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Pulau Dayang
Bunting (Island of the Pregnant
Mermaid)
Description: Pulau is the Melayu
word for island. Thus Pulau Dayang Bunting is an island to the south
of the island of Langkawi (in fact it is the second largest island
of the 100 islands that make Langkawi). The attraction of this island
is Tasik Dayang Bunting (Lake
of the Pregnant Maiden). The lake itself is the largest freshwater
lake in the group of Langkawi islands and it gets its name from
a famous legend.
According to legend, a heavenly princess by the name of Mambang
Sari married an earthly prince, Mat Teja. The princess conceived
a child a week after its birth, the princess was so distraught she
interred the baby in the crystal clear water of the lake and returned
to her heavenly abode. However before she departed she blessed the
lake's waters to allow any childless woman who bathed in Tasik
Dayang Bunting would be able to have a child. Visitors
can reach the lake by boat or take a leisurely stroll through the
surrounding park reserve.
Nearby Tasik Dayang Bunting is
the cave known as Gua Langsiar.
The cave is so deep and dark that the locals are afraid to enter,
is said to be the home of a giant female vampire named "Langsiar"
which lures men into the cave and feeds on their blood. The eerie
sounds emanating from the cave, which lure the men to their death,
come from the thousands of bats that dwell there.
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