Langkawi 100: Cycling Adventure!

   Cycling is always cheaper, healthier and fun (ner?).  Did a couple of travelling by bike but this one is quite different.  Why?  Because I did it from 7:30 in the morning and finished at 10:00 PM!  That is like almost 13 hours on the road. 

     Let me share my adventure and misadventure in Langkawi on two wheels. I went with my friend Kellani and met another biker Shoichi, a Japanese.  We tagged him along and explored Langkawi all the way!!!

  We woke up early on July 27^th 2014, rented a bike from our lodge and started pedalling to the cable car station which is around 21 km from our lodge in Cenang via the airport. 

Cows grazing along the way

 This sight of the cows reminds me of a place in my city called the Ambuklao Road where cows freely walks the national highway and you have to honk your car to drive them away from the middle of the road, these ones though are more tamed they don't bother to go out from the fence. 

I enjoyed this whole stretch near the airport because the air is so cool and relaxing 

Short stop-over to enjoy the view

     After almost an hour and a half, we reached a beautiful marina, the Telaga Harbor which used to be a fishing village.   This is also where you can find the the Perdana Quay, a shopping complex where you can find upscale boutiques and restaurants.  It is a nice place to stop-over and enjoy the beautiful view of the park.

Telaga Harbor

     After refreshing ourselves, we continued our way towards Pantai Kok where the air becomes cooler as we ascend the hills towards the cable car station.  Monkeys were welcoming us along the way at the entrance of the Oriental Village. 

The Oriental Village 

The cable car station is inside the Oriental Village, this village is another shopping complex which sells different sorts of souvenirs and food as well but since we arrived early most shops are not yet opened.

Top station at 700m above sea level

We bought the cable car ticket at 35 MYR per pax.  We were lucky enough because the queue is not that long and we got to ride immediately.  The Langkawi Cable Car has 2 stop-overs, the middle station where you can enjoy a view of the Skybridge, a huge bridge suspended at about 100m high above the ground, unfortunately for safety reasons, it is closed and only open for public viewing from the middle or top station.  You are already at 700m above sea level if you reach the top station which is the last station.  It’s around 2km cable car ride and it takes around 20 minutes excluding of course the stop over, picture taking, and sight seeing.

Langkawi Skybridge

Cable Car Langkawi 

Riding on the Cable Car

     We didn’t stay so long there since we want to cover a lot so we went back, had our lunch at the exit of the Oriental Village and continued our way to the Seven Wells Stable and Telagah Tuju Waterfalls which is just nearby.  We had to walk up the stairs going up the waterfalls.  I had to see this since it is known to be the most beautiful falls in Langkawi.  I can say yes in some point since you can see a clear view of the Machinchang Mountain, believed to be 500 years old and partly no because there’s not so much water coming from the falls when we were there.  I enjoyed dipping in the water though, it gave me a quick relief just bathing under the sun.  Before we left, bought and shared Buko (coconut) from one of the stores below the stairs.  Electrolytes charged from its juice so it’s time to roll.

Overlooking the 500 million years old Machinchang Mountain

Dipping in Telagah Tuju

Telagaj Tuju Waterfalls 

"are we lost???"

From Telagah Tuju, we checked on our maps, saw and think that another falls is nearby, the Temurun Falls but this I say, the way it looks on the map is really really deceiving, it’s like another 20 kilometer further, and not a flat road but hills up and down, oh man! We wanted to just leave it and turn around but maybe it’s already near so we kept cycling and cycling.  

further down is the falls 

  We stopped to this park but thought there was nothing in there and it was where we met our new Japanese friend Shoichi who is also looking for the same waterfalls, we actually saw him in Telagah Tuju but we didn’t realize he was also on a bike trip.  So, we decided to go further together until we were near towards the end of the road in Datai Bay but still no falls in sight, met a car and asked him for directions, he said we should go back coz we already passed by it.  We went back and realized, that was the bare park and we needed to go down the stairs for the falls.  So we did and voila, the tiny falls right in our face, so what else to do but dive in and recharge!

But monkeys are really everywhere, see when we finally got Shoichi to join us in the water, the monkeys tried to steal his bag and run away with it hahaha and when we were going back they literally tried to grab Kel’s snack, one monkey so persistent even slapped her butt when she didn’t let go of the goodies.  Just when we were ready to continue riding back,  I couldn’t find the key for the bike lock and we had both bikes connected together, some group of friends tried to help us unlock it but the lock was really hard to break, after about 20 minutes the caretaker of the park came with some tools and finally was able to disintegrate it.

Finally! Temurun Falls!!!

Biking shouldn’t be this hard if not for the heat which burns our skin and dehydrate us, feeling thirsty all the time our water bottles went empty and no shops nearby to get some supplies.  Thankfully, before our last long leg, we were able to rehydrate at Crocodile Island and brought some water, soda and popsicles, oh really spells heaven!  

After resting, we are ready to go back coz it’s already getting late,  we passed by mosques, beaches, the famous centre for buying souvenirs which is the Langkawi Kraft Complex but sorry to say, since it’s the Raya Holiday, most shops are closed including this.  We were searching for Black Sand beach and we met a kind guy in a motorcycle who led us to it, we passed by the back streets so we were able to see the kampongs (villages) and yeah, finally sunset in Black Sand beach.

Cycling through the back streets and kampongs

Black Sand Beach

Sunset in Black Sand Beach

Seriously, we need to be going back and we’re kinda lost we even had to go back to some parts where we came from and back again just to realize we are taking the long route when we dropped by for some water in a local store and ask the guy selling how many kilometers more before we reach Cenang, he stared at us with a sorry look on his face and said that it’s like 25 kilometers more and we learned that we were in Ayer Hangat, estimated it and it will take us about another 2 hours on the road and it’s already dark.  Imagine this situation, dark, no flashlights, no helmet, GPS and cellphone signal so poor, no local transportation for back up, tired, dehydrated.  

TIRED! LOST! HUNGRY!

We really had no choice but to brace ourselves for the long ride, so we planned that, since my bag has a little reflector, maybe it would help if I go last, Shoichi goes first and Kel in the middle.  We just depended on the lamp posts for lights but sometimes we got to an area where it’s pitch dark I’ve to brush morbid thoughts out of my mind and a lot of "what ifs".  What if some car hit us and just leaves us on the road, what if we get robbed or God knows worse! And it really gave me the creeps when some guys on motorcycle, directed their lights on me and tried to cut me, twice! Not only that, I was worried about some firecrackers which can accidentally hit us since fireworks are everywhere because of the Raya, it’s like New Year to the Muslims.  My face slowly started to lit up when I saw some road signs, and lots of light and streets becoming busier… is this a sign we are near our destination? I guess it is! Yes, finally saw a sign, "4 km to Cenang", but why so long to get there??? So near yet so far.  Suddenly saw some familiar shops and buildings and yes oh yes we are in Cenang!!! Finally!!! Destination completed, just one more thing to do to wrap it all up, celebrate by rewarding ourselves with a sumptuous dinner at Orkid Ria, a Chinese Seafood Restaurant!

TIME TO CELEBRATE! WE'VE DONE IT! LANGKAWI 100!!!

Yes, we did it!  Proud that we were able to survive more than 100km  Langkawi Island by bike, burned, hungered, threatened, got paranoid but we pulled it through, another check mark on my bucket list! 

I’ve some advice though for peeps who want to try this biking adventure:

1. Biking under the sun can really toast you up so I suggest you go early in the morning before the sun comes out
2. Yeah I know it sometimes gets so eeeky but putting on sun block every after 2 hours is a must.
3. A cap and sunglasses can help somehow.
4. Hydrate yourself before the trip, during the trip and after the trip.
5. As much as possible wear on proper gears like helmet, footwear and you might want to pad your butt coz you’re gonna be on the sadle for hours.
6. Always check on your brake pads before setting off, make sure it’s enough to last that long winding road.
7. Study the map before doing the adventure, really and I say really, it can deceive you! GPS is not always accurate and working especially if a signal is so poor!
8. No matter what, have fun!

Budget for this Cycling Adventure:

1.Bike Rental: 15 MYR

2. Cable Car:    30 MYR

3.  Food and refreshment: mine is around a hundred but it really depends on you on how much you’re gonna spend on it.