… Langkawi is one of it.
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I am simply reciting what was said when I went visiting a memorial of the most talked about legend of the island. Yes, Langkawi is an island situated on the west of Peninsula Malaysia about 30 km from Kuala Perlis and 51 km from Kuala Kedah whose waters shares the border with Thailand. The main island is Langkawi, followed by Pulau Dayang Bunting, Pulau Tuba while some of the others appear to be mere dots in the emerald green ocean when viewed from the air. Langkawi is blessed with fabulous stories of myths and legends, of ogres and gigantic birds, warriors and fairy princesses, battles and romance. Langkawi offers natural attractions unsurpassed by any other in the region. Four decades before I actually got to step foot onto this historic and mystical land. My heart was pounding in excitement!
pushing off from Kuala Perlis jetty at 8am where we will disembark at Kuah jetty on the island.
Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands during high tide and 104 during low tide, mostly inhabited. With a geological history dating back 500 million odd years, the islands contain unique rock formations that stir the imagination and baffle the mind. A true tropical paradise, untouched nature… sort of!
The name Langkawi is believed to have been derived from the name of the ancient kingdom of Langkasuka, which was centred in modern-day Kedah. According to ancient Chinese chronicles (ca. 500AD), a kingdom called Langgasu existed in the 1st century AD. According to the Liang Dynasty records, the kingdom was founded in the first century when its Hindu king, Bagatta, paid tribute to the Chinese Emperor of the time. The names of its kings resurface time and again in Malay legends and fairytales.
Langkawi eventually came under the control of the Sultanate of Kedah. When Kedah was conquered by Siam in 1821, Langkawi came under Siamese control. The 1909 Anglo-Siamese Treaty transferred control of Kedah to the British, which administered the state until independence, except for a brief period during the World War II Japanese occupation when the rule reverted to the Thais.
Kuah jetty, Langkawi.. at last! We had a friend waiting at the jetty who took us to the airport where we rented a car.
Most of the development is in the main town, Kuah and along isolated beaches on the west and northern coasts. Away from the built up areas, Langkawi is still fairly rural, though many of the paddy fields have now been left to wandering buffalo and are no longer cultivated.
Can you see the two white spots on top of the mountains? You can go up there via cable cars. Do you dare? Exciting!!
More posts on Langkawi to come…
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