On Langkawi you either shop in the bargain basement or swim at the top end. There are no mid range accommodation options here - it's either optimum luxury or basic beach huts.
This is an island resplendent with five star exclusive resorts, and as such it is more of a magnet for honeymooners than backpackers. It is an incredibly beautiful island, and relatively - and I emphasise the word relatively - under developed. Thailand is just a few miles away to the north, and you wonder what Langkawi would look like if it did not have the more stringent planning regulations enforced by the Malaysians.
That all said, Cenang Beach was still quite lively during our stay despite it being the low season. Close to our new accommodation by the sea was a fabulous beach bar called Babylon. It really does epitomise all that is great about a holiday in SE Asia. A lovely relaxed vibe, cheap drinks, DJs, live music, mad fire related activities on tghe beach, crisp white sand underneath your bare feet and smiles everywhere you look. We stayed until 2am on Wednesday night, and although Laura may have regretted it the next day due to a dreadful hangover, it was worth it just to see a girl in a flowery dress who looked like she was probably an insurance broker from Basingstoke bouncing around the bar as if she was Keith from the Prodigy on LSD.
Despite difficulties with dodgy hotels, I would recommend Cenang Beach. It manages to maintain a young, chilled out vibe without people constantly handing out flyers and trying to sell buckets of whisky and red bull.
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