I got up early enough to have a cup of tea, a shower, complete the packing and a good breakfast before being ready for a last swim by just after 9.  I had two good dooks, bouncing around in the water.  The water felt slightly cooler than yesterday, maybe 27 degrees?  But there was sun and it warmed up.  After a couple of hours it was time for some final photos and then back to the cottage for a second shower, much needed as I'd been dumped in the sand by an incoming wave.

I failed at the 'check the room' before you leave bit of leaving.  Got to the desk to realise my phone was still on the dressing table.  That was retrieved ok.  Then in the Grab almost at the airport realised my bottle water was not with me.  I nearly went back but decided the extra RM50 wasn't worth it.  And that water bottle has form.  Bought in the market in Hoi An for pence in 2019 to replace one left in a toilet in Hanoi airport it was left in Alloa in December 2019, retrieved in Edinburgh in late 2021 and then left in Marchmont last April and returned.  I decided it was clearly trying to return to its SE Asian roots.  I thought I'd left it in the hotel lobby but on reflection think it may have been on the table in the room.  Shame I didn't see it when I went back for the phone.

There is nothing in airside in Langkawi airport except small WH Smith and Costa but getting there requires having bags screened by Customs, to ensure you are not smuggling out Duty Free (for some reason I was asked hen I arrived in Langkawi), and then the normal ID checks and security screening.  However, our plane pushed back exactly on tome and landed 20 minutes early at 3.30 p.m.

It's a long taxi in though and took ages to get off as almost everyone had large cabin bags.  My bag was 3rd on the carousel and I should have ordered the grab then but waited till I was at the e-hailing pick up so it was after 4 before I was on my home.  For once we came back via Putrajaya, Friday traffic and rain, and as luck would have it an email arrived about Friday's trip there around the same time.

Friday night is movie night.  #1 son is still not 100% (neither is #2 son) but we had pizza and watched some tv with the girls.  Kitty is more friendly to me but Amelia was really tired.

I caught up on some admin having been laptop deprived for a week.  Later I checked my blips form Langkawi in 2011.  Turns out I was there for 5 nights, not 3 as I thought and the beach has shrunk as more stabilising grass has been planted; the tsunami boat has been replaced by a treehouse; they did serve proper evening meals not just 'fast food'; and only one of the restaurants I ate in is still there, though closed I think.  I also have no recollection of buying gin in shops opposite Frangipani or walking down Pantai Cenai main street beyond Zon. The clientele have also changed though that may also be time of year as I was there in June before.  Then it was a lot of Saudi families with fully veiled women and Australian and New Zealanders.  This time no Saudis, only a couple of Aussies but European families, mainly German, and there were signs in Russian.  None at Frangipani bit a couple behind me on the plane. One thing that hadn't changed was I read I got sunburned when I was there in 2011, something I repeated on Monday, despite the factor 30. 

The extras are of the Treehouse, Penang (you can clearly see Georgetown in the top rh corner) and the palm oil monoculture as we flew in to KLIA2.