The loudest, roaring, powerful, biblical electrical storm woke us up in the early hours and lasted till 11am. We were unable to leave our room which meant not eating and surviving off a ration of water. It was true castaway stuff..... Eventually we stepped out in to the humidity and became instantly soaking. The climate demanded effort but was given lethargy as we plodded down the beach after breakfast trying to decide whether or not we wanted to go on a boat trip and risk getting caught in a downpour. The miserable grey sky, a simile of our mood, as this was the forecast for the remainder of our 9 days in Langkawi. We got on the boat at 2pm in an attempt to just do something and once we were zipping across the ocean, weaving in and out of the island network we were glad of our decision. First stop - a geothermal island with a fresh water, warm lake in the middle. What they didn't tell you in the leaflet.... To get to the lake you had to walk past the most aggressive, muscular monkeys ever. Matt didn't even get chance to grab his usual monkey stick. The monkeys were lashing out at people, jumping on them, stealing bags, phones anything they wanted. The path was so narrow that it was impossible to escape and the slow moving single file queue made matters worse. Matt had a women behind him so terrified that at even the sight of a monkey metres away, she screamed and grab him so hard as to leave nail marks in his arm for the rest of the day. Now that was over reacting. Once we arrived at the lake you could swim, kayak and dive. The crowds of people swimming (flapping about) fully clothed with their head dresses on made it difficult and looked stressful. So we opted to just sit with our feet in and witness the madness. The return journey past the monkeys was looming closer as we sat there but this time Matt had us covered with a monkey bat he had found near by. It was a good job as this time they were bigger. The huge males were intimidating the group in front of us violently. When it came to our turn we walked through, bat in hand, making no eye contact, holding our nerve and holding our breath. We were the lucky ones and not one of them tried anything. Once we had made it past, our hearts were beating so fast but the relief was overwhelming. We passed the monkey bat on and some wisdom on to an Indian family who were about to enter the pathway of terror as they had food and water out, cameras around their necks, phones out and were clear targets. Second stop - A quick boat journey to a secluded cove, past the pregnant mistress (an island that's ridge line looks like the outline of a pregnant lady on her back), where the sky was filled with Eagles swooping to the sea to elegantly collect their prey. This moment made our day. It was unbelievable to see metres in front of our eyes. Most of the birds were big (4ft wing spans) but two or three of them which were dominating the feeding frenzy were enormous with wing spans of over 6ft. It was hard to understand why there were so many Eagles in this one particular spot as the boat driver said little all day but nonetheless an image that will last a life time. Third stop - a white sand island. Now this was evidence that we have clearly been spoilt over the last few months as we didn't find "the most beautiful beach around" that impressive, but in our defense it had start raining again just as we arrived. Matt still went for a swim but with the water churning up, it was hard to see what was underneath you as there were patches of rocks and coral. Part of our better judgement took over and we left the water not wanting one of those open, infected coral wounds we see so often. When it was time to leave everyone was keen to get back on the boat as the weather was becoming unpleasant and there was a lack of shelter. One of the guys on out boat had however returned with his own first prize trophy for swimming in the sea. A foot full of sea urchin spines and a rock cut above his ankle. The boat driver casually said "it happens a lot don't worry". We finally found an awesome street food place to eat, £1.60 for two, and trawled the street in search of fruit or a smoothie. We have recently become very aware that hardly any fruit or veg has made it passed our lips in the past week. We settled for an artificial tasting fruit drink and called it Tuesday in hope for better weather tomorrow. M & C xxxx