Langkawi Today

Baskin Robins at Jetty Point, Kuah, Langkawi

If I can remember, the last time we were in Langkawi was more than 3 years ago. And so it was that when we found ourselves on the legendary island again last week, what we saw surprised us.

This island paradise has developed significantly where buidligns are concerned. We were there for 3 days and that to visit my brother who had just relocated there on account of his work. My husband and I had just completed a series of back to back training programs the day before, we were pretty tired and had not really planned to zip off to Langkawi soon after.

But my brother was pretty insistent and there's also the question of needing someone to bring over his daughter, Nena to visit him there. So we figured, why not and so there we were - Hanafy, Raihanah, Raziq, Nena and I, on a 3 days and 2 nites stay at the CHOGM Villa in Kuah, Langkawi.

The apartment that my brother's employer rented for him at CHOGM Villa is one of those 3-bedroomed units with all the services provided. Maintenance, security, gardening and a beautiful pool with life guards. The landscaping work on the place was tastefully done and the gardeners that the management employed take great pains to ensure each unit's lawns are kept that way. The only setback, albeit a minor one, is that the apartment blocks - built at the foot of a hill and surrounded by nature's green, was frequented by our sometimes friendly and sometimes not "cousins", the monkeys.

And so for the next few months, tenants will have to walk a bit to the guardhouse to throw their household refuse. The management has taken away their internal refuse collection bins as a means to discourage these primates from entering the premises in search of food.