Langkawi lures you with promises of duty-free shopping and wows you with its gorgeous beaches, mysterious caves and legends. This archipelago of over 90 islands is made up of legends. If you love stories, you will love Langkawi.

Langkawi was left undiscovered by tourists for a long time. A long time ago Mahsuri was executed for adultery though she was not guilty and she cursed the island and said it would lie desolate for seven generations. Seven generations later the Malaysian government declared Langkawi as duty-free. Mahasuri's Tomb is still on the island and while you are visiting tombs, don't miss the Ancient Tomb that just popped out of nowhere.

If the very Thai looking Summer Palace surprises you, it is because it is the set that was used for Anna and the King. Langkawi was under the rule of Thai for a short period and its influence is still evident. You can even spy Thailand from the Skybridge at Gunung Mat Cincang, which you can reach in a cable car. Thai cuisine is as popular as the Malay food. Tea at The Loaf is extra delicious with cheese cup cakes. The seafood specials are mouth-watering. Most eateries are around the beaches.

Pantai Cenang, Pantai Kok and Pantai Tengah are popular beaches with loads of water activities that keep you occupied from dawn to dusk. The bars and clubs are laidback with quite a few bars belting out reggae music.

The many secrets that peek out at you on Langkawi sweeps you away and you'll almost forget what brought you here: duty-free shopping! With cigars, alcohol and chocolates at great prices and some batik, sonket pouches and mengkuang boxes in a shopping bag, you are good to go.

Places to See

The much loved Pantai Cenang is always bustling with activity with bars and restaurants and water sports. The Pantai Tengah and Pantai Kok, however, are more secluded.

After spending a quiet time at Pantai Kok, make a trip to the Telaga Tujuh Waterfall which is just round the corner. Be prepared to climb up nearly 300 steps to reach the seven pools near the waterfall. You might just catch a flash of a wee fairy. Fairies are said to play in these pools. Or go to dizzying heights up in a cable car to Gunung Mat Cincang where a suspension bridge hangs. The lookout tower at the tallest peak in Langkawi, Gunung Raya, is a tad less exciting. If the fairy legend caught your attention, find out more of the local tales at the Lagenda Park. Stroll around the beautiful gardens as the stories sink in.

Another intriguing place is Tasik Dayang Bunting or Lake of the Pregnant Maiden in the National Geopark. Women who are infertile come to take a dip and hope to conceive. While at the Geopark, you might see the Flying Lemur, Flying Lizard and maybe even a Flying Snake (Paradise tree snake), which are peculiar to Langkawi.

Also visit the Crocodile Farm, Langkawi's Bird Paradise, Langkawi Snake Sanctuary and Pulau Singa Besar Wildlife Sanctuary. Pulau Payar Marine Park, which is a short distance from Langkawi, will mesmerise you with its coral reefs.

Relaxing at the Air Hangat Hot Springs you can listen to another legend. When two families were engaged in a fight, someone threw a pot of hot water and the spring was created.

Places to eat

Seafood like Steamed Fish and Mantis Prawn is ubiquitous to Langkawi. Mussels, Prawns and Crabs are fresh. Rice, coconut milk, spices, chillies, vegetables and tropical fruits are found in most kitchens. The extra zing in your dish is probably thanks to Belacan (shrimp paste).

Try a Mini U Hu Hu at The Loaf. It is a cheese cake served like a cup cake. The Loaf, a bakery that uses Japanese techniques, is a good place to be for tea. The pastries, breads and tea are delicious. At Fat Mum Seafood on Pantai Tengah, the Fried Rice is yummy.

Other dishes that are a must try are Nasi Lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk), Rojak (salad with peanut sauce dressing), Roti Canai (pancakes with dal), Satay (marinated and barbecued beef, mutton or chicken pieces), Ketupat (rice cakes in coconut leaves) and Marmite Crab.

A few restaurants you could try while in Langkawi are Boom Boom Corner (vegetarians rejoice!), The Pavilion, Breakfast Bar, Unkaizan, Mangoes and Orkid Ria Seafood Restaurant. Reggae Bar on Pantai Tengah is a good place for beer.

Things to do

Without a doubt, the Cable Car Ride and Sky Bridge are a must when you are in Langkawi. The Cable Car Ride starts at the Oriental Village and takes you to the top of Gunung Mat Cincang. The gondolas take you through two routes, a really steep climb and another one that takes you as far as 2300 ft. You can see the entire island as well as Thailand from this spot. A steep climb down will take you to the curved Sky Bridge, a suspension bridge that sways gently but can make you slightly uncomfortable. There are snakes in the mountains so be careful where you tread.

Take a luxury yacht cruise and enjoy the sunset with a cocktail in hand. A gourmet barbeque dinner should make the evening a perfect one.

An eco tour will give you a chance to take a closer look at the mangrove swamps, Horseshoe Crabs that have wandered to land to mate, monkeys like the Dusky Leaf Monkeys and Long-tailed Macaques, birds and Monitor Lizards, a cave full of bats and another full of stories, fish farms and limestone rock formations. The most exciting part of the trip is when the boatman throws out chicken skin and the White-headed Eagles wheeling in the sky or hiding on the trees suddenly swoop down for their chicken meal.

Parasailing and jet skiing are exhilarating. Deep-sea fishing far from the shore is almost meditative. The yacht cruises are a fabulous way to watch the sunset.

Snorkeling and scuba diving are also available. Ride the undulating waves on a banana boat or just explore the islands. You can trade the banana boat in for a canoe or a kayak. If you like speed, a speed boat, water scooter or a waverunner will have you racing across the waters. Wakeboarding is another way to play with the waves.

The Langkawi International Water Festival in April has an array of various water sports on its events list.

Langkawi is a home away from home for several marine species at the Underwater World, one of the best aquariums in Malaysia. Some of its inhabitants are Freshwater Fish, Seawater Fish, Sharks, Stingrays, Turtles and the strange Leafy Sea Dragon. The corals are breathtakingly beautiful.

After a walk through the tunnel, you can feed the Rabbits, Ostriches, Parakeets and Monkeys, eat at a restaurant, buy a ticket for their 3D cinema for a documentary, and shop at their duty-free store.

Apart from the Chinese New Year, National Day and other religious celebrations, the island hosts the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition and Langkawi Arts and Crafts Festival around Nov-Dec, and the biennial Langkawi International Festival of Arts.

If you are at the island in April, cool off at the Langkawi International Water Festival. It includes everything from sandcastle building competitions to an underwater treasure hunt and water sports.

The Sukma Pre Sailing and Sailing competition is more fun than serious. And the Wilderness Langkawi Challenge is a tough one with participants giving everything they've got to cycling, kayaking and running.

Nightlife

The party spirit soars high in the restaurants and bars around the beaches. While Langkawi is not known for its wild ways, live music and karaoke keep the party in tune. Reggae music creates a buzz at the popular Reggae Bar.

A laidback and chic place to hangout is the Yellow Café. Debbie's Place and Chill-Out Bar see a sporty turnout as they air football matches. Pet the cats that saunter around, play darts, sip on a Pina Colada at Tammy's Place. Enjoy a massage while drinking beer at Palo Palo. For live music, karaoke and a relaxed ambience, try Woodpecker's KTV Lounge.

If you like to dance, you should head to the Sunba Retro Bar, D'Enigma, Sunset Karaoke or Chime.

Shopping

Shoppers will perk up when they realize that shopping in Langkawi is duty-free! There is nothing to stop you from buying booze, ciggies and chocolates which are affordable. Kuah has a whole lot of shops offering batik, cigars and souvenirs. Langkawi Parade Megamall, Langkawi Fair Shopping Mall and KV Tobacco are worth checking out.

To buy or watch demos on the crafts prevalent on the islands go to the Langkawi Craft and Cultural Complex. Sonket pouches and mengkuang boxes are pretty pieces which can be used to keep jewellery. Sonket pouches are covered in sonket, a silk or cotton brocade with a rich finish. The mengkuang boxes are made with the leaves of mengkuang, which are woven and coloured with vegetable dyes. Batik is popular in Malaysia. Don't forget to add a few batik dresses, sarongs and cushion covers in your shopping bag.

Pasar Malam or Night Market is a daily affair except it is located in a different place every day. It usually starts at six in the evening and wraps up by ten. While there are some bargains to look forward to, it is the food that takes the prize.

Futuristic, self-assured, sleek and spanking new, that is Singapore's skyline for you. The skyscrapers and architectural wonders in this country that is fast consuming its countryside reflect a state of progressive mind. Your date with style begins at Changi Airport.

The bumboats still crawl at a snail's pace giving you a chance to see the past and present of Singapore in its buildings. The Esplanade, Marina Bay Sands and Sentosa are fantasies. A walk around Emerald Hill will give you another surprise. A pleasant one, painted in candy colours: the Peranakan shophouses.

The nights give you more than just a shimmering skyline. There is a nightlife that is nothing less than chic. Zouk is the hands down winner and is the club to dance away to pulsating music. For those who prefer something quieter and sophisticated, the bars around Emerald Hill and Mohamed Sultan Road are perfect.

But for a real taste of Singapore, its history and multi-ethnic culture, take your eyes away from the sky and to the food and shopping districts. The festivals and the local language Singlish are other reminders of its culture. Sift through Peranakan slippers and clutches in Katong, the high end designer stores around Orchard Road, and the chaos in Chinatown, Little India, and Geylang Serai. Electronics and computers come cheap.

Places to See

Singapore's sole raison d'etre seems to be to entertain and make your jaw drop every step of the way. There are parks built around nature and amusement, as well as gleaming buildings.

The Jurong Bird Park has penguins, pelicans, pink flamingoes and more. The 30 metres artificial waterfall in the water aviary is the highest artificial waterfall in the world. The World of Darkness inverses day and night so that you can see the nocturnes getting busy at night during the day. Look at the white rhino, polar bears, white Bengal tigers and fruit bats at the Singapore Zoo. On an electric tram, get close to carnivores like tigers, lions and leopards, and antelopes during the Night Safari. For more birds and monitor lizards, make your way to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

For those seeking some fun, try the luge (a three wheeler) and skyride (a tamer version of the GMAX Reverse Bungy) at Sentosa. The National Youth Centre Skate Park is a great place to don skates and practice your moves. Go bowling at the Marine Cove Recreation Centre. It doesn't matter if the sun is shining, ski, snowboard and have a snowball fight at the Snow City. Lose yourself in a maze, ride a horse or rollerblade at the Pasir Rih Park. Trek around the Bukit Timal National Park. Shriek your way down the highest flume ride in the world at Escape Theme Park.

Sentosa, a resort unrivalled, needs more than a day to explore. Every inch of the island is packed to thrill. It has everything: beaches, nature walks, an oceanarium, butterfly park, dolphins, spas, restaurants, golf, casino and Resorts World Sentosa with the theme park, Universal Studios. There are many multimedia shows and events too.

The Esplanade Theatre is quite a sight and locals call it the Durian. There are art and cultural shows all through the year, be it jazz, dance, classical music, opera, theatre and puppetry. The Raffles Hotel built in 1899 and featured in novels by Conrad and Maugham has a lot of history in it and you can drink the Singapore Sling at Long Bar where it was first created.

Things to do

While the rest of Singapore looks spanking new, the architecture of Peranakan shophouses on Emerald Hill and Koon Seng Road is easy on the eyes, painted in fresh pop colours. Take a look around and say yes to an offer by a resident to show you around. Some bars have now taken over these shophouses and you can absorb their essence that still lingers while drinking a beer.

Scream your lungs out as the GMAX Reverse Bungy, something of a futuristic swing that soars over 195 ft high, and makes you see a blurry Singapore skyline.

A river cruise lets you take in the ancient and the modern faces of Singapore. The bumboat, a traditional cargo boat, moves slowly across the Singapore River. On land, enjoy a trishaw ride around Chinatown. The Singapore Flyer, a ferris wheel whose highest point is 165 metres, and the DHL Helium Balloon are two other brilliant ways to see the city.

Places to eat

Here's the thing about multi-ethnic countries. You get to experiment with an assortment of cuisines. Singapore is no exception. Chinese, Malay and Nyonya (combo of Chinese and Malay) lead the pack with scrumptious delicacies.
Nyonya cuisine specials include the super hot Chilli Crab, Pepper Crab, beef, mutton or chicken Satay with chilled beer, and noodles with coconut milk and lemongrass that makes up Laksa. Rojak is a fusion of flavours. The salad uses a combination of fruits, sprouts and is topped with prawn paste. Choose between black or white Carrot Cakes. It is a radish dish served with shrimp or mushroom. Fried with soy sauce it is black, else white. Ice creams give you the choice of untried flavours like red bean and durian. Burbur Cha Cha, a mixture of coconut milk, yam, sweet potato and sago is a tempting dessert.

Go to a nasi padang restaurant to experience the spice-rich Malay cuisine. Start with their chicken soup called Mee Soto. Mee Rebus is egg noodles that are on the sweeter side. Nasi Lemak is a rice dish mostly eaten at breakfast.

The dessert selection uses a lot of coconut and palm sugar. Chendol is a green dessert which also has pea noodles and kidney beans in it. Ice Kachang is sweet red beans decorated with shaved ice with many other ingredients thrown in like grass jelly and palm seeds. It can overwhelm you at first sight. Kueh are rice and coconut cakes that are either steamed or baked. Kueh Pie Tee, made with vegetables and shrimp, at Guan Hoe Soon is fantastic. Singapore has its own fast food joints like BreadTalk, Jollibean and Old Chang Kee.

Shopping

It doesn't matter what you are after. Clothes, watches, antiques, electronics and more are available in Singapore. The unlimited choices at varying prices and low taxes mean you can splurge and still have some to spare.

The main shopping areas are Orchard Road, Little India, Chinatown and Geylang Serai, bursting at the seams with malls and shops. Some of the popular malls are Mustafa which is open 24/7 all year round and great for budget shopping. The others are the classy Holland Village Shopping Centre and Vivocity with the largest cineplex in Singapore.

The extraordinary Spellbound weaves irresistible magic with tarot readings, spells, wands, crystal balls and charms. For another kind of magic, go to Jamal Kazura Aromatic, a traditional perfumery. There are attar oils, non-alcoholic perfumes and they also customise scents for you within an hour.

There are branded, designer labels and quirky boutiques for those looking for clothes. Ngee Ann City, Paragon, Bugis, Far East Plaza, Heeren have some fabulous clothes. For fabrics, scour the shops in Little India and Haji Lane. There are excellent branded watch retailers around Peninsula Plaza.

For electronics, computers and cameras, head to Sim Lim Square, Funan IT Mall, Mustafa or Harvey Norman Superstore. Browse through the book collection at Kinokuniya in Orchard Road, said to be the biggest book store in South East Asia, or try Page One in Vivocity and Books Actually.