Friday, January 6, 2012

New Years on Langkawi

Near the border of Malaysia and Thailand on the Andaman Sea lies the beautiful island of Langkawi. Nikki and I learned about this vacation spot while sitting in a Malaysian tourism office a few weeks ago, and thought it would be a fantastic place to celebrate the start of 2012. We weren't disappointed. We rented a cheap, tiny (right-hand drive) car and circumnavigated the island, stopping off to see waterfalls, jungle vistas, and beautiful sunsets. We drank tea at the top of the island's tallest mountain and took a cable car to a "sky bridge" high up in the clouds. The island was teeming with wildlife, including hornbills, sea eagles, brahminy kites, and colugos (also called "flying lemurs"). We also toured the 99 island archipelago via jetski, enjoying the turquoise water surrounded by limestone cliffs and a monkey-infested, supposedly fertility-inducing lake. New years eve itself was low-key. We rang in 2012 at a beach barbeque, with requisite fireworks as well as firebreathers. Not a bad way to start another exciting year!