Our tradition of traveling to Southeast Asia with a stop in a large regional metropolis began on the way to Langkawi Island from the “city of contrasts” – Kuala Lumpur. We were so impressed with this metropolis that we decided to make other trips to this region with similar transfers. In this case, the long flight is divided into smaller segments, a couple of days at the point of transfer charges you with stunning impressions, and further beach vacations remain in order to comprehend the trip, having absorbed all the impressions.

Kuala Lumpur was founded in 1857 during the colonial period, and is currently a thriving financial and commercial center. There is a large number of different enterprises – rubber processing, palm oil production, cars and electronics manufacture, etc., in the city and its environs. It is not a surprise that, in addition to skyscrapers with offices in the central part of the city, there are many mega-malls with the electronic devices, where you can find the newest innovations of gadgets made in Asia. The visual symbol of the city is the Petronas Towers (Petronas – a local oil company), connected by a covered glass passage, and you can walk there even if you are not an employee of this company. This company neighbours with a large shopping center, restaurant area and a park with fountains in one complex.

Speaking about local parks, we should mention the largest of them – the central park Taman, which hosts an orchid park, a bird park, a butterfly park, and many other entertainment venues. There is a zoo, as well as sections of protected tropical forests untouched by civilization, in the suburbs. The city itself, along with skyscrapers, has ancient buildings, such as the Museum of National History or Holy Rosary Church. The city made the most pleasant impression on us. The only thing that made it a little worse was the lack of sidewalks in some central areas, but this was not a big problem.

Langkawi – is an archipelago in the Strait of Malacca, consisting of several large and many small islands. The capital of Langkawi, the city of Kuah, is located on the largest of the islands. The climate in those places is equatorial, humid (a huge volume of of rainfall), there is not much difference in temperature, so you can go there almost at any time of the year. You won’t be disappointed with beach holiday here – white soft sand, everything is buried in tropical greenery, a conveniently equipped coastline. You can find first-aid kits with remedies to treat burns of jellyfish in each bar on the beach, everything is under control there 🙂

To appreciate the full flavor of your stay on a tropical island, we chose a hotel located in the jungle of Berjaya Langkawi Resort. Its territory was so vast that we had to use electric cars to drive from a bungalow to a reception. Although we often walked, because you could easily meet a representative of the local fauna along the way. For example, black monkeys. They were much more restrained than their gray peers, who had a strong reputation of the daring robbers of hapless tourists. It is difficult task to catch a black monkey at the right time to take a picture, but we succeeded.

Also, a huge monitor lizard lived on the territory of the hotel. Because of his habitat, we called him “garbage lizard”, as he always piled about in garbage bags in a local garbage pit. He moved slowly and imposingly, so we relaxed a bit when pursuing him for a good shot. However, as soon as I got to him at a critical distance, he immediately developed supersonic speed and unrealistic agility, carrying his heavy body away from me. Given its size, I no longer looked for a meeting with him.

The hotel neighbored with a natural Park and natural attraction Seven Wells Waterfall, where, in addition to visiting the waterfall, we can ride a cable car, as well as go around the area on a Segway, and enjoy the local cuisine[/highlight]. It was also possible to communicate with the local inhabitants of the jungle – gray monkeys, who, despite warnings, behaved quite friendly.

Having settled in this park, we found a place near the natural water park – the waterfall went down smooth stones into a natural bowl where you could slide down and enjoy the views (the steep cliff of the waterfall was prudently fenced off with iron cables).

But the main local sign was the Sky Bridge, seemed like hovering over the jungle, leaving an unforgettable trip experience. We especially remembered visit at this bridge in the fog, it felt like the bridge just went into the clouds.

A visit to the geopark became another bright adventure for us Kilim, where we had a tour through thickets of mangrove trees growing on the water. The guide told (and showed) about palm trees – peers of dinosaurs that contain a lot of protein in their composition (that is why dinosaurs especially loved them), and smell of carrion when dying. He showed us a “blinding tree”, whose leaves emit a poison that can actually blind a person if you touch your eyes after touching these leaves. We also visited the cave of bats – for obvious reasons, there were no photos from there (the guide specifically warned of this ban).

We also saw the habitat of eagles – symbols of the island, and were told about their habits. They create a pair for life, initially choosing a partner in a competitive flight. So, the many-hour tour flew by unnoticed, and it was clearly worth it to visit. It ended with a swim on a wild beach.

There was the Telaga Bay Marina near our hotel with a yacht pier and the registration point for yachts. Among other things, there was a restaurant area, which we often visited in the evenings. There was also a Russian restaurant, visited by inhabitants of moored yachts. I should note that the restaurants in this Bay were oriented towards foreign tourists, which had a very positive effect on the quality of dishes and the level of service.

The capital of the island, the city of Kuah, did not really impress us after Kuala Lumpur. A fairly simple city, shopping centers, cafes, streets are modestly decorated and not particularly oriented to the needs of international tourists. There was a funny incident in the local park. We walked along an artificial reservoir with a fountain and took pictures. While selecting the species, the water seemed to move, but we did not attach any importance to this. So, having taken plenty of photos, we moved away from the water, and then we saw the silhouette of a huge reptile in the decorative thickets, which barely fit in this modest pond… So, we were lucky that the beast doubted. Well, or it was already full 🙂

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