Pulau Langkawi

With its clear blue waters, golden sandy beaches and rainforest-covered mountains, it’s easy to see why the island of Langkawi is so popular with visitors to Malaysia.

I was really excited to finish up my Malaysian adventure with a two-day trip to the tropical island after marvelling at it in the film Crazy Rich Asians.

One of around 100 islands in the Andaman Sea off Peninsula Malaysia’s northwest coast, Pulau Langkawi marks the biggest island in the archipelago.

In the 1980s, this once remote island was turned into a duty-free zone in a bid to attract tourists and is now a popular holiday destination.

I started my visit to Langkawi with a trip to the Langkawi SkyCab to get a better view of my surroundings.

The SkyCab is a cable car that takes visitors to the top of Gunung Machinchang, which at 706m is the second tallest mountain on the island.

Langkawi’s mountains are among the oldest rock formations in Southeast Asia and thanks to their ancient geology, they became the first area in the region to be designated a UNESCO Global Geopark.

It was fairly quiet when we arrived at the entrance to the SkyCab and made our way past the entertainment-cum-shopping-cum-restaurant complex that leads to the base of the cable car.

The area’s set out a little like a Center Parcs village, and alongside the shops and restaurants, there was a pond with otters, a stall offering visitors the chance to take a photo with a python and various 3D experiences.

It was very touristy and not at all what I’d expected.

Each SkyCab holds up to six people, and after a short wait, we were ushered inside our cab and taken up the mountain.

The views were fantastic, but I was a little scared going up as the cable car seemed to creak and groan a lot, and at one point we briefly stopped.

It’s one of the steepest cable cars in the world and I couldn’t help but wonder how on earth they’d rescue us if we got stuck halfway up. Luckily, we made our way to the top without issue.

There are two stops where you can get off the cable car – one midway up the mountain and another that takes you to the summit. We headed straight to the top station.

There, I made my way to the SkyBridge, an enormous suspended walkway that connects Gunung Machinchang with another nearby peak (above).

The bridge is a spectacular piece of engineering and I couldn’t help but marvel at how they built it in such a precarious spot, perched between the incredibly steep mountains.

I spent around 10 minutes on the SkyBridge, traversing its length and admiring the stunning views over the island (above).

From the SkyBridge, we hopped on a small cog-wheeled train to the top cable car station, where we walked to two nearby viewing platforms.

The views from the platforms were excellent, but I was a little disappointed by how commercially minded the set up was.

Visitors aren’t supposed to take drinks with them in the cable car, which means if you need water when you’re on the mountain, you’re forced to buy it from one of the vendors.

It was a baking hot day and staying hydrated was essential, so I was relieved I’d naughtily decided to smuggle my water up with me.

Having seen all there was to see, we made our way down the mountain and to our hotel, where we spent the rest of the day relaxing at the beach and swimming in the sea.

On the beach, I made sure to stick to a section of the sea that was enclosed by nets because at dinner the night before our waitress had warned us not to swim in the sea because of the risk of being stung by jellyfish.

Sure enough, I found plenty of evidence of the marine creatures as I walked along the beach (above).

Despite being on jellyfish-watch, I had a glorious time swimming in the Andaman Sea and could have happily stayed there for hours. It was wonderfully warm and inviting.

That evening, we wandered to nearby Cenang Beach (above) to have dinner at The Cliff Hotel’s restaurant.

The restaurant specialises in seafood and I opted for asam pedas, a classic Malaysian dish, which consisted of a beautifully cooked sea bass stewed in a spicy, sour sauce. It was utterly delicious.

Along with excellent food, the restaurant also boasts superb views over the sea and we spent some time watching the sun go down in spectacular style.

Despite looking like paradise from a distance, Langkawi is touristy and commercial, and rather frayed around the edges with lots of building work taking place and rubbish left lying around.

It was a nice place to relax and unwind after a hectic couple of weeks traversing Malaysia, but don’t be fooled by the glossy photos you see. It’s not as picture-perfect as it looks.