I ended up extending my time in Langkawi. The hostel was comfortable and a steal of a price, and I needed a day to chill at the beach. Thus far, my days had been spent busily touring around like it was my last day to do everything in the guide book, or sitting at cafes and diligently creating all of this fantastic content. That’s right, these posts don’t just write themselves. Gone are the days of spending an hour in the evening whipping up a fast couple paragraphs about the day’s accomplishments. Better content means more time spent creating it. 

Keeping such a busy schedule, I needed a day to chill, so I extended an extra night to go hang out at Tanjung Rhu Beach. I packed up my book and my towel and was just about to hop on my scooter when one of the other guys from the hostel asked where I was going. And what a coincidence, he was going there too! 

Half the reason to stay at a hostel is to meet other backpackers, so I really shouldn’t have been surprised that other people were trying to do just that. I just found it suspicious that every time I tried to leave on my own (everyone needs some alone time every now and again), someone just happened to be heading to that very same place. Real subtle there, dude. 

The ride was a good 30 minutes, but with only a few turns, I was proud of myself for finding the entire way without having to pull over and look at the map. 

The beach was just as empty as that first time I had seen it. Ahh what bliss. We attempted to use a couple beach chairs, but the barman hurried over to inform us that they were 50 ringgit for the set. 50 ringgit would allow you to treat all of your friends to dinner at the night market, so we decided to pass, and laid our towels out on the sand instead. 

Being on the beach, the conversation turned to ocean-related topics. I tried to share some expertise from my years spent as a diving instructor, but my new friend had recently taken a marine biology course in school, and so had to interrupt everything to prove that he already knew whatever fact I was trying to share. Alright well this obviously wasn’t going to be the relaxing day I had planned. 

A siren sounded and I looked around. Usually such sounds were tsunami warnings. The ocean wasn’t receding anywhere though. Someone had probably just hit the button by accident. Such things used to be common on Mana Island, Fiji. 

Looking out to sea, my buddy, Austria, noticed that there was a strip of shallow sand, almost like a secret, submerged path, allowing people to walk far out into the bay. What a cool trick. Realizing that relaxing was off the books, I asked if he wanted to go check it out. 

As we made our way through the white sand, a security officer approached to ask where we were going. When we pointed  to the submerged natural sand path, he said that with incoming tide, the current was too strong. Plus the sting rays were very dangerous. I tried to ask him some questions, the sort of intelligent questions that might nudge him into realizing this wasn’t my first trip to the beach. I asked what time high tide was, and told him I was aware of how to shuffle my feet so as not to accidentally step on any rays, but he would not budge with his warnings. I asked if the incoming tide had been what the alarm was for, and he confirmed that yes, the alarm was to recall everyone back to the beach. Odd. I’d never been to a beach with such strict security. 

We wandered down to the other end of the beach, which the security officer again tried to warn us against doing. He told us if anything happened, no one was down there to help. We thanked him for the warning and said we would just go for a short walk. 

At the end of the beach we shuffled our way through the opaque water a short ways and managed not to find any stingrays. It’s all about knowing what an animal is capable of, and how to respect it. If you step your feet normally through murky water, and accidentally step on a stingray, then yes, it is going to defend itself by swinging its tail up and stinging whatever is pinning it down. If you give it a chance to be scared away though, it will. 

I didn’t notice any currents down here, but stayed close to the shoreline as a precaution anyway. If there were currents strong enough to warrant an alarm, then caution was called for. 

We eventually decided to walk the beach back in the other direction, and onwards. There was some land across the way, and we wondered if it was all connected, or an island. As we rounded the corner, the warnings about the currents suddenly made sense. Here, just around the corner from this quiet beach, was a deep boat channel, deep enough that the water was white-capping. And it was a narrow one at that. Based on the size, that would indeed cause some impressive currents. 

Austria found some friends from the hostel, and we sat on the beach with them for a while. This was the end of the beach closest to the channel around the corner, and it was funny to watch everyone venture out into the water a short ways from the shore, and then comment on how strong the current was. Lesson noted, beware the currents at Tanjung Rhu Beach. 

When I couldn’t take any more sun, I said goodbye to my new group of friends and left to check out a nearby fruit farm. That was an odd experience. I can’t necessarily say I’d recommend it, but it is going to be a hoot to write about. Check back soon!