Langkawi Island - Mangrove Tour (Final Part)

While we were waiting for the guys and Ash at the Fish Farm, our boatman told us that for another RM100, we could extend the tour by another hour and he would take out to the open sea as well as visit some of the surrounding islands. He said going out to the open sea is a totally different experience compared to the mangrove. As tempting as it might sound, we decided not to go for it because it was way too hot in the mid day sun. If the weather was cooler or more cloudy, we might have taken up that offer.

After they have finished with their Fish Farm tour, we were ready to head out to see the eagles! Our boatman told us that this section of the river was wider and doesn't have that many bends, therefore he would pick up speed and told us to grab on to the rails and hold on tight. Check out the short vid that I took (no, I wasn't holding on to the rails...it was fast, but not THAT fast :P). Please excuse the lil typo at the end of the vid...I know :P I only realized it after I uploaded it onto YouTube.

Boy, that was fun! At certain times, our boat was literally flying above the water. What a thrill! After about 10 minutes or so, our boatman slowed down and turned into what seemed like a lagoon. There were tall trees and high cliffs all around us. He told us that this was the eagle feeding site.

When we first arrived, I looked up and saw maybe one or two eagles flying above us. I was thinking to myself, is that all? I hope there would be more eagles or else, I'll be pretty disappointed. Our boatman explained to us that two types of eagles can be found in Langkawi. The Brahminy Kite Eagle and the White Bellied Sea Eagle. The Kilim mangrove area has been their home since about 40 years ago. The Brahminy Kite Eagle lives in the tall mangrove trees while the White Bellied Sea Eagles would have it's nest up in the sea cliffs. Remember the picture of the huge eagle that we took on our first day in Langkawi? Well, thats the Brahminy Kite Eagle and Langkawi is named after it's reddish brown feathers.

While he was talking about the eagles, he was also making lots of noise with his boat motor. He explained that the noise attracts the eagles and it was like a signal to get them to come out. They would usually feed the eagles chicken skin or chicken parts, so when the eagles hear the motor sound, they know that it's feeding time! True enough, more and more eagles started appearing. Before we knew it, the sky was just filled with eagles and they started to swoop down towards the water to grab it's food. I seriously have never seen so many eagles together at the same time before. Photos doesn't really do justice at how cool it was, so I took a short video clip too. Check it out!

Wasn't that just awesome? If you are ever in Langkawi, you should totally go for the Mangrove Tour. From the thousands of bats at the Bat Cave to the shooting/spitting Archer Fish at the Fish Farm and now this. It was really an interesting experience. After the tour, we went back to the hotel to check out, ate some lunch, did some last minute shopping and soon, it was time to head to the airport to fly to Penang! We were in Penang for a week to celebrate Chinese New Year as well as my Dad's 60th Birthday. Will have more posts in the future about the stuff we did and all the things that we ate in Penang :P Overall, our short vacation in Langkawi was superb. Fun places to visit, cheap booze and chocolates, yummy fresh seafood and most importantly, time well spent with the family. That was indeed the best part of the whole trip =D Thanks mom and dad for planning and sponsoring such an awesome vacation!