Only 500 miles north of the Equator, anchored on the edge of Malaysia looking towards Thailand, but without Thailand's bustle, the air is keener, the perception sharper here.
Climb to any height on Langkawi and you'll be overwhelmed by a sense of intoxication, set off by views that reach down over jewel-bright green jungle slopes to voluptuous sands looking like icing powder, and stretching out from the main island is an archipelago of islands whose head count changes by the state of the tide. When the tide is up, there's 99, when it's down, there's 104.

A beautiful, verdant tropical island with white sandy beaches, brilliant aqua waters, steep forested mountains, emerald green rice paddies and studded with traditional kampungs or villages it is a real picture postcard.
Pulau Langkawi is the largest of the group of 99 islands that lay off the west coast of the far north of peninsular Malaysia near the Thai border. The island also has a surprising number of attractions including the largest aquarium in SE Asia and a cable car that would rival the one in Rio de Janeiro.

On balance, it is better to be visited by burglars when you are out than when you are at home.
I speak from experience. It is not nice to be woken from a deep sleep in the early hours by a strange man in your bedroom. When it happened to me at my home in London, I muttered a foul obscenity in a very deep voice, leapt out of bed and chased him down three floors. This had nothing to do with bravery and everything to do with stupidity. Thank God he ran. I told the police he was at least 7ft tall, with mad eyes and a dagger clenched between his teeth. I'm pretty sure they thought I was exaggerating.

I was forced to go to Langkawi due to an Ebookers deal that I just couldn't turn down. Those bargain holiday companies will be the ruin of me I'm sure.
So as soon as I booked it I started to read up and plan exciting things to do - well I had five months to wait and work was slow so I took to this with a vengeance.
A friend lent me an old copy of Lonely Planet on a Shoestring South-East Asia guide.

Sorry for the title but i really need to do this to let you know something. Langkawi is Kedah's state's most prized possession.
Previously it was a hideout for pirates, but now it is a hideout place for tourist who wants to get away with the hustle and bustle of city life.
This is what you can imagine in your mind before you get there: blue sky, blue waters, peaceful, clean and quiet. Trust me and your imagination will come true when you step a foot there.
Tun Dr.Mahathir Mohammed, who was my country's previous Prime Minister, was the strong figure that helped developed this place. He turned this isolated paddy field into a place, a haven specially created to attract tourists to combat the Economical Crisis in Malaysia.

I am glad that I made the right choice this time round. Yes, I love Californian beaches and have stayed in the Bay area for quite a while. Love the evening drinks at LA and still have fond remembrances of partying late into the night.
This would have been the ideal place for our honeymoon. Yet, I chose Langkawi instead.
Nope, you didn't hear me wrongly - it's Langkawi in Malaysia! Nowhere close to Disneyland nor Universal Studios. Why? Ling, my fiance (or rather, wife now) has resisted vehemently initially. This is not one of my cost-cutting strategies to start a family in expensive Singapore. A close pal who's been to the Datai Resort at Langkawi was actually the one who suggested the place to me. It's simply romantic, he would explain passionately. Having done further research (just as any other kiasu Singaporean would), I was then convinced that it was not a place to be missed.