Relax to the max : Langkawi, Malaysia

In a dramatic change of pace from start-up life in Silicon Valley, Yuchun and I just spent four days in Langkawi—an idyllic island paradise in the northeast tip of Malaysia. A great beginning to our three weeks of travel in Southeast Asia over the holidays, covering Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia.

Malaysia is actually a homecoming for me, having grown up in Ipoh, a former booming tin-mining town which unfortunately has not kept up with new economic development after the mines were depleted about a couple of decades ago. Now a sleepy town, Ipoh remains in a beautiful valley environment surrounded by limestone mountains. And after spending just a day back there on our way to Langkawi, I can attest that Ipoh still has some of the best food in Malaysia. And the locals still gather around to talk about their favorite subject: Malaysian food!

At Langkawi (or its full name, Pulau Langkawi; pulau meaning island), we stayed at the five-star Tanjung Rhu Resort located in a secluded cove on the north coast. Many consider it to have the most attractive beach, and you can see why in the picture here – absolutely pristine white sand stretching for miles, overlooking small limestone islands. At low tide, one can even walk to those little islands, as you can see from my shot here.

We felt fortunate to be in an environment optimized for quiet relaxation: No crowds, no motorized water sport vehicles, and plenty of gracious attentive service from Tanjung Rhu’s staff. Perfect for Silicon Valley types to chill out!

On our first evening there, the heavens even greeted and treated us with a picture perfect sunset. Crimson and deep blue skies settled behind near and distant islands and mountains on the horizon while a couple of local fishermen pulled their traditional fishing net onshore. We felt thankful for the warm welcome….ahhhh, did we just arrive in paradise???