“I
t’s more scared of us than we are of it; it won’t come
near us,” said an optimistic travel agent before a cheeky little macaque monkey – complete with suckling baby – readied itself to hop on to our boat as we cruised through the mangroves in the Unesco-registered geopark that is Langkawi. This was not my only
encounter with all creatures great and small during a Malaysia Airlines fam trip to the island and to capital Kuala Lumpur. A stay in the depths of the
lush rainforest would see a timid, dusky leaf monkey regard me from a nearby tree as I unwound outdoors post-spa treatment; frogs shared the bathroom and there were butterflies galore – all within walking distance of a pristine beach. This sat in stark but delicious
contrast to the Malaysian capital, with culinary influences spanning
China and India, busy maze-like markets, and skyscrapers worthy of any cosmopolitan city.
w LANGKAWI “It’s very green and tropical,” says Jemma Allerton, personal travel expert at Kuoni in John Lewis, Cardiff, “but the rainforest leads to pristine beach with clear blue water and that’s a special combination”. We arrived at our island
accommodation, the Datai Langkawi, after a seamless transfer at Kuala Lumpur on to a 55-minute flight. I was immediately struck by how the luxury resort complemented its surroundings, with monkeys wandering near the beach, and exceedingly rare flying mammal the colugo spotted up a tree outside reception on our first day. We were led on a nature
walk through the resort and neighbouring forest by renowned
naturalist Irshad Mobarak who pointed out that, despite its diminutive size, the small island has 530 species of butterfly compared to the UK’s 66. Resting on a rock next to a trickling stream with nothing but the sound of cicadas for distraction, I could practically feel my blood pressure falling.
A stay at the Datai includes
some complimentary nature walks and beach walks for children, but Mobarak’s company, JungleWalla, can organise rainforest walks with hotel transfers for around £28 per person. Other day tours include a kayaking and swimming adventure and a mangrove cruise,
56
travelweekly.co.uk 11 August 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
