Lankawi is a duty free island and so a lot of Malaysians (who are not Islamic) come over to enjoy the cheap cheap beer!
The initial plan was to spend 3 days on this island as Lyd had to meet up with Stuart & Tash on Phi Phi as they had been waiting for us for about 8 days!! The 1st day was spent getting to know the place. We stayed at Surin Restaurant & Guesthose which was owned by A couple Abraham (from Iran and I cant remember the Ladys name but she was Japanese.
This was great and we stayed in a house with three rooms rented out. Ours which was cheap because it only had a fan and the other 2 were a fair bit more but they had air con.
On the 1st night we stayed in and sat with the couple who owned the place. This was really nice and i was playing games with Abraham but then he got a bit tipsy and started slagging off westerners. I would have intervened but there was simply not an opportunity to. This man could talk!! I decided to just let him talk and talk and talk!
The following day we had people staying in the rooms next to us. 4 people arrived but only 2 stayed.
Maggie & Karen. It was a little awkward at 1st sharing a house with them but we soon got to be really good friends with them. Also the other couple which left came back (Liam & Fin). As well as these 4 Jo turned up (from the Highlands)with a girl called Shannon from Canada which was fantastic so all of us stayed and had a big meal - Kebabs MmmMMmmm.
For the following day we hired a little car and got around the Island. Me & Lyd took it in turns and we were driving one of the smallest cars i have ever seen. You could get 4 people in it but is wasn't comfortable. I managed to get a top speed of 85 Km an hour which is pretty poor (it was only a 750cc!).
We took the car to the foot of a cable car and as Liam & Fin had a car so 8 of us managed to go. The cable car was fantastic and we spent the whole day up the top and had a bit of a trek.
From here we had a bit of a look around the island.........Saw a black beach and a few other bits and pieces like an art gallery and the capital but without a shadow of a doubt the best thing was driving again - i didn't realise how much i had missed it!
The following day was due to be the departure day but after a lot of drink the night before i was having my doubts wether or not to go as it would involve being up at 7.30 in the morning. In the end i actually awoke at 6 and had a bit of a think and i made a pretty big decision to stay and let Lyd and Joe go on ahead of me. The big factor in my decision was a conversation i had with Liam and Maggie the night before about traveling by myself and 'my big opportunity'. I went over to see Lyd and she was very good about the whole thing so we said our goodbye's and off she went to Thailand.
That day we went on a boat trip all around the surrounding area of Lankawi which was really good seeing all kinds of fish while snorkeling and generally seeing a lot of things. Do you remember the small car which was hard to get 4 people in? We managed to get 6! It was so uncomfortable as it was also about 32oC! Looking back on it it was funny, however, at the time.........
Once again a night of drunkenness ensued and as Shanon was left without Joe and i was without Lyd we shared a room to save on money. The whole of the following day was a bit of a waste - recovering and enjoying the beach.
I had to move rooms as our room was prommised to someone else - it turned out the couple to take my room were also English Tony and Clare. They were a great couple and so it actually got to the point where i knew everyone at the place! Also Abraham pulled me to one side and asked me to chose all the coulours of the huts as they all needed updating - im not sure if he thought i was a designer but he would have soon realised i wasnt when i started chosing the colours. To be fair to him he said he would do exactly as i asked - later on that day i did indeed watch him start paining the 1st bungalow - just as i had said!
This was to be the only night i have spent by myself and was a little strange - i didnt sleep well.
I was getting quite excited though because Thailand was our next destination.
More thumbnails ...
15 votes 
