Michelle's Langkawi Tips

Last updated July 2007.
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Here are tried and tested Langkawi tips for your next holiday in Malaysia.

WHERE WE STAYED

The Andaman Langkawi

Tucked away in the rainforest. Designed in traditional Malaysian style, the Andaman is a spacious low-rise resort (186 guest rooms) with views of the Andaman Sea. Great Pool Area, large rooms – small balcony.

Stayed March 2007 in Gardenview Room.

Just loved the Gulai House. Traditional Malaysian curries and Indian specialties.

Try the spa. It is nestled among the hills overlooking the Andaman sea.

Word of warning – look out for monkeys!!

20km to the airport
32km to the city centre

Kuah Town

As Langkawi is a duty free Island there is an amazing selection of duty free goods at brilliant prices. We did all our shopping in Kuah town – there are duty free shops in every street. Get your money changed at the money changers in Kuah town not Langkawi Fair.

You can buy a carton of cigarettes for MYR26.00 – based on our exchange rate of MYR 2.7 = A$1 – that is A$9.60!

For those who do not smoke and prefer the odd drink or two or three (me) the alcohol prices are amazing. 1 litre Bacardi MYR30.00 = A$10.00! Bought that! 1.5 litre of Absolut Vodka (Citron) MYR32.00 = A$11.00! Bought that too! All spirits are available! Ok this is where the boys got very excited about Langkawi – 24 cans of Tiger Beer MYR30.00 = A$10.00 that’s 30 cents a can!!! Didn’t I hear that every time a can was opened!! We bought that from the liquor shop in Langkawi Fair. (We went back to the hotel and restocked our mini bar!)

Fragrances were also very cheap 100ml of Tommy A$50.00 with giftpack and 100ml of Lolita Lempicka AUD60.00. Langkawi Fair has a range of alcohol stores, a body shop (very cheap), fashion stores and a great café called ART CAFÉ and the BEST furniture/homeware store called SUNDAY – YOU HAVE TO SHOP HERE!!!!! There's also a great restaurant at the back of the store.

LIGHTHOUSE RESTAURANT & BEACH BAR

Phone 04 955 2586
Open 11am-2am

Located between Pantai Tengah and Pantai Cenang on the western shore of the island. You must be there before sunset (7.00pm) to soak up the view. Mediterranean and Malaysian cuisine. The tables and chairs are on the beach – you can have the sand between your toes!! It is an amazing place – a lovely and affordable dining experience. For your info, Cocktails MYR10-12 = A$3.00, Tiger Beer MYR4.50 = A$1.95 and Baileys MYR6.50 = A$2.80. Main meals are about MYR15-28.00 = A$12.00. So cheap!!

BON TON RESTAURANT & RESORT

Pantai Cenang, 07000 Langkawi

Phone 04 955 3643
website www.bontonresort.com.my

Unique Resort where an entire 19th century Malay house can be yours – there are a total of 7 Malay houses to choose from, and right next door is the BON TON Restaurant. Sensational food and beautiful sunset views. (Asian/Western/local specialties).

BARN THAI RESTAURANT

9kms from Kuah
Offers free pick up and drop off to your Hotel!!!

Set deep within the mangrove of Langkawi, the restaurant is accessible only by a 450m wooden walkway. There are wooden gazebos along the walkway for you to rest your weary feet or indulge in a spot of iguana and bird watching. Built around the mangrove trees, the restaurant overlooks the river. Thai Cuisine – Jazz music – our entire meal including entrée, main, cocktails and beer came to about A$56.00. We paid by Visa card and they gave us a 10% discount!! Please visit!

WONDERLAND SEAFOOD

Kuah - 3km from Sheraton Perdana

When we spoke to the bar staff at 'Happy Hour' – they told us about this restaurant – apparently they had a guest that ate there six out of the seven nights that he stayed in Langkawi. So we knew we had to go!! Now please don’t get alarmed when you see it – it overlooks a muddy canal and it looks pretty ordinary – certainly not the Sheraton but the food is sensational!!!!! I had two tiger prawns that weighed in at one kilo! We had chilli crab, steamed fish, prawns, ample beers and a chicken dish. It came to about A$38.00 for two people!!!! Nothing wrong with that!

SUNDAY – HOME DÉCOR – BISTRO & RESTAURANT

Phone 04 9663 229
open 11am – Midnight

Ground Floor Langkawi Fair
The food is a mix of Japanese/Italian/Malay/Chinese/Western. It is well worth the visit.

HIRED A CAR

We hired an air-conditioned Proton Wira sedan from Kuah Jetty – they asked for MYR125.00 – we bartered them down to MYR65.00 – that’s A$28.00 for 24 hours!! Petrol is dirt cheap, we put about MYR15.00 of fuel in and it lasted us the day. We drove around the island – no probs – dodged a couple of water buffalos and hungry goats along the way – but it was fun!! We took the car down to Kuah Town for all of our purchases!

ISLAND HOPPING TOUR

4.5 hours duration. Pick-up from hotel at 9:15am and dropped back 1:15pm. MYR60.00 per person - We visited three islands which were really lovely – one with the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden – (fresh water lake in the middle of island where women can drink the water to increase their chances of fertility – I left a little bit of the water for the ladies. The second island was the Zoo Island – which was nice, and the third island had a great beach hut bar.

CABLE CAR

Located in the Oriental Village, Burau Bay is around 20mins drive from the Andaman. Return trip cost RM10.00 per child and RM15.00 per adult.

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