langkawi magazine

Reviews SECTION

Photo-free in lovely Langkawi

Our jet leaned around the corner, and we all gasped. Even at the airport site, Langkawi was breathtaking. The mountains and valleys were the green of a thriving rain forest - the beaches a shock of white - and the blue of the sea, a perfect complement to the jungle.

What a welcome change from the smoke-smuggered (thank you, Dr. Seuss) skies of Singapore.

Putting aside my wish to capture this on film, I opened my eyes wide and looked, trying to absorb it all. I continued to stare as we wound our way past the bucolic valleys on the way to our hotel.

Our resort was stunning. Every few steps brought a new, quietly sumptuous sight. The designers made sure you saw refined beauty everywhere. My fingers itched for my camera. I composed shots in my head as we explored the grounds. The royal stance of the magenta lotus preening in the center of the courtyard pool; the irony of the voluptuous karst islands being reduced to two dimensions by the setting sun behind them; the dancing line of the sun's reflection on the deep blue pool.

I couldn't wait to unpack the camera. We swam in the pool first and felt as if we were in a sunken patio flooded with fresh rainwater-not even a scent of chlorine to ruin the impression. From a fountain, water charged down in a stream that pounded the kids bit by bit under the water. When my young son wore his hat beneath it, the spray shot from his head in an immense, energy-charged halo, pierced by the sun's rays. Now there was an award-winning shot!

Oh, how integral photos are to our vacations. But soon I discovered that we forgot the camera. After my groans of agony faded, my husband calmly suggested we buy a disposable one. I normally eschew them for their wastefulness, but wouldn't such a camera save our whole vacation? And yet, it wouldn't be as fulfilling as our digital pictures, which we crop and re-size and send instantly to our family.

The more I tossed these ideas around, the more I valued the discipline required not to take pictures. What would it be like to stay in a place of awesome beauty without taking a single shot? How would it change my experience? Already I had experienced how much appreciating, how much true seeing I had done without the camera at hand. So I tried.?

I appreciated the flagstone walls, like ancient ruins, that would have framed the perfect Christmas photo, with the kids peering through one of the open windows. I cherished the lush vegetation and gentle chatter of the garden's idle creek and let the kids play Pooh sticks without the camera's interruption.

I examined the purple and yellow spots on the crabs' paddle legs, experiencing the same awe as my son. I wondered at the lacy murex shells without wondering at which angle to place them for a close-up shot. I waded the waves and watched the changing water and sky hues, the shrinking sand bar, the local men slogging through the water with their fishing nets without thinking how to save it all on a rectangular piece of paper.

And I laughed at the flashlight's beam of light swinging wildly across the sand, as the kids chased crabs in the full moonlight, knowing full well that not even a video camera could capture that moment.

Funny how discipline brings freedom. And I did feel free. Not only that, I remember more of that place than others I have enjoyed. So now I write and remember: the jagged islands, the live piano music tinkling through the courtyard, the burning of hot sand on my feet, the tang of sea salt on my lips, the beckoning smells of a breakfast buffet served in the open air.

There's one more memory. When we were dropped at the airport, we were surprised to see a neighbor family who had spent the weekend at another hotel on Langkawi. The joyful mother immediately lined the children up for a photo.

I looked around the faceless airport and felt at peace: what a perfectly ironic ending to my photo-less vacation. And after all, isn't it a lot to ask for my family to accept a vacation without pictures So, to our scrapbook I will add a copy of this article...and a photo of three kids in front of the duty-free perfume counter.

Langkawi