Langkawi - Terrestrial Stuff

Went for a short holiday with a few friends at Langkawi, Malaysia, last week. We saw quite a number of interesting things, so thought I'll highlight them in 2 blog entries.


There are a few explanation for the origin of the name Langkawi, with the more popularly accepted one being that "Lang" came from the word "Helang" which means eagle, and "kawi" means red. The name Langkawi thus refers to a red eagle, which is actually the brahminy kite. A statue of the bird can be found at Eagle's Square at Kuah Town on the island.


Unfortunately, while we saw several wild brahminy kite (Haliastur indus), there were a few captive ones too - a result of the tourism industry.


And also, a white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster).


Other birds we saw include the oriental pied-hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), which can also be found in Singapore.


Another hornbill which I'm not sure of the ID. Update: According to LK, this is the great hornbill (Buceros bicornis).


Lots of orange-bellied flowerpeckers (Dicaeum trigonostigma) were spotted on a figging fig tree.


On the fig tree, we also saw several of these squirrels, which I also do not know the species.


On the way to a waterfall, we saw this giant squirrel, which I though could either be a Ratufa bicolor or R. affinis.


We finally reached the Seven Wells Waterfall.


There were several dragonflies flying around the little rock pools, including the very pretty Trithemis aurora above.


Here's another look at the waterfall while we were in a cable car.


The cable car is probably the highlight of the trip for most visitors to Langkawi. It gives a bird's eye view of the surrounding mountains and sea, bringing you all the way up to the top of Mount Mat Cincang, Langkawi’s second highest peak.


Here's one of the cable car stations on top of a mountain.


Near the summit is the Sky Bridge which spans 125 metres.


It's a very sturdy bridge, and I was in fact a little disappointed that walking on the bridge was not as scary as I thought it will be.


At the summit, you can also see this interesting mountain range which looks like a sleeping giant. And it's a male giant, as it has an Adam's apple...


And of course, we waited at the summit till the sun went down - it was certainly breath-takingly beautiful...


Back in the resort, nature was definitely right at our doorstep, and we found this huge tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) near our room doors, and it was probably close to 40cm long!


And I also found this very pretty moth, which looked like it has sliver linings on the patterns on its wings. Too bad SY wasn't with us, or he would probably be really excited to see this!