AirAsia to Langkawi, Meals while Landing! What an Experience

[guitarsingapore]

We fly AirAsia from Singapore to Langkawi, Malaysia. AirAsia is a very large budget carrier, owned by Tony Fernandez of Malaysia. It has been a stunning success, however, it was hit by a crash last year when AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed, presumably due to bad weather and some pilot error.



Anyway, putting that aside, we still fly with AirAsia. The flight was from Singapore Changi Terminal 1. Check in was smooth and we got into the restricted area of Terminal 1 very quickly. I explored the terminal and found an outdoor cactus garden that I didn't know existed. This is a video of the place, which is near the Burger King.







Here are some pictures. The cactus garden was outdoors.

The pub in the garden. Didn't see anybody drinking, but this was in the morning. Probably more people in the evening.

This cactus was labelled the 'rose cactus'.

This was the smoking area. The cactus garden was divided into smoking and non-smoking areas.

Back to the pub area, you could sit on these high chairs and get a view of the gates. Several Emirates aircraft.

Alright, now let's move on to the exciting flight. I've flown with AirAsia to Bangkok before, but this is the first time I'm flying on AirAsia to a destination in Malaysia. When I got to the gate, the plane hadn't arrived.

 

[guitarsingapore]

The plane was slightly late in arrival, but the disembarkation of passengers and our embarkation was relatively quick. In this video, I show you part 1 of the flight. We had to taxi for a very long while before take-off. During the taxi, I saw the upcoming Terminal 4, which is about 70% completed. I think Terminal 4 will open in 2017. Once we took off, I could see a large piece of land being cleared. This should be the site of the future Terminal 5. Here is the video.







Some still photos. From my seat, I could see the ground crew loading hold luggage.

Airasia imprint on the seat in front of me. They have black leather seats.

The menu is very attractive and slick. The prices are ok (all in malaysian ringgit).

You can save some money if you pre-book.

When I saw this plane coming in, I thought I had spotted a new Airline. Turns out to be an AirAsia aircraft, but in a 'Turn Back Crime' livery. Not sure what this livery was about, but it made for a good picture.

Spotted this FlyScoot aircraft as we were taxi-ing. Distinctive tail, however, this particular aircraft had plenty of red spots.

 

[guitarsingapore]

The flight time was quite short, only 1hr 20minutes, approx. Now the fun started. We had pre-booked our meals, however, it looked like a large number of pax also pre-booked their meals and turned out that the service was very slow. There appeared to be a large group of pax on the plane, travelling together. Many of them also pre-booked meals.



The pilot had announced the start of descent, yet we hadn't gotten our food! Then, the cabin crew (4 of them) started to dish out the pre-booked food more and more rapidly, even as the plane was descending. It turned out that we ended up eating our meals right through descent and landing! Is this normal? Well, I got the entire experience on video, and you can watch it to believe it.







Some stills. I spotted this very long bridge from the air.

Later on, I learnt that this was either the Penang bridge or the Penang Second Bridge (the latter bridge is longer). Not sure which one this is.

By the time I got my meal, we were already very close to landing.

This is how the Bukhara Chicken Briyani looked like. The taste wasn't bad.

Upon landing, the plane quickly taxi-ed to the terminal and I saw this Malaysian Airlines jet that had just pushed back.

This was a small airport, no aerobridge.

Another view of the plane, in the bright sun.

 

[guitarsingapore]

Let me move on to some snippets of what I did in Langkawi. In our ride, leaving the airport.

Some signages.

Another picture of the signboard. Various resorts.

I stayed at Bayview Hotel, which is located at the Town Center. This is the view from my room, which was on the 10th floor.

I made a video of the room (a standard room), which was quite big. Rather dated but comfortable nonetheless. Good value, no doubt.







From my room, I could see these shophouses which had eateries and shops. So I explore the nearby vicinity of the hotel and come across this eating place called Domino's restaurant, not to be confused with the Dominos pizza chain.

The prices looked reasonable and I was just looking for a quick bite. So I ended up with this pasta and some iced coffee. It was a very hot day!

Here is a video of the place. Other than myself, only 2 other patrons. No worries, the waiter spoke good English.







And I walked around Kuah town center some more and entered an alcohol shop as well as a shop selling chocolates and other 'duty free' stuff.







This was how the hotel looked like in the evening.

This was a local eating house (coffee shop) along the same road, again rather near the hotel.

 

[guitarsingapore]

For one of our dinners, we went to a place which sold good local seafood near the hotel. I think the distance was less than 1km. The place was called Wonderland seafood. Apparently, this place was quite famous. A rustic place to eat. Here is the video.







Here are some pictures. From outside.

Al Fresco style seating. Natural ventilation.

Picture of the menu. From the online reviews, they all said that the food was reasonably priced. Beer was about 4RM per can.

Some beer, as we decide what to eat.

Fried calamari. Pretty nice.

The steamed fish was very good too.

Other customers enjoying their meal. Pretty nice atmosphere in the evening.

 

[guitarsingapore]

Now, on to some sightseeing. We visited the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park, featuring breathtaking landscapes of nearly vertical hills, of various shapes and sizes, as well as a mangrove area. We took a 2 hour boat-ride and saw very interesting sights, including a bat cave (not flesh-eating, don't worry), and a fish farm. Here are two videos, before I proceed to some still pictures.



Video 1 - we start our ride on a small boat, and visit a bat cave.







Video 2 - we continue the ride, to see a fish farm, another cave and go out to the open sea.







Here are some still pictures. The main entrance. This place was about a 20 minute ride by car from our hotel.

Boats lined up, waiting for passengers. Each boat can take 12.

More boats. We were here in the afternoon and it was pretty hot. Our guide told us that usually people will come in the morning, when it is cooler.

Closer look at the boat.

We got off at a jetty quite near the start point, for the bat cave.

Gua Kelawar. Kelawar means bat. Gua means cave. This is Malay.

Bats are flying mammals. They need to hang. Their legs are too small to support their weight for long. In the video, you can hear the guide explain to us the hierarchy of the bats in the cave, depending on where they hang. I have no idea whether he was telling us the scientific truth as I am no bat expert.

Mangrove. This was low tide. All the roots are clearly visible.

Along the way, we noticed a good number of boats which carried women that were completely veiled up in black. Turned out that they were from Saudi Arabia, which I understand practices a very conservative form of Islam, hence the requirement for their women to dress this way in public. This video offers some glimpses.







Our guide told us that Langkawi was a very popular destination for couples from Saudi Arabia to visit, especially for their honeymoon. Here is an example.

Entire family, including baby on a pram.

Of course, there were Caucasian tourists as well, like this party.

Next we visited a fish farm.

They even had a mini drinks store on board, obviously set up for tourists.

Very rustic place. Everything felt stable but just be careful when walking around the fish tanks.

This is low tide.

After we go out to the open sea, we see this sign. Like Hollywood of sorts?

The geology is quite amazing indeed.

 

[danielkif]

härliga bilder och kul att läsa! data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7

 

[nota bene]

I flew this route in the spring this year (well 2015!). Early morning departure though so did not get to experience your food shambles!



Cannot say I have ever seen food on the tables during landing, on any airline...



Nevertheless I find Air Asia to be one of the better and more reliable low cost carriers in the area.

 

[guitarsingapore]

DanielKif skrev:härliga bilder och kul att läsa!Klicka för att utvidga...

Thanks for reading!

 

[guitarsingapore]

Now, after some sightseeing, how about a night market? This night market was in Kuah (the commercial center of Langkawi), about a 400M walk from the hotel I stayed in. Here is a video of some of the scenes from the night market.







Some pictures to follow. This is one end of the night market. We will walk to the other end and back.

Fresh fruits. Love the colours.

Selling pizza and donuts. Slice of pizza for RM2 and donut for RM1.50

They even sold perfumes.

Burgers for 2RM.

This store was rather popular. Sea coconut. I didn't try it though.

Some more photos from the night market experience. Some cooked noodles and rice.

This is called Yong Tau Hu. You choose your items and they cook it there and then for you. Seemed rather popular!

How the night market looks like. Just one street, stores on both side.

Some sort of sausages, I think.

Kebabs.

Selling iced sugared drinks.

 

[guitarsingapore]

Malaysia, Truly Asia.

The stores were doing a good trade, and I think they needed more rubbish bins.

 

[guitarsingapore]

And now, for more sight-seeing. Today, we head to the Cable Car, Panorama Langkawi. This is the website of the attraction - http://www.panoramalangkawi.com/



From our hotel, it would take about 40 minutes (depending on traffic). Here is a signpost to the place, still 21km away. I recall this signpost was near Hotel Bayview, well at least not soon after we left.

The roads were in a good condition and generally clear, at least when we were travelling. The driver did say that Langkawi could get very busy, but it didn't felt too busy when we were there.

Continuing the journey.

We arrive at the Oriental Village, which leads to the cable car.

It says Oriental Village, Cable Car. A rather rustic looking entrance!

These were the ticket prices

That looks really steep. Apparently, this is the steepest cable car in the world, so claimed the Malaysians. If somebody knows of another cable car set-up that is even steeper, please let me know.

The plan was to take the cable car to the middle station, then the top station, then view the SkyBridge and come back down. In this first video, I am in the cable car heading up, towards the middle station. Very, very steep.

 

[guitarsingapore]

At the middle station, we got off the cable car to check out the views. If you were in a hurry to get to the top, you could decide to stay in the cable car instead of getting off. This was taken at the middle station.

Great view of Langkawi from here. Even better from the top station.

Here is a video of the ride from the middle to the top station, followed by some views from the platform on the peak. Good weather, albeit windy. Awesome views. God's creation shouts out to me!







The top station, where the cable cars make a roundabout and head back down again. I wonder how many trips a cable car makes in a day.

I can see the middle station (far left) and top station, where I am now, on the right. See the cables.

The open walkways at the top looked rather new. Good day to be up here. Beautiful views all around.

At the top. This sign indicates that this is the birthplace of Malaysia.

The views from the mountain top.

 

[guitarsingapore]

From the top station, we could see the Sky Bridge, a curved bridge. We would be heading there shortly.

The geology was fascinating. Many peaks and sheer drops.

Looking out into the horizon.

Langkawi SkyCab Top Station.

They started this locks thingy on the bridge. Very nice. Not many locks at this stage but I think the numbers will grow over time.

Now we head to the Sky Bridge. How to get there from the Top station? Two options. One is to walk, which turns out to be quite difficult and winding. The cost is an extra 5RM. Another option is to take an Inclinator, which looks like an elevator. The additional cost is 15RM. We chose the Inclinator. Take note that your ticket from the base station is only for the cable car, and it does not cover this Inclinator and Sky Bridge.

Here is a video of the Inclinator experience. The ride takes about 2 minutes each way. It is basically a lift to bring you own to the Sky Bridge but it is at an incline because of the landscape.

 

[guitarsingapore]

At the platform for the Sky Bridge, after taking the Inclinator from the Top station to this platform.

The Langkawi Sky Bridge is definitely one of the island's highlights. If you are doing the cable car, remember to budget enough time for the Sky Bridge too. It is a 410foot curved walkway above Mount Mat Cinchang.

The Sky Bridge is supported by a single metal piece, built at an angle. I guess this is a designer steel bridge. The bridge won the Swiss Steel Design Award in 2005. This award is given by the Swiss Institute of Steel Construction.

The award citation is worth a read.



“The Panorama Bridge in Langkawi is a courageous, strongly expressive piece of construction, which integrates sensitively with nature. The support structure is distinctively detached from the topography and together with the stunning curved walk-way, the concept ideally responds to the stringent requirements posed when

opening a protected nature-reserve to tourism. The demanding steel structure has been designed meticulously and demonstrates the great potential of steel as a building material for such exceptional architectural projects with highest quality requirements. The jury acknowledges that the complex space-frame is built-up from standard steel profiles and -parts. The impressively precise and efficient planning, fabrication and installation under difficult externally imposed conditions reflects the highest performance of the involved planners and contractors.”



Well, having been there, I do think that it is worthy of the award. A tourist taking a photo. This photo shows you the width of the bridge.

The view of the top station from the bridge. Basking in the sun.

The solitary metal piece holding up the entire bridge, using a system of steel cables. The support structure is built at an angle to the ground. Fascinating.

The view, from the platform at the far end of the bridge.

Yes, the bridge is curved. Cool design, I like it.

Another view of the bridge as we head back to the top station, for the cable car ride back down. Yes, Langkawi can be proud of this bridge as well as the cable car. It was an awesome morning.

 

[guitarsingapore]

We spent more than an hour plus on the top station as well as the Sky Bridge, and soon it was time to go back down. This was the cable car ride down. It was more windy and we could feel the cable car sway in the wind. Quite an experience!







We reached the base station safely (phew!). There were larger crowds now. Good that we came early!

See the line for buying tickets.

This attraction was certainly very popular. I can understand why. Definitely worth a visit.

A kid playing with the fountain. It was a hot day.

Back to the carpark.

Food, more food. This was in Kuah, Langkawi, Malaysia. A coffeeshop, more traditional. We came here to get some lunch. It was warm, it was humid, but this was Malaysia. Many locals dining here, so we couldn't be too far wrong. Here is a video.





My won-ton mee. 5 Ringgit for this serving.

I realised that I did not show any photos of the breakfast I had in the Hotel Bayview. The breakfast spread was decent, but I would say catered more towards local/asian tasting. Of course, you had the usual breads and stuff, but most of the food was for the local palate. Some photos.



This is some nasi lemak rice, frieg egg, curry. Yes, I like this very much for breakfast. Very high in calories though.

This is called Roti Canai (or flat bread). Sometimes in Singapore we call it Roti Prata. Eat with curry.

Here it is - Roti Canai.

I think these were the condiments for the chicken porridge.

These were condiments for the Nasi Lemak.

Nasi Lemak rice. Delicious! (though very high in calories...)

Nasi Lemak! Yummy.

 

[guitarsingapore]

The Loaf Bakery and Bistro, Langkawi. This is a premier bakery first opened in 2006, at the Perdana Quay in Telaga Harbour Park. Subsequently they have opened in several places in Malaysia. The Loaf produces bakery products like bread, pastries, cookies using traditional Japanese methods. They also have a comprehensive ala carte menu, where you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Interestingly, the Loaf is supposedly owned by Tun Dr Mahathir, the most famous ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia.



This video shows you our experience at the Loaf Langkawi, Perdana Quay. We had heard about this place and decided to come here for lunch. The bistro is located quite near the SkyCab Cable Car.







Here are some pictures. Inside the bistro.

The first breakfast item caught my attention. Why? It says Tun's Breakfast! Can I conclude that this is Tun's favourite breakfast? Interesting.

Front page of the menu. Prices were still reasonable by Singaporean standards. But of course these prices would be expensive by local standards.

Back page of the menu, including drinks. Cappuccino for 10RM.

Hot coffee. Neat cup. Came with a nice cookie too.

Some of the breads on sale. These breads were supposed to be very good.

This was the Loaf Signature Club sandwich. A hearty portion. Literally heart-shaped too!

Do check out the video for snippets of the rest of the food, including Laksa, some breads, grill fish on rice, grilled chicken on rice and coffee.



Many visitors rent a car to drive around in Langkawi. The good news is that it is not difficult to do so. The roads are in good shape and they are not complicated. With a map and GPS, it would be very hard get lost. Also, parking is free in most places. In this video, show you some scenes on the road.







We didn't have much time for beach activities this time round, however, we stopped by briefly at a beach just to take a look. Pretty hot and sunny.

 

[guitarsingapore]

The ZON Langkawi Shopping Center

We stopped by at the Zon 'Duty Free' shopping center to check out the place and also to buy some chocolates.

Here is a video of the Zon shopping center, which wasn't very large to begin with. But the alcohol was cheap and plenty of chocolates too.

 

[guitarsingapore]

Very soon, it was time to head back to Singapore. A short but fun trip to Langkawi. I flew here on Air Asia but I am flying home on Silk Air, which is Singapore Airlines regional subsidiary. I don't fly Silk Air very often, so this would be interesting. SilkAir operates a short-haul fleet, currently a mix of Airbus A319, A320 and Boeing 737. However, I think they have ordered the upcoming Boeing 737-MAX and will phase out their Airbus fleet over time.



Before the fight, here is a video of the Langkawi international airport. We had some time at the airport, but it was a small airport. There was time for a meal (some dinner) before the flight.







The departures from Langkawi airport this evening.

A Malaysian flag hanging from the roof of the terminal. Malaysia Boleh!

Check-in counters.

Starbucks at the Langkawi International airport. Quite well patronized.

This was my Kampung style Fried Rice from a restaurant on the 2nd floor of the airport terminal.

A view of the terminal from the second floor.

After security, waiting area for the flights. This airport did not have any aero-bridges. We would need to walk on the tarmac to the plane, just like when we arrived.

 

[guitarsingapore]

Let me proceed to the flight itself. It was on a Silk Air Airbus A320. A short flight, just 1hr 15 minutes. Here is the video flight review. In the review, I show you the snack as well as the inflight enterntainment studio system that requires you to use your own device to stream the movies. I used my iphone to try some movies, just to see whether it worked, and it did. SilkAir planes are not fitted with any IFE screens so if you want to watch any movies, you would have to use your own device. Anyway, the selection wasn't great.







At my seat, Economy class.

Cabin crew at the back galley. Only the front door of the aircraft was opened. The crew would have flown in from Singapore earlier, since Silk Air does not have a change of crew in Langkawi.

On board an Airbus A320 plane.

Obligatory legroom photo.

The flight back to Singapore was short and uneventful, which wasn't a bad thing. Immigration control at Changi was quite empty, which was a relief. I wanted to get home quickly.

As I did not have any check-in luggage, after immigration, I got out to the public area quickly and headed to the taxi stand. The line was not too long and it moved quite fast. Within 5 minutes, I was in a taxi on the way home. Thank God for safe travels. Thanks for reading!