Langkawi SkyCab the steepest cable car in the world
For some reason, Malaysians like to take a cable car up into the mountains. I already went up with the cable car to Genting Highlands and Penang, and now it was Langkawi’s turn. With the Langkawi SkyCab, the steepest cable car in the world, 708 meters up for a stunning view.
Thunder
I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this. I had barely survived Penang Hill, in my experience, and still had to recover from this. But if you are in Langkawi and this is called the biggest tourist attraction of the island, you have no choice but to go. I also thought the weather didn’t look very promising, which means I saw clouds. In the queue for the tickets, there was a sign, even though it wasn’t pointing at us, with the cable car being closed in case of bad weather. Don’t even think about sitting in such a small wobbly booth with lightning and thunder. A real nightmare if you’d ask me.
Clammy hands
With clammy hands, this isn’t the first time I’ve had this, we got into the gondola. Opposite us, two Malaysians who were very excited to go up. Instead of moving your weight a bit, I thought that was a smart and necessary thing to do, they were sitting close together and enjoyed the view. In my imagination, I could see us hanging more and more to one side and finally collapsing into the abyss. If that had been the case, I wouldn’t have been able to write this blog, so luckily nothing was going on, and we arrived at the top 15 long minutes later.
Machincang mountain
At least I thought we’d arrived upstairs, but this was just the middle station. Not that it matters much in terms of view. You’re then at 650 meters above sea level, and this is a good indication of what Langkawi and the surrounding islands look like. It is indeed beautiful, and I was especially happy to be back on the ground again. The end station, located at 708 meters, brings you to the top of the Machincang mountain. According to the website, you will find yourself on rocks that are over 550 million years old!
Bottom Glass Gondola
After checking whether the sign didn’t apply for today, we bought the tickets à RM85 each. This is €17.65 which is quite expensive for Malaysian standards. I guess this money is needed to keep the quality and safety of the cable car in perfect condition… For this price, you have a standard gondola, but for the real adventurers you have the ‘Bottom Glass Gondola’. Not a hair on my head that wants to look into the ravine for fun. So we took the ‘safe’ standard gondola up.
Power lines
Until the day of this adventure, I didn’t know I was such a coward. Although I love it here in Malaysia and have an amazing time, I have to say I’m a bit afraid. Sometimes I’m wondering if buildings, houses, and shopping malls are properly finished. Washing windows on the 30th floor, for example, looks like a person who is rock climbing and happens to have a chamois and rag in his hands. On a thin cord, that’s what it looks like from downstairs, someone is hanging there and playing with his life. The same goes for working on electricity cables. These hang high up in the air so you need a ladder for this. Not here in Malaysia! You have a loading bay of the car, you put a ladder up there and then you climb up and fix the cables. Do you understand my fear?
Breathtaking view
Compared to Penang Hill, the view of Langkawi is even more spectacular. You have a 360-degree viewpoint over the island, while on Penang Hill you can see mostly the jungle. On the other hand, Penang Hill is more fun to be, here you can hike and see a lot of nature. On Langkawi, you stand on a platform that you have seen enough of after ten minutes. And then the ride starts down again. An ‘exhilarating experience’ as they call it. For me, that quarter of an hour couldn’t go by fast enough, and I was overjoyed that the hellish ride to that breathtaking view was finally over. Anyway, I can cross this off the list.
Langkawi SkyCab the steepest cable car in the world
For some reason, Malaysians like to take a cable car up into the mountains. I already went up with the cable car to Genting Highlands and Penang, and now it was Langkawi’s turn. With the Langkawi SkyCab, the steepest cable car in the world, 708 meters up for a stunning view.
Thunder
I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this. I had barely survived Penang Hill, in my experience, and still had to recover from this. But if you are in Langkawi and this is called the biggest tourist attraction of the island, you have no choice but to go. I also thought the weather didn’t look very promising, which means I saw clouds. In the queue for the tickets, there was a sign, even though it wasn’t pointing at us, with the cable car being closed in case of bad weather. Don’t even think about sitting in such a small wobbly booth with lightning and thunder. A real nightmare if you’d ask me.
Bottom Glass Gondola
After checking whether the sign didn’t apply for today, we bought the tickets à RM85 each. This is €17.65 which is quite expensive for Malaysian standards. I guess this money is needed to keep the quality and safety of the cable car in perfect condition… For this price, you have a standard gondola, but for the real adventurers you have the ‘Bottom Glass Gondola’. Not a hair on my head that wants to look into the ravine for fun. So we took the ‘safe’ standard gondola up.
Power lines
Until the day of this adventure, I didn’t know I was such a coward. Although I love it here in Malaysia and have an amazing time, I have to say I’m a bit afraid. Sometimes I’m wondering if buildings, houses, and shopping malls are properly finished. Washing windows on the 30th floor, for example, looks like a person who is rock climbing and happens to have a chamois and rag in his hands. On a thin cord, that’s what it looks like from downstairs, someone is hanging there and playing with his life. The same goes for working on electricity cables. These hang high up in the air so you need a ladder for this. Not here in Malaysia! You have a loading bay of the car, you put a ladder up there and then you climb up and fix the cables. Do you understand my fear?
Clammy hands
With clammy hands, this isn’t the first time I’ve had this, we got into the gondola. Opposite us, two Malaysians who were very excited to go up. Instead of moving your weight a bit, I thought that was a smart and necessary thing to do, they were sitting close together and enjoyed the view. In my imagination, I could see us hanging more and more to one side and finally collapsing into the abyss. If that had been the case, I wouldn’t have been able to write this blog, so luckily nothing was going on, and we arrived at the top 15 long minutes later.
Machincang mountain
At least I thought we’d arrived upstairs, but this was just the middle station. Not that it matters much in terms of view. You’re then at 650 meters above sea level, and this is a good indication of what Langkawi and the surrounding islands look like. It is indeed beautiful, and I was especially happy to be back on the ground again. The end station, located at 708 meters, brings you to the top of the Machincang mountain. According to the website, you will find yourself on rocks that are over 550 million years old!
Breathtaking view
Compared to Penang Hill, the view of Langkawi is even more spectacular. You have a 360-degree viewpoint over the island, while on Penang Hill you can see mostly the jungle. On the other hand, Penang Hill is more fun to be, here you can hike and see a lot of nature. On Langkawi, you stand on a platform that you have seen enough of after ten minutes. And then the ride starts down again. An ‘exhilarating experience’ as they call it. For me, that quarter of an hour couldn’t go by fast enough, and I was overjoyed that the hellish ride to that breathtaking view was finally over. Anyway, I can cross this off the list.
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