MALAYSIA || Langkawi - travel tips (Sky Bridge, Kilim Geoforest Park, Kuah) 15 Degrees North

15° North are travelling again! This time we are in Malaysia on the island of Langkawi. There we visit: Kuah, the Kilim Geoforest Park & the Sky Bridge.
Jérémy and Ben here again! We love to travel and to satisfy our wanderlust, we are on a worldwide odyssey exploring the best places for a break around the world. We love to escape Britain to experience the best culture, cuisine and attractions that the globe has to offer. If you’re a tourist like us and just need a good itinerary for what to do and how to do it when you’re in Langkawi, we will show you the best things to put on your itinerary.
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Langkawi is a tropical Malaysian island that sits on the border with Thailand. A popular tourist resort, it attracts visitors from Malaysia and from all across the world. So, naturally, we had to head straight to the beach upon arrival.No seriously, we hired a car and didn’t even bother checking into our hotel first. We just really needed a slice of tropical beach.
In 2017, Langkawi was awarded World Geopark Status by UNESCO.Meaning that it has the same status as the Black Country in the Midlands. Well it’s much prettier than Birmingham.
A big portion of the island is mountainous. In fact, a dormant volcano sits right at its centre. The tourism industry has capitalised greatly on the topography, so make sure to head up to the Sky Bridge via cable car for the best views of the island. The curved pedestrian Sky Bridge sits 660 metres up.Built in 2005, it is Langkawi’s most popular attraction and bears a hefty pricetag accordingly.
Unsurprisingly, Langkawi is full of nature. Most of the island is covered in jungle and has been for ten million years. As a result, the undergrowth is thick and home to a whole host of animals, birds and numerous creepy crawlies.As it’s an island, it’s actually quite safe in terms of wildlife.But you will notice that it’s pretty overrun by monkeys.And they’re everywhere. On our travels around south-east Asia, the friendliest monkeys we came across were on Langkawi. But be careful. They are constantly on the lookout for some food. And in their heads, a carrier bag will always be full of food, so they’re likely to snatch them from you. We saw them do exactly that to someone on the Sky Bridge!
Then we come to the jungle itself. And it’s definitely not advisable to wander in by yourself. I mean it’s definitely pretty... but God knows what on earth that thing is... And we didn’t stick around to find out.
Langkwai used to be a quiet backwater.That was until 1986 when the Malaysian prime minister - who was a big fan of the island - saw its potential for tourism. He then designed many of the new resorts and hotels himself, masterminding the plan for Langkawi’s reinvention as a duty free paradise. And its redevelopment had nothing to do with the end of the curse. The Langkawi Curse.
In the late 18th century, a woman was falsely accused of adultery and executed. Before she died, she placed a curse on the island that she said would last for seven generations. Literally a few weeks later, the island was invaded, captured and the villages burned to the ground. The people were enslaved and for two hundred years the island was passed back and forth between occupying forces. So how did it end?Well the woman’s seventh generation descendant was eventually born in Phuket in... guess which year? 1986.The islanders believed in the curse so much that they wouldn’t invest any money there until they believed the curse was officially over.
Exploring the island’s mangroves is a must-visit excursion. The habitat is so unique and impressive, it is protected by UNESCO. Our time on Langkawi was so much fun. It’s not really an island with that many impressive sights; it’s more that the experiences you can have there are really, really fun. We just felt really close to nature when we were there, surrounded by all the animals and birds and surprising lack of mosquitoes.Yes! Langkawi is unusual for south-east Asia because it has barely any mosquitoes whatsoever because they’ve all been gobbled up by bats. So it’s great if you hate mosquitoes. Terrible if you hate bats.