Date of visit: 22nd January 2016
My
family and I were travelling to Langkawi Island on 21st January this
year, 2016 accompanying hubby who had a yearly tennis tournament there at the island. We booked a stay in
Aseania Resort and Spa Hotel for 3 nights until our departure on 24th
January 2016. Remarks: will write a hotel review in separate entry later on. Though
hubby and his group did not win any trophies, we had a lovely family vacation even without Nazhif. Another reason was due to Naim, who are in a relationship for
an Island girl, Hanum. She’s a local who volunteered to be our free tour guide during taht short trip. Naim is most happiest to reunite with his girlfriend and having another 3 of his best friends following a day later.
A 12 meter tall Eagle |
First
and foremost, Langkawi is the Jewel of Kedah, an archipelago of 104 islands in
the Andaman Sea. It is located about 30 km off the mainland coast of north-western
Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to
the Thai border. The eponymous Langkawi Island is by far the largest of the islands with a population of some 64,792, the only other inhabited island being
nearby Tuba Island. Langkawi, a duty free island is also an administrative
district with the town of Kuah as largest town. The name Langkawi is thought to
have existed by the early 15th century, although in the 16th century the island
of Langkawi was also marked on maps variously as Langa, Langka, Lansura, and
Langapura. According to one interpretation, Langkawi means island of the
reddish-brown eagle in colloquial Malay. The Malay word for eagle is helang,
which is shortened to "lang", while "kawi" is the name of a red stone used
as a chalk to mark goods. This interpretation was used to create the landmark
sculpture of an eagle as the symbol of Langkawi at Dataran Helang (Eagle
Square) in Kuah. And, we visited the Eagle Square as our first destination on
day 2.
Clearly a lovely sunny day for photos |
Langkawi is very hot, hence wear a comfortable clothing to avoid being stuffy while wandering around |
Eagle
Square is Dataran Lang in Malay spoken words. It is one of Langkawi’s best known
manmade attractions, with a large sculpture of an eagle poised to take flight.
A sight that greets visitors to the island via ferry, the 12 metre-tall statue
is one of the island’s most instantly recognizable monuments. Located at the
southeast corner of Pulau Langkawi, besides offering beautiful views of Kuah
Bay, Dataran Lang has beautiful miniature fountains, terraces and bridges,
making it the ideal place for those postcard-perfect holiday photos. The square
is also a good place to watch ferries ply across the harbour. We arrived close
to noon time which is the hottest time in a day. My advised to all is to plan a
trip here either early in the morning or late in the evening when the sun is at its
least intense. You may get much more beautiful photos of the sunrise and/or the
sunset.
Some views at the Jetty Point Mall |
The
reddish-brown eagle at Dataran Lang was built as a motif, an emblem of the
island. It is located adjacent to the CHOGM Park and Taman Lagenda Dalam
Langkawi. The monument is also within walking distance of some of the best
duty-free shops in Langkawi and the Jetty Point Mall where chocolates and
alcohol are especially a good buys here. We chose not to explore the jetty
point mall as we were all hungry by the time we’re done with exploring the
monument, the bridges around it and the small bazaar inside.
In recent months, there's some foolish debate about the monument which were claimed by some as breaching the Islam teaching. This is what the previous Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir has said in his blog "So far no Muslims have ever prayed before or worshipped the Eagle of Langkawi. Destroying it would not make the Malays more Muslim." You may read further in the link that I provided herewith, "What Islam Forbid". Till then, hope you find your visit to Langkawi a worthy one!
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