|
The W & X Page
 Home
Tourist's A-Z
Index Page
A Page
B Page
C Page
D Page
E Page
F Page
G Page
H Page
I Page
J Page
K Page
L Page
M Page
N & O Page
P Page
Q & R Page
S Page
T Page
U & V Page
Y & Z Page
[ E-mail ] |
W is for...
Water - There is plenty of this all around (that's for sure!) though, not every drop is fit for drinking... sea water is undrinkable, right?
In case you've been wondering... yes... tap water is safe for drinking, nevertheless, it is recommended that you drink bottled or boiled water because you can never be too sure!
You see, although the term "quality control" has been repeatedly and ostentiously preached, it is generally ignored by the relevant authorities, who... yes, you've guessed correctly... are civil servants!
Water Buffalo - A large, black, oxlike Old World mammal that loves to roam in the dark of night. The male has large horns and looks awfully nasty!
City-dwellers will find the animal worthy of "that" memorable snapshot, however, motorists would be kindly reminded that some nasty accidents have been known to have involved this brute as it possesses this unfathomable intelligence of choosing to cross the road at the most inopportune moment... crash! ... bang!... and, ouch!
Since buffalo meat is the Langkawians' preferred choice of protein intake, any harm to these "prized" beasts would NOT be too kindly tolerated but financial compensations would be tolerated kindly.
Do you know that a two-year-old buffalo can fetch up to RM 3,000.00? Well, now you do!
So, if you are not in the habit of carrying that amount of cash in your pockets, then stay clear of these Bovids because its like, "if damaged, considered sold!" Know what I'm saying? And credit cards cannot be accepted!
Unless, of course, you are aware of the fact that the water buffalo has the largest horns of all living animals, with the largest horns ever recorded measuring nearly 14 feet from tip to tip! (14 feet is approximately 4 metres) Bet they'll make an impressive trophy on that wall, over the fireplace with the caption: "I ran this down in Langkawi!"
Incidentally, male calves start growing horns about 3 months after birth.
Waterfall - There are 3 places to visit for this, and they are:
Telaga Tujuh - some semblance of general fitness is required as this is only reachable after a moderately strenuous hike. It's one of those moments when smokers, for the briefest of moments, harbour thoughts of quitting.
Temurun - next to the road that leads to Datai and across the road from a lovely secluded beach called Pantai Pasir Tengkorak. To avoid disappointment, do NOT visit during the hot, dry months of December-February as the water runs dry!
Durian Perangin - easily accessable but, again, give this a miss during the hot and dry months when it shrinks into a water-trickle!
Click for an illustration.
Weather - Here are some samples of the forecast that you'll most likely get to hear (depending on the month of the year) if someone took the trouble to read them to you:
November-to-April : hot, sunny and windy. Thermometers rising steadily from the mid-20's to the high 30's but there's the cool, dry easterly wind blowing at oh-so-many km/hr to make life comfortable. Sea conditions are generally fair! Humidity at around 80%.
May-to-July : hot and sunny weather with temperatures rising to the mid-30's and sinking to the low 20's later in the evening, with the westerly wind blowing at oh-so-many km/hr bringing intermittent rain showers. Expect thunderstorms once in a while. Sea conditions can turn choppy but are generally fair. Humidity hovering between 80-90%.
August-to-October : warm, humid and partly cloudy with some heavy rain expected anytime during the day or/and in the evening. Temperatures hovering between the low-30's to the low-20's. Winds coming from all directions at oh-so-many km/hr and sea conditions are occasionally dangerous to small boats. Humidity at around 90%.
Weekend - Thank God it's Friday... is one expression of exhilaration that is not readily accepted here--even if it does, then, for some of the people, but, then again, only twice a month!
So, while everywhere else in this "civilised" world, the weekend is a time for relaxation and rejuvenation, understandably, after a hectic 5-day week... in Langkawi, it is the time when stress and confusion reign! And here's why...
The banks, along with some other businesses, have certain Saturdays, and all Sundays off; meanwhile, schools have Friday-Saturday as their weekend, and to complete the confusion, all governmental offices, along with some other businesses, have the 1st & 3rd Thursdays off with the 2nd & 4th Thursdays as full-working-days while the 5th (should there be one) being only a half-working day with Fridays as the obligatory day off.
A long-weekend is only possible if a public holiday were to fall on either a Friday or Saturday, following the 1st & 3rd Thursdays of the month... because, if it were to fall on those Thursdays, then the "extra" day off would be carried forward to the following Thursday and please note that, the above explanation is only valid for all governmental offices, but does not necessarily apply to banks or schools.
Confused? Told you earlier that the weekend is a time for stress and confusion, didn't I?
X is for...
X-mas - More commonly referred to as Christmas, but, as there is NOT a lot that one can do with this particular alphabet, so this is where you will "find" Christmas in LANGKAWiPUR... while more and more Europeans are finding their way to Langkawi to spend their Christmas!
It's quite unclear if it's the sun that they miss or they're trying to escape the commercialization of the festive season... however, they should be pleased with the knowledge that the "spirit" of Christmas is present in Langkawi--and at duty-free prices!
Still, another reason to be merry on this day is that it is a public holiday and Malaysians are always looking forward to getting "wasted" and any excuse would do... even if it is NOT the orthodox approach to observing "Silent night, Holy night" because, as far as we are concerned, there's nothing silent nor holy on the eve of Christmas.
This is also an occasion for us to have our Open Houses.
back 
Next
|
|
