In the hotel lobby, the staff has lined up alongside a red carpet to salute the Sultan, a regular host, as he is head for the LIMA air show. In front of the hotel, the small juice bar has disappeared, turned into parking spot for the sumptuous car of the Sultan.

As we leave for the Mangrove tour with our guide Vijay, of Indian origin, we cannot guess the fabulous day we have ahead. Our first stop is the tomb of Makam Mahsuri, who was accused of adultery and executed by stabbing, and whose story still fascinates people. A descendant of Mahsuri, now living in China, is a special representative for the island, where she visited a few years back.

We continue our trip on the River Kilim through the Geopark, an area with mangroves and protected animals, where we will be spending a few hours watching monkeys, eagles that are the emblematic birds of the island, visiting a cave where bats hang from the ceilings and learning about the fragile eco system and the mutations that have occurred in last few years due to climate change. We are encouraged to feed the playful catfishes and to be careful of the deadly sting on their tail. We learn about the magic blood of the horseshoe crab, studied for its capacity to fight pathogens. We eat under the roof of a fish farm built on poles while the river continues to bustle with boats of tourists and locals all around us - boats from as far as Alaska and Russia are stationed here; some turned into second residences.

We leave behind the beauty of the Geopark and head for a short tour of the beaches. It is low tide and the wind is strong, we are soaked from head to toe but many tourists are enjoying the popular island-hopping, jumping in the water and trying to dodge the waves. As we travel along, I notice that many of the passengers are Muslims, considering the ladies are bathing with their long dresses under the rescue vests compulsory on board. Fighter aircrafts soar across the sky, preparing for tomorrow's air show, while our boat cruises among the warships also exhibited at LIMA. On a second beach, near a luxury resort, two school boys come to speak to me in English. Children are more than happy to practice their language skills, and they tell me they are cousins, both 11 years-old; one mostly likes geography in school, while the other one is into languages.

In the evening at the market near the hotel, a man helps me to identify what I am looking for and lowers the price for me, "You always have to negotiate when you buy!" he advises. His daughter, a 9 year-old with coal eyes and lots of energy, keeps asking questions in Malay, wondering why I don't answer. I refrain from caressing her hair as I remember that in Muslim culture it is disrespectful to touch somebody's head since it is considered sacred. I offer her a few candies with my right hand, as one should never use the left hand for eating and offering gifts in Islamic culture. Langkawi and its low prices - there's no VAT here - is a shopper's paradise with laws ensuring that people from the land do not indulge in unlawful trade.