RETURNING TO LANGKAWI

We returned from our trip to FT Labuan in early October 2012 hoping that we would be able to visit the island again. We remembered Langkawi, a picturesque and beautiful island. I have been to Langkawi a few times when I was working with the government. My wife has also been there, attending and giving seminars and trainings when she was attached with the Ministry of Health Headquarters. Remembering the sweet memories during our past visits, we planned to go to Langkawi again, to recollect whatever we might have left behind.

Planning the trip

I used to travel to Langkawi both by land or air. If I were to travel by land, I would take my wife along to accompany me on my trip. I chose any days that is convenient to her so that she could take a few days leave for her to enjoy herself then. As usual, I prepared our own budget for this trip and make sure that every need is cared for.

My wife and I planned to go by land this coming holiday, taking the express bus instead of driving from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Perlis. We have been to Langkawi by the Kuala Kedah Ferry Terminal, but this time we will go a bit further north to the Kuala Perlis Ferry Terminal. From this terminal, the ferry would take a minimum of 45 minutes for the journey to Langkawi.

Booking bus tickets nowadays, with the growing internet technology would preferably do by online. I browsed online to look for the trips by the popular bus around, and found a reasonable departure time and fare. I contacted this local express bus for the journey to Kuala Perlis.

I used my credit card to book my flights to Labuan, and with that experience, booking the bus tickets is no problem to me anymore. I received my e-ticket but without the seat numbers. I inquired details on this e-ticket and received a reply by email stating the seat numbers for my trip to Kuala Perlis and back to Kuala Lumpur.

Hotel Booking

Booking a hotel room is also not so much a problem. The only problem is our return trip. The bus would depart Kuala Perlis for Kuala Lumpur at about 10:15 am, and thus I have to make sure I would reach the Kuala Perlis Bus Terminal before the departure time. I might not be able to get any early ferry tickets from Kuah in Langkawi, and the ferry to Kuala Perlis would take a maximum of 1¼ hours, not taking into account any extra time needed for any unexpected delay along the route, and thus I may not be able to catch the bus at the right time.

I have to rearrange my trip to stay for two (2) nights only in Langkawi, and then left Langkawi a day earlier to Kuala Perlis, stayed for one night to catch the bus the next day. I make an arrangement for a night stay in Kuala Perlis and I was able to book a room at a hotel nearby the Kuala Perlis Ferry Terminal and not far from the Bus Terminal. I promised the hotel to see them and settled the payment on my arrival at Kuala Perlis on the 13^th November 2012 bound for Langkawi.

With that arrangement, I called a hotel in Langkawi that my wife and I were familiar with to book a room for a 2-night stay. On confirmation I paid an advance through the local bank. 

The Hotels: Eagle Bay, Langkawi and T-Hotel, Kuala Perlis

All the preparations were done to our satisfaction. I booked my bus tickets as early as 13^th October 2012 and the hotels were done on 19^th October 2012. Our trips only began on 13^th November 2012 and that was about one (1) month preparing for the trip. I have to make sure that everything was scheduled as it should be, and I prefer to prepare myself early so that I would be able to settle any last minute change before the trip. Although the trip was still a long way to go, I have no worries as the bus and the hotel rooms were ready for us, except for the Ferry tickets which I could not book online.

The trip

We hired a taxi early in the morning of the 13^th November 2012 for the Puduraya Bus Terminal, Kuala Lumpur to catch the bus that departs at 9.00 am. This is our first travelling a long distance with a bus and we hope it would be a memorable trip.

It has been quite a while ever since I travelled with an express bus. Travelling in an express bus in my younger days was something expensive. Nowadays express busses are everywhere, wherever you want to go, make your own choice which type of these busses that you like to travel with. The fares are almost the same among these busses. You may want to travel at night and reach your destination the next day with ample time to be at your office.

We boarded the Transnasional bus express at 9:00 am, 13^th.November 2012 at Puduraya Bus Terminal. This bus terminal was opened in 1976 to cater for all busses and taxis going out of Kuala Lumpur. It was recently renovated or make-over, renamed as Pudu Sentral and was re-opened in April 2012. Most of the internal parts of the building was rearranged and rebuild with a new look, with more space for the public and the food courts were moved to the top floor. However, the boarding area which is at the ground floor is still the same and some changes have to be done to the area for the convenience of the passengers.

The boarding bay could not accommodate more than two busses, thus the busses should arrive at the boarding bay in time and with enough time for the passengers to board and packed their luggage. We were instructed to go down to board the bus from Platform 10 but the bus was not at this platform, instead it was parked at Platform 9. We have to ask around for the right bus to board.

Passengers should only be allowed to go down to the boarding area after the bus has arrived, not earlier or else it will crowd the already limited waiting space. A staff should check the ticket of the passengers for a particular trip or bus before allowing them to go down to the boarding area whenever the bus has arrived and ready for boarding. The waiting area for the passengers at the first floor is a much better place to wait for the bus than crowding and standing at the boarding area. This boarding area is smoky and it’s not good to our health. 

The new look of Pudu Sentral Bus Terminal and the bus for Kuala Perlis and Kangar

The trip began when the bus entered the North-South Expressway (PLUS) going toward the northern part of the Peninsula. At one point, the bus has to crawl for almost 1½ hours due to a tanker skidded on the way nearby Tangkak, Perak. This has slowed down our trip and has made us restless for the balance trip to Kuala Perlis, hoping that we will arrive in time for the ferry to Langkawi. 

The accident on the North-South Expressway and the long queue

We arrived at the Kuala Perlis Bus Terminal at about 5:30 pm, almost 2 hours late. We rushed to the Ferry Terminal for Langkawi, and luckily we were able to get the ferry tickets which were for the last trip, leaving at about 7:00 pm. The ferry terminal was crowded with passengers, mostly locals who are either returning back to Langkawi or those who came from the various states in the Peninsula for a holiday in Langkawi, not to forget the foreign tourists too. The ferry terminal is in a sorry state as it is under repairs and renovation without any proper planning. They have to partition the area to separate the working area with the crowd. The whole terminal is in a mess with not enough facilities. Glass panels were broken everywhere, not enough lighting and fans, lack of chairs in the waiting area and most of the passengers have to sit on the floor, children screaming and crying as the whole area were warm and hot that makes the passengers restless while waiting for the last ferry to Langkawi. Adding to that, it was a very dirty place, with rubbish all over the area. Not enough signage to inform and educate the public. Something has to be done by the management of the Ferry Terminal for the best interest of the passengers and the public as a whole. 

The crowd, both inside and at the porch of the Ferry Terminal

It was already dark when the Ferry started its voyage to Kuah, Langkawi and we could not see anything from the window. It looks like the journey took a much longer time. We reached the Kuah Ferry Terminal at about 9:30 pm, took a taxi to the hotel and check-in at about 9:45 pm. We were very tired and hope we would be able to enjoy our holiday in Langkawi as from the next day.

A signage that says a thousand words

Before coming to Langkawi, my wife browsed the internet looking for any car-rental service. She found one through a blog http://www.cekmatfm.blogspot.com of whom the blogger is currently working in a government agency and now a loyal resident of Langkawi. We paid the rental through a local bank, and on the specific day accepted the car, a Perodua Kembara from a very friendly and talkative mother of four children. We were very fortunate to have met this family and would like to say “terima kasih” to them for the generosity and hospitality given to us. I am sure it would be totally different if we were to accept the car rental that was ushered to us when we arrived at the Ferry Terminal. Rest assured we would definitely contact them again for our next trip to Langkawi and may recommend their service to our friends too. 

Our transportation

We went to the main town of Kuah for lunch and we were very surprised to see a large crowd enjoying their shopping. They were mostly from the mainland Peninsula coming down to Langkawi to shop for cooking utensils, clothes, sweets and chocolates, travelling bags that is big enough to be filled with whatever they bought or anything else that they can make profits of. The crowds include all levels, the young and the old looking and buying whatever they need.  Langkawi is a free trade zone and the price may be cheaper than that on the mainland, we wonder!

We were also told that almost all places of interest were crowded with either tourist that comes in busses or groups and families in rented cars. The roads were packed with various types of transportation, travelling around the island. There are a lot of differences between the “old” Langkawi that we know of than that of the “today’s” Langkawi. During our earlier visit, the streets are not as busy as today. Some of the shops have been replaced with new buildings. The roads are well kept, no more the blackish estuary of the river that flows dividing the town of Kuah. The food stalls by the river facing the sea is no more to be seen. That was quite a long time ago, and we are proud of the new developed Langkawi. 

The pride of Langkawi

We visited a few tourist spots such as the “Princess Mahsuri’s tomb”, the “Galeria Perdana”, the hot spring at a place of the same name “Air Hangat”. Not to forget the “Eagle Square”, the landmark and the pride of Langkawi, the place with a lot of memories during our last visit.

At the “Princess Mahsuri’s Tomb” we found that the area was completely different from what we saw during our last visit. A new building was built near the tomb, as a museum, to display the historical items that were left of this popular history or legend. The Princess’s well which was originally small and naturally built have been enclosed with concrete and thus there is no more originality of these monuments and its historic legends. The house which was said belonged to this Princess is about time needed to be restored. These places were crowded with tourists and visitors that came in busses, cars and vans that parked along the road. The small parking space is not enough to accommodate all these vehicles. 

Top: The Princess Mahsuri's Tomb; Below from Right:
Visit to Galeria Perdana; Hot spring "Air Hangat"

Preparing for the return trip

We have to stay in Kuala Perlis for a night to catch our bus the next day. We check-out of the hotel and left by ferry to Kuala Perlis at noon. I bought the tickets a day earlier to avoid any disappointment, and as usual the Terminal was crowded with passengers. The condition of this Ferry Terminal is no difference with that of the Kuala Perlis Ferry Terminal. The crowd have completed their shopping spree and are returning home with the most luggages they could carry. We have to make our way through the crowd and make sure we were able to wait nearest to the boarding gate so that we will not miss the trip.

It took 1¼ hours to travel by Ferry from Kuah to Kuala Perlis. We check-in at the hotel in Kuala Perlis which is in-front of the Ferry Terminal. It was booked and confirmed when I arrived earlier on my way to Langkawi. Kuala Perlis is a small town, but the most crowded is near and around the Ferry Terminal. The few restaurants are continuously crowded with their patrons; the road-side stalls are selling various local products especially those which are the favourite in this small northern state of the Peninsula.

It is not unusual that we used to look for anything that could not be found in our hometown, be it anything that we could taste and enjoy. We walked along the food stalls that was built along side the beach, and was introduced by the owner of a stall to a green brinjal which tasted sweet when roasted and taken with hot and spicy sauce. The shellfish called “mentaram” looks very unfamiliar as we have not seen it before. It looks ugly and dirty but tasted awesome when cleaned and cooked, roasted or fried. We will not forget these new dishes although it tasted hot! 

The Green Brinjal and the "Mentaram" shellfish

We tried to get a taste of the “Laksa Ikan Belut” or “noodles with eel meat” but we could not find any. They told us to get this dish near the Kuala Kedah Ferry Terminal. The ordinary noodle they called as “Laksa Kuala Perlis” is just fine with us. I tasted a plate of glutinous rice served separately with some coconut milk and few fresh durians. This dish is one of my favourites and the taste differs from the dish I used to enjoy, where the coconut milk is cooked along with the durians and later the thick gravy would be served mixed with the cooked glutinous rice. They told me that they are familiar with the various types of this dish but they have to consider avoiding it being stale, as their stall opens until late night.

The Return Journey

The next day was our last day in Kuala Perlis. The bus terminal is only a walking distance from the hotel. For the convenience of the public, a covered pavement was built from the Ferry Terminal to the Bus Terminal. We hope that the Kuala Perlis Town Council would be able to keep and maintain this pavement, not only collecting the rubbish but the grass and weed that have been growing needs to be cut and trimmed. There are some people doing their business on the pavement which is an obstruction for the public using this pavement.

Our bus departed from the Bus Terminal at about 11:00 am almost an hour late. This Bus Terminal is only to fetch passengers for the trip, usually the bus would leave the Kangar Bus Terminal, stops over at this station before continuing their journey to anywhere they are scheduled.

On our way from Kuala Lumpur, the bus stopped at the new Amanjaya Bus Terminal, Ipoh, almost midway between Kuala Lumpur and Kangar. This bus terminal was officially opened in September 2012. All busses, both the long-distance or express and the stage busses are required to stop at this terminal either to drop off or taking passengers. This terminal provides a food court, rest rooms, prayer room and kiosks, among others for the passengers to rest while waiting to continue their trip.

On our return trip the bus did not stop at any of the Rest and Service areas along the PLUS highway although it was already lunch time but instead drove on southward to stop at this terminal. It was already quite late in the afternoon, about 3:00 pm and we have a very late and quick lunch to ease our hunger. 

The new Amanjaya Bus Terminal, Ipoh, Perak

We reached Hentian Duta Bus Terminal at about 7:00 pm, travelling for about 8 hours including a few stops. We should thank the driver as he drives at a steady speed, very calm and patiently during the trip of almost 500 kilometres. It’s not that we wanted to reach our destination early but safely.

This holiday seem to be a bit hectic as there are a lot of visitors to this island. We were told that some of these visitors were not able to enjoy themselves as the crowd at each of the tourist spots were uncontrollable. When we asked around on this issue, we were advised not to visit Langkawi during the school holidays. The numbers of visitors and tourists during this period or any public holidays are more than the normal days in the year. That’s it! We will never forget this advice.

Last but not least, the writer is no Viking warrior!

Note: Comments written on the few issues are writer’s own and may be considered wisely by those concerned.