[Koh Lipe to Langkawi, Malaysia] So after spending the morning killing time and packing up we ended outside the immigration office on Pattaya beach (it’s really just a shack). Our ferry was only at 15:30 – waiting is so boring. The ferry to Langkawi took a couple of hours again on smooth seas. When we boarded I was relived by the aircon (today is insanely hot) but by the end of the ride V and I were close to hypothermic. We couldn’t wait to get out into the sun.

Malaysian immigration was no problem. We got 90 day visas – the only request from the friendly official being that we spend all our money in his country. The ferry terminal joins straight into a fancy shopping mall but most of it was closed (we are now another hour ahead of SA). The Malays have been clever with Langkawi – the entire holiday island is a duty free zone. It’s also massive. More like being in Durban than on an island. Nothing like what we have become used to in Thailand. Outside the mall the ferry ticket office was closed and in place of annoying touts a helpful guy told us where we could find a hotel on our budget. He didn’t try and sell us anything. It was odd. He even told us we could walk there rather than taking a taxi. We took the advice and found a dingy hotel around 2km down the road for £10. We walked past a mosque (yip this Islamic territory), skatepark, playgrounds and the huge Langkawi Eagle (Dad – how about that for a lawn jockey!) Everyone we have interacted with so far have been helpful and pleasant. We like. Tomorrow we’re off to Georgetown (Penang) by ferry – not really interested in spending time on Langkawi’s riviera.

[Pictures: Now that’s a lawn jockey! The Langkawi eagle near the ferry terminal]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi