Exploring Langkawi and Staying at Tubotel

Written by Carrie

I recently got to explore some cool parts of Malaysia as a solo female traveler, when Zach had to hurry up to Sri Lanka for work and I had a weird gap between visas. We think it’s good to travel by ourselves sometimes! It opens doors for lots of self-discovery and gives us a chance to miss each other. The highlight of my trip was definitely Langkawi Island, a huge island in the northwest corner of Malaysia. To get there, you can fly (expensive) or take a ferry from either Koh Lipe, Thailand, or Penang, Malaysia.

Welcome to Pulau Langkawi!

Tubotel- the best hostel in Langkawi!

Tubotel

On Langkawi I got to stay at Tubotel near Cenang Beach which was a joy! Super friendly, amazing facilities, and the rooms are all inside cool giant recycled construction tubes! The tubes make for a chilled-out, cozy little nest with a sea view! Check out my Langkawi vlog below for a tour of Tubotel, Cenang Beach, and some other cool places I checked out!

I had a lot of time to chill out and work from Tubotel’s amazing patio and it was great to take it easy and catch up on some projects! The best day in Langkawi, though, was the day I conquered my fears of scooter driving and rode all over the island! Vroom vroom! I drove like a Grandma and let everyone pass me to avoid accidents but I definitely started feeling cool and confident midway through the day. Scooters. are. great! Just be careful! I checked out the Upsidow House and then rode all across the island through some beautiful jungle and fun hilly roads then stopped for some nachos at Fuel Dock Langkawi.

Dancing on the ceiling at Upsidow House

Tasty nachos after a lot of hot scooter driving!

I had a plan to check out the Durian Waterfall on the north side of the island but thanks to being a newbie at scooter riding and navigation I got lost a few times and ran out of time and energy before I made it there. That’s okay, because I definitely want to come back to Langkawi with Zach next time! And time spent chilling on the beach is never time wasted!