Telling more than that is telling too much, and I’m sure some might be annoyed already with the Meloncholia spoiler (although that is revealed on the back cover so…). There are quite a few new characters introduced, albeit in a minor way, but I can imagine they’ll play a bigger role in stories to come. I can’t say there are any memorable new characters, but I love Scapegrace, especially what happens to him in the end.

Of course, the big revelation (not so big if you’ve been paying attention) and the bigger climax is truly entertaining and far darker than any of the first four books. The back of the book announces a novelette “End of the World” to be published in March 2012 in conjunction with World Book Day, and a full length novel in September 2012. And Derek Landy says on his blog that he envisages the Skulduggery Pleasant adventure to be a nine-book saga, which is good. Because at the rate the books are going, I don’t want them to end!

Related articles

• Skulduggery Pleasant – Dark Days (pottedplot.com)
• Mortal Coil totally rocks! (pottedplot.com)
• Re-read: Skulduggery Pleasant 1-3 (pottedplot.com)
• Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer by Derek Landy – review (guardian.co.uk)

The good Dr? Tak jadi lah!

Alexandra Wong, me and Lydia Teh

Unfortunately, the crocs themselves looked a little sad. Some of them had lumps on their bodies and toes (claws?).

There was a wooden walkway over a huge pool of crocodiles. I was thinking those pieces of wood was not enough separation between me and the crocodiles. There were also interesting signs stating “Children must not sit on the railings”. I wonder what prompted that sign…?

There was also a crocodile with a bit of a hairlip, poor guy. Apparently he needed to be fed like the baby. Ironically, his brother was the star in the croc show. These two weighed a tonne or more.

Then the croc show started. The assistant looked like Khairy to me. The show was pretty alright. The highlight was the putting of the guy’s hand into the croc’s mouth. According to another friend, the highlight of the show he went to was putting of the man’s head into the croc’s mouth. Hmm…

When we were done, we headed north towards the coast facing the Thai islands and the Indian ocean. This was a beautiful drive as well. We found an enchanting stall by the pebble beach, which sold some old-fashioned food. We had an ice ball there.

By the beach were loads of monkeys. They were not shy, and apparently were quite mischievous when it came to stealing food and vandalizing cars.

We were so close to Thailand that Maxis began sending roaming messages to our phones. The islands nearby belonged to Thailand. I guess this was the place where the tsunami hit.

The guy who set up the stall there had sold off everything in Kuala Lumpur to begin business in Langkawi. Made me wonder if I should do the same…

Across the road was a waterfall. This was really pretty amazing, especially at the top.

I would have wanted to go to the Seven Wells waterfall, but it was getting late. So we just stopped by Harbour Park on the way back to the hotel. Apparently, this is where Dr. M has his home.

This bit of harbour was quite tastefully done, notwithstanding its giddy colours and tourist trap disguise. Further down was a beach, where there was an un-dismantled set for a show.

The next day, we had a morning to kill, so we headed down to Pantai Chenang again.

Should I pack my bags and work from Langkawi?

The ride was pretty and definitely far more interesting than our usual dual carriageway to Kuah from the hotel. The passed by a naval camp, I think, which was really nicely done, hardly looked like a naval camp. And again I marvelled at the roads! They were so slick and smooth with not a bump, not a blemish or hole! I can’t understand why this is the case, when roads in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya (actually chunks of Selangor) are cratered like the moon’s surface.

Within about 20 minutes, we were at Pantai Chenang. My friend mentioned that it was a lot like a ‘sanitized’ version of Phuket. We had no difficulty finding the Underwater World. Even though this was probably the most crowded we had seen Langkawi (aside from Kuah Town and the jetty), we even managed to get a parking spot immediately. We paid our RM28 each, and headed in.

Photo courtesy of LangkawiBeaches.Com

I was impressed, I must admit. It wasn’t like the usual tourist fare you get in KL, which really sometimes is a bit too ‘adorned’ and fake, IMHO. See the youtube video below for most of the photos taken there. BTW, this is my first attempt at putting together a photo slide show with movie maker.

Below are some of the best parts of the Underwater World, if you don’t want to watch the slide show.

We mooched around in the shopping area at the exit of the Underwater World. I even got a sprayed on tattoo that stayed on for a total of one day. Later that night, we came back again to Pantai Chenang for some steamboat and some good ol’ beer on the beach. Nice evening.

Next post:

• Crodocile Farm
• Waterfall and beaches on the north coast
• Harbour park

Honestly, I would have loved to have gone to Pulau Dayang Bunting, the second largest island in the Langkawi archipelago. The photos looked super spooky and cool, plus there’s a fairy tale involved. What’s not to like?

On Pulau Dayang Bunting is the lake of the Pregnant Maiden. Believed to be guarded by a white crocodile, the waters of the lake is said to bring good luck and fertility to bathers. The island is said to be where Mat Teja, sorcerous genie was ensnared by the charms of Mambang Sari, a faerie princess. To win her affection, Mat Teja procured mermaid’s tears and smeared them on his face on the advice of a wise man, Tok Diang.

So they fell in love and Mambang Sari was soon preggers. However, the baby died in its first week. Distraught, Mambang Sari entrusted the waters of Tasik Dayang Bunting with the corpse of the child and returned to her celestial abode. The corpse turned into a white crocodile, still resides in the waters and appears to those who are upright and pious. Cool no?

Anyway, we didn’t hear this from the tour guide salesman. His stories bored me a little and we soon left with his business card. We headed for Gunung Raya. On the island map, Gunung Raya is clearly marked, and we had thought there might be some reason why we should go up the hill. But aside from the breathtaking view and plenty of monkeys, there’s nothing at all on the top of Gunung Raya.

Interesting 'tourist attraction' on top of Gunung Raya

So we headed down to the Snake Sanctuary. Truth to tell, snakes freak me out, but I thought, ‘What the heck!’. Finding the Snake Sanctuary was not as easy as we had thought. Up to this point, driving around in Langkawi was very easy – the signs were very good, the directions on signboards were clear, the roads were good – examplary planning.

Unfortunately, not so with the Snake Sanctuary. Aside from the map we had, we had to stop and ask for directions. But we found it in the end. And when we did go down, I was pleased we had made the effort.

The snakes slithered and crawled around in the wire-mesh / glass cages. The deeper you go, the bigger or more colourful / poisonous the snakes got.

At the auditorium, a few workers were messing around with a python. My friend, Eddy, gamely went down to pet the large monstrous thing.

Of course, notwithstanding signs saying “Don’t disturb the snake” or “Don’t put hand on cage” or “Don’t bang on glass”, visitors had to do just the opposite. And made this snake very very angry.

Freaky lizard amongst the snakes on display

Actually, some of the snakes looked a little sad. And some of them appeared downright disconcerted that there were silly people stomping and tapping on the cages.

Later on in the evening, we headed to the jetty. It was packed and, just driving through, we decided not to stop, but instead head to a dismal little shopping complex just before the jetty. Not much there, unfortunately.

So we headed to town, had a decent dinner, did a little of window shopping, then experienced the joys of a traffic jam.

The police were making checks, which I suppose is comforting, but for the fact that we were sitting there for close to half an hour.

Next post:

• Drive by the coast
• The Langkawi Underwater world
• Pantai Chenang

courtesy of Travel Malaysia Guide

We bought a cool package from Air Asia, and ended up staying at the hotel right next to the airport. Having been aware of this, we had rented a car as well (which picked us up). Saying that, we could have walked from the airport to the hotel without breaking a sweat.

This brings me to the weather. Throughout our stay in Langkawi, the weather was cool, dry (as in ‘not humid’) and overall incredibly pleasant. I hardly broke a sweat at all during my stay there.

Hotel Helang Bedroom

Hotel Helang, under the same management as the Langkasuka Resort, was incredibly impressive. The hallmark of the whole hotel was space and light. The corridors were vast, the ceilings were high, the windows were large, and there was a feeling of airiness about the whole hotel, even on the upper floors and in the bedroom.

The first day was pretty relaxed. After arriving, we had an (expensive) meal at the airport, then crashed for awhile. After that, I went for a swim at the hotel pool, then we headed out for a meal. That first night, 

We ended up having dinner at an Indian restaurant just outside Kuah Town. Honestly, I didn’t see much on the way, except little village houses and a few cows and chickens. What surprised me (in a good way) was how nice the roads were. The dual-carriageway (which hadn’t existed when I first went to Langkawi) was smooth, no potholes or bumps, no dips or irregularities, and the car just slid over the asphalt like silk, unlike my experience of roads in KL.

Then we headed on to Kuah Town itself. Again, another pleasant surprise! The night market was on, and we bought plenty of fruits and food and tit bits and settled in for a night with the movies on our laptops in our plush hotel room.

In the next post:

• The Snake Sanctuary
• Gunung Raya
• Traffic jams!