Tucked away off the Eastern coast of Malaysia near Thailand, there is a small island called Langkawi. Lush and green with beautiful mountains and perfect beaches it is just beginning to be noticed. Travel writers refer to it as the next Bali. I would take Bali any day, but it is indeed a lovely island.

We are just there for a day and have decided to take another boat trip – this time to the Klim Geoforest Park. The ecosystem of winding rivers, mangrove forests, isolated islands and limestone formations is reminiscent of Phang Nga Bay, but there the similarity ends. This park is serene and peaceful as the morning sun filters through the tall mangrove trees

The long speed boats of Phang Nga Bay have been replaced by little jaunty blue and red boats that chug along quietly like something out of a children’s book

And here instead of looking for James Bond, we will be searching for eagles, bats and one of the most dangerous snakes in the world

Our first stop is at the bat cave which is advertised as being the home of thousands of bats. When we arrive there are just a handful of tourists and dozens of monkeys (look at the bottom left hand corner of the photo) to share the experience

The monkeys are more of a problem than the tourists. They have developed the art of sitting on the fence posts with the most innocent look on their faces, as if just waiting for you to pet them or take a photo.

If you get sucked into their scam, you get so close that they can just reach out and snatch anything you are carrying that might be edible or failing that, anything that looks shiny. They are particularly attracted to bags of chips and sunglasses. Fortunately they don’t pat your pockets looking for money.

They don’t follow us inside the caves, and nor do the tourists

We search in vain for the bats until a friendly guide points a spotlight at some

I count eleven bats. My counting may be off but there are definitely not thousands. Now we know why there are no tourists. Not exactly overwhelming

Back on the river, we start looking for the famous eagles, all the while driving slowly along the edge of the mangroves looking for the mangrove pit viper. These snakes live and hunt in trees. They are known for their striking colors, which can vary from bright green to yellow, orange, and blue. Like a chameleon they can change color to blend into their surroundings, making them almost impossible to spot. They have one enemy – the eagles! So when the snakes aren’t hunting they lay coiled under the mangrove leaves out of sight of the ever present birds. Suddenly our guide spots one and points. No one can see anything but leaves. The driver cuts the engine to its lowest speed and nudges into the mangrove trees. Even when we are just a few feet away we can’t spot it. Finally the guide reaches out and almost touches it. If he disturbs it, it will strike. Its venom is deadly. I take out my camera and carefully take a photo terrified that it might be my last.

Even with my zoom lens you can only just make it out. I have no idea how the guide managed to see it. But rather disappointingly it is just black and white. Where are all those vibrant colors? We are beginning to suspect the copywriter for this park plays fast and loose with the facts.

We carry on and as we putter around the next corner the river widens

and suddenly there are the eagles.

Actually, says the guide, these are not eagles. They are brahmini kites. Another little detail the park forgets to mention. They are about half the size of a real eagle. He says the park is full of these kites, and they always see them on these tours. But the eagles are rarely seen. If we are really lucky, he says, we just might see a sea eagle, but the chances are that we won’t. Perhaps he is also the copywriter, preparing us for the stark truth – there are no eagles. 

We watch for a while as the kites dive for fish. And then suddenly an eagle appears over the tree tops.

I don’t know who is more surprised, us or the guide. The eagle circles for a while and then spots what he is looking for – a fish near the surface of the river. He swoops in for his next meal right by the boat.

Our guide is beside himself. He tells us they rarely get to see one so close. We don’t know what to believe. Either we are lucky, or the guide has been exaggerating about how rare it is to see an eagle, in the hope that when we do we will show him our appreciation by showering him with dollar bills.

As we sit and watch the eagle and the kites, the guide tells us a story about how eagles mate. It really is an incredibly unlikely story and based on our experience so far today I wonder if it is true. But back on board ship I do a google search and in this case the truth is stranger than fiction. And there are photos to prove it.

A male eagle singles out the female of his choice and approaches her in flight. The female eagle takes a long hard look at the male and decides whether she is interested or not, or if she is desperate she just goes for it. If she decides this guy is for her (ladies, please pay no attention to this next bit), she actually turns upside down in the air and is basically lying on her back. I know my female readers are not going to like this but it appears to be true. The female is truly submissive. The male eagle then flies above her and they actually hold hands, or in this case claws.

It sounds so romantic, but it looks rather aggressive as the claws lock together

Then, unable to fly, they plummet downwards until they hit the water

Notice the loving look they are giving each other.

Dear readers, nothing untoward has happened as yet. This is just the foreplay. The male has made his move, and the female has accepted it.

I am too much of a gentleman to go into any details about what happens next. Let me just say that falling into the water does nothing to cool their ardor. They shake the water out of their feathers and fly off to some quiet spot and consummate their coupling.

Dinner and a movie sounds so dull after that.