Day 90 – Hired scooters and explored Langkawi.

We got up about 9am and went for breakfast at ‘The English Tea Rooms’ we should have known it was going to be terrible when Steph asked if they had marmite and he said no but they had marmalade… as if that’s the same thing! Anyway, I went for beans on toast and it was pretty good but our food didn’t come out at the same time so they had all finished when I started mine and it was just a bit overpriced for the quality and service.

We decided to hire 2 scooters for the day so we could really explore the island. I was on the back of Steph’s and Lucy was on the back of Tim’s. We made our way up past the airport to the Crocodile farm. For an Australian, Tim was just a bit too excited to see them. They were playing various Aqua songs but with more of a techno beat as background music, which was quite weird. It started to rain as we arrived and were given umbrellas to walk around with, we saw some being fed and in this one pond there were probably a good 50 crocs!

When we left here the rain had mostly stopped and so we hopped back on the bikes and started to head for the black sand beach. We got a few minutes down the road before it started to rain again and as soon as we found somewhere to pull in we did. We were stranded here for about 15minutes along with other tourists who were doing the same thing. Eventually we got back on the road and couldn’t find the black sand beach, we either never made it or it wasn’t very black. We got right up to the north east of the island and had lunch at Tanjung Rhu Beach. Once again it was so cheap and so good. We then chilled out on the beach up there for the rest of the afternoon and around 6pm made our way back to our apartment. 

On the way back I drove the scooter instead of Steph and I actually did alright! I still prefer driving a car though. We showered, changed and went out for dinner and then to a beach bar after. It started to rain (again) so we didn’t stay out that for that long.

Day 89 – Langkawi Night Market.

Once again check out was at 12 and that was probably one of the best nights sleep I’ve had in a while, despite the crazy thunderstorm at 4am. I walked to Starbucks, bought an Iced tea and settled into a sofa as I knew I was going to be here for a while. I wasn’t quite sure where White Lodge Chalet was, the booking was in Steph’s name and you couldn’t check in until 2 anyway.  It gave me time to write some of my blog and do some other research. It also meant I could send a card from Moonpig to Lisa as she just got a new job! Very exciting!

At half 1 I got a message saying they had checked in and would be with me soon. Steph, Lucy and Tim (a guy they met in Bali) met me and took we took my stuff back to the apartment. Next stop, lunch! We stopped in some hawker centre over the road and got 4 meals for about £5! We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling on Cenang beach, which is only a couple of minutes walk from where we are staying. Around 7pm we made our way back to shower and change before heading to the night market for dinner. Imagine a carboot sale but just food, that’s kinda what this night market looks like. I got some samosas and a pancake thing for dinner, meaning I spent 4.50 ringgit, which is about 85p!

Day 64 – Sun, Sea and Sand!

Once again the weather was super nice so we spent some of the day at Cornwallis beach. I had fun with the kids building sand castles and swimming in the sea. The sea was actually quite warm which makes a change from home and all the fresh water lakes I had been to in the rest of New Zealand. The rest of it was spent just lazing about and watching tv, I watched The Jungle Book if you really want to know. We had Lamb for dinner and that is the first time I’ve ever eaten it, I can’t say I’m that fussed.

Day 31 – First Kiwi Experience Bus to Hot Water Beach.

6AM wake up… my bus doesn’t leave until just before 9am but Stuart works in the city and said he could drop me in. It’s also one of those annoying times where you need to leave early and arrive early whereas if you leave later it takes forever and you’ll probably be late! So I was the last pick up point on the full bus which meant I had to sit right on the back seat, it wasn’t too bad though. Our first stop was in Thames just for a quick food shop and toilet break. We then proceeded until we reached a small look out, where we all hopped off and had a group photo.

We made our way to Hot Water Beach where we were staying in the Top Ten camping site. My room was in Fantail Lodge with 6 other people. Instead of going kayaking or one of the other activities I went on the free walk which most of the bus decided to do. 

Our driver Bridget said it was a ‘slight’ hike… more like a mission! Up and down, up and down hills from Gemstone Bay to Cathedral Cove. The walk there and back took just under 2 hours. It was pretty cool even if it was a little bit of a challenge. 

We then made our way back to Hot Water Beach as low tide was at 5.30pm which is the perfect time to start digging out hot water pool…or more jump in someone else’s when they were finished. It was surprisingly hot in the middle and it actually felt like it was burning the souls of your feet so we swiftly moved away and luckily found a family who were just leaving, so we jumped in their pool and chilled out for a bit. It was rather refreshing and great to hang out with some new people.

For dinner I cooked myself some Nasi Goreng and then just spent the evening on the decking getting to know everyone.

Day 30 – Last day in Auckland.

I spent most of the day just chilling around and sorting myself out for going away. I packed my bag, had some food, updated my blog, y’know the usual things! Rick had offered the night before to take me out for a drive and show me Auckland. We drove right along the coast up to Saint Heliers Bay and then turned back around and headed into the city. It was nice to see some ocean as it felt like ages since i’d seen a proper coastline. We ended the evening in Sails restaurant, which was very nice and tasty!

I love seeing Queenie on other peoples notes, makes it feel more like home.