A Jungle retreat: The Datai Langkawi

“When you stay at The Datai, you’re sleeping in the jungle,”

Long-time resident and world-renowned naturalist Irshad Mobarak says, as we pause during his wildlife spotting tour to watch the ruckus in Room 312. “And humans aren’t the dominant creatures in jungles.”

For all the luxury offered, The Datai has long spruiked its back-to-nature ethos as its point of difference. Irshad has worked here since the resort opened, and his daily nature tours, at no charge, should be mandatory for all guests.

“These forests have been the laboratory for the evolution of flight amongst animals,” he says one morning on a tour. “The trees of the rainforest have allowed all manner of species to evolve wings to fly or to glide.” And so, from a suite which looks across the forest and down onto Datai Bay, I watch flying lizards, flying frogs, paradise flying snakes, flying squirrels, flying lemurs and other creatures you won’t see fly anywhere else but here, while oriental pied hornbills sit on the railing of my balcony.

The Ceo Magazine:  A Jungle Retreat
Posted by: Craig Tansley
October 24, 2018