I couldn’t give the buffet my full attention yesterday morning, because I had a plan: Kayak across the bay and back before lunch. Yep, intrepid Cat is intrepid. Watch me intrep. So I whizzed through the muesli and toast, declined extra coffee, and couldn’t even finish my jumbo watermelon juice. (Incidentally, watermelon juice is fantastic – all the refreshingness but without the seeds.)
The sun was out, but some light cloud overhead promised some cover later on. The water was as flat as a silk tablecloth. I grabbed a single ride-on kayak (easy to operate), a paddle and a dive bag, (and a lifejacket, of course) and shot out onto the bay. Straight over to the island and then I nosed the bow round the rocks and into what, for the sake of argument, we will call swell. I wasn’t sure how adventurous I wanted to be, but it still was quieter than a calm day off the Coromandel, so I kept going.
Right ahead of me, the water had slightly more texture. Was it rocks? I took it carefully. And then a fish leapt out of the water ahead of me. And then another. I looked down and the water was just seething with entire schools of fish of different colours. The water was so clear that I could see quite a bit once I stopped paddling. Thank god for polarized sunglasses. Ben, those Weta things we bought all those years ago were worth every penny.
I drifted this way and that, fascinated, but taking care to avoid the actual rocks just off the island. I toodled about in the kayak for a good hour or so, circling the island, before making landfall on the tiny beach. There wasn’t a soul around. It was damn hot under that sun, so I cooled off in the water and the shade before putting some more sunscreen on and hopping back in the kayak.
I was alone on the island, but unfortunately there were far too many signs that people had been there before me. Maybe it was previous visitors, and maybe the tides had played a part, but the high-tide mark was carpeted with trash. I filled an (abandoned) laundry basket with bottles and threw it in the back of the kayak to take back to land, but I barely made a dent in the mess. Maybe I’m naïve, but I don’t remember ever seeing anything like this in New Zealand.
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Makes me want to cry. |
Returning the kayak I was pleased to see I made it in just under two hours, my original target. Not bad without a watch. Charging everything to the room means resort life is blissfully cash-free, but you have to be careful as things can rack up pretty quickly. Although kayak hire seemed ok, 15 RM per hour (approx NZ$6). Double-checking the prices, I spotted snorkels, and in the price column, those three magic initials: FOC. That was my afternoon sorted then.
A quick swim to cool off, and then lunch by the pool… and then back to the beach. I had a few teething problems with the snorkel – I took the first one back complaining that it was letting in water, before I realized it was my technique. But once I got going, it was the most magical experience. I’ve snorkeled a couple of times before, in New Zealand (brrrr!) and also in Rarotonga. I remember the colours being more vivid in Raro, but here I couldn’t get over the sheer size of the reef, and how close it was to shore. There’s something magical about floating over these alien-like formations, looking down – it feels like flying.
And the huge numbers of fish! I saw clown fish, angel fish, and all these fish I can’t even name. Most of them were no longer than my hand, but I did see one which must have been three feet long, and silvery blue with a yellow face. My favourite were some iridescent fish in neon rainbow shades. I saw a whole school of them feeding off the reef, there were so many of them that I could hear them grazing… although I also saw a leopard print patterned fish which I instantly named the Cheryl fish.
Back on the beach for a langur photoshoot (above). About 4pm every day a man turns up with a crate of freshly caught fish and a set of scales. For 20 RM per 100 grams, you buy the fish you want and the restaurant cooks it for you. I looked at the fish – they looked pretty fresh, but the crate was sitting in the sun, with no visible ice… I asked if they had a small one, as they looked pretty hefty. They weighed the smallest one – 900 grams! Maybe if I had backup – but for 180 RM (about $80), I didn't want to throw half the meal away. Besides, I don’t even like fish that much. I think I prefer them alive.
I had booked for a free yoga class on the poetically-named “Stars Platform”, the open-air terrace outside the fitness centre. I turned up to find that the class was being held inside, and I was the only person there. I wasn’t complaining, it was a free personal yoga session, and it was 30 degrees outside. Turns out that the airconditioning wasn’t the reason it was being held inside… apparently if they use the platform, the local monkeys turn up to investigate. Urgh, no thanks.
Back to the room for a little lie-down and then off for the nighttime rainforest walk, which took us along a different track round the back of the hotel. I learnt that the woop-woop sound that I hear most nights is not a car alarm, but the local frogs competing for dates. I learnt that monitor lizards will attack if you approach them from behind – and one woman on the tour found that out the hard way! Luckily she had the good sense to turn and run. Their bite can be septic because they eat carrion. And you don’t want to get close enough to smell their breath either. Great, just one more thing to get the willies about. I come from a country where the worst thing the wildlife can do to you is sting (wasp or jellyfish).
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This sign is right by the pool. And they're NOT kidding. |
A bit further up the track the trees drew in, and there was a crashing sound. The small boy with us screamed loudly, and we all withdrew a couple of steps very quickly. Then the guide laughed – just a couple of wild boar, nothing to worry about. Oh well, that’s alright then!
We finished the walk in the trees by the pool, where we saw actual colugos gliding silently from tree to tree. That was fantastic. One of them had a baby clinging to its chest. We stood staring up the tree, and oohed and ahhed. Then we heard a sound like the patter of rain, and our guide pulled a face and stepped back. We had narrowly missed the honour of being pooed on by a colugo.
Today was pretty much a repeat of yesterday, without the yoga or the walk. Instead, I wedged myself into the hammock on the beach for part of the afternoon.
Although on the way back to the room from dinner, I did see another tokay lizard, so called for the sound they make. And flitting through the covered corridor, a small bat, so small I thought it was a moth. Well, today I did see a butterfly the width of my palm…
Tonight inbetween packing, watching Outrageous Fortune season 5, and blogging, I managed to eat my first ever dragonfruit. Pity the name relates to the appearance and not the taste. Bleah - it's kind of bland.
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Guess which one is the dragonfruit. Go on, guess! |
Leaving Langkawi tomorrow. Sniff. It’s been a bloody fantastic few days. The only thing that can cheer me up is the fact that… I’m going home!! I land in Auckland on Sunday, and Wellington the Sunday after that. Still got the same mobile after all these years, so get in touch if you want to catch up. In the meantime:
