Langkawi Archives - Escapes From The Little Red Dot

Langkawi 2015 Day 3 – Underwater World and Home Sweet Home

Posted on April 5, 2015September 22, 2019 by ziyi

The last day started early, just like any other day since Jr. came along. Woke up to quite a few mosquito bites on Jr. and my wife, apparently the mosquitoes had found a good food source. Unlike in Bintan where there was a mosquito net over the bed, the beds here were exposed and there weren’t any anti-mosquito fragrance.

After feeding and cleaning up, we proceeded to breakfast at the Spice Market restaurant near the reception. It was filled and we were told to go over to the Meritus club instead for the breakfast, where the similar buffet was set up. As we entered the classier setting and cushier seats, I felt that the buffet on offer had slightly less offering than the main buffet. After breakfast, we returned to the room for our final preparations, which included preparing baby meals, storing the expressed milk and bathing the baby. Of course we couldn’t complete these in time and so we overstayed for a good 30mins. The recept had to call us to remind us and asked if we needed a buggy, to which we said yes. The buggy was here in a flash, the fastest I have seen the 3 days we were here. Still we took some time before finally leaving the villa.

Brought a fridge-to-go for us to bring back the expressed milk. These we couldn’t bring along during the afternoon trip, we left it at housekeeping which they said could help us store in freezer, along with the luggage that was left with their temporary luggage storage.

Drove the car back to same location as the night before and parked just at the entrance of the Underwater World building. Purchase the tickets for 40RM per pax and entered the building, thankfully airconditioned. As Jr. had yet again pooped, we walked through the exhibits at the front swiftly, seeing some marine life along the way. When we reached the nursing room, we found it run down, without any facilities except a sink. It was a far cry from the beautiful nursing rooms we had in Singapore but this was expected. We quickly changed the diapers on Jr. by the sink (whom by the way made a mess by peeing while we were changing the diapers) and proceed on with the rest of the exhibits. Wife thought that the place was going to be huge so we rushed through the remaining half of the Underwater world, only to realised that it wasn’t as big as we thought and then we made a U-turn back to Eden cafe to have lunch.

There was quite a few stuff on the menu but what was really available was only Nasi Lemak. We bought for 2 of us and some nuggets to supplement the main dish as it didn’t looked filling. We had planned for my wife to pump at the nursing room while Jr. and I wait for her. This plan was quite important so as to ensure that there was enough food for Jr. for the whole afternoon out till we arrive back in Singapore, and also for my wife to relief herself. So she left for the unimpressive room while I brought Jr. to the hexagonal tank. This was particularly amusing as he could see many large fishes swimming everywhere and it kept him amused for some time until he got cranky and I had to feed him.

After 30mins, I went back to meet up wife and we left the Underwater World, exit led through a huge store selling souvenirs and food stuff. The visit was only so-so though I did saw a few other marine life that I thought I saw for the first time.

I drove back to the Nasi Kandar coffee shop and we ordered some Roti Canai to eat, having already digested the Nasi Lemak for lunch and also remembering the delicious Roti Canai from the dinner the night before. It was a short tea break before we left for the hotel to pick up the luggage and the milk and also to use the restroom. When the resort staff returned with the milk, it wasn’t frozen. It was disappointing but at least it was a little cool. This meant that the milk had to be taken soon after arrival in Singapore.

Drove to the airport about 10mins away and went into the carpark and parked near the departure hall. Called up the number that was on our rental sheet and went on to shift stuff from day bags to luggage for checked in a while later while wife and the baby went into the airport first. The car rental company staff arrived while I was still doing the packing and the handback was settled really quickly.

Went into the airport and had to go through the Xray machine first before going to the counter at Tigerair. There was quite a queue going on with 3 counters opened. However, we chose the right queue that had 2 counters serving the queue and checked in was done. Went through to the departure gate thinking that there should be some shopping at the waiting area but was seriously mistaken. Immediately after the gate, was the immigrations officer and thereafter was the waiting area, with a single shop serving F&B mainly. Therefore we couldn’t get anything else after that.

As we were one of the front few to board, since we were seated near the front and had a baby in arms, the boarding took some time to complete. However, the plane left on time and even arrived early in Singapore. The whole journey was quite ok, except that we felt the uncomfortable ear pressure much more than the Airasia flight and that could be the cause of Jr. crankiness for awhile. We gave him milk and he fell asleep for most part of the journey. Wife had to carry out some pumping on the flight itself. Otherwise, it was quite a easy flight home.

After touching down, unlike the past where we would almost zoomed past immigration with the auto gates. It was different this time and we had to queue to get through. There was a Singaporean line but was as long as the all passports line, difference being only that it was a tad bit faster – 10 mins to clear. We had no duty free allowance since we came back from Malaysia and so we got through the arrival gate after retrieving our luggage, meeting my parents have had came to fetch us back, the perks of bringing their grandson out for a trip.

This trip gave us the experience of having a baby on the flight with us which we deemed a nightmare, having sat through a few non-stop crying from angry babies. Now that we were on the other side of the scenario, this gave me a different perspective altogether. But this didn’t change my thoughts for crying babies, I still disliked them though I knew what was it like to be parent of one.

Learning from the last overseas trip, this trip was actually more enjoyable, having to be able to move about more and see more stuff. Maybe it was because the baby became more manageable, logical. Maybe because the wife was more mobile and compromised on pumping outside rather than limited in the hotel. Maybe because Langkawi offered more to see than Bintan. Still this gave us more confidence in venturing out with Jr. the next time. Next on the list would be during the long weekend holiday for the SG50, looking forward to it.

Langkawi 2015 Day 2 – Oriental Village

Posted on April 4, 2015September 22, 2019 by ziyi

Sleep lasted till 730am when we woke up with the baby. There wasn’t a sunrise view since the balcony faced the West. Did all the usual activities before going for breakfast.

The restaurant was next the the reception so we decided to walk there, having already given up on the buggy since it was always taking too much time. The walk to the reception wasn’t too bad, just a 5mins walk. Upon reaching the restaurant, we were brought to a rather comfortable cushion seated round table. There was quite a crowd already but the buffet spread was consistently filled with intercontinental cuisine mixed with local favorites, an adequate amount of choices available.

Spice market 2 — Spice Market Restaurant

After breakfast, we returned to the room to get prepared for our trip out and wife had to pump. The minibar had a small freezing compartment where the milk was stored. After the preparations, we walked to the carpark and drove 20mins to the Oriental village. Again, it was an easy drive, single lane roads and light traffic. We arrived after passing through some harbour near the popular Danna hotel and followed the signs leading to carpark A. The carpark was also filled to the brim and after circling once, I drove to the main road towards carpark B only to find out that it was meant for heavy vehicles. Returned to carpark A and went to the extension further away from the entrance which was also full. As usual, I found a slot at the entrance and parallel parked there. As Jr. had a habit a pooping while in a car, we had to changed his diapers in the car again before going into the village.

The Oriental village was just like a village, consisting of a couple of small buildings that were shops selling souvenirs or food, surrounding a lake. After a visit to the restroom, we went directly to the Skycab (cable car) tickets counter to get to the top of the mountain for some panoramic view of the island and also the other objective of visiting the Skybridge. When we arrived, there was already quite a crowd at the front of the ticketing counter. I carried Jr. and so the wife went to queue and get the tickets. Even though there were many people, there was a fixed schedule of boarding which was quite orderly. Our boarding time was 1245pm which was about 30mins after buying the tickets, for 35RM each. Jr. did not need one as he was under 2 years of age.

3D museum, similar to the Alive museum in SG.

We went window shopping in the nearby shops, actively looking for those with airconditioning as the weather was just too hot. There was a souvenir shop selling products related to the Skycab but we didn’t get any. As the announcement for the queue was made over the public announcement system, we walked to the line and was amongst the last few people. As we got up to the second floor, there was another queue for compulsory entry into the Skydome. This attraction was like the Omni Theatre in Singapore, only much smaller. We had to wait quite a bit due to the limited space and since we were the last few, we had to combine with the next group of people to watch the immersive show of a roller coaster ride. Jr. who had fell asleep during the queue was awakened before entering the theatre and became really annoyed with the show. Luckily we could get out of the theatre before he cried out loud.

It was then another queue to board the cable car, which could seat 6 people. We shared with another group of internal tourists that came from Johor. The cable car then climb rather steeply up towards the middle station, providing a panoramic view yet with a little scare. The temperature became cooler as it climbed and that felt great.

Once at the middle station after about 5mins (might seemed like eternity for those afraid of heights), everyone had to alight first before getting on the the last station. We walked to the viewing deck and it had an awesome view of the beach and the sea. We didn’t hang around for too long, proceeded to queue for the 2nd cable car ride to the final station, which had the access to the Skybridge. On the much shorter journey towards the final station, the Skybridge can be seen.

After alighting, we searched for the access point to the bridge and found a queue as we proceeded up the stairs. We thought there was a need to pay again for the bridge access but only found out when we reached the counter that the queue was meant for hikers who wanted to take the rough route through the jungles trails to the bridge. No wonder we had to fill in our particulars. Obviously we couldn’t do it since we had a baby with us, we had to forgo this visit. That was the only route to the bridge as maintenance was still ongoing.

Similar to the previous station, there was a viewing deck which we went. It felt much hotter here though and so we left rather quickly, going back to the queue for the return trip to the bottom. At this time, Jr. got hungry and wife left me in the queue while she took a seat nearby to quickly give Jr. his bottle. The queue moved slowly and by the time we were close enough, we managed to bypass some group of people in the front as we became “fillers” for those who were already next in line to board but having a group for 4. The return journey did not require us to disembark at the middle station.

The whole journey took about an hour as we arrived at the bottom at about 145pm. We wanted to have lunch and while we looked around for air conditioned places, there was a Mizumi Japanese cuisine restaurant and so we ate there. There was a restroom within the restaurant itself and I changed out the diapers for Jr. on the toilet bowl cover after we took our orders and wife went to set up her pumps as she would pump during lunch (one of sacrifices travelling breastfeeding mom would know). I fed Jr. and managed to get him to sleep in my arms before I attempt to eat my lunch with my free hand. The food was still pretty hot and that was challenging to eat with one arm and trying not to spill over Jr. sleeping underneath my mouth. In the end, I was still sweaty all over, as the aircon there wasn’t powerful at all. The lunch costed 98RM, normal priced for Japanese restaurant in an attraction but no way the same standard as expectations.

Drove the oven like car (since this was an open space carpark) back to the hotel which was again simple. At this point in time, I knew that the amount of gas pumped the day before was more than enough since we won’t be travelling far on the final day.

Back at the room, I brought Jr. out to the beach again. Went to the waters and as I stepped in, I found the waters to be lukewarm rather than cold! That was really unexpected and was really my first time that I felt this type sea water temperature before. Jr. didn’t like it anyway as he cried when I lowered his legs in the water. Still I thought I would give him some water dipping time and similar as the day before, in the bath tub.

The rest of the time was spent lazing around when baby was asleep or preparing and cleaning stuff. It was dinner time soon and according to Tripadvisor, there was a Yellow Cafe or a Red Tomato which was popular and along the Pentai Cenang road close to our resort. So we left at sunset which was about 730pm and hopped onto a buggy which was on its way out (we gave up waiting and walking was now preferred). We drove a little longer than yesterday, passing the Nasi Kandar Almaz and until when we saw the Underwater world building that we parked the car road side opposite it. A short walk further down was the Red Tomato and it was starting to fill up. Checked the menu filled with Western Cuisine, we figured that was not what we wanted and walked down further.

There were more eating places as we walked, having similar cuisine such as seafood. I couldn’t do seafood since I had gout and my wife ain’t a fan either but we ended up in and Islandish Restaurant serving Chinese food. This small joint was already quite crowded when we arrived, and we ordered some dishes that included a fried Red Snapper, vegetables, omelette and fried rice. There was free wifi but it was just as ridiculously slow as what our resort offered. While waiting for the food, I carried Jr. around walking and chatted with a German family who had 10 month old with him. I guessed it was just uncanny link between people with common interest, in the form of a baby, to talk to one another.

3 dishes. — 3 dishes of fried rice, omelette and vegetables.

Food came and we ate, with me having successfully put Jr. to sleep in my arms again. The food here was pretty ok, and the fish was fresh. There were many other forms of seafood but too bad. Went back to our vehicle and negotiated the slightly more busy road now, as people was out and about for dinner. Back to the hotel and it was same old activities, such as feeding the baby and cleaning up bottles and some packing. Caught EPL on TV before turning in for the night.

Langkawi 2015 Day 1 – Arrive in Langkawi, Eagle Square and Pentai Cenang

Posted on April 3, 2015September 22, 2019 by ziyi

Woke up at 6am in preparations for our flight at 1055am to Langkawi. This is Junior’s 2nd escape from the little red dot, courtesy of his wanderlust parents. Unlike our usual trips, we have to wake up way in advance to prepare, mostly due to the addition of our baby. These include preparing for his milk before leaving home, while at the airport and on board the flight and my wife had to schedule her milk expression too, such that there was enough to last the whole journey, since she wasn’t comfortable breastfeeding in public.

Our parents sent us to the airport and checked in was done pretty quickly, with one 29 inch luggage weighing about 16kg for the 3 of us. Normally, we would backpack for a 3 day trip but with the baby, that was too challenging for us to consider as we found in the last Bintan trip. There was time for us to take some food before we went through immigrations. My wife then went to the nursing room (which looked comfortable, had a sink and hot water dispenser but room was only for one person) within the terminal for milk expression while me and the baby chilled in front of the TV where he eventually dozed off. Met up some half an hour later and proceed to waiting area at the gate. There were initially some questions on the contents in the bag but later acknowledged upon seeing the infant.

While waiting at the gate, baby got a little cranky and quickly we popped a bottle to his mouth. The boarding soon commenced but we waited till Jr. was done. We had booked the so-called premium economy seats, supposedly to have wider leg space but didn’t really felt that way. Left the diaper bags on the space underneath the front seats for easy reach to the bottles and the diapers. As we didn’t pay for an extra seat (not necessary for babies under 2 years of age but with a cost of 25 SGD) and Jr. was given a infant seat belt which was secured to the main seat belt. As the door of the plane shut and the plane started to taxi to queue, we were feeling anxious, wondering when Jr. will become cranky and cause a nuisance. Luckily, all was good even after the plane lifted off, which was when we gave Jr. a pacifier that could help him swallow some saliva and remove the ear pain from the air pressure.

Throughout the flight, baby wasn’t sleeping which meant that we had to entertain him in order that he maintained his composure. This included playing with him some of his toys that we had brought along and even showed him the inflight magazine. He pooped and we thought we could wait until arrival, unfortunately he got cranky and so we did the diaper change on the seats itself. We had to lift the arm rest to create more space and lay him across the 2 seats. It was cramped but we managed, cleaned him up and threw the diapers into the puke bag, which we left with the air steward as he went around collecting rubbish. Just before landing, we gave Jr. the bottle again to help with the air pressure and also to keep him full.

Sitting at the premium economy provided the perks of getting off the plane first and clearing immigration, which was about 5 mins. As we proceeded to the luggage collection belt, we saw a line of car rental counters. Since we had to wait for the luggage anyway, I proceeded to these counters first. The people behind the counters were as if they have not seen a living soul for years and quickly call out to me when I came within sight. Fortunately, they stayed behind the counters and I did not feel that pressured to engage anyone.

Row of car rental companies immediately after immigrations.

I was scanning for a Kasina car rental which was recommended online as a bigger, more reliable company, instead I went to a Langkawi Discovery counter. The friendly sales person introduced the few car options and recommended I take the Mitsubishi Mirage, which he claimed was new and not too small for us, especially when I had a 29″ luggage. There was a further 60% discount on the 200RM published rates, bringing the total costs of rental to about 240RM for 3 days and a 50RM deposit. Only problem was that they only accept cash, which we didn’t bring alot. I was given the paper to make the collection outside the airport, exact location wasn’t clearly given.

After the we retrieved the luggage, we left the arrival hall and stepped out of the building. This was where there were more agents ushering for taxis and car rentals. I wasn’t sure where to pick up the vehicle until one person actually recognise the slip and brought me across the road to the carpark and then the car itself. Did the usual checks, paid, given some instructions on returning of vehicles. And the car was really new, done only 10k in distance. Set up my GPS, even though the car rental personnel told us that it was really easy to get around Langkawi. As a Singaporean, I was kiasu. Punched in the end location and we arrived 10mins later at the Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort and Spa. We parked at the carpark and walked to the main reception area some 100m away, dragging a luggage and carrying a baby, in the hot sun.

Checked in was done at one of the tables and the staff introduced the location of the villa and the available restaurants. We asked for late check out but was informed to ask again closer to the date of departure. After the administration, we were told to wait for a buggy but no one came to us until we asked another staff. The buggy brought us through the walk path to our beach front villa at number 46, together with our luggage, something similar to what we had experienced in Bintan.

The beach front villa was part of a bigger building of another 3 rooms, with 2 of them on the 2nd level. We had a small balcony that faced the beach but wasn’t exactly in front of us. It was more like a beach side villa. Tough luck.

The room itself was pretty big, containing a day bed, a king size bed and another single bed. However, there was only 1 air-conditioner which was not enough to cool down the entire villa in the sweltering heat. The presence of a ceiling fan only aid so slightly in the air circulation. Compounding to the problem was just like any hotel rooms, this was powered by the one and only magnetic door card. This guaranteed a warm room everytime we return from outside.

Bathroom was quite big, containing a long bath tub which we looked forward to utilise giving the baby some swimming time. There was a separate rain shower for the bathing. The only con was that there were only one sink, and if that was used for sterilising the bottles, we won’t be able to do any washing other than at the shower or the tub.

Jr. didn’t really like the room, becoming cranky after staying indoors for a while. So while my wife had to pump, I brought Jr. out to enjoy the warm sea breeze and the view of turquoise waters while trying to stay in the shade and he became calm. After strolling a while, I brought him back and looped the inflatable infant buoy around Jr. neck and gave him a dip in the tub. There was more than sufficient hot water here which was great for the dip. He became cranky, and figuring that he could be hungry, we fed him while in the tub. This was like bar side pool for babies!

View of private beach line with coconut trees.

After the tub dip, we packed to get ready for our first place of attraction, the Eagle Square. Strapped the baby on with a Ergobaby carrier (left the stroller back in Singapore, carrier was offered far more portability) waited outside the villa after calling for the buggy. It took forever to arrive, even after a call back to the reception. We stood almost 15 mins before the buggy finally arrived, something so unlike what we had encountered previously in Bintan. It took us straight to the carpark.

Punched in the destination on my GPS and it was a easy 20mins drive to Kuah only single lane roads consisting of light traffic. We arrived at the carpark but it was filled to the brim, apparently so many people was out and about this good Friday. Cars parked anywhere and everywhere and so I followed suit, found a slot behind a car along the sidewalk and parked there. Before heading out, we fed Jr. in the car and changed his diapers since he had pooped.

As we needed lunch, we walked towards Jetty Point mall and into the food court. In the sweltering heat, the air-conditioned place offered some relief but the Nasi Lemak was only just normal. After lunch, we went to the Baskin Robbins nearby for some ice cream before heading towards the square, some 5mins walk towards the port.

Eagle Square has a huge ass eagle statue looking out to the sea and apparently, Langkawi was named after these types of eagle. Since this was one of the most noticeable Langkawi landmarks, tourists were there to take photos with it. We tried to take a selfie with it but it proved challenging because of its size.

Giant statue of an eagle at Eagle square.

There were a couple of shops nearby selling clothings and souvenirs but nothing really interesting. We left for the gas stations some 2km away and pumped 10litres for 19.50RM, dirt cheap! Then it was an easy drive back. There was a shopping mall nearby but we weren’t really interested.

Backed at the hotel, the wife went for her pumping while I entertained the baby and bathed him. As the sun began to set at around 730pm, I brought Jr. out for his first overseas sunset and took some photos. The balcony had a nice sunset view, pity it was a little too far off from the sand.

Used the room wifi to Google for dinner places (wifi was fast enough only for googling and nothing else) and Tripadvisor recommended a restaurant at nearby Casa Del Mar resort. Knowing the speed of buggy service, we called for the buggy in advance and still it took some time to arrive.

As we drove out, a mere 2mins got us to the start of a long stretch of road lined with restaurants and eating places, called Pantai Cenang. We parked at the roadside opposite Casa Del Mar and walked around to check out the places. We didn’t walk too long before returning to the resort. Went straight to the La Sal restaurant which had Alfresco dining by the beach but was disappointed that it was fully booked. The staff asked if we were interested for dinner the next day but we didn’t want to commit first. In the end, we ended up in a Restoran Almaz opposite the resort where we ordered Maggi Goreng Chicken and Roti Canai. It was a humid night and it was a sweat to eat in the coffee shop but the food was pretty good, even though it might be MSG filled. We weren’t completely full and further ordered Roti Canai with egg and I had a crispy and delicious Roti tissue, which made us very full. Returned back to warm room and it was all about getting the baby to sleep and subsequent rest.

Nasi Kandar coffee shop. — Nasi Kandar coffee shop with rows of Maggi mee.

Escape plan to Langkawi April 2015

Posted on April 2, 2015June 24, 2020 by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Langkawi April 2015:

Total duration 3D2N
Singapore is on the same timezone as Langkawi.
Flight time is 1hrs 30mins on Air Asia from Singapore to Langkawi and return flight on Tigerair. This airline combination gave better timing options compared a single airline combination.

Morning flight on 3rd April at 11am and arrival in Langkawi at 1225pm.
Return flight is on the 5th April at 6pm and arrival in Singapore at 735pm.

Day 1 Arrival in Langkawi and Eagle Square
Day 2 Oriental Village and SkyCab
Day 3 Underwater World then Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was planned as our 2nd trial trip with baby. As a follow up on a holiday trip 2 months before to Bintan, we were chose to visit Langkawi because we wanted to get a feel of how our baby would react on a plane and therefore find an overseas trip where a flight time was short. Langkawi is about an hour and a half away, which would be ideal and it was somewhere that we hadn’t visit before. It was a Good Friday long weekend and a great excuse to escape.

Budget nature: Affordable costs of living offsets fairly expensive plane tickets.

Langkawi has a low cost of living and therefore it was pretty cheap to travel in Langkawi. We got by for the 3 days with less than 300 SGD for all the food and car. Maybe it was low season?

Complexity: Easy with own transport.

As with all developing places, places of interests are not within walkable distances. Taxis might rack up the costs and might not be readily available. We chose the car rental route that enabled maximum flexibility, especially with an infant in tow.