We had tried to travel direct between two major islands down the west coast of the Malay peninsula from Phuket to Langkawi but at the time we did it, there was no direct route between the two so we had to go via Penang. We flew from Phuket airport into Penang International Airport, took a taxi to the hotel and overnighted there. As we were only there one night, we just had a walk around and got something to eat. By nothing more than coincidence we were staying just near where HMS INVINCIBLE anchored in the bay when we came to Penang in 1983 and 84. I had a couple of beers reminiscing about those nights ashore and the less said about those – the better!
Getting from Penang to Langkawi isn’t difficult but there were no flights available when we wanted to go. You can get a ferry direct from Georgetown to Kuah, the respective capitals of the two islands., but it takes 3 hours which we did just not want to do. So the following morning we took a taxi from the hotel, across the bridge onto the mainland and then about a 150km up the coast to Kuala Perlis a fishing port to where the ferry goes out to Langkawi which is about 30km offshore and is directly across from the Thai / Malay border on the mainland peninsula and also where the Andaman Sea merges with the Straits of Malacca which separates the peninsula in the east from Indonesia in the west. The ferry trip took about an hour and 15 minutes into Kuah, so it probably took us the same time as the ferry trip direct from Penang would have taken anyway.
Our hotel, The Andaman, did not provide shuttle service to / from the airport or jetty so we had to organise our own transport. It was no big deal we just jumped into a taxi outside the ferry terminal to our resort. The Andaman situated in Datai Bay in the very north west of the island almost at the end of the road, secluded away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the island. You don’t go ‘past’ it, you go ‘to’ it. There was no direct route across the island, so we took the coast road and then cut up through the centre of the island with the road winding it’s way through. In total it was probably 50km.
The interior has rice paddy fields and is thick with mountainous lush green tropical vegetation and rainforest interspersed with towns and villages with locals and tourists alike. As with most islands in this part of the world Langkawi is surrounded by typically pale sandy beaches of powder-fine sand and warm turquoise waters. Datai Bay is considered one of the islands most pristine beaches complete with swaying coconut trees and surrounded by stunning natural landscapes.
Apparently Langkawi is known by two other colloquial names; ‘The Jewel of Kedah’ because Kedah is the state in which Langkawi sits and also because of its natural beauty. It’s other name is ‘Legendary Island’ which is due to some of the ancient myths associated with it, we never did manage to find out any particular stories, myths or legends though. I was happy to get my inflatable pool mattress and drift serenely along in the azure Andaman Sea in the hope that none of the legends were of mythical sea creatures devouring mariners. Mermaids abducting mariners would have been OK though.
In 2007 UNESCO declared the whole island a ‘Global Geopark’ and once you’ve been, you’ll understand why. Langkawi, located off the northwest coast of Malaysia, is not just the single island but actually an archipelago of ‘about’ 100 islands, most of which are uninhabited but are still accessible by boat for day trips. The island is the biggest of all in the archipelago both in size and population with about 70,000 living there. Even though it is the biggest it is only about 20 km wide and 15 km long and there aren’t that many roads and it isn’t overloaded with traffic, so if you have a car you could cover it in a couple of days. What I didn’t know until we got there is that Langkawi is also a duty free island so you can buy booze, fags, perfumes etc and other duty free stuff much cheaper than you can in other places in Malaysia.
Lots of places in the Far East have a frenetic pace of life. Depending on what you like and what you want, Langkawi can be either a vibrant and entertaining break or a quiet retreat and relax. My wife and I opted for the latter.
The Andaman Resort
You arrive at the resort in an idyllic tropical setting which gives an air of exclusivity from the moment of arrival. The reception area is large, open and airy with high vaulted ceilings.
The reception area is a nice venue to relax quietly during the day with a snack and soft drink where there is ample comfortable lounge seating to read a book or take in the views over the rainforest canopy and out to sea.
And it’s complete with a map of the archipelago, drawn – in sand. Very impressive.
Behind the resort is a thick rainforest canopy which is alive with the sounds of a multitude of tropical birds and whooping primates. You can take an organised jungle walk with an expert guide who knows all the flora and fauna. I listened to the morning briefings after breakfast but never went on any of the walks.
Information in the resort tells you it is tucked away between a 10 million year old rainforest and an 8,000 year old coral reef which fringes around the island. The whole place is sophisticated, some would say extravagant but if you’re going to stay in a 5 star luxury resort, you’re going to pay 5 star prices. The location, the service, the on-site dining and facilities – everything made it worthwhile. We had no complaints about value for money.
We had selected a ground floor luxury seaview room with a king sized bed and nothing about the room disappointed. It was elegantly cool with modern but locally inspired architecture and finishings. The room service was good and we never had reason to call reception or guest services to ask for anything that was missing or hadn’t been cleaned etc. Five stars for service.
Pool Area The pool area is large and spacious and caters for all ages and swimming ability. It’s multi-shaped so the kids can stay round the corner and shout and shriek which you can get away from if you want a leisurelykid-free swim. Which I did. There’s kids water slides as well to keep them entertained.
There’s endless sun loungers around the pool so you can relax whilst watching the kids. Believe it or not, large monitor lizards appear from the undergrowth and jump in the pool swimming across alongside you. They all seemed fairly peaceful and very much ‘live and let live’ but they have razor sharp teeth [just think ‘mini dinosaur’] and were incredibly agile in water, much more so than humans so they aren’t the sort of things I would want to upset.
The Beach
Datai beach has made it into National Geographics top 10 beaches in the world so that is at least 3 I’ve ticked off now. It’s well deserved because it’s natural crescent shape make it a secluded little slice of paradise. It’s roughly 1.5km long and even at high tide there is still plenty of beach, it does not all disappear under the advancing water every 6 hours. I think the beaches are ‘owned’ by the resorts so they are perfect if you’re looking for tranquility amongst picturesque settings.
When the tide does go out, as the shelf is very shallow, it goes out a long way exposing the coral reef. You can walk out a long way even as far as Pulau Anak Datai island, but wear reef shoes or you will cut your feet to ribbons because the coral is razor sharp.
Sharp coral isn’t the only hazard on the beach, you also get jelly fish. The locals call them ‘obor obo’ [which I believe translates as jellyfish.] Some resorts and bays use nets to prevent unpleasant sea creatures coming in but I don’t know if you could make nets small enough to stop these without harming fish. If you think it might be a problem, then wear a t-shirt when swimming and make sure you know to pour copious amounts of vinegar on stings to counter the venom.
I only saw this one jellyfish on the beach and none in the sea. I went out quite a way as I usually do for a look around and at one point was disturbed to see a large snake swimming near me. Most venomous sea snakes aren’t that big so this looked too big to be poisonous and my guess is that it was a python. I didn’t know pythons swam in the sea, certainly not this far out. As pythons aren’t poisonous, they rely on crushing their prey and I had no intention of trying to fight off a python with one hand whilst trying to make a break for the shoreline with the other. I slipped gently beneath the surface and stayed submerged until it has zigzagged its way past looking for easier and smaller prey.
There’s plenty of watersports available such as snorkeling, sea kayaing, windsurfing and sailing boats. I always take my own snorkeling gear but I gave everything else a miss this time as I’ve done it multiple times before and this holiday it just wasn’t for us, we just needed to unwind. I took the easy [lazy] option of lying back in a hammock or on a sun lounger, ‘neath the shade of spreading tree and let the waiters bring me a conveyor of cocktails complete with all Del Boy style accroutrements.
All I had for company was the view of the nearby island of Pulau Anak Datai and outline of the Thai island of Ko Tatatao 10km on the horizon, complimented by the gentle breaking of tiny wavelets on the shore – and just for a few hours – life was perfect.
There’s a bar down the beach where you can get cocktails and hookah pipes.
The sun sets on the left side of the beach so grab yourself a swing seat hanging off one of the tree branches or a couch on the beach and watch the sun retreat over the western hilltop forest.
One evening per week once the sun has gone down there is a poolside buffet. This is really worthwhile going to, loads of stuff you pick from the tables and the chefs cook it in front of you exactly as you want it.
Dining
There are 4 different restaurants at The Andaman and I‘d be so bold as to say there would be something to please everyone.
The Restaurant
You can have breakfast overlooking the swimming pool at the very unimaginatively named eatery ‘The Restaurant’. There’s a choice of either continental breakfast or the more extensive breakfast buffet. An à la carte menu is also available. It’s opens for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a kids menu.
One morning at breakfast there was I was getting some fruit and a gentleman [who clearly had English as a second language] asked me about dragon fruit because he had never seen it before. He asked ‘what does it taste like?’
I said ‘Dragons’, he went away confused [he didn’t try it].
The Japanese Restaurant
Nice setting as it’s poolside with a very rainforest feel. All authentic Japanese cuisine and all the dishes were explained by the wait staff so you knew what to choose. The sake was great as well. Certainly worth a visit but only open in the evenings.
Beach Bar
Sip hand-crafted cocktails featuring locally sourced ingredients at our welcoming beach bar. Enjoy light bites with a glass of wine as you take in the magnificent sunset across the horizon.
Jala Seafood restaurant
My favourite, seafood curry in a beachfront restaurant – perfect. Sourced on the island daily so it’s all fresh it’s definitely worth visiting.
Private Dining
You can get room service [called in-room dining] 24 hours. The resort will also provide picnic baskets for day trips and you can organise beach dining near the beach bonfire for up to 6 guests.
Gym
It was well equipped, modern and like most other gyms in holiday hotels fairly empty most of the time.
Medical Facilities
My wife fell ill one day. The nurse from sickbay came straight down to our room and escorted her up to their sickbay at reception. Within a few minutes she said she had to see a doctor and called a hotel car to take us to the medical centre in a nearby town. The doctor there took blood tests etc and gave her the drugs she needed. The hotel driver had waited for us [about an hour] and then he took us back and doctor called the nurse with an update of the medical conditions and medications administered. For a small island with what I thought were fairly basic facilities, it was first class service. All the medical expenses were reimbursed by our medical insurance [my wife and I had a global annual policy, covering all locations except USA.] The nurse checked on her daily without being intrusive and the hotel placed a bunch of flowers with a ‘Get Well’ card in the room. It was a nice personal touch and very thoughtful.
Golf
There’s a golf course there. I took as much notice of it as I have of every other golf course I’ve seen at resorts I’ve stayed in. That’s all I can tell you.
Summary
The Andaman was outstanding, worth every cent, penny, ringgit. Accommodation, facilities and service were all faultless. We went to Langkawi to relax and unwind and it let us do that. Would definitely recommend the island and would recommend the resort the same. Would I go back to Langkawi? Yes I would but next time I wouldn’t do the relaxing holiday, I’d take up a lot more of all the things the island has to offer.