Here in the great state of Kedah (motto : We have rice coming out of our wazoo!), the most you will see are flat lands made up of paddy fields. Its nicknamed the "Rice Bowl of Malaysia" as it is our largest producer of our staple diet. However, that doesn't mean it is boring and sucks to the very depth of your soul. No sir it isn't. Damn close but it isn't. Kedah's most popular tourist spot is Pulau Langkawi or Langkawi Island. It has an international airport and its a pretty darn good place just to chill and be a surfer dude wannabe. So we start with Langkawi.
1) Langkawi
It is an island resort that is followed by a very romantic and mythical story (read totally unbelievable) about a person named Mashuri who cursed the island for 7 generations after she was framed and bled white to symbolize her innocence. I would have just taken off at that point! So Langkawi stayed in the backwater of Malaysian social economy until the alleged 7th generation passed on and our previous Prime Minister turned it into a major tourist attraction.
The biggest town on the island is Kuah Town where you will find some duty free shops and some decent restaurants but the island resorts are off town and there are many that you can choose from. Check out the many beaches that are washed by the Andaman Sea like Pantai Cenang, Pantai Kok, Burau Bay, Tanjung Rhu and Datai Beach. From Tanjung Rhu, you can see the shores of Thailand.
The places you should check are the Pulau Payar Marine Park where you can feed baby sharks against colourful corals and diverse marine lives. Another is Sungai Kilim where you can take a cruise along this river and savour the beautiful mix of mangrove forests, white sandy beaches and blue lagoons. You will also be taken to a floating village where you can have lunch and check out the fish farms that are found on the village. Along this cruise, you will get to see how the eagles are fed as raw chicken pieces are thrown into the river and a huge swarm of eagles like a scene from some horrific horror movie will come swooping down and you will think that they are going to pluck your eye balls and any other dangling body parts away!!! Not that I am afraid.
The Tasik Dayang Bunting (Pregnant Maiden Lake) is actually a volcano crater so that means it is SUPER deep and dark emerald in colour. Swimming in it is really relaxing if you don't keep imagining some deep sea monster coming up to pull you down and having you for supper! The legend of this lake comes from a tale of a heavenly princess who married a mortal prince. The had a child which died soon after birth (maybe from eagle feeding scare!) and was buried at the lake. As she returned to heaven, she blessed the lake so that should a childless woman baths in the lake, she will conceive soon after. Hardly an ad for birth control! So single girls, be careful when you swim here. Pls wear protection.
Underwater World of Langkawi is a giant aquarium with many interesting marine lives like sharks, rays, arapaimas, penguins etc. Then it is a hop away to the Langkawi Cable Car. It is in the Malaysian Book of Records for something but I am too lazy to find out but the view is fantastic. Situated at Burau Bay it also boast an impressive attraction of a 125m suspension bridge. At the foot of the cable car station, you can enjoy an Oriental Village where they sell an assortment of trinkets and souvenirs.
It would not be complete unless you visit the Tomb of Mashuri at Kota Mashuri. Also you will see Beras Hitam or Black Rice where the Langkawi people burned the paddy fields to stop the Siamese soldiers from having food. Till today the rice growing on these fields are black.
There is a Langkawi Wildlife Park which houses many animals in its natural habitat. If by now you are not sick of seeing animals or aspire to be the next Jacques Cousteau, this is a great place to visit. As for me, if I see another bird....
Langkawi is also the accorded the Global Geopark status by UNESCO for the preservation of its geological heritage. The park has been dubbed the "birthplace" or "fetus of the land" of our region and it has history dati8ng back to 550 million years. There are 3 geoforest that you can visit. The Machinchyang Cambrian dubbed the "fallopian tube", the Kilim Karst dubbed the "Placenta" and the Dayan bunting Marble dubbed the "Colon". All said and done, best to go with a guide or you might just poke your eye out with an ancient stick since you climbed all the way up to see some really old and mis-shapen rocks. So the guide will help you appreciate it more and dispel and suicidal tendencies.
After Langkawi, the rest of Kedah seems very backward. So you are not faulted for skipping it altogether unless you are driving up to Southern Thailand. Still some good places to mention are:-
- Lembah Bujang and Kuala Kedah museums, white water rafting in Sungai Sedim.
- The world's longest tree top walk at Guning Inas Forest Reserve situated along Sungai Sedim.
- Lasor Eco Park for 4x4 enthusiasts
- Ulu Legong Hot springs
- Merbok River Cruise about 10km from Sungai Petani town
- Homestays at Kampung Relau at Kulim and Kampung Raga at Yan
- State capital, Alor Star
Before you know it, its time to move to...
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