Travel Musings

Narita Airport

Singapore/Malaysia 2007 Travelogue

My God, this toilet is way too complicated. There's this "Powerful Deoderizer" feature that kind of scares me and I don't know the difference between the "Spray" button (a blue butt icon, posterior view) and the "Bidet" button (a pink butt icon, lateral view): what happened to good, old-fashioned TP? Plus, I don't know where to set the flush "Volume Control", but I suppose the quieter, the better. The Japanese obviously have too much time on their hands.

With ten minutes separating my Minneapolis/Tokyo flight deboarding from my Tokyo/Singapore flight boarding, I have just enough time to hit the currency exchange and see if they'll accept the hundred bucks in Cambodian Riel that I've toted around for the past two years. They reject it, just like every other international airport currency exchange I've visited since 2005. Who knows, maybe the money will come in handy some day.

Changi

12:15  We pull into the gate at Singapore's Changi Airport

12:20  I'm through Customs

12:25  I've scored Singapore Dollars

12:30  I've claimed my luggage

12:35  In a taxi

12:50  Have checked into my room at the Changi Village Hotel (approximately $100) booked through Far East Hotels

INTJ that I am, I adore Singapore convenience and efficiency. No lines. No traffic. No bullshit. Why can't the rest of my life be this easy?

1:05  Enjoying a Tiger beer, shrimp-fried-something, and a little televised soccer action at the nearby outdoor food stalls. I'm minding my own business and attempting to navigate these damn chopsticks around these slippery noodles in sleep-deprivation mode (sans contact lenses: blurry sticks, blurry noodles, blurry soccer). A shadow falls upon my sloppy table.

The only other American within a 10 kilometer radius has singled me out. He's overweight, sweating profusely, and wearing a wifebeater.

"I don't like rice, noodles, or vegetables. You know where an Amer'cun can git some food 'round here?" he bellows.

CRAP. Why me? All I want is some shrimpy noodles and a brew. Slurped in peace.

8:30  On the hotel shuttle back to Changi

Changi! Home of fabulous shopping! I stumble upon Shanghai Tang, a funky, chic, Chinese boutique. Five minutes, $100 later, and I'm the proud owner of the sexiest little gray fabric/red leather wallet you've ever laid eyes upon.

Oh look, Prada!

I should board before I sprain my credit card.

I Love You, Langkawi

11:05  Malaysia Air flight from Singapore to Penang for $326 roundtrip

2:10  Flight from Penang to Langkawi, booked directly through Firefly for $66 roundtrip

Landed. I seek out a gift shop to purchase Pringles, but they only sell imposter Mister Potato (any relation to Mr. Peanut?). But they'll do in a pinch. One piece of advice to novice travelers: ALWAYS Carry Pringles.

I ask the lady at the transportation desk about taxi fares and she explains the set fees from Point A to Point B, Point B to Point C, then she inquires why I don't just rent a car.

"Because you guys drive on the wrong side of the road!"

There's No Way that I'm attempting driving on the left-side, although the airport advertisements for $30/day rental cars tempt me (and internet posters have proclaimed the Langkawi roads good, as long as you keep an eye out for stray water buffalo when driving at night). Nuh-uh: I've racked up my fair share of accidents just sticking to the right.

I know, I know: why Langkawi??!!??

Well, because Traveler featured Langkawi in the 2005 *Asia Issue.

Just over the horizon from some of Asia's high profile resorts lies a group of pristine islands only now registering on the radar. Ondine Cohane finds abundant wildlife, untouched rain forests, alabaster beaches, spicy street markets, and some new enclaves of luxury -- all sharing a Malaysian idyll called Langkawi

Where do I sign-up?

*Year-upon-year, the best travel magazine issue published

Berjaya Beach & Spa Resort

Flight from Penang to Langkawi: $66; Taxi from the Langkawi Airport to the Berjaya Langkawi Beach & Spa Resort: $7; Claiming my chalet on a tropical island in Southeast Asia as 300+ O'Hare flights are grounded due to snowstorms: Priceless.

The Berjaya ($125 first night; $150 subsequent nights -- no tax in Langkawi; booked through Asia Web Direct) was my third choice of Langkawi accommodations, considering my budget and recommendations from posters on Fodors.com and Tripadvisor.com. My first choice was the Bon Ton Resort (booked full), followed by the Tanjung Sanctuary (undergoing management changes and unable to accept new reservations). All three resorts offer a natural, outdoorsy environment rather than the cookie-cutter, over-air-conditioned, unnatural confinement of the typical, concrete, North American mega-deluxe-hotel-complex-plus.

I arrive feeling somewhat trepidatious: recent Tripadvisor posters had complained about Berjaya, bitching over walking long distances, bugs, etc. In response, I had played with switching my lodging up to only a couple of weeks ago, but had found that everything was booked. So I resigned myself to Berjaya.

I like this lobby. Open-air, vaulted ceiling, natural light, non-cheesy bar/lounge: beats your typical, mauve and forest green Marriott lobby with chintzy wallpaper (complete with floral border) and water-stained, drywall ceilings.

An SUV-sized golf cart whisks me to my chalet, a free-standing, cabin on stilts tucked into a corner of the rainforest.

Chez Moi

My chalet is sparse, but cozy of all -- it boasts a spacious deck enveloped in leafy greenery. Kind of a nice change in scenery from my deck back home, which overlooks The El, telephone wires, and gangs of harried rats with places to go and dumpsters to raid.

Berjaya consists of 502 chalets all-told, ranging from my humble Superior Chalet, to chalets built over the water, to the seabound, 1,600 square foot Presidential Chalet. Despite the number of units, privacy is a non-issue: the property extends a good kilometer along the coastline and the scattered units dot numbered, twisting trails that snake up from sea-level to the high hills.

I suffered from chalet envy when booking my reservation, wishing that I could afford the chi-chi chalets crouching on the water's edge. Now here, however, I actually prefer my basic bungalow, 2195 (Trail 3), to the more pricey, more prestigious models: the view of the trees and critters interests me more than flat water. Furthermore, I realize that I lucked out with a cabin facing no roads: those overgrown golf carts are noisy and they spoil the mood. My advice to future Berjaya guests: pick your chalet with care, and scope it out before committing, if the front desk clerks allow you to do so.