Langkawi kampung villa

Langkawi is an archipelago of ninety-nine islands in the Andaman Sea off Malaysia's north-west coast, a UNESCO Geopark of limestone karsts, mangrove channels and rainforest that comes right down to the beach. It is also duty-free, which keeps everything from a car to a bottle of wine noticeably cheaper than the mainland.

The property is a hundred and forty square metre villa in traditional kampung style — a raised timber-look frame, a steep tiled roof with generous eaves, and a wraparound verandah — built recently to modern standards with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open kitchen and a living room with full-height sliding doors. Air conditioning throughout, a water tank, a carport and a landscaped garden with fruit trees on a fenced plot. Five hundred metres of quiet lane leads to a north-coast beach.

The northern side of the island, around Tanjung Rhu and Datai Bay, is the calm counterpoint to busy Cenang: long empty sand, warm shallow water, and sunsets over the Thai islands on the horizon. Around the island there are cable cars over the rainforest, mangrove safaris with eagles and monitor lizards, waterfalls, and an increasingly good food scene from night-market stalls to serious restaurants.

Malaysia is one of the easiest countries in Asia for foreign buyers: freehold title is available to foreigners subject to a state minimum purchase price, English is widely spoken, the legal system is transparent, healthcare is excellent and inexpensive, and the Malaysia My Second Home programme offers a long-stay visa route. Langkawi International Airport is twenty minutes away with flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore; ferries run to Kuala Perlis, Penang and Koh Lipe in Thailand.

For a buyer who wants tropical island life with first-world infrastructure, a hospital nearby and a straightforward title deed, Langkawi is one of the best-value islands in the region.