Upon arriving at Langkawi airport, you will be greeted by tour or car rental agents. Well…you can decide to just ignore their calling. I, on the other hand do not want to waste time looking for one when I’m in the midst of spending my getaway. If you miss the chances of engaging any tour from the airport, no worries. You can still get it in the island. I saw there are plenty of tour agencies along Pantai Cenang.

We rented a car for 3 days in order for us to move about conveniently. Besides renting a car, we also booked a tour package from the same agent – Indra Travel & Tours Sdn. Bhd. Therefore we successfully negotiated car rental fee at a lower price. Ya…IMA typical Malaysian wat although I may not the best nego queen. LOL!

The common tours in Langkawi are Payar Island (for snorkeling), Island Hoping (incl. pregnant maiden island),  Island Tour (Sightseeing tour) and Mangrove Tour (Geopark Kilim River). My previous visit to Langkawi, I’ve already experienced the snorkeling at Payar Island. I want to go for something else. Friends highly recommended to take the Mangrove Tour. Therefore Alex and I decided to choose Mangrove Tour which cost RM100/person. Duration of tour was approximately 5 hours.

A van came to pick us up from Underwater World at about 9am. And headed to jetty.

A summary of the places covered by the Mangrove Tour.

• Mangrove River Ride in Boat
• Eagle Feeding and Bird Watching
• Fish Feeding Farm
• Bat Cave
• Dangli Island
• Cave of Legend
• Crocodile Cave
• Lunch at Fish Farm

Arrived the jetty together with other tourists.

We are going by these boats.

We, this group of people were lead by this 2 tour leaders. They were giving some briefing and safety tips that we need to remember along the tour.

Our first stop was at the Bat Cave.

This cave is located along the Kilim River. Accessible only by boat, you can then walk along a wooden platform through a mangrove swamp, leading directly to the cave. The stalactites and stalagmites are of gigantic proportions, forming weird figures reminiscent of other worldly creatures.

A short briefing by the tour leader before everyone enters the cave.

The two traditionally recognized suborders of bats are:

• Megachiroptera (megabats)
• Microchiroptera (microbats/echolocating bats)

Megabats eat fruit, nectar, or pollen, while most microbats eat insects; others may feed on the blood of animals, small mammals, fish, frogs, fruit, pollen, or nectar. Megabats have well-developed visual cortices and show good visual acuity, while microbats rely on echolocation for navigation and finding prey.

Some bats have evolved a highly sophisticated sense of hearing. They emit sounds that bounce off of objects in their path, sending echoes back to the bats. From these echoes, the bats can determine the size of objects, how far away they are, how fast they are traveling and even their texture, all in a split second

Bats find shelter in caves, crevices, tree cavities and buildings. Some species are solitary while others form colonies of more than a million individuals.

Entering the dark cave.

Look….there are thousands of bats hanging up there. Its the sleeping time. Bats sleep in the day. Do not place your hands over the railing…because there might be bat’s poo poo. Ohh…the cave is kinda stinks.

Closer view. They are not really huge. Bats have poor visibility. Therefore turning on your camera flash isn’t a problem. However the bats are really sensitive to noises. So, we were advised to keep our voices lowwwww…..

Exiting the other end of cave. The cave is at a mangrove forest.

“Kita Perlukan Kelawar” (We Need Bats). Seriously?

Can you spot a fiddler crab?

We are leaving for the next destination.

Our tour guide is quite informative. Sorry….forgotten his name :-p

Beautiful scenery. Surrounded by high vertical limestone.

We are approaching the Fish Farm.

Getting ready to be assist into the Hole in the Wall Fish farm for Fish Feeding Activity.

This fish farm lies within the vicinity of the verdant mangrove forests and the striking limestone structures formations along the Kilim River. Interestingly, the Hole in the Wall Fish farm got its name from a little opening in a long line of limestone hills at the outskirts of the Andaman Sea.

Assorted sea creature are placed here.

Food for the baby shark.

Oysters?

This stingray look so tame and friendly huh.

This spiny sea urchin is so geli. But they look like our local fruit, rambutan.hehe… Sea Urchin can be eaten…esp. for Japanese food.

Have you seen “belangkas” (alantic horseshoe crab) before? This is consider small. I’ve seen some larger ones at Sarawak market. But it looks like an alien to me. Watches too much Alien vs. Predator I guess. LOL!

Dunno what fish are these. But they are quite smart. Pieces of bread were placed at the edge of the wooden stick. The fishes aimed and spitted over the bread so that the piece of bread will fall into the water. *claps*

In front is a small cave which they named it Crocodile Cave.

This cave is unique because the Kilim River actually flows right through it, and is navigable by a small boat at low tide. Inside the cave there is an ascending chamber flanked by walls of white limestone with minimal stalactites and stalagmites. Small colonies of bats roost on the lower ceiling.

Unfortunately it was high tide. We had no chance to make our way into the cave.

Can you spot anything on the tree?

Looking fierce huh.

Mama monkey and baby monkey. Baby latching on mummy tightly.

My favorite Monkey shot. One Happy Family! 🙂

Our boat drove by this swampy area with many monkeys. Its the monkeys habitat I guess. Becareful with your belongings. They may grab anything from you especially when they sees food.

Our next stop-Eagle Feeding.

Our boat will cruise to a very beautiful and special spot where you will  have a chance to see  a flock of eagles swooped in from nowhere.

There are various types of eagles here; the Brahminy kites (46cm) arrive from all directions. These raptors are generally chestnut brown in color, and white on the head and breast. The White-bellied Sea Eagle (71cm) is the largest of the species present.

These birds are the lords of the skies. Langkawi (Lang = eagle and kawi = reddish brown stones found here) is named after the Red Eagles that have made their home in the crags and crevices of the islands long before any human set foot ashore.

Feeling hungry already lor! We were here for our lunch. A fish farm cum floating restaurant.

We had our lunch at this floating restaurant. Inclusive lunch in our tour package. Can’t complain much.

After the lunch, we were on our way to an island. Yes…we were off to sea. Luckily my lunch wasn’t heavy. Luckily I did not vomited. LOL!! Bumpy ride when it hits the sea waves.

So serene!

How often do we get to see such nice clear blue sea.

If you are interested to swim..bring along your swimming attire. But bear in mind, there are no washrooms here.

The sea water is so clear. Made me feel like jumping into the sea, and swim like a fish.

Lost in the island?

Proud of our country’s flag?

Alex & Melissa were here! Hehe….

Icon Kilim Geoforest Park – end point.

Return to jetty at about 2+pm. And we was sent back to our hotel. According to the printed leftlet…internary includes Dangli Island and Cave of Legend. Where are this 2 places? I must be not paying attention in class??!! @_@

Other than snorkeling in Langkawi, Mangrove Tour is a recommended tour. Its a unique experience for city people. Moreover its fun and educational. Dress as light as possible, because the weather is hot. If possible bring along a towel just in case if you gets wet.