my Holiday in Langkawi Island

Buat yang lagi nyari liburan ke luar negeri dengan harga terjangkau bisa melirik pulau yang satu ini. Namanya Langkawi. Sebagai bagian teritorial Malaysia, sejujurnya Langkawi memang bukan ‘surga’ impian untuk para traveler. Sama sekali bukan salah satu tempat terindah yang pernah gue datengin memang. TAPI, jangan salah. Banyak juga kok hal yang bisa dinikmatin disini. Dan menurut gue, pengalaman dan dengan siapa kita menikmati pengalaman jalan-jalan itu sendiri jauh lebih seru ketimbang lokasinya. HA~

// I was browsing for some possible holiday places near by and found this website that offered a complete holiday package (return tickets + hotel +taxes) for a very affordable price. So I took it! Bought a couple of what they offered. A month later on April 2012 we flew to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and from KL we flew to this holiday place, Langkawi Island, Malaysia.//

 

Gue ngedapetin paket super murah dari salah satu maskapai penerbangan untuk bisa sampai liburan di Pulau Langkawi. Komplit! (Pesawat pulang pergi plus hotel dan pajak). Tanpa mikir dua kali, langsung hajaarrrr! April 2012 berangkat deh ke Kuala Lumpur terus lanjut ke Pulau Langkawi. Begitu sampai, gue langsung nyari penyewaan mobil untuk bisa nyetir kesana sini. Ketemu yang cukup murah, yaitu Rp. 230 ribu perhari tanpa supir dan bensin. Lumayan.

Gue punya waktu total 40 jam (nyebrang ke pulau lain nggak dihitung disini) untuk keliling-keliling di Langkawi. Ini pulau nggak gede kok. Cuma sekitar 25 km dari utara ke selatan dan sedikit lebih luas dari barat ke timur. Seharian kita bisa kelilingin ini pulau sebanyak 2 kali. Yuk mulai!

// First thing we did when we got there was renting a car. We got our small red car for Ringgit Malaysia (RM)75 per day (gas and driver excluded). The company sent the car to our hotel very early in the morning so we could use it all day long. I prepared a list of where to go and what to do in Langkawi. We reserved one day already to snorkel in Payar Island, so we got around 40 hours left to explore the land. The main island spans about 25 km from north to south and slightly more for east and west. It’s not that big, and I heard that in one day people could drive circling the whole island twice.//

Hari pertama liburan di Pulau Langkawi gue habisin untuk nyebrang ke satu pulau kecil yang bernama Pulau Payar untuk snorkeling (sama hiu!) dan main air abis-abisan. Baru besoknya gue nyetir ke Pantai Cenang, dengan jarak 15 km dari Kuah Town (pusat kota Langkawi-tempat gue nginep). Katanya sih Pantai Cenang adalah pantai yang paling aktif dibangun di wilayah pantai barat Malaysia. Bentuknya standar sih menurut gue. Ada banyak toko-toko dan rumah makan disana sini di jalanan sekitar pantai. Pantainya sendiri bersih, berpasir putih dan menjual banyak paket untuk jetski dan olahraga air lainnya.

// We started with Cenang Beach, 15 kilometers away from Kuah town, -Langkawi’s main town- where our hotel’s located. I heard that Cenang Beach is Malaysia’s most developed west-coast beach; and in reality I think it was okay. It looked pretty average except for its white sand and clean environment. You can see people selling tour packages of Langkawi, and you can also see people enjoying water sports like jet skis to knee boarding.//

Dari situ gue nyetir bentar untuk mampir ke ‘Underwater World’, sebuah tempat yang cukup besar yang menampung segala jenis ikan dan makhluk laut, plus aneka jenis burung dan pinguin! Harga masuknya Rp.115.000 dan gue cukup terhibur didalamnya, soalnya ketemu ama beberapa ekor flamingo cantik dan ngeliat satu ekor ikan raksasa yang bikin gue kagum banget ama ciptaan Tuhan. Pinguin-pinguinnya juga luucuuu!

// Still on the strip of Cenang Beach, We went to one of the main attractions, which is the Underwater World. At the entrance, we saw the world’s largest freshwater fish put in a medium-sized tank. And inside, we saw many more wonderful sea creatures and tropical rainforest birds. For RM 38 each, it was a good place to go to. I saw Sea Dragons, giant Gouramy, Lionfish, Giant Clam, sea Anemones in many colors and shapes, albino turtles, several kinds of penguins, Flamingos and many other amazing animals. Awesome! It was educating and refreshing to the eyes and mind.//

 

Dari situ gue berangkat ke Pantai Kok, sebuah pantai super tenang yang memang dicptakan untuk bengong kali ya. Ada sebuah mercusuar di pojokan yang bagus untuk difoto. Nggak terlalu jauh dari situ ada sebuah tempat wisata yang terkenal bernama “Langkawi Cable Car”.

Nah, ini adalah tempat favorit gue di Langkawi!

Begitu sampai, kita bisa langsung naik kereta gantung selama 20 menit mendaki keatas Gunung Machinchang (708 meter tingginya). Waktu keretanya naik ke atas tuh cukup serem tapi pemandangannya baguuuss deh. Bener-bener keren. Begitu sampai diatas, kita bisa jalan ke sebuah jembatan gantung yang terletak diantara gunung. Dari sini kita bisa melihat kota Langkawi lengkap dengan pantainya, plus hutan perawan, gunung dan awan! Wuih bagus banget! Rasanya iri kenapa Malaysia bisa ngebuat wahana alam sesolid dan sebagus itu sedangkan kita nggak bisa. Huff.

// From there we stopped by at Kok Beach, which was relatively quiet, an ideal place to enjoy some tranquil moment. We didn’t spend much time there as we quickly drove away to Langkawi Cable Car. I think this one was awesome. The cable car took us on a 20-minute trip to the top of the majestic Machinchang Mountain (708m). There were some incredible views along the way. Seriously. It was scary but fun experience. Accessible from the Top, there’s a sky bridge, suspended from an 82m high single pylon and hangs at about 100m above ground. From there we could see superb scenery of the ocean, outlying towns at Langkawi, and the virgin jungle underneath. Breathtaking! //

 

Besokannya, gue memulai hari dengan foto-foto di patung rajawali raksasa yang merupakan simbol dari Langkawi, sambil menyaksikan matahari terbit. Berjarak 5 menit dari situ, ada pelabuhan khusus kapal pesiar yang sangat cantik. Sayangnya, orang-orang yang kerja di pelabuhan itu sama sekali nggak ramah dan nggak ngijinin kita untuk foto. Menyebalkan. Yasudahlah.

// The next day we caught the sunrise at the Eagle Square, next to the ferry terminal in Kuah Town. The square is dominated by a huge statue of a brown eagle (symbol of Langkawi) built on a pier extended into the bay. From there we stopped by at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club. It was gorgeous but I think it was not for tourists like us, because the people were not friendly at all when we started to take pictures.//

Gue lanjut nyetir ke Pantai Tanjung Rhu. Gue juga suka pantai ini. Disitu ada pantai yang dibuka untuk umum berdekatan dengan pantai tertutup milik resort-resort mahal seperti Grup Four Seasons. Pantainya tenang dan SEPI ! Cuma  ada satu toko yang menjual baju dan es kelapa muda di kejauhan….satu kapal lagi nangkring dan…gue! Hehehe, berasa pantai pribadi aja nih. Dekat dari Tanjung Rhu ada tempat mengambil tur untuk berkeliling pepohonan bakau, tapi gue males ambil. Mendingan juga ke air terjun ya kann…

We proceeded to Tanjung Rhu Beach. It bends along the coastline past the Four Seasons resort, and it has an emerald green ocean. When we got there, it was empty. We practically the only people hanging around at the wide beach. It was so peaceful and quite with only one or two small shops selling clothing and food from afar. I think Tanjung Rhu has one of Langkawi’s best shorelines. I really liked it there. Nearby is the jetty to start river tours through the Mangroves, but we didn’t take it.

Ada beberapa air terjun di Langkawi dan gue memilih sebuah air terjuan bernama Temurun. Jalan ke Temurun sangat menyenangkan. Gue memilih untuk buka kaca sepanjang jalan karena udaranya segar banget. Kita ngelewatin pohon-pohon rimbun dijalan yang berbelok-belok dengan monyet-monyet dan tupai disana sini. Cihuy banget. Begitu sampai di Temurun, kita jalan ke atas (masuknya gratis) dan menemukan lagi-lagi air terjun yang cukup bersih dan KOSONG. Hahaha.

Mungkin memang lagi bukan musim turis jadi sepi dimana-mana. Enak banget nih main air terjun nggak ada siapa-siapa. Sayangnya, fasilitas ganti baju disini udah bobrok dan jorok. Di sungai bagian bawah juga ada beberapa botol aqua yang ditinggal turis nggak bertanggung jawab sebelum kita.

// Next destination was the waterfall. We chose Temurun waterfall. The road to get there was so lovely! The road’s been cut through the forest and is kept tidy as any other road in Langkawi. We passed a lot of monkeys and squirrels on the way there. We parked our car across the street and we started trekking. No entrance fee. We had to walk a little, then climbed up a hill to see the waterfall. Once we reached the top, it was nobody there, so we could shower in the waterfall all by ourselves. Awesome! The water’s so clean and cold and fresh. Really was a good choice of waterfall. The only thing was a few bottles thrown in the water by some careless people and a hut on top near the steepest waterfall that needed to be repaired. After changing the wet clothes, we’re ready to go.//

Setelah puas berendam, kita ganti baju dan lanjut jalan ke ‘Langkawi Crocodile Farm’. Kirain bakal seru disini. Tapi ternyata tempatnya sangat menyedihkan dan buaya-buaya nya juga terlihat menderita. Satu-satunya yang menarik ialah ngeliatin bapak-bapak tukang kebersihan kandang buaya yang seenaknya nyemprotin air ke buaya dalam jarak dekat tanpa takut diterkam. Untuk kalian yang ke Langkawi kayaknya nggak usah kesini deh kalau nggak pengen-pengen banget. Di Langkawi memang banyak sekali tempat tujuan wisata tapi ada beberapa yang tidak perlu didatangi. Salah satunya ya tempat buaya ini, plus sebuah pantai bernama “Black Sand Beach” yang sama sekali tidak menarik.

// We drove to Langkawi Crocodile Farm. Saw a few crocodiles….and nothing much really. The only interesting part of it was probably watching the staff got into the pond and cleaned it with a hose while the crocs were not moving. Basically the farm was not a pleasant sight. We didn’t see any shows and we pretty much wanted to get out as soon as we got in. Extremely unrecommended.//

Sebelum kembali ke Kuah Town, gue mampir ke Datai Beach dan Burau Bay Beach untuk foto-foto dengan batu-batu besar yang ada disitu. Burau Bay adalah pantai yang kemaren terlihat jelas dari ketinggian gunung waktu kita naik kereta gantung. Waktu sudah menunjukkan pukul 17.00, jadi saatnya gue ngejer matahari terbenam di sebuah pantai terpencil yang posisinya dekat dengan Cenang.

// Driving away, we passed by the Black Sand Beach, which was not inviting whatsoever, so we continued our trip to Datai Beach, stopped for a while and went on to Burau Bay Beach to take some stunning photos. The long stretch of shimmering white sands, which make up the beach, was beautiful. We remembered looking at it from the top of the cable car the other day. From there we went to a corner hidden area near Cenang Beach to enjoy the sunset.//

 

Di Langkawi ada tiga hal lain selain melihat pemandangan yang bisa dilakukan. Pertama pastinya mencoba kulinernya. Kedua mencoba tempat pijat dan spa yang ada. Ketiga, BELANJA. Disini toko-toko duty free-nya terkenal banget dengan barang-barang seperti parfum, coklat dan minuman beralkohol yang harganya miring. Gue coba tiga-tiganya dan yang paling gue suka juga pastinya belanja itu tadi.

// At nighttime, you can do three things. Eat at some restaurants on the strips of Cenang Beach, have a massage at one of the spas, or SHOP! I tried them all. Shopping was the best out of the three, because the duty-free status of the island is famous. Langkawi has become a favorite holiday destination among Malaysians as well as foreign tourists due to the lowered prices on goods such as liquor, perfume, chocolates and more.//

Pas waktunya pulang Jakarta tiba habis kelar dari liburan di Pulau Langkawi, gue lumayan bebas stress. Langit bumi banget bedanya antara udara di Langkawi yang penuh pepohonan dan Jakarta yang penuh polusi. *tariknafaspanjang*

// When it’s time to go back home, I was a stress free woman. What I will always remember is the fact that you can access raw nature within a few minutes drives. It was a peaceful environment and being there was a total getaway from Jakarta’s busy traffic I have to deal with everyday. I have to say that Langkawi is certainly not the best holiday destination, but sometimes the experience and who you are sharing the experience with is much more exciting and memorable than the location where you experience it.//

Any question tentang liburan di Pulau LANGKAWI ? or wanna tell me about your own trip there? please leave your comments below guys! thank u:)

 

unplugging myself from daily routines is needed once in a while 

olivelatuputty.com/blog  –@shiningliv