Back
|
Pulau langkawi |
|
When the sun sets over the crystal clear waters of the bay and the outlines of tiny isles in the near distance gegain to blur in the mellow light of evening, one realizes that Langkawi is the kind of place that inspires the unlikeliest of candidates to purple prose But before the tourists and the cameras and the tourist and the cameras and the Bolly wood directors (of, among others, Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and Yaadein) came visiting, this and sea-faring, this was a land of legends and sea-faring spirits. And their stories are still the best ingredient for starlit nights on the beach – which is, of course, a Langkawi speciality. Best known is the story of Mahsuri, a woman so beautiful that she inspired jealousy in many who came across her. Soon enough, she was convicted for adultery she had not committed, and executed. |
 |
Before dying, she cursed Langkawi to suffer for its beauty like she had suffered for hers and saidthat the curse would last seven generations (see And Cursed was the Land). A descendant of the line returned to her roots in 2002 and was accorded a tremendous welcome by the state. With its newfound status as a duty-free isle in the mid-80s, tourism in Langkawi received a fillip. The prosperity brought by many to be the end of Mahsuri’s curse. Here’s hoping! |
|
Orientation |
|
Legend JI = Jalan; Sq = Square; TC = traveller’s cheques of all Malaysia’s destinations, Langkawi is closest to India, as it borders the Andaman Sea. Pulau Langkawi is shaped like an irregular quadrilateral and presides over its archipelago as the largest among many smaller isles, including pulaus Datai, Rebak, Dayan Bunting, Timun, Tuba, Bumbon Besar and Tepor. On its south-eastern tip lies Kuah, the main town on the island and also the place where most of the ferries dock. JI Air Hangat connects Kuah to the Durian Perangin Falls, Kilim Nature Park, Air Hangat Village and Tanjung Rhu Beach. |
 |
Cenang(about 18.4 km from Kuah) and Pantai Kok. Routes 112 and 113 from a ring connecting the most important beaches on the island toKuah. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
