Langkawi
Southeast Asia'S First UNESCO Global Geopark, Built On Cambrian Rock Among The Oldest Exposed In The Region, With A Cable Car To A Curved Bridge Hung From A Single Pylon · Kuah, Kedah
NINETY-NINE ISLANDS OFF KEDAH, AND THE REASON UNESCO MADE THIS SOUTHEAST ASIA'S FIRST GLOBAL GEOPARK IN 2007 IS THE ROCK. THE MACHINCHANG FORMATION IS CAMBRIAN - among the oldest exposed rock anywhere in the region, laid down something like half a billion years ago - and the cable car runs straight up it. AT THE TOP IS THE SKY BRIDGE: a CURVED pedestrian deck one hundred and twenty-five metres long, HUNG FROM A SINGLE INCLINED PYLON at around six hundred and sixty metres, which is a genuinely startling piece of engineering. THE KILIM MANGROVES on the east side are limestone karst, eagles, bat caves and tidal channels. LANGKAWI HAS BEEN DUTY-FREE SINCE 1987, which is why Malaysians come and why the alcohol and chocolate are cheap. AND THERE IS MAHSURI, executed for adultery, who is said to have cursed the island for seven generations. The SkyCab closes for maintenance for weeks in some years and stops in afternoon wind, so ride it in the morning and check the schedule before you build a trip around it.
Langkawi, Kedah, Kuah, Kedah, Malaysia
LANGKAWI HAS AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT with flights from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore, and FERRIES FROM KUALA PERLIS, KUALA KEDAH AND PENANG. THE SKYCAB AND SKY BRIDGE keep daily hours and CLOSE FOR MAINTENANCE PERIODS EACH YEAR, sometimes for weeks - check before building a trip around them - and the cable car also STOPS IN HIGH WIND OR LIGHTNING, which is common in the afternoon. KILIM MANGROVE TOURS run by boat from the jetties, best in the morning. ISLAND-HOPPING TRIPS to Dayang Bunting and Beras Basah leave from Cenang. DUTY-FREE APPLIES ISLAND-WIDE. THE ISLAND IS MUSLIM-MAJORITY AND KEDAH IS CONSERVATIVE: beachwear on the beach is fine, but cover up away from it. The monsoon runs roughly August to October.