Day 40: Langkawi, Malaysia

Today we visited the lovely island of Langkawi, Southeast Asia's oldest island. Home to 236 species of birds, 47 species of snakes, and 18 different mango trees, this lush island was a beautiful sight. It's no surprise that it is so lush, as Langkawi no longer cuts trees but preserves them. Malaysia consists of 99 islands during high tide and 104 islands during low tide. The population is 100,000 despite being the same size as Singapore, whose population is five million.

Now that you know the history, onto our day.

We toured the island by river boat with Ayu, our enthusiastic tour guide who also happens to be an animal trainer/snake charmer.

Our first stop was to see the white bellied and brown eagles. Chicken guts were thrown into the water so we could observe them dive for food. After the eagles, we sat where the river joins the sea, marking the beginning of the national park. Then, we visited a fish farm where I gladly stuck my hand into a stingray's mouth (half the species in Malaysia are venomous; this one fell into the "playful" category). Chris obviously kept her distance.

We saw naughty monkeys, swooping eagles, and archer fish who can spit with precision. And that was just the first half of the day!

The second half included eating lunch while watching Lagkawi fade into the distance, poolside reading, getting facials, and losing track of time reading our books.

Tomorrow, we are excited to return to Singapore for a quick day trip in familiar territory!