July 13th, 2019
Today we started off our day by scootering around. We stopped by the jetty and extended our scooter rental by another day and took some pictures at Langkawi’s big eagle.
We went to the north end of the island to a pretty beach called Tanjung Rhu. We had lunch there and Brendan swam. From here you can see southern Thailand in the distance.
Our next stop was a waterfall on the north end, but our plans changed when we got caught in a monsoon rain storm. I knew this was bound to happen as we are in Langkawi’s wet season. I have been carrying around my rain jacket but forgot it today because the sun was so hot and intense when we stepped outside for the day. I also meant to have a Ziplock bag with me so I could protect my phone. I didn’t have anything besides shorts and a tank top, and of course got completely soaked. There was no way I could protect my phone which we needed for navigation, so we pulled over at a little restaurant to get out of the rain.
We both ordered our first hot drink since we left Australia. I had a plate of veggie pad Thai for $1.22 and we waited to see if the storm would pass. When the rain lightened up a little bit we decided to try and make a run for it and get back to the hotel which was 45min away. I got a plastic bag for my phone and we set out. The rain felt like pins and needles on our bare skin and it was not very fun. Luckily it stopped about half-way into the drive. By the time we got back to the hotel there was brilliant sun again. We went inside and regrouped for a minute, and then went back out with my rain jacket. We drove to a different waterfall called Seven Wells. It was very nice, and you could get in the water if you wanted to. After that, we continued on a short hike with a lot of stairs up to the Seven Wells pools which are a series of cascading pools you can swim around in at the top of the waterfall. This was the coolest water we have felt in Malaysia. Much cooler than the ocean or fresh water lake we went to. We hung out there for a while and talked with some locals.
Our next stop was going to be a beach close to our hotel for dinner and sunset. Right about the time we were arriving, another monsoon rainstorm came. Luckily we were close to the hotel and didn’t have to experience too much of the stinging rain. It really stormed this time with massive thunder and almost constant lightning. We were right next to a field with a couple of cows that looked like they had a really bad life. They were on a short rope that was tied through their noses and they had to stand in a marsh with a ton of water that reached to their belly. It broke my heart to see them standing there in such an intense storm. It was a mom and baby and I was thinking how they could barely open their eyes with such fierce rain. After a few hours, the storm stopped, and Brendan went out to get us some to-go food. Tomorrow we will leave Langkawi and head to the island of Penang which is a 3-hour ferry ride south.
