Langkawi My Home Town.
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah (Malay: Langkawi Permata Kedah) is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland
coast of northwestern Malaysia. The
islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. On July 15, 2008, Sultan Abdul Halim
of Kedah had consented to the change of name to
Langkawi Permata Kedah in conjunction with his Golden Jubilee Celebration. By far the largest of
the islands is the eponymous Pulau Langkawi with a population of some
64,792, the only other inhabited island being nearby Pulau Tuba. Langkawi is
also an administrative district
with the town of Kuah as largest town. Langkawi is a duty-free island.
Langkawi means reddish brown eagle in colloquial Malay. The Malay word for eagle is helang
- shortened is "lang". Kawi means the colour reddish brown.It was given the title of "Langkawi,
the Jewel of Kedah" in 2008 by Kedah's Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah as part of
his golden jubilee to impress on tourists that
it was part of Kedah.
Langkawi was traditionally thought to be cursed. However, in
1986 then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
decided to transform it into a tourist resort, helping to plan many of the
islands buildings himself.
Langkawi, a cluster of 99 islands separated from mainland Malaysia by the Straits of Malacca,
is a district of the state of Kedah in Northern
Malaysia and lies approximately 51 km west of Kedah. The total
land mass of the islands is 47,848 hectares, while the main island of Langkawi itself
has a total of 32,000 hectares. The main island spans about 25 km from
north to south and slightly more for east and west. The coastal areas consist
of flat, alluvial plains
punctuated with limestone ridges.
Two-thirds of the island is dominated by forest-covered mountains, hills and
natural vegetation.
The island's oldest geological formation, Gunung
Matchincang, was the first part of South-East Asia to rise from the seabed
in the Cambrian period more than half a billion years
ago. The oldest part of the formation is observable at Teluk
Datai to the north-west of the island,
where the exposed outcrop consists of mainly sandstone (quartzite) in the upper parts and shale
and mudstone in the lower parts of the sequence.
Islam is practised primarily by the Malays. Other major religions are Hinduism (mainly among Indians),
Buddhism (mainly among Chinese and Thai) and Christianity (mostly Chinese).
Only four of the 99 islands are inhabited - Pulau Langkawi (the main
island), Pulau
Tuba, Pulau
Rebak and Pulau
Dayang Bunting. The population is approximately 99000 of which 90%
are Malays. The other ethnic groups
consist mainly of Chinese, Indians
and Thais.
Economy
An agro-based economy of padi and rubber cultivation and fisheries is fast
being overtaken by a tourism-driven economy, taking into consideration the
natural, unspoiled, ecological beauty of the island and major governmental
emphasis.
The Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) development program is a
Malaysia Government initiative to accelerate economic growth in the north of
Peninsular Malaysia – encompassing the states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang and the
north of Perak.
To enhance Langkawi’s position as a world-class tourist destination,the NCER
is working to attract further world-class hotels and holiday resorts to the
island.
The target for NCER is to achieve increased tourism receipts per visitor
from MYR1,890 (US$600) in 2005 to MYR3,034 (US$963) by 2012.
Annual tourist expenditure is targeted to increase from MYR9.0 billion
(US$2.86 billion) in 2005 to MYR21.8 billion (US$6.9 billion) in 2012 and
MYR64.5 billion (US$20.4 billion) in 2020.
Tourism
The Langkawi Sky Bridge
above the rainforest canopy.
On June 1, 2007, Langkawi Island has been given a World
Geopark status by UNESCO. Three of its
main conservation areas in Langkawi Geopark are Machincang Cambrian Geoforest
Park, Kilim Karst Geoforest Park and Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest
park.(Island of the Pregnant Maiden Lake). These three parks are the most
popular tourism area within Langkawi
Geopark.
The Kilim Geoforest Park (The Kilim River)
This area actually consists of three river estuaries that stretch from the
Kisap village approximately 10km to Tanjung Rhu and they are all
interconnected. They are rich in wild life and tourists may see hairy nosed sea
otters, brown winged kingfishers, monitor lizards and swimming macaque monkeys.
Limestone, inherently porous forms caves and there are several in the
mangroves. One of Langkawi's natural beauty spots is the Pirate Lagoon just
outside the river. Technically this is a collapsed cave (hong) consisting of a
cave entrance from the sea emerging into a hidden lagoon with towering,
limestone escarpments and smaller caves. In the days when Kedah formed the
gateway into China for the silk route, pirates on Langkawi used these caves to
secure their profits.
Pregnant Maiden Lake
Pregnant Maiden lake lies on Dayang Bunting Island and is an extremely
popular tourist attraction playing host to thousands of tourists a day. With
most of the resorts and budget accommodation more readily accessible to the
Southern islands this area receives the bulk of pressure from exploitative
tourism.
Langkawi Islands
There are two island areas. The Southern Islands, with a heavy tourist
population and the islands to the North East which are more secluded without
tourist traffic. Langun Island has a fresh water lake like Pregnant Maiden Lake
only without the tourists and has Sand Spit Beach on its South facing
orientation. Dendang Island next to it form a spectacular bay popular with
Langkawi sailing yacht tour operators who favour the area for its natural
beauty and peace.
Some of the most popular beaches are Pantai Cenang, Pantai Tengah, Burau
Bay, Pantai Kok, and Datai Bay. Pantai Cenang is a picturesque beach with
seemingly unending stretches of fine white sand.It has numerous restaurants and
bars for evening entertainment, several hosting live music and for watching the
sun set. The beach is contoured by tall coconuts and casuarinas. Pantai Tengah
is separated from Cenang by a small cape. It too faces the setting sun and is
populated more by hotels than bars making it less busy in the evening. Burau
Bay, fringed by rocky outcrops, is the favorite place of migratory birds in
Langkawi. Pantai Kok is a peaceful beach with the backdrop of limestone hills.
Datai Bay has a combination of forests and sea. The milky beach is backed by
lush forest.
The Langkawi Cable Car
takes visitors up to the peak of Gunung
Mat Chinchang, where the Langkawi Sky Bridge
is located.
Tourists can enter the island via ferry from Kuala Perlis or by flight from
Kuala Lumpur. AirAsia and Fireflyz provides budget connections to the
island.
Transportation
The island of Langkawi can be reached through sea and air. The Langkawi
Jetty Point connects the island to main destinations like Kuala Perlis, Kuala Kedah, George Town, Penang
and Tamalang (also nearby towns in Thailand). The Langkawi
International Airport is one of the 7 international airports in
Malaysia and connects the island to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Penang, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Phuket and also Subang. On the island, a main road runs
through the whole island.
Bye see you again in next story.........