ran for cover, we couldn’t resist, we jumped straight into the waterfall like a couple of excited kids. We were going to get soaked anyway, so we thought why not make the most of it😅

It was honestly one of the highlights of our trip so far. We were absolutely drenched, barely able to open our eyes from the rain, but laughing the whole time. No photo could ever capture how much fun it was or do it justice. 

When the storm finally passed, we were rewarded with the gorgeous views of the island and cable cars in the distance. From there, we continued on to the so-called “Blue Pool” (which wasn’t very blue🥴). The walk through the jungle was quite challenging but cool, and even though the water was freezing, I couldn’t resist going for a dip. 

We spent the whole morning exploring, then stopped for a quick drink before hopping back on the moped. Once back, we headed straight for our local beach, the incredible Cenang Beach, just across the road from our guesthouse (not even a 2 min walk). It was another blazing hot, blue-sky day, and even the locals were commenting on the heat!

After soaking up the sun, hunger kicked in, so we wandered off and found a place selling delicious chicken shawarma. Back at the guesthouse, we met some lovely fellow travellers, each telling stories about their adventures. We then booked our boat trip for the following day, which we were very excited about. We wrapped up the day with our classic £2 pad Thai dinner from next door (amazing every time), then strolled back to the beach for a few cocktails and the nightly fire show. I had a frozen margarita, George went for a piña colada, a perfect end to a perfect day.

Next day

We got up nice and early today, excited for the boat trip we had booked the day before.  We booked a snorkelling trip to a trio of breathtaking islands: Cepu, Intan, and Beras Basah, some of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen.

Unfortunately the water was a bit cloudy, so we didn’t spot many fish. However it didn’t dampen our spirits, we were just happy to be in the water, which felt like a warm bath while taking in the breathtaking views.

The islands were incredible, and we practically had the boat to ourselves, sharing it with one other diver. We hit it off with the crew, especially our new pal Bobby, who really looked after us. He even took us to his favourite hidden spot, called “Diamond Island” (not sure if that’s the official name, but it fits). We drove past  “Eagle Island,” where we looked up to watch eagles soar gracefully across the sky. We now understand why the eagle is such a prominent symbol of Langkawi😅. 

We had some spaghetti for lunch on board, and we ended up spending a good chunk of the day out on the water, from about 11 to 3. Definitely got our money’s worth! After we were dropped off, we wrapped up the day with a cold Coke in the shade.

George then went for a run, we then chilled at the guesthouse for a bit before we mooched over to the beach to watch the gorgeous sunset. We then headed off to the night market for dinner which we’ve heard great things about. We tried Murtabak Din (tasted like a chicken omelette) some spicy chicken and rice dish and Alim Balik (a peanut and sweetcorn dessert) which was all yummy. It was very hot and sweaty! 

After having such a great time on the boat yesterday, we decided (thanks in part to a little persuasion from our new friend Bobby) to join the Mangrove Boat Tour today. He picked us up early in the morning, and we headed to Jalan Tanjung Rhu beach, which was absolutely breathtaking. Once we checked in, we kicked off the day with a coffee, soaking in the incredible views.

Soon after, we made our way to the jetty where the mangrove tour began. It was quite busy, with around 15 of us boarding the boat. Our guide was fantastic, full of energy and fun. We set off toward Kilim Geoforest Park, where we got to see the famous Langkawi eagles, both the native brown ones and the majestic white-bellied  eagles (they were huge). We cruised down Monkey River, explored the mangroves, and ventured into the Bat Caves.

The whole experience was not only beautiful but also incredibly fun, we were so glad we decided to go. Midway through the trip, we stopped at a floating fish farm for lunch. We spotted a stingray among many other impressive fish before sitting down to enjoy a delicious chicken and rice meal at the floating restaurant.

After lunch, we got back on the boat for the final stretch, a scenic cruise around the island, skimming the border between Malaysia and Thailand. The views were absolutely stunning, a perfect finale to the day on the water.

Once we returned to shore, we took some time to relax before wandering through the strip of local shops, picking up a few souvenirs. For dinner, we enjoyed tasty falafel and hummus, then made our way back to the beach and Kalut Bar to catch our final sunset in Langkawi.

We spent the evening chatting with Bobby over a few drinks, reminiscing about the day. Langkawi has been so peaceful and beautiful, It truly felt like paradise.