Langkawi - Malaysia - Arcadia.

Base Camp at the Cable Car Station.

Commodore Steve Burgoine and James Blog ashore............

Have your hand moulded as a Souvenir.

The Cable Cars.

Lots of little coves......

Water Buffalo in the rice fields

The morning sunrise at Langkawi - it was beautiful.

Local craft woman at work.

Working with the Rice!

View from the Cable Car.

View of the bay from the Cable Car.

Good Day Everyone,

What a great port Langkawi!

Langkawi is the largest of the 99 islands in the archipelago and is shrouded in magical myths and legends. The island has some fantastic geological wonders such as mysterious caves and lush mountains, whilst its surrounding islands have beautiful white sands, crystal clear waters and coral gardens.

A dawn broke, the officials came on board to clear the ship and once the tours were dispatched the shuttle bus service went into operation and everyone was on the move. Taxis here, taxis there, private cars and arrangements and so it goes on - the buzz of touring in port! The dock and the port buildings were all tip top, they are owned and operated by Star Cruises, who have a lot of business interests in this part of the world. After morning business, out Agent Sanny took the Commodore and I out for a quick drive to see some of the high spots of the Island. The roads are in very good order and apparently everything is kept in tip top condition as the Prime Minister likes to visit at weekends! The Island is duty free so there are lots of smart new cars around. The houses all look very nice and inviting. The local town has lots of shopping and restaurants with easy access to the local beaches. The people are very warm and friendly. We enjoyed seeing where the cable car operated from, but we did not have time to do the trip to the top of Machincang Mountain that is said to have been formed some 500 million years ago. There are lots of things to do here and everyone I spoke to loved it. The sun shone the whole day and it was very hot. Many passengers and crew went for a swim in the sea.

There are many new homes being built here and lots of British people are moving out to this island - if you can believe all you hear?

Arcadia enjoyed a big sail out party at the Aquarius Pool on the aft end of deck 9 and I went for a walk about with the blog camera. I was speaking to many new blog readers who joined Arcadia at Singapore. One lady said all you have to do is get an ice cold drink, switch on the heat lamp, read the blog at the same time and you could be here!

Graham and Cynthia were out on tour and here is Graham's report.........

As dawn broke over our berth in Langkawi we were greeted by a magnificent sunrise which surprised even the most ardent cruise passenger. The morning heat on the jetty was very intense and we were all pleased to board our air conditioned coaches as we headed out on the tours. The first stop for many was the Rice Museum where we saw first hand the old methods of planting and harvesting the rice. The water buffalo were very photogenic as they walked around the fields.

In the museum itself we all saw interesting exhibits of the old tools whilst outside again we gazed interestingly at the ladies pounding the rice grains in the traditional way. All too soon we were on our way as we headed off to the Cable Car ride, perhaps the most famous attraction on the island. Once there we walked past the outlet shops that were enticing us in to buy goods at duty free prices. Then it was ‘all aboard’ the cable car for our ride up the mountain, a ride that would take a little over 15 minutes. As we headed up the mountain we enjoyed spectacular views of the scenery including views of the waterfalls.

Once at the top we had the option to walk to the curved bridge for some really special views over the bay and shear rock faces. These were quite simply some of the best views we had enjoyed all voyage. What a lovely day we all enjoyed, many passengers already making plans to make a

return trip to this island for a longer stay.

Thanks for that Graham.

Another lovely day at sea for us Arcadians today with good weather. I will be attending the

Portunus Parties this evening, and looking forward to catching up with old friends and new faces.

Have a great day whatever you are up to. It took a long time to get the photos onto the blog today so I was doodling with my new patio designs - there has been so much inspiration for these in the Far East.

Best wishes for now,

James.

A day spent in the company of a close friend is like a mini vacation or a cause for celebration.