Langkawi SkyCab

4th February 

I bought a ticket for the Langkawi cable car & sky bridge. The Cable car, which opened in 2003, is said to be the 'world's steepest cable car ride' and runs from Teluk Burau village to the peak of Gunung Machinchang or Machinchang Mountain, 700 - 713m above sea level. The total length of the ride is 2.2km (1.4m) and takes around 15 minutes. The skybridge, at the top, is also the longest curved bridge in the world, 125m.

I had to get a Grab to get there and as I approached the mountain, I started to feel a bit nervous. I'm ok with heights if I have a solid base to stand on but thinking about the cable car, I started to question my choice of activity - but I really do like nice views! There were a few eagles circling around. There are so many here in Langkawi, they are quite beautiful.

There is a small 'shopping' village at the base, and some restaurants and cafes. I had lunch first then headed up. I ended up in a cable car on my own to go up and I must admit I found it terrifying - especially when the wind swayed the carriage - there's something about being hoisted up I think, that feels more frightening - the people in the cars coming down seemed to look so calm! I pretty much held onto the seat, whilst trying to enjoy it but also wishing it would be over quickly.

At the mid station, I was glad to get off, but the view was definitely worth it.

There was an option to pay for a walk on a glass bottomed platform, which I skipped. 

The cable car to the sky bridge was not so bad!

You could pay for a lift to the bridge or walk. I walked - of course - and I really enjoyed the sky bridge. It was amazing to see the difference in the sea depth around the islands.

Views from the North platform

There were monkeys around - the usual Long tail Macaques but also some other monkeys, called 'dusky leaf' - they had striking markings, like they were wearing strange eye patches. The light was shining into my phone I think, so the pictures haven't come out so well.

Then the journey down, which was not so bad - it seemed more gentle and I had company in the carriage.

The waterfall had barely any water, being the dry season

All in all, it was worth the trip out there. The taxi driver, coming back was very chatty. Unlike some of the others, he wasn't born and bred in Langkawi, and had lived in Borneo, where he was telling me of a trek he did with his brothers and Father, up a mountain. I didn't get the name of it, but I think it was a serious climb. They had to camp out and start the final ascent at night to reach the summit. He had a certificate for completing it. I think it might be Mount Kinabalu. 

I went to the beach later, to watch the sunset. It was one of those perfect ones where the sun seems to plop down into the sea, with no cloud to obscure it and the sky looked so pretty afterwards.