Langkawi was a very relaxed island with a slowed down pace of life. The people are warm and welcoming and the entire island is duty free, which means that everything falls very nicely into my backpacking budget. A beer for 50 cents is a beautiful thing. The beach was a 30 second walk from our guest house and the water was as delightful as a warm bath. Langkawi was the kind of place where you forget what day it is, not that knowing what day it is really matters, but you know what I mean.
My standard day would consist of waking up and going for a run on the beach, diving in to the ocean occasionally for a cool down. Going back to the guest house for a shower and a cup of coffee while I wrote or drew in my sketchbook (I'm much more consistent with this than I was in Europe, a fact that makes me very happy). When Dave got up we would head to an Indian restaurant called Red Tomato for a breakfast of Roti Canai and fresh squeezed orange juice and maybe another cup of coffee. I don't know how I never had Roti before but it is incredible, it's like naan bread but rolled out really thin, add some onion, garlic, or egg for breakfast and you're in business. They cooked theirs in a giant clay pot and served it with two different curries. After breakfast if we were feeling up to it we would challenge the man who ran our guest house to a game of chess or backgammon but we never won. He would tell us that we needed to double think and triple think if we wanted to beat him, I'm still trying to figure out how. After that we would walk around and explore the island and spend some time on the beach reading or swimming. And that's about it. We spent a few nights getting to know four people traveling from Sweden. There was a bar called Sunba where playing pool wasn't even a game. The locals on Langkawi don't miss their shots. Some of the cleanest playing I've ever seen.
There wasn't a whole lot to see and do on Langkawi but that was the beauty of it. Coming from a city like Kuala Lumpur where all your senses are bombarded and overloaded at every turn, a place like Langkawi feels like a breath of fresh air. Being there also provided me with plenty of time to think, plenty of time to dream. I have met some incredible people out here and I don't think it's been by accident. I truly believe that if any person approaches a situation with an open heart and a smile, only good will come to them. Only good can come to them. It's simply a fact of life. But yes, I do realize that having this outlook is a double edged sword because not all people think the same way. Someone coming in to a room with a smile could appear as a target rather than a friend. But have no fear! I have been surrounding myself with only good people and steering quite clear of any potentially iffy situations. I'm open to new experiences but at the same time being smart about which ones I choose.
To sum things up life is good. No better than that. Life is great.
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