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Datai Bay
Although the perfect beach is something of a tourism cliché, Datai Bay, on the north coast of Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia deserves every accolade. Sprinkled with tiny exotic seashells, the sands here really are talcum-powder white. Go out in the early morning, and you can spend ages marveling at the extraordinary patterns the spider crabs have made. 

The mesmerizing seascapes make it a battle to even pick up a novel let alone do anything resembling work. On the horizon, jungle-clad limestone formations look like a scroll painting. Your eyes are constantly drawn to the bobbing little boats of anchovy fishermen and sea eagles riding the ocean thermals. 

Idling in paradise isn’t the only option, though. The island has three top-class golf courses and three yacht clubs; you can visit the mangroves and go jungle-trekking; explore bat caves and the coral wonderland of the Pulau Payar Marine Park. The twice-weekly night markets are fun, too. It’s a chance to sample hawker food such as satay chicken on skewers, and haggle for trinkets, batik, and wooden carvings. 

But Langkawi’s big allure for me is the jungle. If you enjoy back-to-nature experiences, it’s magical to glimpse hornbills and white-headed Brahminy Kites swooping through the treetops...to come face-to-face with monitor lizards...to hear the nighttime chorus of croaking frogs. The island is also home to strange “flying snakes” (non-poisonous), fox bats, colugas (gliding lemurs), and a host of other wildlife including kingfishers, muntjac deer, and black leaf monkeys. 

And you don’t have to get all sweaty by going on a trek to see these creatures. Some of Langkawi’s resort hotels are backed by jungle. If I’d been tied to the balcony in the Andaman Hotel, I wouldn’t have complained—watching a monitor lizard amble past, I felt like I was in the middle of a Discovery Channel wildlife program. (Tip: never leave your balcony doors or windows open—not unless you wish to share your room with rampaging macaque monkeys.) 

Around and about Langkawi 
Reaching Langkawi is fairly uncomplicated. It only involves an hour’s flight from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. Alternatively you can come via ferry from the mainland or Penang Island. 

The majority of the archipelago’s 65,000 inhabitants—mostly Malay—live on Pulau Langkawi. It’s all traditional with small kampungs (villages) of stilted wooden houses and rice fields with gray water buffalo sleeping under the molten midday sun. Shy kiddies peep out from behind trees and wave at you. Villagers use the steps of their houses to sit and mend nets or shuck vegetables—I watched one old boy giving his neighbor an old-fashioned shave with a bowl, a brush, and a cut-throat razor. But most of the island is untouched by humans, a wilderness of mountains, waterfalls, and rainforest. 

Kuah, the island’s main town, is home to around 12,000 inhabitants. It’s a sleepy place where cattle graze in weedy lots, chickens wander the back streets, and most shops close by 7 p.m. Although there’s no good beach in the immediate vicinity, it’s handy for getting to Pulau Payar Marine Park. Most island-hopping trips depart from Kuah jetty. So do the ferries to Penang Island and Kedah on the mainland.
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Langkawi’s property market - An unspoiled island? You bet. And that means none of the usual expat requirements such as private hospitals and international schools. (If you needed to visit a Western standard hospital, it would entail going to either Penang or Kuala Lumpur.) But here’s the biggest shock: Langkawi doesn’t possess a single real estate agent.
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But back to that condo development mentioned earlier. Looking toward the sea in one direction and mountains in another, Century Suria is a 12-story residence of 147 units with gym, pool, and sauna. On the northern outskirts of Kuah, on Jalan Taman Pelangi, it was built a couple of years ago. All the penthouses were sold pre-construction. The other condos range in size between 1,025 square feet and 1,046 square feet. Prices for fully furnished units are now pitched between $60,500 and $69,000—approximately $26,000 above pre-launch prices.

Run as serviced apartments, some condos are available for both short- and long-term rentals. Daily rental for up to six people is from $66; monthly rentals from $477 for low floor condos to $636 for ones on a higher floor with a view. 

As the manager isn’t on site every day (I was shown around by the reception staff), for more details contact the developers, the Thong Sin Group in Penang. Their office is at: Wisma Thong Sin, 501 Jalan Tanjung Bungah, 11200 Penang; tel. (604)899-9555; e-mail: censuria@thongsin.com or tks@thongsin.com.

Traveling in a Muslim country 

Malaysia isn’t the Middle East, though travelers should be aware that drug offenses can result in the death penalty. While I was there, the newspapers carried details of one case in which a guy was sentenced to death for trafficking in ganja.

The form of Islam practiced in Malaysia isn’t extreme, though its moral maze may seem odd to Westerners. Not all cases are tried by the High Court. Muslims are also subject to Sharia law. 

In another high profile case, an actress was fined $530 by the Sharia court for committing khalwat. This means being “in close proximity” with someone to whom you are not married. The “proximity” with a sales promoter—who was also fined—apparently took place in a hotel room. The evidence by the prosecution included “pictures of a spaghetti-strap pink blouse, a beige bra, and shorts.” 

That said, the country’s constitution guarantees freedom of worship: Chinese, Hindu, and Christian communities have their own temples and churches. Muslim festivals such as Ramadan and Aidilfitri are given great prominence, but Christmas, Diwali (the Hindu Festival of Lights), and Chinese New Year aren’t ignored.

Although most Malay women wear the tudung (a head-scarf), few cover up in black burqa robes. In fact, younger women often wear figure-hugging jeans. 

To me, the weirdest thing was the supermarket signs saying “No alcohol sold to Muslims.” The law is easily enforced, as residents—native Malay, Chinese, or Hindu—must carry an identity card which also details their religion. 

Naturally there are ways of getting around the ban. One Indian taxi driver told me he also makes commissions through buying alcohol for his not-so-pious Muslim neighbors. During Ramadan, his commissions increase even more. Enforceable by Sharia law, Muslims also have to abandon cigarettes for their holy month of fasting—but not all of them do. 

You won’t be able to enjoy a beer in any of Lankawi’s traditional village eateries. But in Kuah town, there’s a plethora of small Chinese restaurants whose fridges are well-stocked with Tiger and Heineken beer. With Langkawi’s duty-free status, going rate for a beer is 50 cents. Store prices are cheaper.
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Follow the lamp-lit rainforest path In Kuah town, the badly-misnamed Grand Continental was my base. Its pool isn’t much bigger than a billiard table, the breakfast is decidedly uncontinental, and my room’s mini bar contained nothing. (Stock up next door in the mall’s basement supermarket.) Not surprisingly, Western guests are rarities. However, it’s clean. Booked through www.Langkawi-Online.com, doubles with breakfast cost $26. In contrast, the Andaman Resort at Datai Bay is swoonsville. Everything is fabulous including the lagoon-type pool, where young men bring you ice-cold towels to slap on your forehead. The choice of in-house restaurants include Japanese and the Gulai House, a restaurant styled like a Malay village house that’s garnered dozens of awards. (Try the prawn masala curry.) It’s one of Langkawi’s rare places where you can sample traditional Malay food and enjoy alcohol at the same time. You reach the Gulai House along a lamp-lit rainforest path. The Andaman offers guests complimentary morning and evening nature walks with Othman, the resident naturalist. Both last 90 minutes. On the 7.30 a.m. walk, we saw black leaf monkeys, a host of different birds, strangling figs, and trees whose leaves turn toxic when it rains. If you go out with Othman, ask him how he got his cobra bites... Unless you can negotiate a discount, doubles start at $238 a night, room only. See: www.andaman.com.