It's finally the day for our mangrove tour, which i booked on day two of our Langkawi trip, and one that i initially wasn't keen in signing up for as Singapore has mangroves too!
Reviews were really good though and we decided to allocate four hours of our time to check it out. As the price differential for shared boat wasn't much, we opted for private boat since it also gave us flexibility on the time we decided to stay at each attraction.
After paying the balance of our outstanding, we proceeded to Kilim jetty where a long line of boats were waiting. I was expecting a crowd since it's a Sunday but in Kedah, the normal work-week is from Sunday to Thursday.
Arrival of our boat!
One boat, all for us! I can't imagine such luxury honestly as it's often expensive to charter a private boat. However, for the pricing of 4 persons for a shared tour, it's almost equivalent to a private tour and the advantages for a private boat definitely outweigh that of a shared one.
Introducing to you our private guide cum skipper; Alif who was just twenty years old when we met him last year! A really nice chap; his English wasn't perfect but enough for us to communicate for the next few hours.
Let's go!
Basic courtesy to say hi to each other, especially when i am the photographer! And remember to smile as people were taking video / photo of me while i am going the same to them.
Time to slow down as we were reaching the first stop of our tour.
Stop No 1: Bat Cave (Gua Kelawar); for more pictures, click here. Those who intend to pay a visit should note to bring a torchlight as it's relatively dark in the cave.
Going off - not sure what that structure is even though i guess it would make a good observatory platform for a better view of the surrounding. Something like the Jejawi Tower at Pulau Ubin's Chek Jawa Wetlands.
Wait, we were returning back to the jetty? Nice limestone hills at the back by the way. I wonder if anyone has attempted to scale up.
Another 'friendly' boat!
There are over a hundred photos for this post; so do bear with me as i would upload many pictures while i am travelling on the boat. This would hopefully give you a better perspective of the beautiful landscape of Kilim Geoforest Park.
Towards the floating convenience store just so that we could get a pack of hard toast! Not that we were in need of breakfast; Alif said it's for the fish feeding later at Dangli Island later.
Going towards the open water where we would eventually say hello to the Andaman Sea! Do you know the difference between sea and ocean? A sea borders a land whereas ocean doesn't!
Looking back to where we came from.
The iconic natural formation that bears the words "Kilim Geoforest Park". Declared the "52nd Global Geopark by UNESCO on 1st June 2007", the age of this almost 100-square-kilometer geopark is almost 500 million years old!
No wonder the operator chose this site to bear the name of the park as the rocks on top totally look like a gigantic tortoise / turtle and in Chinese culture; the tortoise / turtle is known for its longevity.
Alif explained to us that the devastating 2004 tsunami didn't have that much of an impact on Langkawi due to the many 99 islands and also the mangroves that break the waves. It's interesting to hear from him as he was just about six years old when the disaster happened.
From this angle, the rock appeared similar to a pig's head!
Langkawi is the northernmost island for Peninsular Malaysia and the land shown in the above photo is in fact under the management of Thailand. There's a nearby Thai island known as Koh Lipe that's popular and many people would actually fly in to Langkawi and take a ferry there.
The shoe island; as the shape suggests!
Proceeding to our next destination!
That long line of structure resembling a jetty intrigued me and it's coincidental that that's our next destination; even its name makes me curious.
Stop No 2: Cave of Legends (Gua Cherita)! For more photos and the legends behind its name, click here. It's a pity that not many people would drop by for a visit unless they were on the four-hour tour.
Back to the boat and on our way again! I think Alif must be wondering why we were such energetic bunnies as it didn't appear we were slowly going through the cave. Blame it on the mosquitoes!
Stop No 3: the private beach. Nothing further on this beach as we decided not to alight. Our group wasn't the type to relax on the beach where there's plenty to do. Furthermore, we were looking forward to the snorkeling at Dangli Island.
Enjoying the sea breeze and the scenery!
A fisherman at work; despite my love for snorkeling, i actually have a fear for deep water. All thanks to the movie; Jaws, which had left a deep, indelible impression. Another contributor would be a classic Chinese horror movie called The Ghost Pulled the Leg (鬼拉腳).
Photos of the mainland Langkawi.
Notice the smoke coming from the factory? It's shocking (and sad) to find a sore thumb sticking out of such a pristine place! Operated by Lafarge Cement Sdn Bhd, there were quite a number of articles online pertaining to the pollution and its impact on the surrounding environment.
One talked about its threat towards a bat cave and you can refer to the article here. It almost appeared that the smoke coming out from the chimney was contributing the accumulation of clouds in the sky!
Stop No 4: Snorkeling at Dangli Island! To be totally frank, it was disappointing as the water was murky and the fishes we saw were limited to the common sergeant major fish species.
Onward to our next stop!
Alex enjoying the breeze more than the snorkeling; it's been a while since we last snorkeled and to him, this was a major disappointment! He is now asking if i would be interested in Palawan next year; which i am still considering but would likely say yes as i have never been to the Philippines!
Gosh, the humongous King Kong had turned into a hill!
Stop No 5: the beautiful Tanjung Rhu Beach. If you are driving, the place is accessible within Langkawi and please try to arrange for a visit during the low tide. Want to know why? Click here and search for "low tide".
Back on the boat again; pity it's high tide when we were there.
Alif was sharing with us about a nearby whirlpool that has caused death before. See, the water is so unpredictable and to me, death by drowning is a horrible way of dying!
Let's travel down the river!
The same king kong we spotted earlier! There's actually a king kong mountain in Taiwan but i feel that this version in Langkawi is way more relatable.
Continuing our journey along the river. For the last picture, i think it's a floating mosque? Not huge but i think it serves its purpose as a prayer spot.
Stop No 6: my second eagle feeding in Langkawi although this was better in a way as Alif threw a pail of foul smelling feed in the water to attract the birds of prey! Check out here for more photos.
Flanked on both sides by mangroves! As the tide was high, you couldn't see the interesting roots signature of mangrove trees. On google map (street view), you can navigate the same route as we did for this mangrove tour but the tide was much lower.
The mangrove monkeys and one even cheekily jumped onto our boat! Thankfully, it wasn't as daring as those i saw at Bali's Uluwatu temple.
A boat filled with bored looking tourists; the weather can really affect your mood sometimes and even we were feeling a bit tired and lethargic under the afternoon sun.
Red markers on the trees; tide markers?
More photos.
A rock in the shape of a box! I don't know about you but if i have the right tool, i might just want to cut it open to see if i could find any treasures within!
Sleepy... If i were driving, such weather would be a no-no as i might likely doze off while i am on the wheel. Gosh, would it be the same if i am steering a boat? That would be disastrous!
Stop No 7: Crocodile Cave; no crocodile here and only in low tide would we be able to go through the cave. Oh well, guess i need to plan another trip to Langkawi soon since there are a few things i need to experience with low tide!
Coming to the last of our stops!
Stop No 8: the fish farm where we got to mingle with rays, pufferfish and the opportunity to taste fresh seafood; latter of which we didn't partake in as we would be having lunch at the Scarborough Fish & Chips Restaurant.
Saying our goodbye to Alif; he was responsible and careful in the handling of the boat despite his young age and even though he took time to recollect certain words in English, we knew he did his best to communicate with us which we greatly appreciated!
Thanks to the trusty boat too!
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Booking
To book for the mangrove tour via Alanona Nature, click here.
Pricing
As above. Strangely, the price on the Alanona Nature's website indicated a cheaper pricing of RM 400 for a 4-hour private tour.
Map
As above; we didn't cover a lot actually.
Additional Information
When you arrive at the carpark of Kilim Geoforest Park, do note that the counter to kick-start your mangrove tour (if you buy from Alanona Nature) isn't from the buildings near the entrance.
Walk further in to the above building!
Click here for a summary of my 5-day trip to Langkawi, with a day trip to Alor Setar.
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