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MALAYSIA
November 27 - December 7, 2010
Although Nongsa Point is the check out point for Indonesia I have decided to include it in this chapert because it is the starting point for the Malaysian experience and I am on a new chapter to a new country on a new boat
NONGSA POINT, INDONESIA
November 19 - 25, 2010
The marina is as beautiful as I remember it but there are lots more townhomes and condo’s making up the huge resort. I have been informed of Spirit of Nina’s itinerary for the journey to Thailand and have decided I do not want to miss any stops in Malaysia. SofN stayed only one day at the marina for the check-out and I have been taken off the crew list. Since everything happens for a reason and a positive attitude will bear positive outcomes I am not worried about what will happen in the future. Bob is alone on NautiBuoyToo so I stayed several days and helped him clean up the boat before Paco’s return from Spain with his family.
I was thinking about flying to Thailand because it is very inexpensive and it would give me more time to spend in Vietnam. Lucy Alice pulled into the marina and we caught up on all the happenings since I have not seen
Glenda and Ian for awhile. Glenda insisted that I come with them on their 41’ Oyster so we could spend some time with them before I left the Rally for other adventures. They cleared all the paraphernalia from the V berth and I have so much room I offered to store the eggs and the soda/beer cans for the journey to Thailand where I’ll be leaving the boat and finding my way around the world another way.
Ian went to Singapore to be with his daughter so
Bob, Glenda, and I would go for long walks down the coastline on either side of the resort. One way leads to other resorts and the other way leads down to
the ferry dock to Singapore. There is no town within walking distance so one day we decided to walk down to the ferry building for a cheap lunch. There is a glass case with the day’s selections on plates and, as we couldn’t always tell what a dish was, it was like being in a Baskin-Robbins where the cute girl behind the counter would give us a taste. Malaysian cuisine is noted for fresh veggies and fruit and this is no exception. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we paid $3.00US each for grilled tuna fish, curry chicken, egg fu young, veggies and 3 real fruit drinks. We ate while there was a monsoon downpour and then walked back through the golf course and stopped to watch a mother monkey with three little ones.
Paco, his family, and Bob left the next day for who-knows-where and we left the following day with no wind predicted for anytime in the near future.
THE STRAITS OF SINGAPORE
Notice that the ‘points’ on the triangles go in all directions. If they were at anchor they would all follow the tide and current and be facing the same way. Most of these boats are underway albeit very slowly.
You cannot avoid crossing the second busiest waterway in the world and we have a plan. Hug the very edge of the shipping lane so as to avoid the fishing boats with their nets on one side and huge tankers, freighters, and cargo ships heading right for us on our right. The tricky part is when it is time to cross the shipping lanes. It was like crossing an 8 lane freeway where all the cars could care less if you get in their way. It proved to be too scary and so we found this
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very small container ship that wanted to cross and we hung in their shadow and pulled the engines full speed ahead. It was quite scary as multi ton vessels would pass each other quite close and we were in the middle. At the 6 o’clock net NautiBuoyToo and Fai Tira told us they were in Malacca marina and that we had to come. Fai Tira must hold the record for running aground in their steel-hulled sailboat and so they knew first hand where this silted area was that we were suppose to avoid. No worries as the river that was responsible for the silting would help pull you out of the muck. Sounds doable so we quickly hung a right, stayed to the portside of the marker and found our way into the deserted marina. Seems they built a nice little marina in the wrong spot as the silted river mouth would keep away most yachters and the swell was tearing up the brand new pontoons. We didn’t care as it was walking distance to the historical colonial part of the city.
MALACCA
November 28 – December 1, 2010
Peninsular Malaysia reportedly has the most ancient rainforest in the world and the land is carpeted in jungle. Most of the coast is made up of flat river deltas although you can see the interior mountains from the boat. Bob, Pete, John, and Jay ( Fai Tira ) were all smiles as they had found a diamond in the rough. They loved the anchorage, the walk to the historical part of town, the quality of the food and service , and as a final treat
the Night Market that was full of sounds and singing and great bargains. It is hard to imagine that in 1969 there were riots between the Malays and the resident Chinese. The outcome of the riots was that much of the Chinese talent, money, and businesses left in disgust. Conversely, Malacca is steeped in Chinese culture
And the hanging lanterns give the clue as to who owns the business. We had no plans on when to leave and decided to stay till we had seen enough of the town to leave a lasting impression. The next night we went for dinner with the group on the canal.
(photo for H2 goes here)
It reminded me a lot of Clark’s Quay in Singapore. There is construction all over the town - so much has been added since we were there two years ago. This is definitely an up-and-coming tourist destination.
Glenda and I decided to go on a walk-about while Ian stayed behind to do the usual skipper pre-check before we leave. He needs to check oils, filters, and plastic bags wrapped around the prop.
Our plan was to walk to the Victoria water fountain and then I wanted to show her the museum and 15th century portal that is all that is left from the fort ( check out www.gaiaworldtour.net and scroll to Malacca for details). We decided to go the long way
through a suburbia neighbourhood and back roads that would meander us down narrow streets we haven’t previously seen.
These handsome young men wanted to take our picture. This happens a lot in Indonesia and Malaysia and I wonder if it has to do with Glenda’s blonde hair. They all took our pictures using their phones and we chatted them about their home life and their job.
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The sites, sounds and colours were so intriguing that we spent all our time exploring the narrow colonial streets. We saw a blacksmith pounding on his anvil in the open doorway of his studio. There were shops that sold nothing but chopsticks (some amazingly beautiful and expensive ) and furniture stores that had items I would have loved to find a way to bring to the US for gifts. We found an internet place and Glenda, never at a loss to speak to a total stranger, talked to Henry for hours. He owned the souvenir/internet/junk shop and had lots of stories about living in Malaka for the better part of his life. We had so much fun we forgot all about the museum and portal. Time was becoming a factor so started back to the boat. One the way, this
Brightly coloured structure caught our eye. Upon approaching we realized it was parked in front of a mortuary.
Soon, we barely had time to stop for a take-away lunch before heading back to the boat. We needed to leave by 1pm to catch the rising tide so we don’t run aground on the silted river mouth. A bird landed on the pulpit and chirped a goodbye and as I was coiling up the bowline there was
a lizard in the water that changed course and headed right for us. If Glenda had her way we would have a gecko, puppy, an orphaned baby monkey, and we would welcome the lizard aboard. Ian pushed the throttle forward and the lizard had no choice but to head for shore.
It has taken us hours to work out a schedule so that I can be in Thailand by December 10th. First Ian and I worked out the mileage between lots of stops and Glenda read the guides and atlas for information on the stops. We all would decide how many stars we would give to a stop and then backtracked from Phuket and made our final decisions. We set aside two days for spending more time in one place or adding another island as we saw fit…. We now have a plan!
This is how I do the web on Lucy Alice. It is taken looking down the companionway.
Our first stop is going to be a two nighter. There is not much wind unless a squall is coming so we are forced to do a lot of motoring. The fishing boats do not show up on the radar, they are erratic in their driving, and the nets can be anywhere.
NEW PHENOMONA
I was on watch and radar was showing a major squall that may or may not be traveling fast enough to miss us. We are still traveling on the very edge of the shipping lanes but that doesn’t mean we don’t have large cargo ships passing us on the wrong side of the lanes. This is OK as the fishing boats scatter and it leaves more room for us not to pick up a net. A larger tanker was passing us on starboard ( traveling in the opposite direction outside the shipping lane ) when I noticed a very narrow band of rain descending from the low thunderheads. It was so narrow that I could see a bend in it and wondered it it was going to hit the tanker. All of a sudden sheet lightening brightened the sky and I could very clearly see that the solid wall of water was spiraling upwards … a water spout! Fai Tira told me it was a common occurrence in this part of the world during the monsoon season. Speaking of the monsoon season it is much too early this year but El Nina is affecting the West coast of America and it always brings a longer rainy season to SE Asia.
Heading for the final stop is tricky because many huge ships are heading for the same mouth of the river. They are coming up on all sides of your path and don’t care and don’t see us struggling along in their wake. Ships are also leaving the channel and trying to not hit each other. They cannot see us and don’t care where we are. We just need to slow down or change course many times as we weave through the myriad of vessels. As skipper Ian doesn’t get much sleep although Glenda and I don’t want to wake him unnecessarily.
PORT KLANG & KUALA LUMPUR
December 2 – 3, 2010
We arrived at first light to the mouth of the Klang River where it is a major stopping point to load and unload containers. It is centrally located in SE Asia and the river’s deep delta is protection from the Malacca Straits. Ships are anchored all over the place and the strong current keeps you alert. We joke about almost hitting an anchored boat and we don’t want to come that close again. At 9 am we reached the tiny river that smaller boats could anchor and there is the Royal Sengali Yacht Club.
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We were to moor onto a floating dock and catch a boat to cross the river to the shore. Checking into the Port Captain, Immigration, and Customs takes so much time and so much paperwork that we are beginning to see why non-rally boats don’t even bother to check in. What we do do is check in and out at the same time whether we are going to stay one day or two. We don’t know how long we are staying because we have not been to the capital city of Kuala Lumpur ( KL ) and don’t know if we want to take the train for an additional day of exploring.
Finally at 3 pm we are ready to leave for the capital city. The train to KL is very clean and quiet. There are two cars designated for ladies only so we needed to move forward to a different car. I was joking about the ugly woman with the beard and the big feet ( Ian ) when he said
“ Not everyone can be beautiful!”.
KUALA LUMPUR
We exited the train and were in the middle of a modern city. It was easy to find our way around as most signs are also written in English. The central market was first in business in 1888 and has under gone several changes as its wealth grew. We decided to stop for a tea before getting on the tour bus and the food looked so good we had lunch. By the time we were ready to get on the bus it started to rain harder than I have ever seen in my life…a true monsoon rain. Within minutes the street was a river of surging water. I had on my hiking sandals so the shin deep water didn’t slow me down. We waited in line for the bus and were on our way. It never stopped raining.
Kuala Lumpur is a fascinating city that is redefining itself in the two years since I was here last. The new buildings are beautifully designed, the new Symphony and Theater have traditional roof lines, and there is plenty of green spaces.
The graffiti is at an all time low and the signs on the new buildings proudly say they are constructing green. We have seen the same ‘green’ issues written on gas pumps, boats, and buildings.
That night there was a lot of wash from passing boats going up the river. The lines holding the boat to the floating pontoon squeaked and groaned all night long but at one point I did hear a grinding whine. The next day the pontoon behind us had completely rusted through its cable. It would have floated off down the river and probably no one would have notice till they hit a freighter. Luckily, one of the sailboats and a very large powerboat were tied to the stationary bullock and also to the one on the pontoon that had broken away. Disaster Avoided Again!!!
LANGKAWI
December 4 – 7, 2010
Just south of the Thailand border, Pulau Langkawi is our final stopping point in Malaysia. This archipelago boast 90 islands or 100 if you count the many rocks that dot the seaside view. We pass beautiful high cliffs and fiords, steep muffin-like islands, and lush vegetation. With no real shore you do not see very many villages or homes of any kind. Because of the numerous rivers the water is silted a milky green and quite clean of man-made debris. Two sea eagles follow us into shore. We are moored on the largest island by the largest city, Kuah. There is a huge sea eagle ferrocement monument on the shore and it is the town mascot. Brightly coloured fishing boats and small ferries criss-cross Bass Harbour.
This is the land of duty-free shopping and Malaysians come from all over the country to buy western brand name products. The Royal Langkawi Yacht Club is situated right next to the ferry terminal and we get a lot of current and backwash from the many ferries that come from several islands. A small commercial metal boat has a large sign on its side proudly saying their engines run green.
I tried walking to a store area that had the biggest prawns I have ever seen and realize how little I’ve been walking in the past two years. Glenda and I walked along the coast and the park stretched on for miles. There were many monuments
Including this structure overlooking a luscious pruned landscape. Eventually we ended up downtown and it is a hive of activity. The prices are very good and so we bought a microwave and printer. We bought a non-digital microwave and with the savings bought a small food processor….women and their toys.
The night market in Langkawi has lots of outdoor eating places so I am always excited to try something new.
Various rally boats came and went and our last night in town NautiBuoyToo and I went to dinner so I could order the tiger prawn in dragon fruit sauce. Dragon fruit is very pretty outside and inside and taste like a cross between bananas and kiwi. The single prawn covered a 9” plate ( with the tail curled beneath itself ) and cost $6.00US…yum
We left the following day with no real plans because we will try not to sail overnight. We have been lucky so far and have avoided the fishing stakes standing 6’ out of the water. They can be quite deadly when you cannot see them. If we do not reach the Butang Islands in the light we will head further out to sea and deal with the fishing boats and their nets. We have 12 days to reach Phuket, Thailand and we intend to make the most of it.
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