Xmas and New Year

The  days leading up to Xmas drifted into one another. I went with Behan one morning to the local markets where we filled a plastic tray with herbs and veggies and the total cost was a couple of dollars. There was none of the hype and activity that surrounds them at home, the preparations for the big meal and the arrival of family. It was all very ho-hum. We had arranged to have our Xmas lunch with our friends Behan, Jamie and the kids from Totem. They also had family out from the States, so a table of 10 took our seats at a lovely restaurant overlooking Ao Chalong harbour. It was a beautiful setting under the shade of huge trees with Xmas music playing softly in the background. We had opted for a Thai meal rather than western food and had a wonderful afternoon drawing out our lunch for nearly 3 hours. So lovely to have shared it with friends though missed my family all the same.

 

Shopping with Beham (Totem) at the local markets at Ao Chalong

 

Xmas Day luncheon with Totem and visiting family overlooking Ao Chalong

A couple of days before New Year, we headed up the East coast of Phuket to Yacht Haven Marina located on the north of the island. We had arranged to catch up with some rally yachts for dinner and to welcome in the New Year at one of the local restaurants in waking distance of the marina. It was a fun night with lots of laughs, good food and company. What a year it had been and we had accomplished so much. The next day it was low key getting over a very late night - thank goodness it's only once a year.

 

Myself and Pete with Irena (Footloose) getting in the mood.

 

John (Footloose) and Pete celebrating the end of a great year.

Soon it was time to push off again and now it was to head north into the 'Hongs' of Thailand. Many of the islands have a  'Hong' meaning 'room' in Thai, and can usually only be entered on middle to high tide by dingy or kayak. Often through a narrow entrance it opens into a large lagoon like area surrounded by lush vegetation and rock formations. We had arranged to meet up with Robyn and Craig from Gemini and together were amazed at the landscape of the area, with its hundreds of islands scattered around and making it a spectacular place to cruise. Sheer cliffs dropping down to white sandy beaches pocketed throughout, some full of tourist laden 'long tails' (Thai boats) dropping dozens of sight seers for a couple of hours, some beaches without a soul in sight. Many of the beaches are full of monkeys. They can be curious to a point then they can show aggression - .I do not like monkeys !!

 

A family of four monkeys coming close to check us out.

 

 

The spectacular rock formation of the 'Hongs' area.

 

Overhanging rock with Kittani and Gemini anchored in the background.

 

We spent a night at a Sea Gypsy Village built mostly on stilts. A popular destination for the tourist boats - the books say that up to 3,000 visitors per day over the lunch period. That's a lot of mouths to feed, and the chaos of long tails arriving and departing with tourists had to be seen to be believed. We went ashore and wandered amongst the markets - heaps of clothing and souvenirs along with men making fishing nets - interesting. That evening we went back to one of the restaurants for dinner and had the hottest Thai food I have ever had. By the end of the meal, all we could do was suck on ice cubes to stop our lips from burning, laugh and wonder how we would pull up the next day !!! The smaller the chilly, the bigger the burn !!!!



                Sea Gypsy Village built on stilts over the water

 

Looking between the houses

 

Pete watching the fishing nets being made - a monotonous job.

 

Horse Crab on the menu - they get their 'b' and 'p' mixed up !!

We spent the following night anchored in a lagoon between 2 outcrops of rocks with hardly a noise or boat around. We purchased prawns from a local fishing boat, so fresh that later that day when I went to peel them, I had to ask Pete to deal with the ones that were still waving their legs in protest. That evening dinner was on Gemini, and after Robyn doing a Thai cooking course the previous week, she excelled herself with a fantastic meal. A good nights sleep was had in the perfect quietness of  our surroundings, not even aware of the boat changing direction with the change of tides. Next night was at a popular tourist beach with the clearest of water we had seen in a while. We spent the day onboard leaving the tourists to enjoy the island. Once the last boat had gone, we headed ashore with Gemini for a swim in sheltered bay and sundowners having the place virtually to ourselves. The white sand, the blue water, the lush vegetation, the cliffs, the peace - this is what it is all about.

 

 

The beach at Ko Hong (Krabi) before the long tails start arriving

 

 

 

The start of the tourists arriving - boats wall to wall in no time.

 

Me testing the water for a swim - it was so clear and cool.

 

Local long tail arriving into through the entrance to the Hong

 

View from the beach at Sundowners with Gemini

 

Pete loving it all.

Time to head back down to Ao Chalong. We have just dropped anchor back in the harbour and need to get ashore and provision before heading off tomorrow making our way up the west coast of Phuket and Thailand towards the Burma border.

Langkawi and beyond

After returning to Langkawi from Penang, we had booked into Rebak Marina for a week, located on Rebak island just off the mainland and next to a resort. The marina itself had been described as ‘muggy and buggy’, however we didn’t find it too bad. Being attached to the resort, we had full use of the resort amenities, the main one we used being the pool. Around 4.00pm each afternoon, most rally participants would congregate at the pool, some staying on for happy hour, others just to cool off from the heat. We met up with Sandip, the GM of the resort as we had been informed that he had spent some years on Nauru and was keen to speak with me. We were his guests one evening at the lighting of the Xmas tree, carol singing by his staff (Malaysian style), mulled wine and finger food – it was a great night. He also invited us to breakfast the following morning with his wife and as well as discussing my childhood memories, spent a lot of time talking with Pete about the ins and outs of hotel management.

 

Enjoying a drink at sunset before our final gala dinner - Langkawi

We had a day tour arranged with the rally to Langkawi island were we took in a fish processing factory where they sit on the floor and all processing is done by hand, oh the smell !! Then it was  on to a couple of cultural museums, and late afternoon after an hour of free time where a group of us enjoyed a drink on the beach before sunset, our final gala dinner. It marked the end of Sail Malaysia and rallies for us for a while. We had all come together for the day from different marinas and anchorages around Langkawi, so now it was time to say goodbye to many we knew we would not see again. However, quite a few boats plan to stay in and around these waters for the season before making their way to South Africa, then U.K and U.S.A or even eventually back to Oz, so we will cross paths for a while yet. Another day we hired a cafe and headed up to the Langkawi Cable Car. It is apparently the steepest cable car in the Southern Hemisphere and I was ever so glad to get my feet back on terra firma at the end of the circuit. The view was amazing even though it was a hazy day. 

 

Pete at the Cable Car ride - looking relaxed

 

Great view from the top - if you like heights !!

 

Langkawi Skywalk - unfortunately closed for maintenance

 

Steepest cable car in the southern hemisphere

Leaving Rebak marina, we headed for Kuah harbour – Kuah being our place for clearing out of Malaysia. We anchored in the harbour for a couple of days to provision and fuel before starting the departure process. Kuah harbour is a large busy bay with a big ferry terminal servicing the mainland as well as other nearby islands. There were many yachts and boats anchored there, a hive of activity day and night. Kuah was a good size town with hardware stores, supermarkets and many duty free shops - Langkawi being a duty free island. Slabs of Carlsberg beer were equivalent to AUS$10 as were bottles of Jim Beam bourbon or Bombay Saphire Gin. Where we tied up the tender to go ashore, we found a small stall that made Roti bread with egg - served with chilli sauce. Who would have thought it would make such a good breakfast but it served us each morning while we were there. 

Heading away from Kuah harbour, we meandered up the east side of Langkawi to our first nights anchorage at the 'Hole in the wall'. Once through the entrance of sheer cliff faces on either side, it opened into a larger lagoon flanked with mangroves.There was a fish farm with restaurants attached offering moorings, but we opted to drop our own anchor. It was a lovely peaceful spot for the night. That was our last night in Malaysia - tomorrow we would be in Thailand waters. 

 

Coming through the entrance at the 'Hole in the Wall' anchorage

One of our next stops was the small island of Ko Muk and will go down as one of the best ever. A lovely little sheltered bay, white sandy beach and a small restaurant built at one end up on the rocks. We went ashore there to watch the sunset over a Singha beer, then had our first Thai meal. Wow - it was amazing and we had been hanging out for Green Chicken Curry and Pad Thai. Ko Muk is also known for its Emerald Caves. You can take a kayak in or swim through the entrance of the cave which we did. At first the darkness was so intense you can not see in front of your face. The guide books all said to take a torch - we forgot.  Thankfully it was only a mere 40 meters and it opens into a sandy beach and amphitheatre surrounded with vegetation. Quite spectacular.

 

Me sitting on the beach inside the Emerald Cave - Ko Muk

 

A rather narrow entrance to the cave

 

 

Our first Thai meal from the rock top at Ko Muk

 

The anchorage at Ko Muk - Kittani in the distance

 

Sunset from the restaurant

 

Patterns in the sand made by the tiniest of crabs

Next day saw us arrive at Ko Phi Phi. We had been there before years ago with the kids so opted to go around to the quieter side of the island. We had also heard via email that other boats had been robbed whilst ashore in the main bay. Taken were computer, iPads, iPod and phones. Leaves a sour taste in your mouth and makes you all the more security conscious. Next day it was a short hop across to Ao Chalong Bay in Phuket - our place for clearing in to Thailand,  

 
 

3rd stop - Penang

Time to leave Pangkor and make our way north towards Langkawi. An early morning start of 5.30am saw 8 of us creep out of the marina in darkness and make our way up the channel. Lots of fishing boats around that time of morning, some just starting their day while others were coming home after being out all night. An easy day of motor sailing saw us reach the southern end of Penang late afternoon. As we were not stopping at Penang itself, we branched off from the others and anchored at the SW corner in a large open bay. The others were chancing the Penang anchorages. As most of them are less than favourable and with no rally events planned for there, we had decided to push through to Langkawi then zip back via ferry or plane and explore the island that way. That night we were anchored alone in the bay, the first night without company in nearly 6 months - how strange that felt.
Late the following afternoon we reached the outer islands that make up the Langkawi group. We had been recommended a fiord-like anchorage and soon located it tucked in between high cliffs with thick jungle vegetation. Sharing it with a couple of other yachts, we stayed for 2 nights and loved the solitude and peace of it. Nearby monkeys played on the waters edge, hawks or kites flew high overhead and the only sound was a high pitched ringing from the jungle - birds or cicadas we never found out.

Soon it was time to head to Rebak marina, only a couple of hours away. Once in our pen, we decided to catch the late afternoon flight back to Penang and headed to the airport. A quick flight of 25mins from ground to ground, flying over the 100 odd islands that make up Langkawi with scattered white beaches dotted around. We met up with Robyn and Craig (Gemini) who had booked rooms with us at the Banana Boutique hotel. Amazingly enough, it turned out that Pete had stayed in the exact hotel nearly 30 years ago as he made his way overland through Asia to Oz. How bizarre is that! The hotel was full of Chinese art and décor, beautifully cabinets inlaid with mother of pearl, grand wide staircases and intricately carved figurines.

The inside of the Banana Boutique hotel in Georgetown

The next few days were spent exploring the streets of Georgetown, famous for its architecture, street art and culinary delights. On one of our walks, we found ourselves down by the water overlooking the 'Junk Anchorage' at low tide. No guessing why it got its name, with old boat frames still embedded in the mud, tyres, timber and much more. We could see many of our fellow rally yachts at anchor. The houses that stood out over the water were built on concrete filled buckets stacked on each other about 10' high. Paintings and wrought iron art work depicting the history of Georgetown are displayed in the streets, making it easy to pass the time ambling up and down for hours. The streets are narrow and busy with cars so you have to be careful not to get in their way, though they do drive very slowly avoiding the vendors as well as the tourists.
 

 

The 'Junk Anchorage' with all the rubbish in the foreground

 

The house supports of cement filled buckets!

 

                A view of beautiful architecture harbour side - storm brewing in the background

 

Street art - Kung Fu fighting - poor cat !!

 

 

 

 Wrought iron street art - all with the written history of Georgetown

                                                      Cute painting of kid reaching up to the window

One morning we took the cable car up to Penang Hill - wonderful view over the island. At the top were markets, shrines, eateries and a dinosaur exhibit for the kids. It was school holidays and very busy but well worth the trip. The guys enjoyed fossicking around all the hardware stalls finding bits and pieces for the boats. Bunnings they weren't but still amazing what could be found with a little digging. Penang was one of those places where the time went all too quickly and before we knew it, it was time to check out for the fast ferry back to Langkawi. We can always go back.

 

Playing silly tourists!

 

One of the many large colourful shrines that are found throughout Malaysia

 

 

                                                     The view from the top of Penang Hill

 

How is that for grafted Ficus trunks

 

The entrance to another Chinese hotel - looked more like a hobbit home

 

Stainless steel seats around the trees - you obviously need a big backside to sit on them properly!

2nd stop - Pangkor

 

After departing Port Dickson we headed to Port Klang for the first nights stop and anchored at the mouth of a river just off the port. A very large busy port with huge ships coming and going 24/7. Second night was at the mouth of the Bernam River near a small fishing village, both very comfortable anchorages with little movement and no storms. Both days were spent motoring as there wasn't much wind - we were advised that this would be the case. The surrounding area on approach to the marina was scattered with small islands with very lush vegetation, the marina itself  built on a man-made island between Pangkor Island and the mainland. On arrival into Pangkor Marina, we needed a small pilot boat to come out into the lagoon and guide us in. Once inside we realised that it was a much smaller marina than Port Dickson with not a lot of room. Thankfully there was little or no wind and we managed to get into our berth without issue, but had the feeling we were being packed in like sardines. At the briefing there was talk of possibly having to raft up but they did seem to find a berth for every boat. The amenities were once again rather disappointing with the shower block  in the middle of the work shop area and not at all inviting, so it was back to showering aboard for the duration of our stay. The marina was offering free water along with 3 free days berthing, so it doesn't really matter how much water we use. This marina is where quite a few boats have opted to lift out of the water to get work done so we saw many of the Sail Indonesia boats on the hard stand.

                          

                                      John (Footloose) lifting out of the water to antifoul

The rally had organised a day trip across to Pangkor Island so we took the ferry from the terminal located right next door to the marina and within 10mins we were getting off at the other end. We piled into hot pick coloured mini vans and started our tour around the island. First stop was an old Dutch fort, then some very interesting temples, followed by a fish market where all processing is done by hand. Oh the aroma !! Then on to a seafood lunch ...... :-(  Markets forgotten, the lunch was great. Back to the ferry terminal to browse for an hour before the ferry home.

 

 

Pete standing near one of the brightly painted temples

            Pete and self, Craig and Robyn, Chantelle and Freddie (Micromigas) and Denis (Manta)

                                              Fish processed all by hand - what a job !

 

The girls at the beach - Marina (Kailani), self, Jen (Tigerlily) and Robyn

 

Dried fish at the markets - check the left hand side. Fly paper full of flies !

 

Trays of noodles drying in the sun

1st rally stop - Port Dickson

The first night out from Danga Bay, our little fleet of 4 (us and Tintin, Gemini and Kailani) stopped at Palau Pisang, the second night was Palau Bessar and that nearly counts now as the worst anchorage ever. On arrival mid afternoon, we anchored well out from the 10 other rally yachts already settled, knowing that if the weather changes we had plenty of room. We were in a large open bay on the south side of the island near a small village, a nice clean beach and lush vegetation. We had thought we might have a 24 spell here and head ashore in the morning to explore the island. This island is apparently the birth place of Islam is Asia with a lot of history documented ashore. There was a slight swell coming in to the bay, but nothing that we couldn't handle. Or so we thought. Soon after midnight we could hear the wind suddenly start to howl and there was lightning in the distance. Within no time at all the storm was upon us, with wind gusts up to 35+ and the surrounding waves looking more like a surf beach than our calm little bay. Voices were then heard on the VHF calling to other boats questioning if they may be dragging. Spot lights were being beamed all around us, checking distances to our nearest boats. Suddenly everyone was up and about, some boats opting to lift anchor and re settle, others just taking off into the night happier to be in open water. Whereas other storms we had been through had passed quickly, this one hung around for 3 hours and it was nearly 4.00am before Pete and many headed back to bed. In the light of morning, all we wanted was out of there so a mass exit saw all 12 remaining boats heading north.

Later that day saw us arrive into Port Dickson. This was a beautiful colonial influenced marina building with marble floors and grand staircases sweeping up either side of the entrance. A lovely pool and good amenities, restaurant and bar, IT room - now this was a marina ! Walking distance (10 mins) into a string of good restaurants and the township of Port Dickson also only 5mins in a taxi. The rally had planned a 'team building exercise' for one afternoon right next door to the marina and it  turned out to be a lot of fun. The different challenges were all at ground level, though Pete was hoping the high rope course would be included. Considering the average age of the cruisers is near to 60, the organisers decided to play it safe.

 

Pete taking his team across the moving plank - all 10 members on at one time

          Leading Cheryl (Adagio) through the rope lines without touching - easier said than done

Another rally tour was a day trip into Malacca. It is such an interesting place and one that we will definitely return to. An hours coach ride from the marina and we arrived into the centre of town. Jonker walk is famous for its food outlets, temples and shopping stalls and you could easily spend a day there alone. First stop had to be for a decent latte and morning tea and obviously everybody had the same idea as the café was full of yachties.  We wandered around the harbour area, looked over a replica of an old Portugese ship and took in the maritime museum

 

The entrance to Jonker Walk

The highly decorated bicycles for hire 

                                                                   Pete with Carolyn and Duncan on the Portugese replica

Robyn could relate to this t-shirt .....:-)

 

Not sure what the statue was - Mr Universe maybe

 

Craig in front of one of the many temples and shrines in Jonker Walk - Malacca

 

 

Karen (Tropicali) getting lost amongst the t-shirts

 

We thoroughly enjoyed Port Dickson and the amenities on offer, and usually ended each day with a swim in the pool last thing at night. It always makes for a better nights sleep when you are safe and sound in a marina and even the sight of the approaching storms don't fill you with fear. You can get a permanent berth at the marina for the equivalence of $AUS125 per week including water and electricity and use of all amenities. Food for thought !!