My first visit to Langkawi was sometime in 1997. I went with my parents and little sister. Masa tu belum start kerja, if not mistaken I was supposed to report for work in about 3 weeks time. I was still single at the time (and many, many kilos lighter). I think it was during school holidays, too, coz otherwise my little sister wouldn't be able to tag along. Geee... that was >10 years ago. My sister pun dah not so little sekarang.

My second visit was in late 1999, during my honeymoon. It was a very quick visit because Langkawi Island was one of the designated stops (after Penang then Phuket, before returning to Port Klang) for the Star Cruises ship. We were given about half a day to go wherever, do whatever on the island before the ship starts to sail to its final destination. I can't recall exactly where famyBoy and I went or what we did *giggles* but I do remember taking pictures at the Lang Square. Tak sah kalau tak amik gambar dengan helang gergasi itu. Memories lain hanya samar-samar saja so I won't list them here.

The third visit was with famyBoy and a then 2-year-old Sofea. That was back in 2002. Masa tu we did not own a digital camera, but we had videos of Sofea singing the "Bangun Pagi Gosok Gigi" song when she realized that her Ayah was filming her every move. We visited quite a lot of touristy places as far as I can remember. Anak kecik sorang still manageable maaa... We even rode in the cable car. I still have a polaroid picture of the three of us at the topmost cable car stop of Mount Mat Cincang. I think my husband paid RM12 that time for the picture to be taken (and laminated). hee hee hee.

All three visits were during my pre-bloggin' days.

When famyBoy (rather last minutely) proposed that we go somewhere during the school hols, I was ecstatic but at the same time a bit worried due to money matters. Cukup ke budget untuk bercuti ni? "InsyaAllah ada...", was his reply. What about transportation and boarding and all other expenses? "I'll take care of it. Ada rezeki, ada lah.", he said. Hmmmph... convincing sungguh.

So, as much as I was looking forward to our cuti-cuti trip, I didn't want to heboh-heboh (nor kecoh-kecoh) in case tak jadi. Even the kids weren't informed about it until about 2 days before D-Day.

And Alhamdulillah, our rezeki memang ada. What better way to 'escape' from the daily routines, the sibuk-ness, the chicken pox episodes, than a family getaway, kan? kan? I felt blessed and thankful for the given opportunity.

The kids were beaming with excitement when I finally told them about vacationing in Langkawi, especially since they'd need to travel by plane to get there.



The Cheeky One and sister at KLIA McD before boarding


During the plane ride, I thought of places to bring the kids to while we were there. The main criteria would be places that they'll be able to enjoy and have fun. During my previous visits, I'd managed to do most of the touristy stuff at most of the historical locations, so tak rasa terkilan sangat if we skipped most of them this time around. Kinda beats the purpose of vacationing at a historic place, but I'd prefer the kids enjoying themselves rather than forcing them to appreciate and understand something they have not yet been exposed to.

Berpandukan map of Langkawi Island from the internet, these were the places I had in mind (apart from makan seafood sepuas-puas hati, swimming pool splashes and shopping for souvenirs), in no particular order:
- The Oriental Village, also where they have the Cable Car ride up Mount Mat Cincang
- The Underwater World
- Cenang Beach, since it would be close to our hotel
- The Crocodile Farm
- Kuah Town, which would include Dataran Lang (Eagle Square) and the Taman Lagenda Theme Park
- Durian Perangin Waterfall
- The Birds & Wildlife Park
- Horseback Riding (if time permits)

Of course, I had predicted assumed that the weather would be nice and sunny throughout our stay.