For the last nine years, teams from around
the world have converged on Malaysia each October/
November for the final round of the PALS Series (Paintball
Asia League Series) and the World Cup Asia which
includes the Nations Cup. In my five years as a field owner
in Australia, what started as a quiet whisper about a
Malaysian holiday has become louder and louder to the
point that every year more Australian teams are making
Langkawi, Malaysia a staple of their paintball travel
schedule.
This year, on the 10th anniversary of the event, I decided
it was time to venture over and see what all the hype was
about. Upon landing in Langkawi, any Australian from
the southern half of our country notices the immediate
humidity in the air. To learn about Langkawi, I turned to the
experts, the cab driver and the bartender who explained
that with a population of only 60,000 people, the island
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attracts up to three million visitors annually. Over 60
percent of Langkawi’s income is derived from tourism and
that staff there earn as little as five Ringgit per hour. This
equates to around $1.25USD or $1.75AUD.
Langkawi certainly has appeal for the tourists-- weather,
beaches, waterfalls, mountain views, a mix of Western and
local foods and given their reliance on tourism, some of
the friendliest people I’ve met worldwide. Whilst being a
tourist was fun, by Thursday, it was time for paintball.
Captains meetings, media briefings and opening “Walk
Pass” ceremony rehearsals were running well behind. The
locals explain that events run on “Malaysian time” and
the opening ceremony was no different. 90 minutes after
the expected start, the dignitaries arrived and we were