Malaysia Part 2: Quirky Langkawi

I saw more Poles in Malaysia [2, other than Kamil and Magda]
than I've seen in India so far [1].

Here’s the Part 2 post about my trip to Malaysia over New Year’s:

Quirky Langkawi:

So after a lovely time in Penang, Jocelyn and I headed over to Langkawi, an island known best for its beach resorts. Knowing we would spend New Year’s Eve there, we decided to pony up the money for a nicer resort for a night. Still on a student’s budget, we were limited to choices that didn't require paying an exorbitant extra fee for a mandatory New Year’s Eve gala, which left us with a place called Resorts World. Fairly removed from the main strip of resorts on the Southern half of the island, Resorts World really was a world unto its own, and a bit of a strange one, at that. There was nothing apparently wrong with the place at all, but everything felt a little… off. A massive complex, half the hotel seemed unoccupied. Its size along with its removed location gave it a strangely Hotel California-esque feel.

Resorts World, day...

... and night.

So with that in mind, we went off to our New Year’s Eve barbecue buffet on the boardwalk [see what I mean when I say the place was a little off?] not knowing quite what to expect. The invitation read like an invite to a college frat party, but for the fact that it didn't contain any Greek letters. It even advertised unlimited free wine and beer, and a happy hour… during which you could get more of the same free wine and beer, for free.
 As it turns out, the barbecue buffet spread was pretty impressive. Although it offered only one barbecue animal of indeterminate type [lamb?], there was a lot going on so our stomachs weren't empty by any means. Nor were our ears, on that note, because all throughout dinner, a local DJ supplied us with some great jams… had we been out at a club. Between him and the cover band [which consisted of a set of girls in go-go getups and an electric pianist], it was a weird selection for a group that consisted mostly of family reunion attendees and young couples with young children. At first, no one but an adorable ten-year-old dancing fiend was having any of it – the music or the New Year’s celebration goodies [read: glow sticks and masquerade masks] that the hotel provided us.

First photo of 2014!

But let the free alcohol flow and the dance floor runneth over. We rang in the New Year with a last-minute countdown at our table but afterward the dance party looked like so much fun that J and I couldn’t resist joining in. It had a very “my cousin’s wedding” feel to it, with the staffers and young hotel guests alike joining in on the fun for a while after midnight. Overall, it was a great, and amusing, way to ring in the New Year.

A water buffalo near the beach

As for other notable parts of our time in Langkawi, we got some QUALITY BEACH TIME in at a beach across from our second hotel there. As a beach baby at heart, this was a big deal for me. As I generally don’t really swim in the few beaches I’ve been to in India [due to pollution at beaches and what I personally would call restrictive swimwear/swimming norms], it was a big deal for me to get in some real beach time. Uncrowded, unpolluted, and quiet, this was one of the best beaches I've ever visited. And it came complete with a nearby path frequented by water buffalo. Who doesn't love water buffalo? Every one does [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltG37Bbx1qk].

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the cable car ride known as the SkyCab, or what I’d call the Nearly-Panic-Attack-Inducing-Scary-Ride-Up-An-Impossibly-Steep-Cliff. Whoever thought this was a good idea must have been sitting out in the sun for a little too long, because it was actually a terrifying ride. Granted, my friend was pretty much okay, but still…

No cable car ride is complete without

a display of wax hands for sale.

The good news is that it ended with a nice view of the sunset from the top of a little cliff, and not with a nice view of the tops of the trees below speeding towards us as we plummeted to our death. Totally worth it in the end, although we were almost left stranded taxi-less in the deserted theme park-like area built at the base of the SkyCab cliff. I guess it would have been better than being stuck in a cable car, though?

So scroll down for more cable car pics, and check back later this week for my final Malaysia update! 

We cabled up to that itty-bitty light at the top of the mountain on the right.