Fable - Of fables and legends... there is plenty of this to amuse you. After all, Langkawi has been "sold" as "Island of Legends," so they must be some very good reasons for doing so. Go to summary of legends.

Factory - The good news is that the only factory on this island is tucked away in the northernmost part where it can do the least damage. Although it does provide other employment opportunities for the locals in Teluk Ewa but, the bad news is that it produces cement... along with the pollutants that are associated with its production.

There was once a marble factory but, sometime in late 2000, it closed down due to some bad mis-management... which isn't at all that surprising because the company was, after all, state-owned.

If you've ever wondered if civil servants could actually be capable of being good and productive managers... well, wonder no more!

Ferry - There are a few operators providing ferry services to and from Langkawi.

Basically there are 4 scheduled routes and 3 of which connect the island to peninsula Malaysia via Kuala Perlis, Kuala Kedah and Penang.

For the uninitiated, Penang is an island that is "connected" to the mainland by way of a bridge, reputedly the longest in South-East-Asia!

The 4th scheduled route is to Satun, Thailand and, interestingly enough, this is the shortest of all 4 routes!

On the whole, the ferries are in decent condition and the ride quite pleasant. Although -- depending on your luck -- there have been a few occasions when the "piped" music seemed to have gone haywire, and all you get to hear is the same one Hindustani song being played over and over again for the whole duration of the journey and, unmercifully, the journey to Kuala Kedah could take up to 90 minutes.

Imagine the pure horror of having to sit through this ordeal, especially, if you are impartial to this genre of music!

Fishing - Being one of the main traditional occupations of the islanders, naturally, there are bound to be some good spots for anglers to while away their time productively but this depends on either you know where the "f-spots" are, or, you don't know!

If you are the latter, all you have to do is... ask!

Contrary to popular belief - albeit grossly misinformed -- it is not always that by virtue of going out to sea, with a fishing rod in hand, will ensure a catch. After all, they would argue, with a zillion fish out there, it shouldn't be all that difficult to catch one, now is there?

Well, Mr Wiseguy, did you ever consider the vastness of the oceans? Besides, if you were a fish, would you bite the first bait that comes along? Well, it all depends if you are that hungry or not, don't it? What I am trying to get at is that there this science to fishing but, then again, some people call it the art of angling!

Whatever... but, fishing is NOT as easy as you might think, because NOT everyday is suitable for fishing. It depends on the currents and if the undercurrents are too strong, then your line will not sink deep enough... and too weak, then the line will sink too deep. Logic, eh!

The moon also plays an important part and if you are familiar with the lunar calendar, then you'll be alright at fishing!

Flag - Time to be patriotic and show off our national flag a.k.a Jalur Gemilang... according to our Tourism Minister, who works in his own mysteriously simple ways, the level of patriotism is depicted by the number of Jalur Gemilang a citizen flies on 31st August, our Independence Day.

Just in case it might have slipped your mind... we are in M-a-l-a-y-s-i-a!

Wonder if there is a flag for Langkawi?

Forest - A better place to look for it is in a jungle, although you could always try our rainforest!

Frog - Sad to say but the legend about the frog and the princess did NOT originate from here!

Between the months of July & October, or whenever it rains more often than usual, you'll find a lot of frogs. These amphibians share the same problem as with the water-buffaloes and those randy cats... yes, bad road-crossing-manners... although in this case, there is little love lost as there are, literally, thousands of them hopping madly across roads that run through paddy fields and other low-lying areas.

These amphibians have another problem... they love to sing... or, more precisely... croak... and this might explain that strange noise you have been hearing on those dark, wet nights!

Fruit - Exotic fruits galore! Yes, there are plenty of fruits to choose from, depending on the time of year, with April to July being the fruit season... and, you can't fail to notice the start of the durian -- the king of all fruits -- season because hoteliers would start putting up this unfamiliar sign in their lobbies. A sign that is similar to a "No Parking," except that, instead of the letter "P," there is this lime-green and spikey fruit painted on it!

For some very good reasons you are NOT allowed to bring this fruit onto the premises NOR into your room, though many people do! Do you know that if you were to stow the fruit in the fridge for a couple of hours, everything in it would taste and smell of durian? Even your bottled mineral water!

So, the depositing of durians in the hotel mini-bars can be viewed as an act of sabotage and not just a mere misdemeanour!