One of the biggest attractions in Langkawi is the cable car (otherwise known as “SkyCab”).  The cable car ride is long (about 1.5 miles), it goes up pretty high (over a mile) and it is supposedly the steepest cable car ride on Earth (wiki says it goes up at a 42 degree angle — I can say that coming down it felt like we weren’t even moving because we were pretty much going straight down for a bit).

The view from the top

We had been thinking about taking a ride on the cable car since we arrived in Langkawi.  But, it is the very beginning of monsoon season and each day the forecast called for rain.  And, each day, the rain never came.  (Night is a different story — we have had amazing thunderstorms at night).  So, today we said “screw it,” rented a scooter and headed to the cable car.  And today, it rained.  Thankfully, not on us, but we could see it coming down inland as we rode around the island.

Top section of the cable car

The rain at least kept most tourists away from the cable car.  Contrary to the stories of misery we had read about involving waits of several hours in the hot sun, we bought our ticket and away we went.  But, first we had to visit “the Dome,” which is a 3D movie theater.  I’m guessing it was built as a way to keep people waiting in line occupied for a few minutes, but it was actually pretty good.  The movie we saw was a roller coaster ride and I couldn’t believe how real it felt.  Real enough that a few minutes in I just shut my eyes and relaxed until the movie was over.  It was that or get sick and I don’t like getting sick.

At the top of the cable car, surrounded by clouds

Then, it was into the cable car and up to the middle station, followed by another cable car ride to the upper station.  I HATE cable cars and ferris wheels and other things that go high in the air and sway in the breeze.  But, I get on them anyway.  And the views from the car itself were worth every ounce of fear I experienced.  The stations were below the cloud line so, while the views were good, they were also somewhat limited.  I suspect on a clear day the views would be amazing.

But my favorite part of the day was this — a monkey crossing sign.  And, turns out it is needed.  We saw two separate families of monkeys playing on the side of the road and scampering across the road.

Monkey crossing