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Communications
Langkawi
There are daily weather reports at 0730 on 14320 HF SSB and at 0740
on 10118 HF SSB.
Dialling out
Operator 103
Directory info
national 103, overseas 108
Overseas from Malaysia
dial 00, then the country code
Thailand dial
00 66 76, followed by local number
Malaysia area codes
Langkawi and Penang 04, Kuala Lumpur 03, Johor Baru 07, Melaka 06,
Kota Bahru and Cameron Highlands 09, Kuching 082, Kota Kinabalu 088
Dialling in
Malaysia country code 60
Drop the zero on area codes and cell phone
codes when calling Malaysia, so Langkawi is 60 4 and local number
Long-distance and local calls
Land-line service in Malaysia is good. Modern, well-maintained roadside
public phones can be found throughout the island. International calls
can be made from most public telephones, easiest from the newer card
phones and credit card phones. Cards are available from many outlets,
including most small shops selling groceries. There are several international
calling cards with good rates, though they don't work from public
pay phones.
Kedai Telekom, No 11 Pusat Bandar Kuah, Jalan
Pandak Manyah 5. Tel 966 7202 or 966 6191, fax 966 7292. Telecom centre
offering telephone, fax and telegram services.
Useful numbers
Emergency 999
Police 966 6222
Hospital 966 3333
Customs 966 6227
Immigration 969 4005
Airport 955 1311
Mobile/cellular phones
Most mobile phones with international roaming work in Malaysia. But,
like in Thailand, if you're staying on for a while, you'll probably
want to switch to a Malaysian sim card or buy a phone.
The cell phone market is quite competitive in Malaysia,
with about a half-dozen companies, several with decent coverage of
Langkawi. In the past, getting a signal in more remote parts of the
island group was problematic. Now, however, Maxis (with 012 prefix)
and Cellcom (019) provide reliable service. Both offer pre-pay packs,
from RM50. Sim cards are about RM60 from Cellcom and RM90 from Maxis.
Internet
There's a couple internet cafes in central Kuah town, also one in
the Langkawi Fair shopping centre, another near the main intersection
in Matsirat, and more at the beaches of Pantai Cenang and Pantai Tenguh.
At Rebak, there is a small internet cafe, plus you can connect your
laptop to phone lines in the Hard Dock Cafe and in the resort bar.
Prices start at RM2.50 an hour, up to RM5 at Rebak. Connections can
be slow. Cafes usually network many computers to the same telephone
line, so access speeds can be very sluggish when all computers are
in use.
Internet cafes here can drive you mad. Since video game
terminals are banned in Malaysia, many Internet cafes double as games
rooms, with shrieking kids and deafening gunfire.
Most cafes allow you to use floppy disks to transfer
and save files. If you need to update a website, it's sometimes hard
to find cafe computers with an FTP program installed, but you can
run programs such as WS_FTP, a free download, off a floppy without
installing.
If you want to use your own computer, sign up with a
local ISP in Kuah. Jaring and TM NET are both popular services.
Postal service
Langkawi has two post offices: one in Kuah, on the road to the ferry
terminal, and another in the town of Matsirat. Both have poste restante
and postbox rental.
Kuah: c/o Poste Restante, Post Office,
Tingkat Bawah, Komplek Lada, Persiaran Putra, 07000 Langkawi, Malaysia
Matsirat: c/o Poste Restante, Post Office, Lot 1154, Kampung
Bukit Nau, Padang Matsirat, 07000 Langkawi, Malaysia
You can have mail sent to either Royal Langkawi and
Rebak marinas. The friendly copy shop, S.K. Intertrade, in downtown
Kuah (8 Jalan Pandak Mayah 1, Pekan Kuah, 07000 Langkawi) will hold
mail and small packages for yachties. DHL has an office in Langkawi
for quick and secure delivery of important items.
Radio
Tourism Radio Langkawi broadcasts on FM 103.5 from 0600 until midnight
with news and talk shows.
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