The blue waters of Langkawi, Malaysia

Today we were in Langkawi, Malaysia. Langkawi is an archipelago made up of 140 islands, only a few of which are inhabited. For anyone reading this who is interested in geography, Langkawi is separated from mainland Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is in northern Malaysia, approximately 32 miles west of Kedah.  It has a total landmass of 118,230 acres.

 

 

view from our balcony most of today

tender boats were necessary

pier and lighthouse in distance

The largest of this group of islands is Langkawi, which boasts a UNESCO World Geopark status because of its rich wildlife conservation areas. Probably the most exciting thing to see here is the Langkawi sky bridge that stretches above the rain forest. Some parts of the bridge are made of glass, probably not a good idea for anyone who is afraid of heights!

 

islands near and far

Like yesterday in Sabang, Indonesia, the locals were coming out to see the ship and taking photos of it. It seems funny that we are on the ship waving to the locals and photographing them while they are waving at us and photographing the ship! The young people in the boat below were also taking selfies with the ship in the background. I'm guessing that cruise ships don't visit the area too often.

 

driver is having a little fun

zig zagging through the water

young Malaysian woman photographing the Insignia

The temperature in Langkawi was even higher than in India and Indonesia. Considering the heat, as well as some other excursions we have coming up, we decided that hanging out on the air conditioned ship was the right answer for us today. 

But as you might guess, in a place that’s surrounded by water there are all kinds of activities available. There’s the island hopping tour, the mangrove boat tour and the safari boat tour, along and jet skis and kayaks for rent. I'm sure Ronnie would have enjoyed renting a jet ski, but we're both trying to gauge ourselves. This heat can be very zapping! I think I'm learning my limits, especially after letting myself get dehydrated in Mumbai. 

 

tenders run every 30 minutes

sailing the blue waters of Langkawi

 

Regardless, the view from our balcony was beautiful and since I snapped quite a few photos I decided to go ahead and post them. The majority of these were taken from our balcony, and a few were taken 2 floors up on the walking deck. Some were taken with my camera using a 40-150mm lens and others were taken with my phone. The ship was anchored, making it necessary to tender ashore, whereas most of the time we are actually docked in a port. And since we were only anchored today, the ship experiences some movement which explains why the view from our balcony sometimes changes! 

 

rocky island shores

layers of blue

 

lots of vegetation on rocky islands

Langkawi lighthouse and pier

one of 140 small islands

view of Insignia from Deck 10 - everyone is inside or off the ship