Langkawi Holiday Day 1, Part 2.
10th August
2017. Day 1, Part 2.
Our accommodation, Sweet Inn Motel was somewhere in Chenang. For
two rooms, for a 3-day-2-night-stay, it cost us just RM 360 - relatively
reasonable as it was located at a great location. Chenang itself is a place of
attraction that consists of rows of shops of both local and western restaurants, souvenir stalls as well as convenient stores. So clearly, it was the top
pick for us.
However, while searching for the motel, we faced a small problem. We
found it pretty difficult to find where it was. We couldn’t detect the exact
location of the motel through Waze. We reached the closest point directed by
Waze and stopped to ask for direction. I asked two people, each giving me two opposite directions – seriously if
you don’t know, just say so, right?
But somehow, our guts told us that we were
actually really close. I ended up walking along the smaller road leading us
to various motels. I was confident it was there somewhere. That moment I thought it would be a little bit difficult for tourists to find the motel, with so many other motels scattered all over the place along
the small country road.
Our car followed from the back – I thought it’d be
easier for me to recce around. Not long after, I finally found the
motel! I strongly recommend for the motel to provide better guidance on how to
reach there or at least put up some more signboards along the main road.
 |
| The entrance |
A little bit about the motel; the
design was a bit like a typical school in Malaysia. The parking space was not
that big – I was not so sure, but adequate for up to 8 – 9 cars, max. The owners of the motel placed the reception just next to their restaurant/canteen,
- somewhere in the middle of the building. They provided free Wifi but do not
expect for the very best of connection. It was free, at least. They also
provided a shared area for guests to do their ironing – so don’t expect you
could call the reception for an iron.
Kamil and I initially booked a room with two single beds but that
room had some issues with the AC so they got us a room with a
queen-sized bed. Something about me, I don’t really feel comfortable sharing a
bed with another dude. But since Kamil is an old friend, I thought it would not
be a biggie – praying for no accidental cuddling to occur later that night LOL.
Our room was pretty small. The
bed itself took most of the space. Our room was also furnished with a pretty
big round table which I found quite odd. For a small space they should have
gotten a smaller, elongated rectangular table to utilise the space better. We
were really happy with the AC – it was brand new as informed by the
receptionist. The room also had a TV. The bathroom was okay, I guess. It was
equipped with a water heater and the water flow was just fine. All in all we
were satisfied with the room. However, I have one complaint. With limited
space, I found it super-duper difficult to perform my prayer. I had to squeeze
as much as possible to fit my short self to do my prayer. How on
earth for a taller person to pray in that room? The good news was, the motel
provided a shared prayer room – next to their kitchen. So, I went to check and
pray there. The bad news was, it was so stuffy! I was not being too demanding or
anything but they should regularly clean the room as it was kind of reeked a
little bit. To be honest, I was very thankful that they provided the prayer
room but for a place we go to worship, it MUST be well maintained ALL OF THE
TIME. That should be one of the management’s priorities.
 |
| Very limited space |
After I performed my prayer, I
bumped into Zi who was ironing her scarf. At first I said to myself; “Wow isn’t
she tired from the morning we had? It is very hot now, isn’t she tempted to take a
nap?” Then I thought of something else, and cheekily smiled. I said to my lazy-ass
self; “I could certainly ask her to iron two of my shirts! Since the shirts
aren’t terribly wrinkled, it wouldn’t take her a lot of time.” So I asked her, but
she firmly refused. I then begged her, again she refused as she was about
done with her ironing. I persuaded her again, telling her it wouldn’t take long
and the shirts were already ironed, and she finally caved in! Wohoooo! Then I
went into my room to unpack. After a while I realised it was taking Zi, my maid
(JK Zi :P) quite a long time to finish ironing my clothes. Then, minutes later
she came to my room and sent me the shirts ironed to perfection! I smiled but the
first thing she replied was that the shirt was all wrinkly and needed to be ironed
a lot longer than expected! I felt she might had over exaggerated a bit, but I
did intend to buy her chocolates afterwards to reward her for doing a good job! By
the by, thank you, Zi for your time and effort! J
...
So, we had unpacked, freshened
up, prayed and then Kamil and I decided to get some rest for a little while.
But before that I had to respond to some emails from work. I won’t sleep well with that hanging over my head. So after everything
was settled, it was time to get some sleep.
ZZZzzZzZZzZZzzZZzZZzZzZzZzZz
About 1 and a half hours later…..
I woke up, feeling fresh. And
hungry LOL. Luckily we had planned to go to Pantai Chenang to enjoy the sunset
while eating some snacks and try the famous cendol
and laksa there! So after we showered
(soon I learned only some of us did :P) we made a move to Pantai Chenang with
high hopes of our tea time snacking!
We reached Pantai Chenang at
around 6 pm and had plenty of time before the sunset. We didn’t find any
trouble finding a parking space as there were plenty available. There were a
few (less than 10) stalls opened that serve cendol,
laksa and greasy snacks such as pisang goreng, keropok lekor, cucur udang.
 |
| Laksa Power |
The weather was just nice. It was not
too hot, the breeze was amazing and the place was not too crowded and less
noisy - so calm and pleasant! Our food arrived at our table and
we just couldn’t wait to start digging in. But when I first looked at the cendol, I noticed it was served with
cold water and small ice chunks – not shredded. It was not that appealing to be
frank. Then when I tasted it, it was way below expectation, I must say! With the
price, I thought it would have at least tasted okay but it has got to be one of
the cendols that I had to actually ‘force’
myself to finish. I didn’t have the laksa
as I don’t like the meal – my mom who’s a Kedahan would be so disappointed LOL.
My friends that ate the laksa also
told me it wasn’t any good. To eat laksa
in Langkawi, Kedah (Kedah is immensely famous for laksa), we expected for it to taste good but sadly that did not
happen. I got a bit frustrated that I decided to go search for some snacks. So
Yun and I went searching and got some kuihs
for us to eat while enjoying the sunset.
 |
| The Laksa and Cendol |
 |
| Great view, though! |
 |
| One of the activities you could enjoy here |
 |
| Chit Chat while anxiously waiting for the sunset |
|
| ;) |
...
That night, for dinner we decided
to eat at a restaurant in Chenang. But before dinner we agreed to walk along
the rows of shops to see if there’s anything interesting to buy. As we were
walking, we discussed whether we would want to go for island hopping the next
day. Okay let me be clear here. Prior the trip, we kind of agreed not to join
any island hopping trips. But suddenly that night everyone got a bit
interested with the idea as it would only cost RM 30 per person for a return
trip to Tasik Dayang Bunting, Pulau Singa Besar and Pulau Beras Basah. From the beginning it was a NO
from me but since everyone was now on board I felt “What the heck, why not?”
About an hour later we had gotten
hungry and decided to have dinner. Now, the tricky question; “Where to eat?” I
was personally fine to eat anywhere but I preferred to have pizza because I had
been craving for a few days then. But the rest was also undecided and we
remained to be bided without a decision. As usual, we were being so Café
Loungers; “Aku tak kisah. Aku okay je
mana-mana.” – “I don’t mind. I am fine with anywhere.” – If you want to starve
to death, please join us for an unplanned dinner someday LOL! Then finally Syuk
suggested for us to eat a restaurant that served local dishes – just a few
minutes away from the motel. Thanks to her, we finally had somewhere to head
to!
 |
| Parking will be an issue here |
 |
| Looking around |
 |
| Cenang Mall |
The restaurant was pretty packed.
Mainly by local tourists. The range of prices for the meals were quite pricey –
I figured since it was located in a prime location. I ordered nasi goreng ayam – Chicken Fried Rice (RM
9) and the rest also ordered some common Malay cuisine. So I guessed nothing
could go wrong.
So,
I
Guessed
Nothing
Could
Go
Wrong?
Clearly,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I WAS WRONG! LOL!
The food were not good. The
experience was equivalent to what we had with our lunch and afternoon snacks by the
beach. My fried rice tasted bland. Yun told me her fried kuey teow was too sweet – I tasted and she was right. I might had
thought that the meals that they cook, were all altered to the taste of the
foreign tourists – I don’t know, I am just assuming this.
 |
| My dinner |
So far our meals
that we had on our first day were a little bit disappointing, except our
breakfast – the nasi lemak was
oustanding!
After dinner Kamil and I went off
hunting for a pair of shorts – for our island hopping activity the next morning.
The price ranges from RM 25 – RM 40 – depending on the length and material of
the pants. Fake Billabong and Quicksilver pants caught my attention! But I couldn’t
find the colours that I wanted. I searched around at a couple more shops and
found a pair of ‘Billabong’ shorts that I like. It cost me only RM 20! I was
pleased. My shopping pattern was quick and easy. I have always been that way –
Enter shop, look, found something decent, pay, out I go! This behaviour had
caused me to make a mistake – more on that later.
Kamil, on the other hand, was
different. That ‘princess’ had to go through stacks of pants and still couldn’t
decide on what to get. Finally he found a pair that he liked but the price was
a bit high. So I swooped in and tried to bargain for a better deal. I applied
the typical; “But the pants at the shop over there was about RM 7 cheaper, so
let’s go there.” I intentionally wanted the salesman to hear me and gives us a
lower price. But Kamil got confused and replied, “Really? I don’t think so.” I
said to myself, “Kamil, why are you like this?” LOL. But luckily the
salesman said, “Yeah, I can give you the same price as that, but impossible
to go any lower.” Which was great as I actually lied about the other shop
selling the pants RM 7 cheaper, so he was actually selling them for a lot
cheaper – You’re welcome, Kamil! Hehe
As we finished buying our pants
we reunited with the girls in front of a dessert shop. Syuk had ordered a crepe
to go.
So we all got what we wanted and
ready to hit the sack!
At least, that’s what I thought!
But ‘princess’ Kamil said he still needed a pair of flip flops. So, back to
square one! We looked at most of the shops with flip flops but even I had to
admit that they were a bit expensive – mostly RM 20 and above. As we were about
to give up, Kamil stopped by at very small shop with two ladies inside. I
thought he just wanted to check the ladies out. Then he asked about the flip flops that were sold there. We were expecting the price to be around RM 20. I was guessing Kamil would
eventually buy them anyways since we were about to head back to our motel.
That
night must had been his lucky night. The flip flops sold there only cost a
tenner for a pair! I would’ve gotten one myself but I brought mine with me on this
trip (Kamil was borrowing my flip flops the entire day. Remember this, I’ll get
back to this later in the next post!).
...
Before calling it a night we all
spent a few minutes transferring all the photos taken for that day to everyone’s
phones. We also played cards. Well let me rephrase that. Yun lost playing cards
to me, eh, us. We also enjoyed the dessert that Syuk bought! Thanks Syuk! Hehe.
During that time only I realised I got sunburnt. It was very obvious. I guessed
it was too late to buy a sunscreen lotion. But don’t worry, I could always edit
my photos for later use LOL.
We also convinced
Yun to update her profile photo on social media with the photos snapped by Kamil. We think it would be such a pity not to share it, so she agreed and
changed it!
 |
| I won! |
The first day was fun, but we
were a bit disappointed with some of the meals we had. But we did enjoy the
activities we had gone through though. Day one was great! We then got back to our
rooms to sleep and excited to enjoy the next day with the exciting activities
lined up; starting with ISLAND HOPPING!
To be continued …
