Langkawi is the place we chose to go. It is a beautiful island in the northern part of Malaysia. The water is clean, and climate great to laze around. The easier way to reach it is by flight. However, the real fun is the land way! Malaysia is a beautiful countryside, and the roads are good enough for one to not be intimidated by the twelve-hour night journey from JB (Johor Baru) to Penang - from where you catch a ferry to the beach resort. Incidentally, for those of you who dont know, JB is one of the largest cities of Malaysia, and shares a common border with Singapore. 

The real fun was in the fact that the trip was totally unplanned, without any prior reservations, not even a Malaysian Visa at the time the idea crossed our minds, and just about enough cash for us to survive. Three of us were planning to hit the roads, but it so happened that one couldnt manage the Visa as the Embassy closed prior to the New Year. So that left two of us, but we decided to go ahead anyways.

With a bag on our backs, and my dear camera clinging on to me, we cleared the immigration through the Woodlands Checkpoint. We actually ran into JB crossing the land bridge connecting the two countries - lest we miss the bus to Penang, only to realize that I had forgotten my camera at the place where I was filling my immigration form. The adventure had already begun! We were in Malaysia right now, and the camera was in Singapore! Given the choice of taking the bus to Penang, and going back for my CanonEOS300 - which is important to me not only because it had cost me a fortune, but also because I pursue photography as a hobby I chose the camera. Within minutes of checking out of Singapore, we were back. And actually had an altercation with the Officer on duty for doing so. Anyways, I must say that I am lucky - or Singaporeans are honest people - for I found my camera sitting there at the Immigration desk, waiting to be picked up. So, we again dashed back to Malaysia this time with the camera.

Luckily, Malaysia is quite like India in many ways. And the bus was therefore late as usual! The bus journey was uneventful, apart from the fact that we couldnt sleep well, primarily because the driver chose to drive us crazy metaphorically - with the cacophony of the Chinese movie he played. 

Come six the next morning, and we were in Penang two hours ahead of schedule. I must say it is not a very comfortable feeling to be in a totally alien land, with nowhere to go, and with nobody who understands your language. While in Malaysia, if you dont know Malay or Chinese, you might be in for big trouble. The second thing is to not go for cheap hotels! We were on a tight budget, so we chose to ignore this principle. It seems that most foreign tourists in these parts of the world come with a set agenda, and we had to run for our dear lives, and our chastity, for making the mistake of asking a cabbie to take us to a cheap hotel.

So, traveling on foot henceforth, about two hours later we finally managed to check into a reasonable hotel, and hit the sacks directly. 5-6 hours of uninterrupted sleep was broken by an incessant cry by our stomachs to be filled in! But life is not so simple in foreign lands. The food in Malaysia is great as long as you are not particular about what you are eating, and dont really mind if its not palatable. You can find Indian food (Indians seem to be the biggest minority in any part of the world anyways!) but thats only about as Indian as the Indians in Malaysia! Someone suggested we try Laksa, a Malaysian delicacy, but it turned out to be noodles floating around in a pool of thin sauce, and we had a miserable time finding the noodles in it, let alone eat it. Had it not been for Pizza Hut and McDonalds, we would have starved to death and buried somewhere in the Malaysian Highlands.

Anyways, thats the fun of traveling, I guess. But we had other things to worry about for the moment - to get ferry reservations to Langkawi, and if possible hotel bookings as well. Ferry reservations were easy, but our fears came true when we found all hotels occupied to capacity on New Years Eve. We anyways decided to go ahead with our travel plans, as there was no looking back now.

The ferry-ride turned out to be the first really exciting thing to come our way. Choosing to stand on the deck rather than confine ourselves to the seats of the air-conditioned steamer, two hours in the sea - with blue waters extending till the horizon, and cool breeze caressing our faces - was an indication of what to expect henceforth.

Mother Nature has a way of preserving itself, and it is very much evident in northern parts of Malaysia, especially Langkawi. Besides its white sandy beaches and limestone hills, its lush vegetation filled with exotic flora and fauna, Langkawi offers endless opportunities for water sports. Langkawi is an archipelago with about 100-odd islands, and the best way to enjoy the vicinity of Natures beauty is to leave the main island and explore the unexplored. We hired a motorboat and went island hopping! The beaches are a sea-lovers paradise, the white sand extending till the vanishing point - to be met by the blue waters. Go snorkeling, or windsurfing, parachuting, or simply floating in the water along side the fish. Another lesson we learnt here was to never try having beer in a motorboat traveling in deep seas at many nautical miles an hour - it will froth on your face!

Half a day of fun and adventure, and we were already dead tired. But our excitement wasnt dead! Besides, we had no hotel room to turn to. Come evening, and we made our last ditch effort to find a room, with no success. So, with a crate of beer (which is really cheap, as its duty-free!), a pack of cigarettes, moonlight and waves lashing by our sides, we settled for a long night on the beach.

It wasnt as bad as it might sound. The night-life in Langkawi is better than the one in Singapore, with lots of foreigners around - getting drunk, having fun, and if the weather allows - be there till the break of dawn, is all a game. We anyways had no choice, but luckily, we had great company!

Like all good things come to an end, so was this trip destined to! It was time to return to the monotonous life of the concrete jungle that is Singapore. But it definitely turned out to be a great adventure, and an unparalleled experience! 

Another twelve hours of journey, and we were back. We were somewhere in between Penang and Kuala Lumpur when the clocks struck 12 in this part of the world, ushering us into the New Year. But we were too tired to notice!

In retrospect, I would just say that Langkawi is the ideal place to be if you love the sea. And if that is not reason enough, let me share with you another secret - if you are a music lover or a movie-buff, Hindi VCDs in Malaysia are cheaper than even in India! Although we had a difficult time carrying that load all the way back home.