Ironman 70.3 Langkawi (3 November to 6 November 2022)

3 November 2022

Here we are going for our last holiday in 2022! We are going Langkawi! Come to think of it… I have not gone to Malaysia for a long long time! And the last time I came to Langkawi was back in 2009 when Gwyneth was only 1+ year old! 

I didn’t really sleep well the whole night. Too many weird dreams and kept on waking up. And there’s somebody who keeps “stealing” my blue pillow in Senja. Hehe. I didn’t set alarm but I got my natural alarm Lexuan who woke me up at 5.30am. 

Jianhui prepared hard boiled egg and kopi Siew dai for us. We were worried that we might not be able to get a big grab car so we quickly left the house once we are ready. It’s our lucky day as we managed to get Toyota Sienta quite quickly. It cost us $68 though. And the bike box can goes in quite easily. So this time round, we only had 1 bike box, 1 big luggage and 2 hand carry bags. The driver is nice too! 

We reached terminal 4 around 7.40am. It’s quite empty and quiet. After printing our boarding pass then we had to go queue at the service counter to check in our luggage as we have sports equipment. The queue is very slow moving as there is only one counter. Luckily, they opened up more counters so the queue becomes much faster. We are done around 8.20am. I think I getting like this kind of morning flight instead of those insane crazy hours one. 

Then we entered the departure hall. Don’t know why but I feel extremely hungry. We decided to go Coffee bean. We ordered 1 Americano (nowadays I kinda enjoy drinking kopi o kosong), California sunrise, 1 Chicago cheesecake and tuna puff. And this cost me $27! Quite crazy right? The California sunrise is $8.70 and Lexuan didn’t really like it. This used to be one of my favourite drink in coffee bean but I didn’t really like it now. Haha. 

We have quite a bit of time so we can relax. Then we headed to Gate G6. All of us boarded quite fast before 10.45am but then there is a flight delay as they are still loading cargo. We ended up only taking off about 11.30am. 

We touched down about 12.50pm. Somehow we ended up being the last few to alight from plane and so we are the last few to clear customs too. It took a while to clear the queue. Anyway, after clearing the customs, a lot of people were waiting for the luggage too.    

Jianhui found xiao P quite quickly but not our luggage. After about 15 mins then we finally got our luggage. Once we are out, we found the hotel staff and didn’t have to wait long for the driver to drive us back to our resort, Pelangi Beach resort. 

Checking in is a breeze which is a blessing for us! Our room is 3305, 2nd level! We were hoping for 1st floor unit so that we don’t have to climb up and down. Luckily, the guy helped us to carry our luggage up to our room. It’s a nice room, spacious and it comes with bathtub! This is a bonus as Lexuan loves bathtub! Overall, the vibes of this place reminds me of OCBC Bintan resort. 

We were hungry as it was already about 3pm. So we went to the spice market at the lobby for lunch. Lexuan has doughnut + strawberry ice cream. As for us, we had seafood pizza + fish & chips. Food is not bad but super hotel price. Think it cost us about MYR150? We thought the bill would be charged to our room so we didn’t pay after eating. Only when we were back in room, they called us to make payment. Haha. 

By now, Lexuan is complaining non stop and she wanna go back to our room. We went to race expo so that Jianhui can collect his race pack. And this Lexuan was still complaining non stop. Even when I was shopping for merchandise, she kept on crying. So I didn’t have the mood to buy much. After Jianhui collected the race pack, he quickly tried the size of his shirt then we made payment for our stuff.

On our way back to our resort, we passed by a souvenir shop. They were selling bath bombs and of course our dear Lexuan is happy to have her bath bomb. At least this can make her stop complaining and walk back on her own. 

She had fun playing her bath bomb in the bath tub while I rested. I was feeling tired. Jianhui also went to main lobby to check out how to transport bike to T1, etc. When he is back, then Lexuan and I went back to the shop again. We bought an unicorn float, 2 water guns, a few bath bombs and gummies for lexuan. So, she’s a happy girl now. 

We went for dinner at 7pm. Walked to CBA restaurant by the beach which is the finishing line for Ironman! We ordered steak and kids’ burger + beer + mojito + watermelon juice. It costs us about MYR200+. Overall, dinner was not bad! 

Then it’s time to go back to the room. It’s sleeping time! 

We slept about 9pm+. I couldn’t really sleep well as we didn’t have extra pillow for bolster. 

4 November 2022 

Lexuan woke up super early and she kept on disturbing me to wake me up. Haha. In the end, I am being “forced” to wake up at around 7pm+. 

After washing up then we went to Spiced Market for breakfast. So the breakfast is included in our room price. Nothing much to eat though but I guess Lexuan is happy to eat honey star with milk. As for me, I am happy to have traditional porridge with condiments (peanut, Cai Xin, ikan billis), fruits and sunny side up. Oh yes, there’s americano too! 

Then we went back room to get ready to try the shuttle bus to go to transition area. However, after waiting for like 20mins, there is no sight of the shuttle bus. Those who were waiting with us also gave up and took grab. Seeing that the bus is not coming anytime, We gave up and went back to our hotel. We went to race expo to make more purchases. We bought 2 shirts and 2 caps… but the cap cost MYR150 each. Expensive right? In comparison, my women tee only cost MYR65 and boys’ shirt cost MYR55. 

Then we went back to our room! Lexuan is happy to get ready to go swimming pool. She has been bugging us since she woke up. We went to the cascade pool which is near to our room. It was fun with Lexuan’s new unicorn float and our water guns! Haha. We had fun in the pool with another 7 years old KL boy. There is a slide for the kids which I tried and it was fun. Haha. 

Then Jianhui came to find us and then we bought ice cream for lexuan before walking back. 

After showered and having lunch, Lexuan requested to go to another pool. So we called the buggy to send us to Horizons pool. She had fun there. Meanwhile, Jianhui rented car from the hotel and drove to The Danna Langkawi (swim start and T1) and Hotel Century Langasuka to settle his bike stuff. 

I also bought Lexuan’s favourite doughnut for her before we went back to the room. We were so tired that we fell asleep. Then we went for early dinner about 5pm+. 

We ordered Hokkien Mee which was too salty. The fried rice is not bad. As for the chicken fingers, it’s okay only. We also had strawberry and vanilla ice cream. 

It started to rain so we asked the buggy to send us back. Haha. When we came back then we realised that we left Lexuan’s tablet at the lobby. Luckily, they found the table and sent it back to our room. 

Then it’s time for us to wash up and rest! We got to wake up early the next morning for race! 

5 November 2022 

It’s race day! Jianhui woke up about 4am while I “officially” woke up about 4.30am. Lexuan also woke up at 5am so we could walk to the lobby before 5.30am. Our chauffeur was already waiting for us! And it’s a nice white BMW okay! Feeling like VIP (like some big boss) to take such a nice car to the race starting point.

We reached the swim start point at The Danna Langkawi about 6am. Honestly,

This race got so many transition area until I also dunno which hotel is the best to stay for best convenience. Ours is the ending point, The Danna is the swim start point and T1 while Century hotel is T2. So I guess the best is probably The Danna but I understand from Jianhui that when he wanted to sign up for this race, this hotel is no longer available. Anyway, Pelangi also not bad la. The swimming pools are amazing and Lexuan loves it! Somemore, Pelangi is the race expo! I guess if we were given a choice, we probably would still stay at Pelangi. 

Jianhui went to T1 to settle his race things. When he’s done, we had a quick chat before he went in again. So Lexuan and I went to the swim exit. By now, it was drizzling a bit. There was a friendly woman who chit chatted with me and I came to know that her son is working In Singapore

And she would be going to Singapore for SCSM in December! While waiting for the race to start, I gave Lexuan a small packet of double decker (her favourite snacks) to keep her entertained. 

Jianhui was flagged off at around 7:08:48am based on the app. I managed to see Choo Ling Er too! She’s the 5th person out of the pool. Amazing woman I must say. 

Then it started to rain. Lexuan wanted me to carry her. She is totally training my arm power as I had been carrying her from 6.45am till Jianhui is out from the swim! At least an hour plus of carrying her. Haha. I was really happy to see jianhui finishing the swim in 45minutes! Being an Ironman supporter, we are just happy to see our athlete completing every leg of the race. So for this race, I was kinda sad that I cannot see Jianhui after he has completed the bike as the transition area is at century  langasuka.  

Then Lexuan and I quickly walked to the bike exit. Jianhui spent a bit of the time in transition area so we could still catch him and Xiao P. Then we went to carpark to find our car. The driver was already there waiting for us! So it’s very shiok to be chauffeured man. We enjoyed our ride back. I would think this is money well spent! Haha. Though I know Jianhui would have wished I could drive in Malaysia too. 

We had light breakfast before going back to our room. As what I have expected, Lexuan wants to go swimming. So we went swimming while I tracked Jianhui on the app. Lexuan made a new friend, Sophia at the pool. We swarm until 11.30am before it started raining heavily. It was then Jianhui finished bike at 11.46am which is about 3hrs and 43mins. 2/3 done! Yes! 

Final leg to go! Jianhui would be running through our resort around 10km so I was monitoring his timing to see when to go down. When we went down, it was drizzling and so we worn raincoat. Lexuan was complaining it was very hot though. Soon, we saw Jianhui running past us and then we went back to our room. 

Lexuan fell asleep while watching video. I got to wake her up. Due to the rain, there is delay in getting buggy to bring us to the lobby. Luckily, I had catered enough time so we are still in time to see jianhui completing the race! 

After waiting for a while, we saw Jianhui! I’m so happy to see him completing another half Ironman! Well done dear! Love you so much and I’m so happy for you! 

As it was still raining, we quickly took some photos and went back to our room. Got to bribe Lexuan with strawberry ice cream to make her walk back to our room. I cooked Maggie mee and made kopi Siew dai for both of us. 

It’s finally rest and relax time for us! Time to celebrate! 

Poor Jianhui still got to drive to Hotel Century L to pick up Xiao P and his bags though. Lexuan and I relaxed in the room. I was feeling sleepy and tired but as usual, Lexuan doesn’t let me sleep. 

Jianhui came back around 6pm. Xiao P is finally back after being in the rain for 2 days! After his shower, we went to eat. Nothing adventurous but at the spiced market again. Haha. We order Margherita pizza which Lexuan loves it and the beef burger. The beef burger’s bread tastes weird while the beef is nothing fantastic too. And we can finally drink beer to celebrate! Lexuan has her watermelon juice. Oh ya, she got quite a lot of bites on her left side of her face from the swim. Poor girl! 

We went to the finishing line for a while to check out the full ironman finishing before going back. Not many supporters at the finishing line. I guess so far only Taupo Ironman supporters are the best as they will really sing and dance the whole night long. 

Then we went back to our room. This pretty much sums up our short holidays in Langkawi as we will be going back tomorrow.

Anyway, I have really weird dreams for the past few nights here. Hmmm. 

6 November 2022 

We’re going back today! Though I was really considering to go for a run, I just to admit that I am too lazy. Haha. So we went for breakfast. The food is almost the same but I am happy to eat the fruits!

Then we went to the beach to take some photos. We also went to the race expo but nothing much to buy today. We bought another boys shirt for Lexuan… it is the cheapest buy since it’s only MYR50. Then we went back room to do packing. Quite surprised that we got a lot to pack despite that it was a short trip. 

Around 10.50am, we asked the buggy to help us bring our luggage to the lobby. We didn’t have to wait long before we can go up our private van. It’s a short journey to the airport and somehow it’s only us to the airport. Maybe the rest will take grab of taxi to the airport. 

Over here, we had to let them scan our luggage before we bring our luggage to the counter to check in. There’s a short queue but it was clearing quite fast. Nothing can be compared to how bad it was when we flew back from Athens to Singapore. Our luggage managed to hit 20kg each. I was worried that my luggage might exceed 20kg as we bought some additional stuff back. As for the bike, Jianhui had to pull it to another section to scan and check in. 

Then we can go and eat. Somehow, Lexuan remember Burger King and told us she wanted to eat Burger King. And the best thing is, the BK here has the same menu as Singapore’s. I am so happy to eat  mushroom Swiss! Even Lexuan loves it! I also bought Hershey’s pie for her. 

There wasn’t any queue at the customs. It’s a small airport so we don’t have to walk much to go Gate 2. Lexuan met her pool friend, Sophia at the airport too. They are flying back to Singapore too! 

When we could board, I realized we had to walk outdoors to board our plane. It’s really hot but at least it is not raining. If not, it would be so troublesome. Our seat number is 28 so we boarded the plane from the back. 

Anyway, it’s a short flight back to Singapore. It’s a fast and furious short weekend trip to Langkawi! Most importantly, I am so happy that Jianhui is back in action! 

Looking forward to create more memories as a family! ❤️ 

To Jianhui, you are an amazing husband, daddy, son, running buddy and Ironman! Thank you for showing us your best at every race! You’re the best! Love you! We will always support you in whatever you do! 

Happy 13 years dating anniversary!