SUMMER IN LANGKAWI ISLAND
My summer made me discover a favorite island. And it exists
by the name of Langkawi. Why? Beer is cheap and the whole
island is tax-free. But more than the given vices of cheap
cigarette, alcohol and food, there are natural attractions and landmarks worthy
of visit.
EAGLE SQUARE
There are many versions of why the island is named Langkawi. But
the most prominent one is the direct translation in colloquial Malay, that is,
the island of the reddish-brown eagle. The Malay word for eagle is helang, shortened
to “lang” while kawi is the red stone used as
a chalk to mark goods.
From the said version, the landmark sculpture of an eagle as the symbol
of Langkawi was created at the Eagle Square in Kuah. Within the
square is a building of traditional Malay architecture evident on its façade
which houses stalls for souvenirs. It is commercialized though,
thus, prices are relatively high compared to the souvenir shop that we have
visited at the corner of our booked hotel in downtown Langkawi.
PANTAI CENANG
Langkawi Island is definitely known for beaches. It is after
all the main reason why we are in the island. In this sojourn, we
have visited three beaches – Pantai Kok, Tanjung Rhu and the famed Pantai
Cenang.
Pantai Kok is the beachfront area of Century Langkawi Beach Resort while
Tanjung Rhu is the jump-off for our parasail experience. The fresh
air that hovers on these beaches is refreshing.
The long stretch of fine white sand with numerous restaurants and bars
aligned the shores make up Pantai Cenang. It was midday when we
arrived at the beach. The scorching heat nevertheless did not hinder
us from scouting for a space to loiter. We did not swim though for
obvious reasons of possible sun burn.
We settled at one corner where the caretaker of the resort is a
Filipino. To cut costs, we laid down one of my travel buddies sarong on
the sand serving as mat, and there we placed our cartons of beer and snacks
purchased from a nearby duty-free store. The use of the huts come
with a fee. It would be impractical for us to rent since we will be
staying there for just less than two (2) hours. Under the shade of a towering
coconut tree and a monobloc chair, we managed to chill, drink and people watch
while at Pantai Cenang.
MASJID AL-HANA
Along the way, we likewise noticed a mosque, that is not as grand as
other Malaysian mosques I have seen, but definitely a head turner. We
passed by the Moorish-style architecture Masjid Al-Hana, which is said to
incorporate Islamic motifs from Uzbekistan into its Malay-style architecture
and follows the conventional mosque design. The mosque is open
24-hours.
For ease of transport and tours within the city, we are glad to have
been assisted by Ekomegah Holidays as our tour guide.
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