Pulau Langkawi retreat

The weekend retreat at Langkawi was very enjoyable. The organiser pulled out all the stops to make the event a very grand and memorable one. In case you're wondering, they were celebrating their 1st anniversary.

Exactly one year ago, the owner of the company, Capt R, told me the difficulties he faced as a new start-up. Just when they needed support the most, the larger companies turned them away. I've worked with Capt for many years already, I was happy to support them right from the start.

One year on, he has 70 employees working in offices spanning across Asia. During the weekend, I saw how well-loved and respected he is by his employees. Yet his humility is admirable. At the ceremony, he spoke about 'angels' like us who helped him through good and bad times. On the otherhand, I think it is the cohesiveness and energy of his team that drive their success.

We were treated to a good stay, entertainment and fabulous programme.


I received a crystal trophy.

We stayed at The Sheraton, a luxury resort nestled amidst 38 acres of spacious, lush tropical surroundings with private beach coves.

The hotel provides carts to bring the guests around the sprawling estate.

Unfortunately we didn't get to enjoy the spa or the various pools due to the wet weather.


I must say it is a very peaceful sanctuary, until you meet the monkeys. A hotel guest looks on in exasperation after the monkeys descended on her sunbathing spot.

The rest of our time was spent visiting batik printing factory, a traditional medicine facility and Langkawi Underwater World.

On Sunday, a few of us booked a cab to bring us sightseeing. My last visit to Langkawi Island was about 20 years ago and I'm surprised that nothing much has changed. It's still the same idyllic island I know, where the pace of life is slow and stress-free.

The waterfall was particularly spectacular after a day of rain on Saturday.

I saw the cutest little kitten at the Black Sands Beach.

Look at how tiny it is!

Langkawi means reddish brown eagle in colloquial Malay, so we stopped by the ferry terminal to check out the huge eagle monument.

We had seafood lunch at Kung Fu restaurant which has lots of photos of Bruce Lee on the walls.


On the way to the airport, we stopped by the Sunday night market. One vendor was selling ducklings!

There were many stalls selling food and drinks.

From our observation, the residents love deep fried food and colourful sweet drinks.


And they sell lots of batik dresses too. Not exactly the kind of stuff that entice me.