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The Datai is embedded in the rainforest slopes of a small bay in the north-western corner of Pulau Langkawi. Luxurious, yet discreet, the hotel has been carefully integrated into the forest. Respecting the local ecology feels genuinely important here. They could not have a better ambassador than Irshad, the hotel’s resident naturalist. His infectious enthusiasm proved inspirational.
Getting up before dawn, we accompanied Irshad on one of his regular nature walks. Walk proved something of a misnomer, as we covered less than three hundred metres. Over this short distance, we were treated to innumerable sightings and fascinating descriptions of the local flora and fauna. Irshad introduced us to hornbills, sea eagles, strangling figs, drongos, woodpeckers, snakes and all manner of plants that seemed alternately medicinal or lethal.
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Eager for more, we signed up for the night-time walk and a tour of the mangrove swamps. In a small boat, Irshad led us through the mangroves to a large bat cave. Along the way, we came across colourful kingfishers, fiddler crabs, with their curious enlarged signalling claws, and sinister-looking monitor lizards.
As we headed out towards the turquoise sea the air filled with birds of prey. The somewhat depressing reason for this spectacular sight was a boat from one of the “eagle-feeding” tours. Tourists throw pieces of chicken into the water around their boat for the diving hawks, kites and eagles to pounce on. Irshad explained how he has tried to stop these tours, or at least encourage them to feed the birds on their normal diet of fish. Not only does this artificial feeding create a dependence on man, but risks catastrophe should a virus jump from infected chicken meat. With more education, tourists will hopefully starve these tours and the crocodile and snake farms of business.
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The wildlife is hard to avoid at The Datai. “Gordon the Gecko” (a colourful Tokay Gecko) camped outside our villa for the week-long duration of our stay. At first we wondered what creature was producing curious guttural cries that came in bursts every evening. It was only when one of the daily bookmarks that the hotel left in our room described what we were hearing did we realise that the culprit was Gordon.
A troop of dusky leaf monkeys live around the hotel. Although less bold than the ever present macaques, they occasionally camped in a tree over the Thai pavilion to dine and pick through each others’ fur.
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The Datai provided a rich culinary, sporting and relaxing experience. We joined the Dusky Leaf monkeys as frequent visitors to the Thai pavilion. The hotel has a range of sailing boats and canoes at the disposal of the guests. We had a memorable blustery afternoon charging around the bay in their small catamaran.
We will definitely return to The Datai, as Irshad explained, there is always the chance of catching a glimpse of the extremely rare clouded leopard...
Have you visited the Datai? What did you most enjoy? Post a comment below.
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