Langkawi LASSie and the livin' is easy

I first visited the Langkawi LASSie animal shelter and Island Animal Clinic in 2006, and returned there to volunteer and play with the animals with my ex-partner in 2010.

I love how beautifully-kept and well-managed the resort and animal shelter are and made it a significant goal on my Mighty Life List to return one day as a resort guest and volunteer. By a stroke of serendipitous good fortune, I saw a Facebook announcement for a contest for which the prize was a 3-day 2-night stay at BonTon Resort, which operates, manages and shares its premises with Langkawi LASSie.

I participated in the creative writing story to raise awareness for homeless animals and this was my entry, which was selected as one of the finalists.

I won the contest and the results were announced several months later. It was several months before I could go to ChinaHouse Penang to collect my original voucher and certificate when the copy they posted to me went missing in the mail. I suppose it is still going halfway around the world on the back of a mule now.

The important thing was that Aravind and I managed to make arrangements and book ourselves a nice and meaningful little holiday in the middle of February.

We flew AirAsia to Langkawi and rented a car at the airport. So many memories came back to me then. The ex and I had done the same things and visited the same places when we had our vacation in Langkawi. I am glad we were staying in Bon Ton Resort this time, though. If there is anyone who deserves a fancy and relaxing holiday, it would be Aravind. He had been working very hard and really deserved the break. The main attraction for me would be my animal friends at the shelter and clinic. I flew with a backpack full of dog and cat treats, toys and grooming brushes for them.

We arrived at Bon Ton and waited to be checked in. The swimming pool in our tropical paradise shimmered invitingly in the afternoon sun.

We were checked into a charming little chalet, Yellow Orchid, whose resident cat is Skippy, the protagonist of my poem and the contest. Skippy was found with a broken paw by the shelter's founder, Narelle, many years ago. Although the broken paw never healed perfectly, Skippy did not let this hold her back or stop her from living a wonderful free-range existence on the resort grounds. She let herself into our chalet and demanded to be lifted up to the sink so she could drink from the tap. Most cats prefer running to static water. I guess it reminds them of flowing streams in nature.

I love this cosy reading nook in our room, which also serves as a cat cuddling nook.

Skippy sat on the pathway to Blue House when we left the chalet for a pre-dinner walk.

I handed out treats and toys to two of the LASSie dogs, Mocha and Shane. Apparently Mocha loves her new tug toy so much that she brought it along with her on her walk. It's nice to know your gift is appreciated!

Aravind did the "trololol cat" to Fat Ginger, who also has a deformed/broken paw. Fat Ginger looked suitably bewildered.

We walked around the grounds of Bon Ton Resort and its sister resort, Temple Tree, handing out treats and toys to the cats and dogs who are fortunate enough to call the Resorts their home. Aravind especially enjoyed giving the Templetree LASSie cats some TLC.

Here I am, cuddling one of the restaurant cats. I think this one is Nalla, the Mighty Chaser of Monitor Lizards.

We had a lovely dinner at the resort restaurant, Nam Restaurant, in the company of cats. We were happy to spend money at the restaurant and shop as most of the profits would fund the shelter and animal clinic for the local community. Two of the cats, Tortie and Skippy, joined us for a movie in our room after dinner. Tortie and Skippy spent the night with us, so it was only fair that they got to share our breakfast. We didn't give them too much milk, though, because it's not the proper food for adult cats. Just a saucerful each. The caretaker would slay us if he knew we've been giving our milk to the cats.

I didn't have much on my itinerary for this trip, as my objective was to volunteer at the shelter and spend time with the animals. However, we did end up taking the cable car up the mountain on our second day. I didn't get to do this the last time I came here because the cable cars were under maintenance then.

Aravind was a lot more relaxed about the cable car ride than I was. I felt a bit anxious knowing that I had no control over the cable car's speed, altitude or safety. Here we are at the cable car lookout point, 700 metres above sea level.

The skybridge was closed for repairs, though.

The cable car ride package we purchased included a Duck Boat/Bus amphibious vehicle ride. We went for the experience, but I probably wouldn't want to do it again. The amphibious vehicle was slow and smelled strongly of diesel fumes.

This is what the Duck Boat/Bus looked like moving through the water.

Fishing boats against the backdrop of the mountains.

Later that evening, we met up with my friend Lynette who now works and resides in Langkawi. She continues to help out at the shelter and clinic every day. Here is Lynette with the clinic/vet assistants, Ilya and Yang, at the LASSie Clinic. Keep up the good work, my friends!

The very appropriately named Big Friend, one of the Clinic Cats. He loves the treats I brought him.

Lynette came over to join us for drinks and pre-dinner snacks at TempleTree.

Lynette: "So, what will it be?"

Me: "Oh, I don't know. Probably Corona Beer and a side of cat cuddles."

JJ the TempleTree dog wouldn't stop barking and annoying the other guests, so we had to take him out for a walk, beer in hand. Look at us, walking dogs while drinking beer. Stay classy, guys!

Beer, ice cream and the company of good friends, two-legged and four-legged. It doesn't get any better than this.

I helped to clean and disinfect cages at the LASSie Clinic the following morning.

Aravind and I also helped to walk and exercise the LASSie Shelter dogs.

I handed out treats after the dogs have had their walks and baths. Here are two of the LASSie Clinic pups enjoying their treats. One went home with her new adopter a few minutes later.

Treats for Nako, who is such a lovely and cooperative little woofie.

Treats and toys for the LASSie shelter cats.

Goodbye, Skippy, and thank you for letting us stay in your home. We love you and will never forget you. I will come back to visit you as soon as I can.

No visit to Pantai Chenang, Langkawi, would be complete without visiting this beautiful resort and the furry residents of LASSie. Do stop by for a bite at Nam Restaurant and buy yourself some sophisticated souvenirs from the Bon Ton shop, as the proceeds go towards a very worthy cause. For more information, please click on the following links:

Langkawi Animal Shelter and Sanctuary Foundation (LASSie): http://www.langkawilassie.org.my

BonTon Resort: http://www.bontonresort.com.my

Temple Tree Resort: http://www.templetree.com.my

Living it up in Langkawi LASSie

When I was offered tickets to one of three domestic destinations as part of the prizes for the Blog4FT contest, I chose Langkawi Island for a very specific reason. My buddy Mun Yee and I enjoyed our visit and short stint as volunteers at LASSie (The Langkawi Animal Shelter and Sanctuary) so much in 2006 that I felt I had to return to the resort and animal shelter with That Special Someone.

And so, with the help of my buddy Nicole, I managed to get a room at an inexpensive chalet in Pantai Chenang, Langkawi, a mere hop and skip away from BonTon Resort. That Special Someone was as excited about the animal shelter visit as I was, especially since we received a helpful and courteous email response from the administrators/managers of the shelter, welcoming our services as volunteers. We arrived at BonTon Resort, just across the road from Laman Padi (the Rice Museum outside of which we saw tourists in straw hats trying their hands at harvesting paddy -- a sight which had That Special Someone and me howling with laughter, as we both have grandparents whose homes bordered on paddy fields which formed part of our childhood playgrounds) at midmorning on 20th July.



The BonTon – LASSie Island Animal Clinic faces the main road, while the resort proper is located behind the Clinic and shelter, away from the traffic and heat.



On the porch of the Clinic, a friendly dog watches his feline friend lap from his water bowl.



Dr. Tim is a fulltime veterinarian with LASSie. What That Special Someone and I also liked was that everyone at the Resort pitched in to help with the care of the animals. When we arrived, the Duty Manager Lopez was busy preparing medicine for a litter of stray kittens that was surrendered by someone from a nearby village.




Cats, some of them recuperating from road-accident related injuries, convalesce in a tidy row of cages in the Clinic.

Over 20 years ago, BonTon Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur started rescuing and providing care and shelter for street dogs. Seven of these dogs travelled to Langkawi Island with Narelle, the proprietor of BonTon KL, when she went to Langkawi to open a branch of the restaurant.

When Narelle learned that there were no veterinary clinics on Langkawi Island, she set one up to help the Island’s animals. For years, the Clinic operated on public donations and private funds on a charitable basis, sterilising the Island’s cats and dogs and returning them to their original communities.

BonTon later set up a shelter for the Island’s needy cats, dogs and even monkeys. As at the day of our visit, there were over 200 cats and over 50 dogs at the shelter, and another 50 – 60 dogs at their new dog shelter in Kedawang.



Narelle inspired us to step up our own animal rescue and rehabilitation efforts with her conviction that all living beings are worthy of help, love, care and dignity.



Buffy was surrendered by her caregivers after she became paralysed following a road accident. She now enjoys daily walks around the beautiful resort with staff and guests. Her wheelchair is donated from London and she wears regular diapers with a hole ripped in it for her tail. Doesn’t she look happy? I love you, Buffy, yes I do!



The cats recuperating in the Cat Shelter were happy to have visitors and were not camera-shy at all.



The catteries were clean, well-ventilated and inviting not just to cats but to visitors and volunteers as well. Tree branches, wooden crates and shelves provide spaces for the cats to sleep, hide, play, scratch, climb and groom in .



Nam Restaurant in BonTon is one of the most highly-rated in Langkawi. The restaurant and resorts – BonTon and TempleTree – finance the Clinic, shelters and all animal work at LASSie.



BonTon’s own Herb and Spice Garden adds to the resort’s charm as well as supplies herbs to the kitchen.



That Special Someone and I had a lovely meal of tapas and frappe at Nam Restaurant, as we knew our money would go to a good cause. The service was impeccable and the restaurant staff was very obliging. Although tapas would usually only be served with cocktail or wine in the evening, the staff took into account our dietary requirements as vegetarians and teetotallers and whipped up vegetarian pizzas and samosas for us at noon anyway.



Wouldn’t you love to go back to nature by spending your holiday in a traditional Malay house like this one in BonTon?



A little piece of Heaven in Pantai Chenang, Langkawi is afforded by BonTon Resort. That Special Someone and I both averred that the animals are lucky indeed to live in such a beautiful place. The neutered cats roam everywhere, while the dogs are kept mainly on long leashes within monitoring distance.



Rambunctious puppies awaiting adoption / resettlement at Bon Ton enjoy the company of guests.



Are you feline the love yet? Although neutered, these two lovers have decided that they are the purr-fect match for each other.



To ensure adequate funding for LASSie’s animal care work, Temple Tree Resort was opened as a ‘sister resort’ of BonTon in December 2008.





A night at one of these beautiful villas in Temple Tree Resort may set you back several hundred ringgit, but all of it goes towards operating and maintaining LASSie.


That Special Someone and I left BonTon Resort in the late afternoon after socialising with most of the animals and taking the dogs out for walks, gratified that we were given the opportunity to be part of a project so special and so worthy.

If you ever are in Langkawi for a holiday, please do drop by Bon Ton for a meal, and to say “Hello” to the animals. The animals would love to meet you, and your purchases (at the Restaurant, or at the gallery, where you could purchase copies of “The Story of LASSie”, a mini coffee table book, for a mere RM10 each) would benefit the animals and the Clinic immensely.

No visit to Pantai Chenang, Langkawi, would be complete without a tête-à-tête with the furry residents of LASSie. For more information, please visit:

Langkawi Lassie: http://www.langkawilassie.org.my

BonTon Resort: http://www.bontonresort.com.my

Temple Tree Resort: http://www.templetree.com.my

By Phone:+6 04 955 3643