Port 26 Langkawi, Malaysia
Salam sejahtera! One last time!
Today is Apr 26th, 2024, and we wake early as we are pulling up to port in Langkawi, Malaysia.
Today, Joy and I are going on a Bat Caves and Mangrove Tour! When we are allowed to disembark, this sign ensures we know where we are!
We have a long walk to the cruise terminal! Fortunately, the weather is pleasant… for now!
We board our bus and meet Azril, our tour guide. Once we are all seated he regrets informing us we have to change buses due to a mechanical failure! This is our replacement – a party bus!
As we leave the port area, I see this interesting sight! I wish we could have seen someone playing!
On our way to our tour’s first stop, Azril informs us Langkawi means “eagle” (lang) “rocks” (kawi)! There is a large eagle sculpture in the center of town, but we will not be going that way. He also lets us know Malaysia is in the middle of the monsoon season – April thru November. Summer is November thru April. “You are always wet, either rain or sweat!”
Soon we pull into the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park! This is recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark!
As we drive into the park we are greeted by the cute fellow on the right! He’s a long-tailed macaque monkey!
We leave the bus and set out on foot. Over the bridge and through the forest! We’re looking for some boats!
On the right is the Discovery Center with this mural.
On the left, the mangroves look like stick creatures marching beside the river!
Ta da! Boats! We reach the dock and our group is split across three boats.
The water is calm. No rain in sight on this monsoon day!
The mangrove roots fortify the shore!
We arrive at this interesting outpost. It’s a fish farm! The SAS Rimba Floating Fish Farm.
We see cages with bonito tuna!
Huge lobsters!
Would you believe these are shrimp? “Mantis” prawns! Monster prawns! (Right, Jack?) There are also some crabs and skates in here, too!
Azril teaches one of our tour mates how to feed a Malaysian stingray!
Behind the fish farm, I am impressed by the rock formations, especially the narrow projection standing on top on the right!
We leave the fish farm and head to the sea, the Strait of Malacca. But before we get there we find ourselves in a part of the river dominated by eagles! Remember what “Langkawi” means?
White-bellied sea eagles, to be exact!
Our boat drifts in the water while we watch multiple eagles spiral down and try to catch their next meals.
It was mesmerizing watching them, one after another, gliding down to the water and trying to grab a fish!
We watch for about a half hour. Although we never see an eagle catch a fish, it is wonderful to watch them try!
We wave goodbye to the eagles and thank them for sharing their grace and beauty with us! The boats race to the mouth of the river!
As we approach the mouth of the river, we see this – a baby’s face in the rock!
The boat heads out into the Strait of Malacca before turning around to let us see this!
We come back and get closer to the sign.
Our friends, Georges and Fabienne Sarrazin, are in the boat on our left. I see them getting set up for a photo op with the sign on the cliff!
Smile! Such a lovely couple!
We head back down the river, and on to our next stop – the Bat Caves! Our boat is the first to arrive from our group, so we watch the others come in so we can stay together!
This is a little unnerving – “Not responsible for Injury or DEATH”!!!??? Huh? What kind of killer monkeys do they have here?
We proceed on a very nice promenade along the cliffside!
I spot one of the “killers” in the mangroves! Watch out!
We head down into the caves!
Careful! Duck! And hold the yucky handrail with at least two fingers!
Ah, but once in the cave the path is clear!
But don’t open your mouth when you look up! (Yes, Azril reminded us to keep our mouths shut!)
The light is beautifully prismatic in this chamber!
This is a spectacular reminder this is a real cave!
Leaving the cave, I spy another killer! This one is stealing a mangrove propagule (“What is a propagule?” you ask? Think of it as a seedling for mangroves).
We have one last killer encounter! Dennis tries to hand the monkey his phone so the monkey can take his picture!
Actually, I don’t know who that man is!
We return to the dock and disembark. Boat tour complete!
To my left I see this – I love this line of boats!
Within an hour we see the ship!
We depart Langkawi – Eagle Rocks rocks!
The last of the Malaysian islands fades away!
We finally say goodbye to Malaysia! This is our last port in this amazing country!
Our next port – Phuket, Thailand!
