My first trip to Pulau Langkawi

After flying 12-hours non-stop from Europe to Kuala Lumpur, I soon made another vacation trip.

Flying with AirAsia (again since Malaysia Airlines is expensive) via Kuala Lumpur LCC Terminal, I went to Pulau Langkawi with my family. I don't know what to expect in Langkawi but I'm looking forward to buy cheap liquor as Langkawi is a designated tax-free area.

Since this trip is a "Free-N-Easy" type thus there will be no tour groups or rushing around. I was able to tour freely and take pics. Read on for more stories and of course pictures :-)

This trip to Pulau Langkawi is my first family outing since I could ever remember (probably almost 15 years). Initially we wanted to hop on a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Pulau Langkawi since it's cheaper that way but the journey would take long hours on the road. So not to overstretched my parents, i decided on a faster mode of transportation, that is to fly the whole family there. It burnt deep into my pocket but it's worth it - it saved time and it will be the first time ever for all my younger siblings to fly on an airplane

Anyway, I would like to recommend a website that offer great promotions and discounts for Langkawi Hotels.

Day 1 - The Kuala Lumpur LCC Terminal

To save the transportation costs a little, I decided to fly with AirAsia (naturally). This meant that I would need to take my family to the Kuala Lumpur LCC Terminal again because AirAsia only flew from there. I managed to take some different photos of the terminal.


This is the Kuala Lumpur LCC Terminal		The main entrance to the terminal


		The check-in counters


Domestic Departure Hall		Another View of the Domestic Departure Hall

Day 1 - At The Island

We arrived to Langkawi via Langkawi International Airport after an exciting 45 minutes flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Our accommodation is the Aseania Resorts Langkawi, a 3-star hotel resort located near to the sea. This hotel is located in the Pantai Cenang-Pantai Tengah tourist belt. We have no problem locating the hotel after we left the airport with our hotel coupons and a rented Nissan Vennette van.

After checking into the hotel soon we found ourself unpacking our stuffs, ready to hit the road again for some action, shopping and lunch. For some sense of adventure, we decided to go around the island armed only with a few maps we gathered at the airport tourist information counter.

Our first stop, we decided take lunch in the capital of Langkawi, Kuah Town. We found a seafood restaurant and we ate our lunch there. After a rather expensive lunch, we went for our tax-free shopping spree.

Although the whole of Pulau Langkawi is a tax-free island, some shops do sell their goods slightly more expensive than others. The competition for sales is intense upon an hour of observation but nevertheless, one should scout around for the cheapest deals. Alcohol is dirt cheap in Langkawi. A 320ml can of beer cost only RM1.60 ( US$0.40) in Langkawi whereas in Kuala Lumpur, the same type of beer can cost up to RM6.50 (US$1.70). However, there's only one place in the whole of Langkawi where everything is cheaper and I do recommend potential visitors to visit this area for your shopping. Make your way to Jalan Pandak Mayah located in Kuah Town Center. This stretch of road contained two rows of shoplots on both sides and is popular with tour groups and locals.


The shopping strip of Jalan Pandak Mayah in Kuah Town

We went store by store to find good deals and eventually we found 2 reasonabily priced shop along the shopping strip. I do recommend the Wawasan Baru Trading and Haji Ismail shops because their prices to be the lowest in the strip.

After spending almost 4 hours shopping, we head back to the hotel slightly after dusk for dinner. The drive from Kuah Town to our hotel took roughly about 30 minutes. Upon reaching the hotel, we went straight for a buffet dinner. For only RM20 (US$5.50) per pax, there's plenty of variety to choose from.. and we ate a lot. After dinner, we shower, rest and drank some beers before retiring for the day.

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