langkawi magazine

Culture SECTION

Their Own Little Paradise

"When I first arrived in Langkawi, Kedah I had the feeling that this is it. I've arrived at a place that feels like home," smiled Wolfgang Sauer, 47. That first night in Langkawi, 13 years ago, Sauer"s friend proposed a joint venture to start a restaurant and resort in Pantai Cenang. Sauer told his friend he"d think about it and asked to be shown around the island the next day.
"I had made up my mind but the island tour was just a confirmation,” said Sauer.
"I'm the kind who believes if I don"t think it"ll work out, I wouldn"t take the chance."
After his holiday, Sauer went back to Frankfurt, Germany, quit his job, sold everything, and came back to put all his money into the business. Today, Sauer and his business partner"s Beach Garden Resort Bistro and Beer Garden in Pantai Cenang sees a steady stream of customers especially during the peak season.
Things weren"t smooth sailing for Sauer initially. With 15 years of experience running a company selling office supplies and furniture in Germany, Sauer is a new kid on the block when it comes to the food and beverage business. In Langkawi, he had to deal with language problems and the fact that most countries don"t measure up to German efficiency.
"It took three days to find a carpenter, another three days to put in the order and then just waiting for things to get done," smiled Sauer. They had to deal with frequent power failures, a faulty copier that needed constant servicing and infrequent ferry service to bring in food supplies.
"I had to be very patient and I learned to improvise a lot, which isn"t bad," said Sauer. On his first year, Sauer rode a motorbike all over town and made about RM1,000 a month. "It took six years to see any profit," Sauer added.
But Langkawi's awe-inspiring beauty soothed the ruffled mind and eased the anxiety of settling in a foreign country and running a business. Sauer recalled sitting at Pantai Cenang beach and drinking in the beautiful spectacle of frolicking dolphins in the ocean.
Once, while driving around the island, he witnessed a pair of hornbills diving towards his windscreen and swooping back up into the sky gracefully.
"I like the slow, relaxed life. I used to go out sailing on the catamaran, feel the breeze on my face and ponder on questions like, 'What am I doing'?" Sauer reminisced.
Over the years, Sauer has forged enduring friendships with people on the island.
"Back in Frankfurt, I have more than 100 friends but I can count with five fingers who are the real friends," said Sauer. "But living here and through business, I"ve met so many wonderful people who have become good friends."
"If there are no forces driving me out of this island, I can imagine living here for the rest of my life," Sauer said.

Giving back to nature
Langkawi"s sandy beaches, dense mangrove forest, craggy limestone caves, diverse flora and majestic eagles have always captivated visitors who appreciate nature. But one visitor took things a step further and set up a private "Eco-Museum."
Tomisuke Kato"s "museum" is set on a fish farm on the northern part of the island. For one year, Kato and his wife, Masako, painstakingly put together charts, photographs and diagrams chock-a-block with facts (written in Japanese) on mangrove habitat and its environs on the walls of the small hut.
The Japanese couple have been in the travel and tour business for more than three decades. Having lived in Japan, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, they chose to settle in Langkawi in 1998. Today, they run a mangrove forest river cruise tour catering to Japanese tourists.
"I want visitors to be aware of the importance of preserving nature," said Kato, 60, a passionate environmentalist. Kato feels it isn"t enough just to show visitors the beauty of Langkawi, they could learn about environmental concerns that are applicable worldwide.
During peak tourist season, the couple do their four-hour tour up to six days a week. But Masako said they prefer visitors who are genuinely interested in learning about the environment.
For the Katos, Langkawi"s tranquil nature makes it ideal for living. Masako, 55, left Kyoto, Japan for Malaysia when she was 18 and she has lived in cities for more than 30 years. When they first moved here, they were pleasantly surprised by the locals' laid-back nature and amicability.
"The local people here are very friendly and Jaafar (a local fisherman who also runs river tours) is our best friend," said Masako, beaming. The couple also laud Langkawi as a very safe place to live.
"Sometimes, I don"t even lock my house," said Masako. "Now l think Tokyo is more dangerous than Langkawi."(Tokyo is known as one of the safest cities in the world).
"People have asked me if I miss Japan, but I say I don"t," said Masako, who speaks fluent Malay. "The Japan I like is what it was 30 years ago." Masako said things are cheap here and she has no problem getting cooking ingredients for Japanese cuisine.
But the couple does make occasional trips to the Klang Valley to visit their son. "When I go to KL, after a few days, I want to come back to Langkawi," Kato smiled.

It"s a wonderful life...
Langkawi"s slanting coconut trees resting atop drapes of bright green paddy fields framed by gentle rolling hills lend an idyllic setting for expatriate retirees. But German expatriate Johannes Cordier, known as Johnny by most people, quipped, "You cannot just sit and watch the sun all the time."
Cordier, 67, a nine-year Langkawi resident, keeps his rosters packed by running a restaurant, dabbling in community activities and attending social events. After 24 years with the German airbus industry, the Hamburg native opted for an early retirement at 52.
"I had a very stressful life in the airbus industry, so the first two to three years after retirement, I enjoyed doing the things I never had time for," said Cordier. "But then I started to get bored."
When a piece of land by the beach was up for sale, Cordier and his long-time friend and business partner, Shukri Shafie, built The Lighthouse Restaurant and Beach Bar. The restaurant is housed in a Mediterranean-style building with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a balcony overlooking the sea. Opened for more than two years now, the restaurant is popular especially with tourists.
Aside from controlling the business" finances, Cordier tucks into dinner at the restaurant nightly to keep tab on the food quality.
"It"s fun because the restaurant brought some routine back into my life, which I think is important when you"re getting older," smiled Cordier.
On the community front, Cordier and a group of expatriates are active in raising funds and contributing to Langkawi"s Centre for the Development of Special Children. Set up by the government more than a decade ago, the school takes in disabled and Down Syndrome kids. On its first year, there was a lack of funds to hire a driver to ferry the kids from their houses to the school. Cordier sponsored the driver"s pay and petrol for the van for one year. Groups of expatriates and locals hold fundraising dinners and activities to contribute extra funds to the centre.
Cordier"s love affair with Langkawi began in 1980. There was nothing on the island at that time - no traffic and nothing to buy, he recalled. "But the island was so green and beautiful. I told myself when I retire I will come back and make this place my home," said Cordier. Over the years, he kept travelling back and forth.
Then, about 16 years ago, he asked Shukri, "Why don"t we buy a piece of land in Langkawi?" Cordier wanted to build a house where he could retire. They came up with an idea to build a typical Malay wooden house with Kedah-style architecture.
"But our Malay house became a 'palace', blown out of proportion," grinned Cordier. Set on a hill overlooking paddy fields and a kampung, the timber house"s construction took four years. Made from 72 pillars, it covers 2,900sq ft (269.4sq m).
Since moving to Langkawi, Cordier has become a social fixture in the village nearby. If there"s a kenduri like a wedding, birthday or festival, Cordier always gets invited. Shukri holds a Hari Raya open house party every year, and the kampung kids come to collect the ang pow, Cordier added.
"Unfortunately, I don"t speak Malay. It"s my fault," Cordier smiled apologetically. "Most people can speak English and I keep telling myself I should learn. But the kampung people are just lovely."
Cordier prefers the slow pace of life in Langkawi compared to the regulated life back home. "In Germany, if you call your friend for dinner, you have to call days ahead to schedule," said Cordier. "Here, you just put on a T-shirt and shorts to buy the newspaper, but in Hamburg you have to wear a coat and take an umbrella when you step out of the house."
To Cordier, as to most expatriates in Langkawi, this island is close to paradise. Though development is important for the next generation, he hopes it doesn"t happen too rapidly.
Like all who fell under Langkawi"s spell, Cordier hopes it will stay this way for 100 years.For information & booking visit www.langkawi-insider.com

Langkawi 01/02/2003