Yes, it?s best to go to Langkawi with your significant other. And if you decide to do it for that once-in-a-lifetime trip after getting hitched, then you?ll join the troves of honeymooning tourists who land up on these tropical islands every year. But even if you?re not looking at spending quality time murmuring sweet endearments into her ear (or lying through your teeth to sneak in a round of golf), Langkawi has a lush tropical jungle, pristine waters for diving and watersports, and enough sightseeing to fill a vacation. The flight to the idyllic archipelago takes less than an hour from Kuala Lumpur (KL). But the change of setting could not be more radical: KL?s cosmopolitan buzz, traffic snarls and the general hubbub fade into the distance by the time you walk off the tarmac at Langkawi airport and disappears completely when you land up for your first tee time: no more eight-minute tee times; there doesn?t seem to be another group within two holes of you; and there are no caddies to be seen. Brilliant! Gunung Raya Golf Club is a typical parkland layout with an old-time character to it. Spreading over 300 acres of an erstwhile rubber plantation in the shadow of Mount Raya, Gunung Raya GC has a natural rolling landscape with a view of the distant mountains. In the style of old courses, the airways are wide (phew!) and it?s relatively easy to stay out of trouble and on the Bermuda on the fairways. It?s not as if there aren?t pitfalls, but they?re well-disguised: for example, it?s possible that, lulled into a false sense of confidence, you?ll try and take an aggressive route over water on the 500-m dogleg par-5, 10th hole. Even if you make the fairway, trying to get on in two will bring a litter of bunkers into play. The toughest test at this course is the seventh hole?a 207-m par-3. Unpredictable wind conditions, crafty pin placements and a two-tiered green make it a tough par. My playing partner, much to the astonishment of the rest of us, lays-up and then proceeds to make par. That?s one way to do it (though it doesn?t look pretty!).
The best-known course in Langkawi is the Datai Bay G&CC, which has been around for a couple of decades. The course was voted one of the top 10 golf courses in Malaysia by Asian Golf Monthly a few years back and it?s not difficult to see why. Located within a rainforest reserve, the course is flanked by the Andaman Sea to the east. Needless to say, the jungle is not out there, but you?re pretty much within it. Try to ignore the monkeys jabbering in the woods and focus on staying out of trouble off the tee?especially on the sharp dogleg par-5 8th and the tricky par-4 16th. Now, this golf course is the first that I?ve seen, which actually has a 19th hole. A fantastic 185-m carry over the Andaman Sea to a large green. The fluctuating nature of the ocean breeze means you could be hitting anything from Driver to seven-iron on this hole.
Save the best for last. Or at least the toughest. The 99 East GC in Langkawi has an extraordinary range of character: fairways snaking through tropical forests, skirting lakes and rice terraces, spectacular views of the Andaman Sea and lightning fast greens. If it wasn?t so gorgeous, it would be brutal. A slightly misjudged chip will skip the green and land in the drink, while a sprayed drive will come to its final resting place in the forest.
The toughest hole is the deceptively-long 417-yard par-4 fifth. The tee to the 6th sits at the highest point on the course with views that stretch across the entire island to Mat Cincang in the west and Kuah Bay in the east. The hills scream out for a huge drive, but on this hole, pinpoint accuracy is the key. James Slade, my playing partner and director, golf, at the facility, does just that and makes yet another par after successfully navigating several greenside bunkers. I do nothing of the sort, paying my obeisance to the golf gods with yet another golf ball. Not for the faint-hearted, this one.
The composite nature of Langkawi means that it is actually possible to do everything if you have a fortnight in hand. But even if you don?t, or aren?t inclined to do anything other than unwind, make sure that you take out the time to get a bird?s-eye view of the islands from the viewing stations at the popular cable car, which ascends 700 m from close to the harbour to the top of Machinchang Mountain (the second-highest peak in Langkawi). A single trip costs MYR 30 and is well worth the money.
The Kilim Karst Geopark, on the eastern part of the main island, has sea inlets in which it?s possible to see the magnificent limestone landscape and marine life. The Langkawi Geopark is a paradise for hikers, trekkers and nature lovers and it?s possible to go camping if you sign up with a registered operator. The archipelago has various diving locations with the preferred one being on Palau Payar Island. Teal waters and astonishing coral formations make this a can?t-miss activity.
For lounging about and getting a tan, the Cenang beach strip is the most popular and yet not teeming with people. The nightlife is surprisingly upbeat: Eagle Rock Cafe in Tengah area has live music and dancing on most nights.
And lastly, Langkawi is duty-free. That doesn?t mean that it?s a shopping mecca, but it implies that it?s substantially cheaper than KL when it comes to indulging in vices. Head to a superstore to buy the cheapest beer you?ve had in ages. A can of Chang Beer will set you back MYR2, while if you want to create an impression with a pint of Stella Artois, then shell out a paltry MYR3.90 a bottle. You can drown the memory of a bad round quite effortlessly in this tropical Eden.
A golfer, Meraj Shah also writes about the game