Langkawi's Natural Attractions

Langkawi is home to Malaysia's legends and a gift of mother nature to its inhabitants. Covered in mystery and natural beauty, the coast-side island is filled with natural attractions and cultural history. Here's a list of the best attractions in this beautiful little island!

Photo credits - Ewan M

Pantai Cenang - Island Hopping

Start your morning with breakfast at Pantai Cenang, Langkawi's most popular beach. Don't forget to try out some of Malaysia's local cuisine, such as the nasi lemak (literally, "rice in cream"). This name is derived from the cooking process of nasi lemak, where the rice is soaked and cooked in coconut cream, giving it more fragrance and flavor to the rice. Combined with ikan bilis (anchovies), peanuts, eggs and a spicy sambal, this is a full-filing combination to get you through the day.

Spend some time enjoying the white sandy beaches at Pantai Cenang, and immerse yourself in the various water sports available here. Go swimming, hire a jet ski, go parasailing or hop on a banana boat. You can also go island hopping to nearby islands, such as Pulau Rebak Kecil and Pulau Rebak Besar.

Photo credits - Khalzuri

Langkawi Geopark

Hop into a cable car to the very top of Mount Mat Cincang at the Langkawi Geopark. Here, you can take in the breathtaking views at the two viewing platforms and head over to the 125-metre bridge suspended 700m above sea level for a bigger thrill. The Geopark is also home to various other attractions, such as Elephant Rides, Reptile Encounters as well as home to the Ninth Tiger Sub-species - the Malayan Tiger.

Another major attraction at the top of Mount Mat Cincang is the Telaga Tujuh Waterfall (Seven Wells). Seven pools whose water flow into each other creates a mesmerizing picture for you to enjoy. Dip into the pool for a relaxing laize-faire afternoon.

Photo credits - kaeru.my

Kuah Town

Kuah Town is Langkawi's main town, as well as the entry point for ferry from either the mainland or from Penang. The town isn't really all that big, but you'll be able to do some shopping over at the Eagle Square (Dataran Lang), the Langkawi Fair or at the various bazaars at the center of Kuah. This is a great place to pick up batik, local handicrafts and duty free goods.

The name "Kuah" comes from the malay word for ketchup, soup or gravy, this is owing to the local legend that the town arose from a cup of gravy spilled on the land by two giants fighting.

Enjoyed this article? Visitors to Malaysia would do well to check out our other articles on the country, such as Kuala Lumpur attractions, cruising holidays in Malaysia and the beautiful Redang Island!


From : http://malaysia.travel.yahoo.com/inspirations/41-langkawis-natural-attractions

Save power, save money: 6 easy tips to reduce your electricity usage and bills

• by Emily Hsieh, Shine staff, on Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:00am PDT

There are a bunch of little tricks you can employ to cut back on power consumption at home—which not only has environmental benefits but keeps you from wasting cash too—and it's highly unlikely you'll even notice a difference. Between the National Resources Defense Council's site and powerscorecard.org I found some really good tips. Here's a re-cap of six simple, painless ways to cut back:

1. Check this: refrigerators suck up a whopping 20% of your household electricity use. Time to turn them down! Aim for somewhere between 38-42 degrees in the fridge, and 0-5 degrees in the freezer. If you've got an energy saver switch, make sure it's flipped on. Doors should be sealed tight: to test, stick a dollar bill between the gaskets and close the fridge door; if the bill is hard to pull out you're in good shape. If not, it's time to replace the gaskets.

2. Wash only full loads in your dishwasher (yet another reason to learn to pack them efficiently!), and if you have time, let them air dry by turning off the drying cycle manually—this can save 20% of your dishwasher's total electricity usage.

3. Don't use hot water when doing the laundry. If you must, try warm water, though in most cases cold is probably just fine. Make sure that the amount of water you're using corresponds with the size of your laundry load.

4. Lower the temperature of your water thermostat to 120-130 degrees (any lower than that might backfire on you, since you might end up running out of hot water).

5. Clean your air filters regularly. Air conditioners have to work a lot harder to circulate air through filthy filters, which is a totally unnecessary electricity drain.

6. And while you're sitting in front of the computer, turn on the sleep mode, so it's less of a power drain when you're not using it. Windows users can do this via the control panel, while Mac users can find energy saving settings under system preferences in the apple menu. 

Refer : http://shine.yahoo.com/event/haven/save-power-save-money-6-easy-tips-to-reduce-your-electricity-usage-and-bills-1243446/