The place can sometimes be deafeningly quiet – just the prescription for tangled nerves. First look gives the feeling that you are no more in Langkawi, but you still are. The wide sloping beach looks gentle and tame but in reality the undercurrents here can be quite unforgiving. Stay close to the shore.

The beautiful beach is fringed by casuarina trees, hence the name. The most prominent feature which has appeared in countless postcards and photos is the rocky outcrop of Pulau Chabang. You can walk over to the island when the tide is out, but please remember to hasten back before it returns.

The many rocky islands that dot the whole area is worth exploring. Boats can be hired for such a trip. Then there are those subterranean caverns that have made Langkawi one fantastic place for cave exploration. Take your pick of Gua Teluk Udang, Gua Siam and Gua Teluk Dedap if you dont fancy visiting the much talked-about Gua Cerita. The tidal creek behind the beach area is mostly made up of mangrove forests. This is where the boats used for island hopping and fishing trips in these parts are moored.

Tanjung Rhu is not especially obvious as a fishing settlement but the area has long been used as a base for fishing boats. Nowadays besides servicing the tourists, the locals also indulge in aquaculture – keeping fishes such as siakap (sea bass) and kerapu (garoupa).

Two very up market hotels have a ‘monopoly’ of the prime stretch of beach here. The older Tanjung Rhu Resort being the pioneer and quite recently, the Four Seasons Langkawi Resort. Unfortunately, however, for the convenience of well-heeled tourists, locals and non-hotel guests are not allowed to saunter on to the hotel beach fronts, although legally they can’t do so, as beaches belong to the state.

Two rows of wooden shops at the end of the road sell cheap clothing, souvenirs and local foods. Lookout for the mee gulung, once very popular in Langkawi.  This is actually noodles wrapped in omelette and served in soup. Five-star fine dining is available at both resorts.

Five Star resort at Tanjung Rhu Langkawi ;

Tanjung Rhu Resort

Four Season Resort

Opening Hours:
8.30 am to 5.30 pm &  8.30 am to 6.00 pm (School / public holidays).

Tickets : 
  

Experienced scuba divers in Malaysia seldom fail to visit Langkawi. The blissful island has an asset which makes any visit for diving worth of it. Just 19 nautical miles off Langkawi Island is Pulau Payar Marine Park, a fantastic place to enjoy activities like diving and snorkeling. It is the simplicity of the island which makes it special. Both for the experienced and the amateur!

The Marine Park
Pulau Payar is a tiny elongated island located midway between Langkawi and Penang. Designated by the Malaysian government as a marine park since 1985, it is the only Marine Park on the west coast of Malaysia. The park shelters species which are not found elsewhere on western coast. The boat ride from Langkawi to Pulau Payar takes one to two hours depending on weather. Even the sea journey would give something productive.

Regular Diving Trips
Tour operators in Langkawi organize regular diving trips for Pulau Payar. Once you book a trip to Langkawi, the operators will themselves approach you on the ferry to check out if you are interested in scuba diving. For the amateur, who have never dived before, they provide one to one guide. With the help of these experienced guides, you could extract the best out of your trip.

Diving in Deeper Water
The guides could take you to deeper waters where you would see a richer variety of large fish. Jacks, titan triggers, morays, blue-ringed angelfish, lionfish, and porcupine fish are some of the residents of this serene landscape interspersed with barrel sponge, and multi-colored coral. You will get to see schools of large fish including barracudas, cod and snappers which are invisible in the shallow waters of the. After spending a couples of hours in the deep water, you could get back to Pulau Payar for relaxing or enjoying some beach games. Normally two dives are scheduled in a day.

Underwater Scene
One is really amazed by the lush underwater scene while scuba diving in Langkawi and take back home some happy memories of rabbitfish snacking on bubbles. You never know when a long barracuda would sneak up to unsuspecting divers. The water near jetty is always populated with thick concentration of fish. You would mostly see the bannerfish and redtail butterflyfish. Most divers dive off the giant platform where the catamarans dock. However, there are several other places on the island where you could dive.

Stress-free Diving
Diving in Langkawi is free of stress. Dives here are not of the struggle-against-the-current variety. This makes it quite favorable among the amateur divers. For the divers who wish to take things easy, conditions are good.

The Langkawi Cable Car route links the Base Station at Oriental Village to the Peak Station on top of the mountain. The 20 minutes journey you take in a four-seater cable car silently ascends the altitude for a distance of 2.2 kilometres — all the way hovering over the verdant forest canopy. You can break journey at the half way station, known as the Middle Station before re-boarding the cable car and continue to the peak station above.

The 360 º panorama from the peak offers a breathtaking view of the islands, the rural lowlands and the seas as far as Thailand. Take in the great vista of hillside flora, a bird’s eye view of the Telaga Tujuh waterfalls and an occasional glimpse of the wildlife, including the high-flying birds. Depending on the weather, you can sometimes find yourself ‘ levitating’ in thick mist as the cable car climbs higher.

The air up here is crisp and much cooler than the sweltering lowlands. Early evenings are the best times to be at the top for another perspective of the Langkawi sunset. However, be sure of the time to go up lest you miss the dazzling fiery display that splashes the horizon with all shades of red until darkness claims the islands. There is a 2.5 kilometre mountain trail that links Telaga Tujuh to the Middle and the Peak Stations. If you chose to take this trail please be aware that it is a hard and arduous climb all the way. From the peak, you can walk a short distance down to reach the 125 metre-long Skybridge, which is suspended 700 metres above the lush forest vegetation below. The Langkawi Cable Car has won three international awards.

Tickets :

Adult : RM30.00

Child : RM15.00

Student Group: please call for rates.

Address :

Panorama Langkawi Sdn Bhd

Oriental Village, Burau Bay,

07100 Langkawi, Kedah Darul Aman.

Malaysia

Operating Hours:

10.00 am to 6.00 pm (Mon-Thurs)

9.30 am to 7.00 pm (Fri – Sun & PH)

12.00 pm – 6.00 pm (Wednesdays only)

Contact :

Phone : (60)4-959 4225

Fax : (60)4-955 4121

E-mail : info@langkawicablecar.com.my

reference : http://langkawi.malaysiatrekker.com/macincang_cable_car.htm

The Mahsuri Mausoleum marks the spot where Mahsuri was buried. It is located at Kampung Mawat, which is about 17.8 kms northwest of Kuah, in Langkawi. Earlier called Makam Mahsuri (literally Mahsuri Mausoleum), Kota Mahsuri was erected to honor the fair maiden, Mahsuri, who was unfairly accused of adultery over 200 years ago. Langkawi, undoubtedly, is associated with many fables and myths, but perhaps, this legend of the virtuous maiden is one of the most famous legends.

 As per the legend, at her execution, she bled white blood; that is believed to signify her innocence. In her last breath, she laid a curse that the island would hang about barren for no less than seven generations. Whether it’s real or fictional, the seven generations have passed and at present, Langkawi is a prosperous tourist destination on the tourism charts of Malaysia. To respect the belief of the islanders, this mausoleum was built with the hope that Mahsuri, when seven generations have passed, will finally rest in peace.

The story of Mahsuri ;

During the time of the powerful Sultanates of the Malay archipelago there lived a young woman named Mahsuri. She was the most beautiful woman in all of Langkawi, and the wife of Wan Darus, a brave warrior. As was required of him, her husband had to go to war, leaving Mahsuri behind to fend for herself. It was during this time that Mahsuri befriended a young man named Deraman.

Their close friendship lead others in her village to believe that their relationship was sexual in nature. Some versions of the legend claim that the parties who perpetuated the gossip were those who were envious of Mahsuri’s beauty. Eventually the rumours grew strong enough that the villagers openly accused her of adultery. Mahsuri pleaded her innocence, but no one believed her.

Mahsuri was to be tied to a tree (or pole) and stabbed to death.It didn’t work, they tried many ways to kill her but failed each time . Then she told them to kill her with her family’s dagger. When they stabbed her with the dagger , white blood flowed from her wound, signifying her innocence. Some birds flew above her to cover her body. With her dying breath, Mahsuri cursed Langkawi to have seven generations of bad luck.

Impact ;

Many locals of Langkawi believe the legend to be true, citing the Siamese invasion of 1821 and decades of failed crops that followed Mahsuri’s death. It is only at the end of the 20th century, after the seven generations have supposedly come to pass, that Langkawi began to prosper as a tourist destination.wan Darus and Cik Lampong was a brave warrior….. The descendants of Mahsuri continue to live in Phuket, Thailand, and have on occasion returned to Langkawi to visit her tomb.Among them was Sirintra Yayee (Thai ??????? ????), also known by her Muslim name Wan Aishah Wan Nawawi, came into the spotlight during her visit to Kedah in 2000.

^{references : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahsuri}