Langkawi - from a kayak

I have noticed two camps around New Year’s: those who insist on having a resolution and those who see no point in it. Again, the ‘resolutionists’ camps split in to two: the resolutions you could do without too much effort and the resolutions which seem like noble, albeit lofty endeavours. One part of my resolution was to bring a certain charity project to fruition. Noble, but requires quite the effort. The other resolution, and this I decided at dawn on 1 January itself on the terrace overlooking the bay, was to kayak to an island out there in the Andaman Sea.

New Year's morning from the villa, overlooking Ular Island in centre, Dayang Bunting Island to the left and Singa Besar Island to the right, from Teluk Baru bay

So, like any ‘sane’ man, after lunch, I left my friends at the villa, including my partner who insisted I do my silly youthful stuff as he lounges on the terrace, and went straight for the beach. Now, for the past 3 years, we made it a point to go to Langkawi as an escape from the chaos of NYE in big cities. For the past 3 years, I always sat on the same terrace, looked out at the same sea and thought of my own little pied à terre out on the horizon.

Tengah Beach, and Cenang Beach just beyond, with Mat Cincang Mountain in the background

Our villa is a 5 minute drive from Tengah Beach, and Tengah Beach is a quiet stretch of sand, away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Chenang Beach. It also has a nice assortment of watersports vendors. Naturally, I thought they had a kayak. Sadly, the nice lady in the headscarf said she didn’t have one, and the only kayak available on this side of the island is at Cenang Beach.

After a call, she got a contact, who came by and guided me to his little sports hut on the beach. There, amidst the hustle and bustle and hung over partygoers on Cenang Beach were 2 kayaks amidst an array of jet skis. “YES”! I thought to myself, as all I heard was random mumbling of his briefing while I kept daydreaming of me paddling the open sea while getting a good back workout.

He gave me a life vest, though he did not insist on me using it. My male bravado and I thought it unnecessary, so I placed it on the bow of the kayak. After getting the kayak to about knee’s length above water, I paddled out. So the adventure begins.

From the kayak, looking towards Cenang Beach

Of course, something will go awry somewhere. First came the jet skis. Good god are they a menace at times. Zipping past, thinking they own the waves. I paddled straight on, ignoring them at times, pausing at others, wary of the wake their jet skis will leave. Keeping a steady keel with numerous big wakes from over eager jetskiers is harder than it sounds.

Next came the wind. I do not mind wind. Being a regular visitor to Edinburgh and living in Newcastle, one would be very accustomed to great strong winds. Wind can add an extra challenge as you hike up Arthur’s Seat or the Northumbrian coast. Wind can also provide an extra challenge or annoying obstacle for a kayaker, depending on your point of view. Why? Because of the added waves, that’s why.

All this would not be complete without the waves coming from the sea either. Now, it has been about a decade and a half since I last formally saw physics equations, but out there, in the sea, with numerous waves and angles and pitches coming in, all I could see were wavelength equations and me trying to find the perfect angle to plough on through.

Thus, day 1 of my kayak adventure ended up with an aborted attempt to paddle from Cenang Beach to Rebak Kechil Island. I blame the waves.

Though it was not without adventure, no! As I was paddling on, I spotted this stunning yacht: “Itchy Feet.” Either a) the universe has a sense of humour and decided to caption my life, or b) the yachties on board are advertising their sea-faring lifestyle.

The yacht Itchy Feet: notice the two bicycles attached on stern

The great yacht and I made circles around each other, as I admired the boat, and the curious two bicycles attached at the back. Add on to this, a helicopter kept flying overhead, low above the water and beach.

Kayak + yacht + helicopter with the backdrop of tropical islands and open sea; makes you think of a Bond film

Now: adventurous kayaker + beautiful yacht + lone helicopter flying overhead + stunning islands and private beaches. How does that not spell out a Bond film? The soundtrack of Skyfall kept playing in my head.

One would think that I would abandon this futile attempt. Oh no. Day 2 came, and I was even more determined. First thing in the morning, I checked the clouds, the wind and the waves. Come breakfast, I sneaked a peek at the western side of the island to see the sea. Right after breakfast, I rented a kayak and set my sights on Rebak Kechil Island. That island is mine.

Rebak Kechil Island ahead, on day 2

Again, I saw the “Itchy Feet.” Again I saw the island before me. Again, the waves tried to hinder my approach. Now, the first ¾ of the way was smooth paddling. No wind, relatively calm sea in the harbour: seemed alright. And then came the sea waves. Truth be told, I was paddling too hard to compensate, so I did make a few 360 turns while correcting my bearings, but soon enough, and 25 minutes later, I reached the uninhabited island of Rebak Kechil, which for that brief moment in time, I lay claim in the name of my cat Cameron Aloysius Titus, Lord Protector and Sovereign of this little patch of sand.

The sandbanks and the yachties on the north of  'uninhabited' Rebak Kechil Island

But alas! That was not to be. The yachties claimed it first. 3 fit guys were already on the island. Still, it was big enough for 4 men. They were on the north along the sandbanks, I took the south and east with the beach facing the other islands and rocky promontory. Yes, I am making this island sound much larger than it actually is. Indulge me in my Raffles fantasy.

In the end, my New Year’s resolution ended in 1.5 days. I reached my goal of kayaking to an island in the Andaman Sea. Looking back, I don’t think it qualifies as a resolution now, considering that I was planning to do that already, and it wasn’t as ‘taxing’ as resolutions are assumed to be.

The kayak on Rebak Kechil Island looking towards the Andaman Sea and Tepor and Kentut Besar Islands

So, what was the first thing I did? Took pictures, uploaded it on Instagram and tagged it for a beach/villa/pool picture competition. I also decided to upload it on Facebook to further annoy and irritate my friends with my caption-less images. Narcissistic me also took a few selfies, just because.

'The Navigator' with his selfie on the kayak back to the main island

Not sure if I am that effective a navigator now. I can somewhat plot the path to my destination, though the route was just *slightly* circuitous thanks to circumstances. Still, a navigator who got from point A to the intended point B, with a tan and a tote filled with sand and stained with sea salt. Kayaking in the open sea off Langkawi *tick.*

From Rebak Kechil Island looking towards Langkawi Island: Tengah Beach in the middle, Cenang Beach off left

Notes: There are a few sports huts on Cenang Beach and Tengah Beach, and they cater mostly for mangrove tours, jet skis, banana boats or parasailing. The beauty of being in a small community is that everyone knows everyone else, and if you want a specific sea sport equipment and that one sport hut does not have it, ‘they have a guy.’

This specific sports hut on Cenang Beach is easily identified with the large number of jet skis parked on the beach with a (then) blue tent, and is accessible through the side street leading to the beach parking lot in front of ‘Cenang Mall.’ None of these huts have names to identify them, sadly.

Kayak rental is MYR 30/hour. Cheaper rates available for longer rentals. All the equipment are well maintained. All doubles, all open kayaks, life vests provided. Bush hat optional. Sunnies mandatory.

p.s. I would not advise taking pictures while kayaking: be mindful of waves and on-coming sea traffic