Malaysia - Langkawi

We had a great time in the Philippines and then were off to Malaysia! 

... well, sort of. Due to a delayed flight, miscommunication about the TWO airports as "KUL" that are about 30min from each other, and a subsequent missed connection, we had the pleasure of the Sama Sama hotel at the Kuala Lumpur airport, which was quite amazing. Matt thoroughly enjoyed the buffet and specifically the crab curry legs... this is his 3rd plate...

Finally, after a great night's rest we were off to Langkawi! Upon arrival we quickly discovered how beautiful it was and we were excited to explore the island.

Here is the map of all of the things we could do!

Here is what we actually did the entire 2 days...

  

Oh, wait and this...

Haha, apparently we were in need of some serious relaxation time. We were supposed to go diving but because of the day delay we missed our dive trip. That was the only bummer of our time in Langkawi. Otherwise, we loved every single moment at the Westin Langkawi.

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While we didn't do much exploring, we did learn about the upcoming Malaysia election. Even though we didn't leave the resort, we noticed a million different flags all over the city on our way to our hotel and of course we had some questions. 

Here is the summary that we got: 

- This is the most important election for the Malaysian people for decades. 

- The ruling party, Barisan Nasional, has been in power since 1956. (post- British rule)

- This is the first time since that point that any party has proved to be any type formidable opponent. 

- The opposition, Pakatan Rakyat, is actually a three-party alliance. 

- Pretty much everyone we talked to was hopeful that the current regime would be ousted, however, were skeptical that the elections were actually fair. The general public (at least those we talked to) feel that the government remains corrupt in Malaysia and won't allow for any new government to take hold. I don't know how true this is or not, but I thought the quote from the Economist rang true " It is true it [current party] has been in power so long that the dividing line between party and government has become blurred." The full article here. 

Obviously, we are not incredibly educated on the subject, but will be looking for the election results come May 5th. 

...after we had a few more poolside drinks, of course.