Lada to promote Langkawi via Singapore
THE Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) will focus on Singapore in its promotion drive to attract more tourists visiting the island republic to also holiday in Langkawi.

Lada's tourism principal assistant manager, Azmil Munif Bukhari, said many tourists from the Scandinavian and Baltic countries could be drawn to Langkawi when Finland's airline, Finn Air, starts operating direct flights to Singapore from May.

"Foreign tourists can use Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Singapore's SilkAir to fly directly from the island republic to Langkawi," he said in Langkawi yesterday.

Azmil Munif said Finn Air's special chartered direct flights to Langkawi since last December had exposed Langkawi's uniqueness and beauty to tourists from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

These weekly direct flights from Helsinki in Finland are expected to end in March. - Bernama

The Danna Langkawi - Latest hotel at Langkawi Island

The Danna is one of the latest luxury boutique hotel in Langkawi. Located within Telaga Harbour, it boosts the spectacular views of mountain hill, sea view, marina, hill and rainforest courtyard. It features the largest 3-tier infinity pool on the entire island while the centre of the building includes an open courtyard.

Located at the West Coast of Langkawi, The Danna is a 15-minute drive from Langkawi International Airport. It features a fitness centre, infinity pool and 8 dining options.

The Danna Langkawi is a 20-minute drive from Underwater World Langkawi and a 30-minute drive from Kota Mahsuri. Langkawi Cable Car is a 5-minute drive from the resort.

Rooms at the Danna boast local architecture and are luxuriously designed. Each room is equipped with flat-screen TV, DVD player and a minibar. The bathroom comes with a separate rain shower. Free internet access is available. 

The Danna Spa provides massages and feature spa rooms with panoramic views of green hills. Guests can also enjoy a game of snooker or watch cable television at the games rom.

Overlooking the infinity pool, The Planter’s serves Mediterranean cuisine and international wine. Light snacks and drinks can be found at the Pool Café which overlooks the beach and ocean.  

 

WELCOME TO THE DANNA LANGKAWI

Langkawi Budget Motel - D'Sa Motel and Restaurant Kuah Langkawi

Just 500 metres from seaside Legenda Park on Pulau Langkawi Island, D’sa Motel offers air-conditioned rooms with free Wi-Fi. Car rental is available on site, public parking is free. Rooms at the D’sa are simply furnished and are equipped with a TV. Room service is available throughout the day. The hotel’s Rasa-Rasa D’sa restaurant serves traditional Malaysian and Thai cuisine. Guests can arrange excursions to Tarutao Island or the local mangroves at the on site tour desk. Dataran Helang Park is only 2 km from the D’sa Motel. Langkawi Airport is 25-minute drive away.

D'sa Motel & Restaurant, Langkawi

13 Penarak Road Kuah,  07000 Langkawi , Kedah

Le Tour de Langkawi  2011

Cycling: Dr M wants Langkawi retained

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad meets the Malaysian cyclists during the team presentation in Langkawi yesterday. — Bernama picture

FORMER prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants the organisers of the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) not to leave out the resort island as a venue in future.

"I am very happy Langkawi is back as a venue for the event... obviously it doesn't sound right to call it Le Tour de Langkawi but Langkawi is left out ...the people of Langkawi feel slighted," he said after officiating the team presentation for the 16th edition of the race in Langkawi yesterday.

A total 23 teams will compete in the 10-stage event which rolls off today. Dr Mahathir also expressed dissatisfaction that LTdL had lost some of its lustre.

He said in the beginning, LtDL was able to attract Trade Team 1 outfits (now known as professional teams).

"When we ourselves don't value this race ...by just involving two states only (for the stages), these (Pro-Tour) teams no longer show any interest," he said.

He added that Malaysia once received very high recognition (from organising the LTdL) but in the last few years, it did not seem to be able to attract top teams.

"We should remember that this race is followed by many countries and the original purpose was to promote Malaysia as a tourist destination.

"The LTdL is even better than the F1 because the F1 is only centred at one stop unlike the LTdL which involves the whole of the peninsula. And when people get to know Malaysia, they will come again," he said. -- Bernama

 

Read more: Cycling: Dr M wants Langkawi retained

The Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2011  - RACE ON NOW

After much demand, the 9TH ROYAL LANGKAWI INTERNATIONAL REGATTA will introduce a new class – HOBIE 16. The Hobie Cat 16 division will bring a spark of speed to the RLIR 2011 as often, given the right conditions, they can reach speeds of upwards of 20 knots!

As the countdown continues and excitement grows, so does the entry list for the RLIR 2011 with more than 40 participants to date. With less than three weeks to go, there is a flurry of activity around the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club as yachts are already arriving to take part in this celebrated racing event. Flags of a variety of nations flutter in the breeze, adding to the festive air.

.....RACE IS ON NOW....

For the Royal Langkawi International Regatta

(RLIR 2011)

11th to 15th January 2011

The Regatta organizers wish to mention to all participants that the underlying aim of the event is to provide competitive and enjoyable racing for all crews, irrespective of the design or vintage of their yachts.

Enquiries and entries should be addressed to:

Regatta Secretariat

Royal Langkawi International Regatta,

Jalan Dato Syed Omar, 07000 Kuah, Langkawi,

Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia.

Tel. +60 4 966 4078 Fax. +60 4 966 5078

office(at)langkawiregatta.com

Web : http://www.langkawiregatta.com/

Koh Lipe Island, Thailand ..Make the journey to KOH LIPE
from Langkawi island to Ko Lipe ..

Koh Lipe is a small island in the Southern part of the Andaman sea. It is located in Satun Province, close to Langkawi island (Malaysia).

Welcome to paper island

Koh Lipe (sometimes referred to as Ko LeePay or Koh Lipeh) is part of the Tarutao National Marine Park, a large group of over 70 islands. Koh Lipe is part of a smaller cluster of islands called the Butang Islands, about 60 kilometres / 38 miles off shore. The name "Koh Lipe" means paper Island in the local Chao Ley language.

Do you know , you can go to Koh Lipe from Langkawi island . The company service at Telaga Harbour Park Langkawi .

Telaga Terminal, in collaboration with our Thai counterpart, operates the shuttle ferry service to Koh Lipe, Thailand from Telaga Harbour Marina. This cross border venture has been running for 6 seasons since November 2004, has received steady and positive support from both the Government Agencies of Malaysia and Thailand including tourists from all over the world. This is the closest route (Port) to get to Koh Lipe, and from there on you are linked and can explore onwards to the other islands of the South Andaman Sea like the Tarutao, Koh Mook, Ngai, Lanta, Phi Phi and even Phuket.

Service Departs from TelagaTerminal @ Telaga Harbour Marina, Pantai Kok, Langkawi.

Telaga Terminal
Lot 1, Telaga Harbour Park

Pantai Kok, Langkawi

Kedah, Malaysia 07000

Phone: +604 9592208

Fax: +604 9592204

More info :

http://www.telaga-terminal.com

Holiday Villa Resort and Spa Langkawi

Holiday Villa Beach Resort Langkawi is set on the mystical isle of legends, Pulau Langkawi (or Langkawi Island ) situated on the north west of Peninsula Malaysia. The 4-star picturesque resort is sprawled over 13 acres of land, fronting on one of the island's finest beach at Pantai Tengah.

 

 At Holiday Villa Beach Resort Langkawi, all the guest rooms and suites are well furnished with modern touches and conveniences for total guest comfort. For dining, the 24-hour Lagenda Restaurant offers a wide range of local and western cuisine. It is surrounded by well landscaped garden.

 
Other dining outlets are The Mario's Italian Restaurant , Tropical Beach & Snack Bar, Matahari Lounge and Sunset Karaoke Fun Pub. In addition, there is a swim up Pool Bar and the Sunset Terrace offers a spectacular view of the sunset.

 Holiday Villa Beach Resort Langkawi also boasts of one of the largest swimming with an open air jacuzzi. Other recreational facilities are a ladies indoor swimming pools, children's pool, 3 tennis courts, a fitness centre, Kiddies Fun Club, an internet room, a souvenir shop and wireless internet facilities.

 The Amoaras Relaxation Spa offers a wide range of Balinese massages that combine the art of ancient and modern techniques to rejuvenate one's body, mind and soul.

 

Resort Facilities

Lift/Elevators / Outdoor Parking / Tropical Beach Hut / Wheelchair Availble / Prayer Room/Surau / 24 Hours Receptions / Baggage storage Area / Baby Cot/Crib Available / 24 Hours Security Patrol / Currency Exchange Counter / Shuttle Services (Chargeable) / Water Sprinkle/Smoke Detector / Duty Free Shop and Beauty Shop / 24 Hours Hospital Doctor On-Call / Smoking and Non-Smoking Rooms / Babysitting Services (Chargeable Per Hour with 24 Advance Notice)

Dining & Entertainment

Sunset Karaoke / Matahari Lounge / Tropical Beach Bar / Sunset Bar / Poolside / Lagenda Coffee House / Mario's Italian Restaurant

Sports & Leisure

Tennis Court / Swimming Pool / Open Air Jacuzzi / Fitness Centre - Gymnasium and Spa / Traditional Massage and Spa Service (Chargeable)

 

You are welcome to Holiday Villa Resort and Spa Langkawi

Talents abound at football meet

Talents abound at football meet


UNITED Youth Football Club (UYFC) from Pandan Indah in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi Kenari Kids emerged champions of the Under-12 and Under-10 categories respectively in the second Kedah Kenari Kids football carnival.

UYFC defeated Kenari Kids B of Kedah 4-2 on penalties in the Under-12 final while Langkawi Kenari Kids beat Hicom-Honda Kenari Kids A 2-0 in the Under-10 final played at the Istana Anak Bukit ground in Alor Setar.

UYFC had overcome Kota Damansara of Selangor 2-0 in the Under-12 semi finals earlier while Kenari Kids B outplayed their A counterparts 2-1.

The Under-12 final ended in a stalemate at the end of regulation time as both teams were unable to score and the outcome was decided by a penalty shoot-out.

UYFC prevailed in the shoot-out by converting all their first four spot kicks while the Kenari Kids B only scored from two of the first four kicks.

UYFC’s goals were scored by Naim Abdul Razak, Mohd Azrul Adhar, Mohd Farid Khazali and Mohd Shafiq.

Ahmad Firdaus and Mohd Izzat Iqmar scored for the Kenari Kids while Nabil Ramli’s kick was saved by UYFC’s goalkeeper, Mohd Aizat Roslin. Arisul Hakimi sent his kick out past the upright to hand the title to UYFC.

In the Under-10 final, Langkawi Kenari Kids dominated the proceedings against Hicom-Honda A from Sungai Petani to win by 2-0.

In the 2009 carnival, Bintang Biru foot- ball club from Prai in Penang was the Under-12 champions while Hicom-Honda Kids from Sungai Petani took the Under-10 title.

A total of 16 teams (six in the Under-10 and 10 in the Under-12 category) from Singapore, Thailand, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Kedah competed in the two-day carnival on Dec 17 and 18.

Kedah princess, Datuk Seri Panglima Besar Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz Sultan Abdul Halim, gave away the medals and trophies to the winners.

The carnival was declared open by Kedah Youth, Sports, Arts, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman Dr Hamdan Mohd Khalib.

Dr Hamdan said the tournament was orga-nised to uncover young talents to be groomed into quality players to serve Kedah which was in line with the aspirations of the Kedah Football Association.

He said six Kenari Kids training centres —two each in Alor Setar and Sungai Petani, and one each in Jitra and Langkawi — that were set in Kedah a few years back had proven to be of benefit to the state.

“A good example is the success of the Kedah Under-15 team in 2010 who qualified to represent the Asia-Pacific region in the Manchester United Premier Cup World soccer finals in Manchester in 2010.

“The success of the team has fuelled the interest of several young players and the demand to enrol in our training centres has increased two fold.

“It is hoped that the Kenari Kids carnival will produce more exciting young players to serve the state in the future,” Dr Hamdan said.

Refer : STARonline

The dollars and sense of going green

RUNNING an eco-friendly resort makes “perfect business sense”, an environmentalist and entrepreneur says.

By 2030, businesses that are not green will not be able to survive, The Frangipani Langkawi Resort and Spa owner Anthony Wong said.

Nature's way: Wong snacking on his organic vegetables at his Zero Waste Eco Farm.

“In the next 20 years, our natural resources will be gone and you will be out of business if you don’t practise sustainability,” he said.

“You can make money if you are eco-friendly because tourists these days are willing to pay more to help conserve Mother Nature,” he said.

Wong, who is also the managing director of Asian Overland Services (AOS), a tourism and hospitality group of companies specialising in eco-tourism activities, said it would cost more in the initial stages to run a green hotel but it would be cheaper in the long run.

“Your initial investment may be about 20% more and you’ll need more staff but at the end of the day, the profits justify the effort and you are doing your part to help save the environment,” he explained.

“Langkawi has about 90,000 inhabitants and 2.5 million visitors yearly – the main benefactors are the locals because 90% of the population depends on the tourism industry to survive,” he added.

The Frangipani Resort and Spa - Pantai Tengah Langkawi

Recycling and energy-saving are practised at Wong’s resort at Pantai Tengah.

He relies on the wetland system to treat sewage and waste water.

The water treatment system uses plants to turn stinky, dirty sewage into clean water,” he said.

“The first step is to identify the main pollutants in the water which we channel into a pond near the resort.

“Next step is to find the most suitable plants that can soak up the pollutants.

“I took three years to find the perfect combination of plants that could effectively treat the water,” he said.

Wong uses the water mimosa, thalia genicula, water hyacinth, water lily, water vetiver and water spinach at his pond.

Laboratory tests have shown that the treated water from the pond is of grade A quality.

“You can actually drink the water once it goes through the ultraviolet light and water filtering process although we only use the treated water for cleaning and watering the plants.

“At least 45% of the water used at the resort is recycled,” the Kuala Lumpur native said.

He is especially proud of his Zero Waste Eco Farm where ducks and chickens roam and organic vegetables grow.

“Those interested in learning more about how we do things here are welcome,” he said.

Other eco-friendly practices at the resort are worm composting, waste separation, solar heating and using natural sunlight and ventilation for the buildings.

Wong stresses the importance of grease traps.

“We re-use the cooking oil to make soaps and bio-diesel.

“There are old bathtubs everywhere and these are planted with organically grown vegetables and ulam,” he said.

“The frangipani flowers from our trees are dried and used to make tea and keropok (chips).”

Wong said future guests would be intrigued by a toilet made from used bottles next year.

Articles : TheStar

PRESENCE OF TWO WORLD CHAMPIONS TO SET IODA LANGKAWI SAILING C'SHIP ON BLAZE

Bernama - Wednesday, December 29
LANGKAWI, Dec 28 (Bernama) -- The presence of two World champions in the International Optimist Dinghy Association''s (IODA) World Sailing Championships which set sail at the Langkawi Sailing Complex today, gave the competition a much needed boost.

Richard Slinclair Jones from Peru and Noppakao Poonpat from Thailand won the men''s and women''s individual titles at the last championships in Brazil.

Noppakao is also the IODA Asia 2010 champion during the recent championships held in Langkawi.

Meanwhile, Malaysia''s hopes will be shouldered by Faizal Norizan, the individual event runner-up in Brazil, last year.

Apart from Faizal, Guangzhou Asian Games silver medal winner Ahmad Latif Khan Ali Sabri Khan, Ahmad Syukri Aziz, Mohd Isan Ali and Nurul Ezzatul Akmal Mohd Ruzaimi will also be hoping to retain the overall team title they had won last year.

Team manager Mohd Afendy Abdullah said Malaysia''s main threat in the competition would sailors from countries like China, Singapore, Japan and Australia.

The championships has attracted 252 sailors from 57 countries, including Brazil, Peru, Italy, Turkey, United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA

ZI ZAJ JRL

Refer : Yahoo Malaysia   / Bernama

RM1b for Teluk Datai Langkawi project

LANGKAWI: State investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd, through its investee company, Teluk Datai Resorts Sdn Bhd (TDR), and partners are investing RM1 billion in the Teluk Datai master development plan that will be completed by 2014.

The five-year plan, which will see the expansion and upgrading of TDR's hotel and golf course as well as the construction of new hotels, was launched yesterday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Najib said: "Based on the development plan for Teluk Datai, more jobs will be created for residents.

"This will increase the value of their assets and their quality of life.

Present were former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar.

Langkawi, with a population of about 99,000, was identified by Dr Mahathir as a tourist destination more than two decades ago.

Najib said the development of Teluk Datai, with its pristine surrounding and beaches, was ideal to boost Langkawi's position as a premier tourist destination.

Under the plan, The Datai Lang-kawi hotel will expand to include 13 one-bedroom pool villas and one two-bedroom pool villa, while The Golf Club, Datai Bay, will be re-developed into an international golf course to host tournaments.

Najib said the construction of the villas was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012, while the golf course would be completed in the third quarter of the same year.

Also in the plan are a 300-room five-star resort, which will be jointly developed with Shangri-La Hotels, a six-star hotel and villas for sale.

Najib said the plan would boost leisure and tourist attractions at Teluk Datai, located northwest of Langkawi and facing the Andaman Sea, to strengthen the bay's position as an international tourist destination.

TDR plans to develop only a fifth of 598ha at Teluk Datai, while the rest, comprising 100,000-year-old rainforests, will be untouched.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Luxury resort at near this project

The Andaman Langkawi

The Datai Langkawi

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TDR engaged Camco South East Asia Ltd (Camco SEA), in which Khazanah has a 5.3 per cent stake, to conduct a sustainability scoping study for the project.

Camco SEA, a green energy expert listed on the AIM London stock exchange, will also design a long-term strategy on rainforest conservation as well as explore opportunities for tie-ups with local partners to conserve land.

Khazanah, in July, acquired a 70 per cent stake in TDR, which owns The Datai Langkawi, The Golf Club and the 598ha at Teluk Datai.

The remaining 30 per cent is held by its founder, Tan Sri Razali Rahman, and Datuk Hassan Abas, through Archipelago Hotels (East) Sdn Bhd.

At the launch, TDR signed an agreement with Shangri-La Malaysia to set up a joint venture to develop the five-star resort. TDR will hold a 51 per cent stake in the company while Shangri-La Malaysia will hold the balance. Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd will manage the hotel.

Khazanah executive director (investment) Mohd Nadziruddin Mohd Basri said the development would create about 3,000 jobs.

He said the arrival of more tourists would create more jobs and opportunities for residents.

"We are positive about the project. The returns must be attractive for us to attract the private sector."

He said Khazanah was considering funding options for its investment, including equity partnership and bank borrowings.

Read more: RM1b for Teluk Datai project http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/4elang/Article/#ixzz18VqkolNI

2010/12/09

By Hamisah Hamid

hamisahhamid@nst.com.my