LIFE ON 'THE PENN': Kilim River Cruise: Langkawi Day Two

The Kilim River Cruise is a much publicized tourist attraction, but one that is most definitely worth doing. I was thinking we're going to ride around in a boat, see some trees, animals, yada yada, but it was so much more.

We were picked up at our hotel and taken to the dock, where several different companies operate these tours. (FYI: We used Junglewalla.) Our guide met us and into the boat we went. What followed was a fascinating explanation of the ecosystem of the mangrove forest here; this is also a type of rainforest. Normally I'm not really interested in botany subjects, but this was truly riveting. The special root system of the trees was explained and the seed pods examined. Since they grow in dense mud (anaerobic), the roots grow up to allow gas exchange for the tree. Some roots never touch the ground at all. She also explained to us how the trees rid themselves of excess salt, being so close to the sea. The leaves grow in clusters, and one will be the designated 'salt catcher'; all the excess salt will be pushed to one leaf in each cluster until it dies and falls off. There's much more but I won't bore you with the rest!

close-up of the special root system

Another fascinating sight: the so called 'walking fish', though they are not fish. I had honestly never heard of these before, though the other people in the boat all had. They are also known as mudskipper. These creatures use their fins to walk; they do not have legs. They are amphibians and breathe through their skin and mucosa linings. They trap air inside their cheeks for their time underwater.

periopthalmus gracilis

We saw much more wildlife that day; monkeys, sea eagles soaring and diving, a cobra who had recently shed (he was still near his old skin), live bats at slumber, and stopped at a fish farm to pet and feed sting rays, along with several other fish.