Langkawi is Malaysia's magical island made up of mountains and myths

Swimmers at the Four Season Resort on Langkawi look out on the Andaman Sea and nearby Thailand .

DATELINE LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA – I’ve been so fortunate over the years to have visited some of the most magical tropical islands on Earth.

The Seychelles … the Maldives … Thailand’s Phuket – visits to those islands are the ones I treasure most.

And now I can add Langkawi, Malaysia’s island of mountains and myths, to that list of my all-time favorites.

Since arriving here Sunday and checking into the fabulous Four Seasons Langkawi Resort, it’s been one thrill after another.

The Four Seasons Resort is itself a treasure that comes wrapped in beautiful Moorish and Malay architecture. Its luxury seaside villas – 228 square metres big - and rooms feature outdoor showers and plunge pools with breathtaking views of the Andaman Sea strait that separates this Malaysian outpost made up of 99 islands from Thailand. On clear days – that’s well over 300 here – you can see the mountains of Thailand clearly.

The Canadian-operated resort is a favorite with families from neighbouring Asian countries as well as Europe – Russians really like it here – and North America. It has great restaurants, a world class spa, and some of the friendliest staff this traveller has ever encountered.

Today’s poolside promotion was three cans of Carlsberg for the Canadian equivalent of $11.

I think I’ve found paradise folks!

Langkawi – Lang means “eagle” and Kawi means “stone” in the Malay language – is an eco-paradise where eagles, monkeys, tropical fish, poisonous snakes and rare birds thrive in the island’s treasured mangroves. The Four Seasons arranged a three-hour trip through the mangroves this morning with their resident naturalist Aidi and it may have been three of the most enjoyable hours I’ve ever spent.

The island’s myths come from ancient legends that surround locations like Tasik Dayang Bunting – the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden – whose waters, when drunk, is said to promote fertility in women; or the Mahsuri Mausoleum, the fabled white tomb set in a rice paddy where the body of an innocent young bride apparently rests; or Lagenda Park, a garden museum that tells the story of heroic giants, mythical birds, evil ogres and beautiful princesses.

This place, made up of granite mountains and where once marble was mined, has given me many story lines that will soon show up in TraveLife magazine and at travelife.ca.

So stay tuned for more on this treasured island.