Not sure where I read it, and I’ve never been to Hawaii, but I think I know what they mean when they describe Langkawi as the Hawaii of the Andaman. It has a relatively modern infrastructure for this part of the world and it is very beautiful both in terms of it’s landscape and the views of sunsets and sunrises. Probably the main thing it has in common though is that it is quite expensive. It is marketed as a high end resort and the accommodation is either fairly exclusive or aimed at the basic backpacker. Fortunately we found a hotel within our usual price bracket and it had a great location on the beach but was fairly lacking on amenities and cleanliness compared to similarly priced hotels elsewhere. 

Langkawi is reached by ferry from Penang, despite reading warnings of it being a dodgy ferry it was completely fine, we’ve come to the conclusion that you can find a terrible or fantastic review of just about anything on TripAdvisor. 

This was probably one of the best beaches we had been on since Koh Lanta, not surprising I suppose as it’s only a few miles away. Although we had to pay for the sun beds and umbrella they were cheap and you weren’t hassled by vendors, in fact you had to go looking for drinks and food. 

This was our last stop in Malaysia, on leaving we took the ferry to Satun and we were back in Thailand. We only scratched the surface of Malaysia but it has a massive amount to offer. From the metropolitan KL to the jungles of Borneo. We probably enjoyed the more historic, quirky cities of Melacca and Georgetown the most but it has something for everyone and in general is cheaper than anywhere else in the region.