Ben got eaten by catfish and Sarah ate lots of chocolate!
Posted by Sarah O'Neill , Sunday, 10 October 2010 00:39
Got up early today and went 'island hopping', we thought it might be a nice way to see more of Langkawi and the surrounding islands. We were picked up at 9.15 and taken to meet the boat. There were lots and lots of people there! Lots of people were taken to their boats, not very big ones, and about 20 people were on each boat. When we were called to ours, it was a nicer boat, still small, but there were only six of us! Much nicer than the crammed ones, weren't we lucky!
It was a very fast boat, and was great fun zipping through the waves, and ge
tting a bit splashed! It seemed all the boats were heading in the same direction. The boat driver stopped the boat and pointed to the view, which is called the island of the pregnant maiden. You can see from the 
photo the outline which looks like a pregnant lady lying down! We were then taken to the pier of the island and told we had one hour here. We were greeted by many monkeys! After walking up a hill and then down the other side (I was reminded of the trek and thankful not to be doing that again!), we came to a fresh water lake. Included in our ticket price was a 30 minute ride on a pedalo or canoe. Ben had been keen to get a canoe, but they said they were broken, so we had to have a pedalo!
tting a bit splashed! It seemed all the boats were heading in the same direction. The boat driver stopped the boat and pointed to the view, which is called the island of the pregnant maiden. You can see from the 
photo the outline which looks like a pregnant lady lying down! We were then taken to the pier of the island and told we had one hour here. We were greeted by many monkeys! After walking up a hill and then down the other side (I was reminded of the trek and thankful not to be doing that again!), we came to a fresh water lake. Included in our ticket price was a 30 minute ride on a pedalo or canoe. Ben had been keen to get a canoe, but they said they were broken, so we had to have a pedalo!Before we began our pedalo ride, there was a pool that you could dip your feet into 
for a 'cat fish massage'!! Ben got right in there and had a go, I was happy to take 
the pics from the side! There were hundreds of cat fish sucking on his feet and nibbling at his dead skin and cleaning any wounds. He made me try it, and I was quite reluctant to say the least! They have these huge antenae things and look so gross and there were so many of them! You can see from the photo that I did put my feet in, but not for very long! It was disgusting, all tickly and I couldn't keep them in! I don't know how Ben left his feet in there as long as he did! Ben laughed that I have done all sorts of scary (for me!) things lately, and I couldn't keep my feet in the water with the cat fish!
for a 'cat fish massage'!! Ben got right in there and had a go, I was happy to take 
the pics from the side! There were hundreds of cat fish sucking on his feet and nibbling at his dead skin and cleaning any wounds. He made me try it, and I was quite reluctant to say the least! They have these huge antenae things and look so gross and there were so many of them! You can see from the photo that I did put my feet in, but not for very long! It was disgusting, all tickly and I couldn't keep them in! I don't know how Ben left his feet in there as long as he did! Ben laughed that I have done all sorts of scary (for me!) things lately, and I couldn't keep my feet in the water with the cat fish! 
We enjoyed our pedalo ride, and the lake was pretty and cool, compared to the heat of the beach! It was very noisy where all the other people were swimming in an area of the lake, but much quieter when we made our way over to the other side! 
The scenery was pretty. It was interesting to see that the Muslim women here went into the water fully clothed, including their headcoverings. I'm not sure what they did when they got out, but I can't imagine they were allowed to change behind a towel or anything! It has been quite interesting and strange to us to see couples on the beach, the man wearing standard swim shorts and no t-shirt, and the woman wearing clothes that cover her to her ankles and a headcovering, even a few with a full burka, and the man half naked next to her. Can you imagine that in this heat! The cult
ure here is very different. It makes me realise what freedoms I have and I am grateful for them.
The scenery was pretty. It was interesting to see that the Muslim women here went into the water fully clothed, including their headcoverings. I'm not sure what they did when they got out, but I can't imagine they were allowed to change behind a towel or anything! It has been quite interesting and strange to us to see couples on the beach, the man wearing standard swim shorts and no t-shirt, and the woman wearing clothes that cover her to her ankles and a headcovering, even a few with a full burka, and the man half naked next to her. Can you imagine that in this heat! The cult
ure here is very different. It makes me realise what freedoms I have and I am grateful for them.We saw lots more monkeys, and a couple with babies 
which was fun to watch! I was amazed looking at their hands and the way they use them, it is so human like, no wonder we find them so endearing! Next we were taken on another exhilerating boat ride to another island. We stayed on the boat and saw loads of eagles circling above us. There were a few other boats that had got there before us, and th
ey chuck out bread to attract the fish, and then the eagles swoop down and catch the fish. There were so many, it was quite an awesome sight! Our boat driver chucked his bread out, and soon they were swooping down around us too! B
en got some good pictures but was sad that he didn't have his bigger zoom lense with him.
which was fun to watch! I was amazed looking at their hands and the way they use them, it is so human like, no wonder we find them so endearing! Next we were taken on another exhilerating boat ride to another island. We stayed on the boat and saw loads of eagles circling above us. There were a few other boats that had got there before us, and th
ey chuck out bread to attract the fish, and then the eagles swoop down and catch the fish. There were so many, it was quite an awesome sight! Our boat driver chucked his bread out, and soon they were swooping down around us too! B
en got some good pictures but was sad that he didn't have his bigger zoom lense with him. Our next journey on the boat took us to a lovely looking beach, however, when all the boatloads of people descended on it, it got a bit manic! We relaxed and read our books. Ben got a shock when the tide came in on his feet, and it reminded me of those times at Polzeath as a child when the tide would come in so fast, we'd scramble to get all the stuff before it got washed away! It wasn't nearly as dramatic as that though!
After an hour we went back to the boat and sped back towards Langkawi. When we got there we found a lovely souvenir waiting for us! They had taken a picture of us just before we'd got onto the boat, infact I only just realised they were taking it as she did, they didn't even tell us or ask us to pose! They had put the picture on a melamine plate for us! haha, it was tacky and fun, and only £2 so we bought it! I had only been saying to Ben earlier that we had no photos of the two of us together, so now we do!
After we got back and had had some lunch we went to a place called 'chocoffee', which was almost next door to our guest house. It said on the front that you could have a free taster, so we thought we'd have a look and get some free chocolate! It was set out like a normal shop, with shelves each with the different boxes of chocolates on, and a lady greeted us, and showed us around. She opened a little tupaware from the shelf and gave us a taster, and told us what it was, and then moved onto the next type of chocolate, and produced another tupaware with chopped up bits of the various chocolates in. I thought after three when we got to the end of the shelf that that would be it, but no, it continued! All the way around the shop! We think we tasted over 15 different chocolates! She just kept dishing them out! Then we got free coffee tasters too! It was great! I probably would have bought something if we were heading home soon, but since it's super hot and we're away for 9 more months, we decided against it! Left empty handed, but bellies were full!
Tomorrow we will have been away for 5 weeks! We can't quite believe it! We are flying to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, I am looking forward to being in a big city again, it will be fun! We will only spend 2 nights there, before moving onto Pulau Weh where we will be doing some more diving!
Sarah x
Superb photography!!!
Loved our chat this morning. Bet those fish didn't attack Ben's toe nails! How long will they be on your return?? Ha ha!
XXXX