Wait! What?!! Did someone say $500 for a weekend getaway with two friends? $500 here is about RM2,076 and that's a lot of money for two days. So I can definitely Live It Up as @dreemsteem has so commanded!
Langkawi was the first place to open for visitors when travel bans were lifted and that was over a month ago. I thought this would make it a good place to scoot off to since it has had some time to get used to people again haha. And look, they are even having promotions, so we can make the money stretch.
Who am I bringing? Well, I thought of a writer and a photographer. Because they are not in my country I had to go looking for @snook's Dream Heart Machine and after much online searching I finally found one - it is similar where you can just wish a person over. This one's called Dreem Heart Machine, I am not sure whether it is a China-made knock-off or a 2.0 version by the DreemPort guys...hmmmmmm
But it worked and that's all that matters :D. The two friends who are coming with me are @kemmyb and @sunnyag who I think could use this trip to inspire more fiction and photography. And I can get to hang out with them in 3D.
We meet at the Ferry Port in Kedah to take us across. Hey, gotta travel like the locals do right? Once we get to the other side, a car with a driver to take us around which I had earlier made arrangements for is there waiting for us. His name is Bob and he takes us straight to the hotel.
I had booked the Bon Ton Antique Wooden Villas because I wanted Kemmy and Sunny to get a feel of living in a kampung house. Ok ok, more like a very luxurious kampung house. I booked the Villas from their official website which had the cheapest prices and booked one for each of us.
As soon as we check-in, we head for lunch. I do want Kemmy and Sunny to taste some local food like the locals and so Bob takes us to a nice roadside stall. I order Asam Pedas served with rice and omelette for all of us.
Asam Pedas translated means sour-spicy with fish. They finish it and I am not sure if they actually like it or they are being polite, but they gulped down lots of water with every mouthful. Or maybe they were just thirsty.
We then go to Eagle Square which is free for the public. The giant eagle statue is synonymous with Langkawi. The story is, the island is abundant with eagles and so was named after the bird. Eagle in Malay is Helang and kawi in Sanskrit is marble. Apparently, Langkawi is a combination of the two words.
Right after taking some pictures, we head on over to Lake Dayang Bunting. There is also folklore attached to this place. A celestial princess would descend from the heavens to bathe in the waters. A prince saw her and fell madly in love with her. He tricks her into marrying him and they have a child but sadly the child dies when he is seven years old. The grieving princess leaves the child's body in the lake and returns to the heavens to never come back to earth. They say, if a woman is barren, all it takes is for her to take a dip in the waters and she will be blessed with a child.
We hop on the boat for a nice breezy ride around the lake. Kemmy does not want to dip her fingers in the water just in case, but Sunny is happy to as he is sure if he did get pregnant it would be a miracle he could write about on Hive.
By the time we are done with the boat ride, it is late and time for dinner. Of course, I had to take Kemmy and Sunny to Cenang Beach where it all happens. We order some grilled fish and noodles and have some shakes while sitting on the sand. We share stories about our countries, the similarities and the differences. We watch the fire-eaters dance with fire as the DJ plays some of our favourite songs.
By ten, we are ready to get back to our rooms, soak in our tubs and then sleep.
The next morning we meet by the pool by 7 am for breakfast. We still have many places to go to and I want to show them as much as possible. Bob is already waiting for us by 8 am.
First stop, Laman Padi Langkawi, Rice Garden and Museum. The padi fields are glistening green under the morning sun. It is absolutely gorgeous and we just soak in the sights and sounds of morning vibes and all this is free.
Then with just a couple of hours left. before check out, we head straight to The Air Hangat Village. We walk around and even dip our feet into the hot pool. Another legend this island carries is how there was a big fight between two giants during a wedding feast. During the fight, many things were broken and spilt forming the islands and rivers of Langkawi. The hot springs is apparently the hot water used during the feast.
Right after that, we quickly make our way back to the hotel to check out. Not wanting to waste our time together, we head on down to the beach just to walk in the seawater before heading to town for a quick lunch of more local fare. With the weather at 33°C I order some shaved ice with lots of goodies in it.
And then it was time to say farewell. Just to drag it out a little, even though I could have already used the Dreem Heart Machine to send Kemmy and Sunny back, we took the ferry so we'd have an extra half-hour to talk about the trip. When we docked and once on the mainland, it was really time to say goodbye.
| RM | ? |
|---|---|
| RM480 | Ferry Ride return |
| RM120 | Car Rental |
| RM1119 | Bonton Villas |
| RM40 | Lunch 1st Day |
| RM135 | Boat Ride on Lake |
| RM80 | Dinner on the beach |
| RM5 | Entry to Hot Springs |
| RM40 | Lunch 2nd Day |
Total: RM2,029/$488.50
I give the balance to Bob for being such a good sport and driving us around, which isn't much but he was so appreciative.
I am hanging on to this Dreem Heart Machine for there will be more DreemPort Challenges coming. Thank you @Snook for the fab idea. If you have not done a little virtual travel, whatcha waiting for? Head on over HERE to find out more.
I do appreciate your time & being part of my story <33
Video from https://naturallylangkawi.my/ as are most of the images, which is the official site for Langkawi tourism
Posted via peakd.com